Aoife Luscombe

The way humanitarian shelter is provided can have immediate and long-term negative impacts
on the environment. For instance, using fired bricks can yield strong and secure shelters.
However, extracting soil to make bricks, and air pollution from brick firing can significantly
harm the local environment and people living nearby (Dar, 2011). Failing to consider the
environmental impacts of a humanitarian response undermines recovery and resilience to
future disasters. Meeting the… Show more

The way humanitarian shelter is provided can have immediate and long-term negative impacts
on the environment. For instance, using fired bricks can yield strong and secure shelters.
However, extracting soil to make bricks, and air pollution from brick firing can significantly
harm the local environment and people living nearby (Dar, 2011). Failing to consider the
environmental impacts of a humanitarian response undermines recovery and resilience to
future disasters. Meeting the do-no-harm principle of humanitarian action (Wallace, 2015)
is not possible unless the immediate and long-term environmental impacts of humanitarian
operations, particularly shelter assistance, are considered at local and global levels.
This chapter explores the use of tools and methodologies to qualify and quantify the environmental impacts of shelter building for the humanitarian sector. Providing a framework for decision making which can be used globally for the humanitarian sector. Show less

Laboratory trials, followed by a comparative pseudo-operational trial of a 1,2-indandione/zinc formulation and 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO) was carried out on a range of realistically-handled papers, card and cardboard. In laboratory trials over 7500 split marks were assessed and in the pseudo-operational trial in excess of 400 samples were treated with each of these processes before all the samples were then treated with ninhydrin. The results presented from both stages of the trials establish… Show more

Laboratory trials, followed by a comparative pseudo-operational trial of a 1,2-indandione/zinc formulation and 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO) was carried out on a range of realistically-handled papers, card and cardboard. In laboratory trials over 7500 split marks were assessed and in the pseudo-operational trial in excess of 400 samples were treated with each of these processes before all the samples were then treated with ninhydrin. The results presented from both stages of the trials establish that 1,2-indandione was the most effective single process and that 1,2-indanedione followed by ninhydrin the most effective process sequence, with ninhydrin developing a significant number of new marks after 1,2-indandione. Show less

This paper contains details of work carried out to examine the composition of 1,2-indandione formulations and to develop the most effective 1,2-indandione/zinc formulation for use under UK conditions. Previous research into the reactions of 1,2-indandione without zinc ions have concluded that formulations containing methanol produce stable hemiketals, which are less reactive to amino acids, resulting in reduced fluorescence intensity of developed fingermarks. In this study, fingermarks were… Show more

This paper contains details of work carried out to examine the composition of 1,2-indandione formulations and to develop the most effective 1,2-indandione/zinc formulation for use under UK conditions. Previous research into the reactions of 1,2-indandione without zinc ions have concluded that formulations containing methanol produce stable hemiketals, which are less reactive to amino acids, resulting in reduced fluorescence intensity of developed fingermarks. In this study, fingermarks were treated using varying formulations of 1,2-indandione, with and without the presence of methanol and zinc ions. It was found that both were beneficial in producing marks of the highest fluorescence intensity, although too much methanol could have a detrimental effect on the quality the mark due to diffusion of ridge detail. Therefore the 1,2-indandione formulation recommended for further trials has been modified to contain both zinc ions and methanol. Show less

This paper contains details of work carried out to identify the most effective processing conditions for the optimized 1,2-indandione/zn formulation developed for use under UK conditions. Using direct measurements of fluorescence taken from test spots of amino acids and eccrine sweat during oven processing, complemented with experiments on real fingermarks, it was established that processing temperatures above 120° C in the oven were detrimental to the fluorescence of the developed mark… Show more

This paper contains details of work carried out to identify the most effective processing conditions for the optimized 1,2-indandione/zn formulation developed for use under UK conditions. Using direct measurements of fluorescence taken from test spots of amino acids and eccrine sweat during oven processing, complemented with experiments on real fingermarks, it was established that processing temperatures above 120° C in the oven were detrimental to the fluorescence of the developed mark. Alternative methods of development to oven processing were found to be effective, but less controllable. High levels of humidification were also found to be detrimental to the fluorescence of 1,2-indandione developed marks, and oven processing at 100° C and 0% relative humidity is therefore recommended for further studies. It has also been shown that 1,2-indandione can develop fingermarks at temperatures as low as 20° C, making it a candidate for use at crime scenes. Show less

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a range of fingermark visualisation processes on brand new, uncirculated, £5 polymer banknotes (and their test note predecessors), as produced by the Bank of England (BoE). In the main study of this paper, a total of 14 individual processes were investigated on BoE £5 polymer banknotes, which included both ‘Category A’ processes (as recommended in the Home Office Fingermark Visualisation Manual) as well as recently developed… Show more

Experiments were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a range of fingermark visualisation processes on brand new, uncirculated, £5 polymer banknotes (and their test note predecessors), as produced by the Bank of England (BoE). In the main study of this paper, a total of 14 individual processes were investigated on BoE £5 polymer banknotes, which included both ‘Category A’ processes (as recommended in the Home Office Fingermark Visualisation Manual) as well as recently developed processes, including fpNatural® 2 powder (cuprorivaite) from Foster Freeman and a vacuum metal deposition sequence that evaporates silver followed by zinc. Results from this preliminary investigation indicate that fpNatural® 2, multimetal deposition, Wet Powder™ Black, iron oxide powder suspension and black magnetic powder are the most effective processes on these uncirculated £5 BoE polymer banknotes, when viewed under “primary viewing” conditions (white light or fluorescence). Additional fingermarks were visualised on the polymer banknotes following the subsequent use of reflected infrared imaging and lifting techniques, and with the benefit of these techniques taken into consideration, the aforementioned processes remained amongst the most effective overall. This work provides initial insight into fingermark visualisation strategies for BoE £5 polymer banknotes, and the need for further studies in order to generate mature operational guidance is emphasised Show less