I Respectfully Dissent: Consensus, Agendas, and Policymaking on the U.S. Supreme Court, 1888–1999

Scholars have been intrigued by the abrupt change in the rate of nonconsensual opinions that the Supreme Court has published over time, which substantially increased beginning with the battles concerning the court's New Deal transition in the 1930s. Notwithstanding, none of the prior studies on this topic has made any link, whether theoretical or empirical, between the Supreme Court's issuance of these special opinions and the justices’ policy preferences. We utilize fractional cointegration to examine the relationship between consensus, agendas, and decisionmaking on the Supreme Court. We find that there is a systematic interrelation between the justices’ policy preferences and their issuance of nonconsensual opinions that is dependent upon the policy agenda before the court. In turn, this connection influences the court's policy outcomes, demonstrating that the justices’ behavior regarding nonconsensual opinion writing is a classic example of judicial policymaking.     

Columnar‐Thin‐Film‐Assisted Visualization of Depleted Sebaceous Fingermarks on Nonporous Metals and Hard Plastics

A fingermark on a nonporous substrate can be developed by depositing a columnar thin film (CTF) on it, but the CTF technique's sensitivity for low‐quality fingermarks is unknown. The optimized CTF and traditional development of several depletion series of sebaceous‐loaded fingermarks were compared using a split‐print methodology as well as subjective and objective grading schemes, in a limited laboratory trial. CTF development was superior to development with selected traditional techniques on brass, anodized aluminum, black acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and white nylon. On white ABS and black nylon, the CTF technique performed poorly but still as well as the best‐performing traditional development technique. The CTF technique was more sensitive on brass and anodized aluminum than, and as sensitive on the four hard plastics and stainless steel as, the best‐performing traditional technique. Thus, the CTF technique is useful to develop friction‐ridge detail from limited fingermark residue on some smooth substrates.     

The part-time option? : Women and part-time work in the European Community

Part-time working has become one of the most significant patterns of work in the European Community in that it represents a growing segment of the increasingly service-oriented labour market. This has occured alongside the feminisation of the labour force through the expansion of ‘pink collar’ occupations in the service sector industries. This paper briefly examines data for part- time working in the European Community. These patterns and trends are related to female participation rates, labour shortages, and the relative importance of the service sector in the European economies. The role of the trade unions and the state in providing support for working parents and/or encouraging part-time initiatives is also considered. The paper concludes with some possible reasons for the variations in part-time participation in individual member states and the implications of these for women's future participation in the labour force.     

Relapse prevention: Critique and reformulation

Abstract

This paper challenges accepted notions about the importance of cognitive distortions expressed by child molesters. First, we consider the role of excuse-making in a healthy life, and as a result question whether it is in the best interests of our clients to challenge their distortions. We examine the literature on eyewitness reports and the reconstructive nature of memory to call into question the value of requiring child molesters’ reports of their offence to match the victim's account. Next we show that the evidence does not demonstrate convincingly that cognitive distortions are criminogenic. Furthermore, the responses of child molesters to measures of cognitive distortions indicate that they simply endorse less disagreement with the items than do others. However, we note that some of these distortions, while not criminogenic, may nevertheless interfere with the acquisition of skills for important treatment targets (e.g. relationships). We offer suggestions for the most effective way to elicit and change these distortions.     

“Keep Government Out of Business”: Bank Nationalisation,Financial Reform and The Private Trading Banks In The 1930s

During the early 1930s the private trading banks came under sustained attack from sections of the Australian Labor Party and the Country Party, and from supporters of Major C.H. Douglas. Repeated calls for bank nationalisation or “socialisation of credit” or “social credit” heightened tensions within the banks and conservative political circles. In response, the banks secretly funded a nationwide campaign in support of the Lyons government in the lead‐up to the 1934 federal election. While the campaign was successful, the outcome resulted in the establishment of a Royal Commission to investigate the banking sector. The Royal Commission's recommendations and the Lyons government's proposed banking legislation were about providing greater government control of the sector. Opposition from the Bank of New South Wales and its supporters during the late 1930s helped forestall the legislation. The onset of war and, in 1941, initiatives from the federal Curtin Labor government and the National Security (Wartime Banking Control) Regulations ended what was a decade‐long struggle waged by the trading banks against greater government control of the banking sector.     

Online victimization risk and self-protective strategies: developing police-led cyber fraud prevention programs

ABSTRACT

The prevalence and impact of cyber fraud continues to increase exponentially with new and more innovative methods developed by offenders to target and exploit victims for their own financial reward. Traditional crime reaction methods used by police have proved largely ineffective in this context, with offenders typically located outside of the police jurisdiction of their victims. Given this, some police agencies have begun to adopt a victim focused, crime prevention approach to cyber fraud. The current research explores with a sample of two hundred and eighteen potential cyber fraud victims, the relationship between online victimization risk, knowledge and use of crime prevention strategies. The study found those most at risk of cyber fraud victimization despite accurate perceptions of risk and knowledge of self-protective behaviors in the online environment underutilise online prevention strategies. This research has important implications for police agencies who are designing and delivering cyber fraud education. It provides guidance for the development of effective prevention programs based on practical skills development.