Is There a Case for Strict Liability?

In this short paper, I shall answer the title’s question first in the context of criminal law and then in the context of tort law. In that latter section, I shall also mention in passing contractual and other forms of civil liability that are strict, although they will not be my principal focus. My conclusions will be that strict liability is never proper as the basis for retributive punishment; that it is a very crude device for achieving deterrence through nonretributive penalties; and that with respect to tort liability, it is best justified as a means of defining insurance categories.     

Tourism as a Catalytic Force for Low-Politics Activities between Politically Divided Countries: The Cases of South/North Korea and Taiwan/China

Tourism has played a significant role in influencing international relations, political policies and world peace. This study analyzes the relationship of politics and tourism between two pairs of politically divided nations: South/North Korea and Taiwan/China. It compares the impact of tourism on the cross-straits relations between Taiwan and China as well as inter-Korea relations. By applying the Tourism Evolution Model of Butler and Mao, this study finds that the Mt. Kumgang tourism development is a barometer not only measuring the willingness of the two Koreas to engage each other in low-politics activities but also the current status of South-North relations. This article analyzes tourism as a low-politics activity influencing initial reconciliation between governments, and discusses the Mt. Kumgang tourism development as a symbolic joint venture for inter-Korean economic relations. It also compares and contrasts tourism as low-politics activity between China and Taiwan.     

The effects of tax instability on budgeting and financial management in developing countries

Budgeting and financial management in developing countries is made particularly difficult by fluctuations in revenues. This paper considers the variety of factors that underlie such revenue variability, including policy, economic and administrative phenomena. Empirical analysis of government revenue in stability in both Bangladesh and Burk in a Faso is conducted to document the extent of the issue and to suggest how such analysis can shed light on the underlying causes of revenue fluctuations.     

Remembering to Forget: A Note on the Duration of Campaign Advertising Effects

Exposure to an Obama campaign ad as part of an Internet survey conducted during the final weeks of the 2012 presidential race produced a substantial 2.8-point increase in intentions to vote for Obama. A post-election follow-up survey found an increase in reported votes for Obama that was only half as large, consistent with the notion that ad effects decay over time. However, a closer look at the pattern of decay indicates that the effect of ad exposure remained virtually constant among people who were undecided or predisposed to support Obama. The reduced aggregate effect was almost entirely attributable to Romney supporters who moved toward Obama in the immediate wake of ad exposure but returned to Romney by Election Day. This divergence is inconsistent with an interpretation of decay as reflecting simple forgetting. Rather, it suggests an active process of motivated reasoning in which short-term persuasive effects are gradually eroded or even reversed by counterarguing among people predisposed to resist them.     

Policy Forum: Studying Eyewitness Investigations in the Field

This article considers methodological issues arising from recent efforts to provide field tests of eyewitness identification procedures. We focus in particular on a field study (Mecklenburg 2006) that examined the “double blind, sequential” technique, and consider the implications of an acknowledged methodological confound in the study. We explain why the confound has severe consequences for assessing the real-world implications of this study.     

Reasons underlying treatment preference: an exploratory study

Very little is known about what factors influence women's treatment preferences after a sexual assault. To learn more about these factors, data were collected from 273 women who read a standard "if this happened to you, what would you do" scenario describing a sexual assault and subsequent trauma-related psychiatric symptoms. After reading standardized treatment options for a pharmacotherapy (sertraline) and a psychotherapy (cognitive behavioral treatment), participants made a hypothetical treatment choice and reported the main reasons for their choice. Women often cited reasons surrounding the effectiveness of a treatment as the primary reason for their treatment preference, suggesting potential masking of symptoms with the medication and more logical, long-lasting effects with the psychotherapy. Other common reasons underlying treatment preference were wariness of the medication and positive feelings about talking in psychotherapy. Better understanding factors that influence treatment preference may aid in refining psychoeducation materials regarding the psychological consequences of sexual assault and their treatment for the lay public and in helping clinicians further tailor their discussion of treatment alternatives for these women.     

Teaching police ethics: An experiential model

Attempts have been made in recent years to decrease police misconduct and improve police performance in areas of ethical decision-making. One attempt has been to provide ethics instruction to police officers at training academies and in-service training sessions. Experiential case studies have been used to help students apply theoretical concepts to practical situations. An evaluation of the experiential teaching model for police ethics was made in a quasiexperimental research design with two groups of police officers. The results supported the experiential approach for teaching police ethics. Police officers were found to better differentiate between ethical and unethical conduct in both an idealistic and realistic manner.