Now you see it,now you don’t: digital images and the meaning of ‹possession’

The advent of digital technology has had a profound impact on the production and distribution of child pornography. The international trade in such material is a major focus of law enforcement agencies around the world. Central to these efforts is the offence of ‹possession.’ However, concepts of possession in the criminal law evolved in the context of tangible items such as drugs, and their application to intangible data presents significant challenges. Drawing upon the laws of Australia, Canada, England and the United States, this article analyses the concept of criminal possession in a digital context. While courts and legislatures are adapting to these new challenges, in some cases it is argued that the offence of possession is being stretched too far. It is suggested that some of these difficulties may be avoided by utilising an offence of ‹accessing’ child pornography. Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash University. I am grateful to Dr. Dale Smith for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article.     

Just as you like it: How allocators decide in cases of conflict between own and recipients' views of justice

The present study examined how people, who are instructed to make just allocations, decide in situations of conflict when their personal views of what constitutes the appropriate justice standard are partly at variance with the opinions and preferences of the recipients of the allocations. We expected, in line with recent theories, which stress that justice behavior is at least partly motivated by the desire to get one's actions accepted and approved, the allocation decisions to be influenced not only by the allocators' own ideas of what constitutes a just solution but also by the preferences they perceive to exist for the recipients. It was predicted that the likelihood that allocators will abandon their personally preferred justice standards and allocate in accordance to recipients' preferences will increase with increasing numbers of cues suggesting an alternative allocation. Subjects having a strong personal preference for the equality over the equity standard of justice were asked to make just allocations of payments among two workers. Availability vs. lack of explicit information about the recipients' allocation preferences and expectation of future interaction with one of the recipients were used to operationalize differing amounts of pressure exerted on the allocators' decisions. Results showed a considerable readiness on the part of the allocators to abandon their own views of justice, the amount of readiness varying with the amount of pressure that was weighing upon them.     

"If it hurts you, then it is not a joke": adolescents' ideas about girls' and boys' use and experience of abusive behavior in dating relationships

This study examined adolescents' ideas about girls' and boys' use and experience of physical and psychological abuse in heterosexual dating relationships. Canadian high school students who were enrolled in Grades 9 and 11 took part in single-gender focus groups. Eight themes emerged from the analysis. The themes highlight the importance teenagers place on context for defining specific behaviors as abusive. They also underscore gender differences in the criteria adolescents use to make these judgments, in the forms of abusive behavior teenagers typically use in a dating relationship, and in the reasons for youths' declining use of physical abuse and increasing use of psychological abuse. These views have important implications for future research and for programs targeting adolescent dating violence.     

组织连续流：基于效率与公正纬度的细化

组织之间应该是连续的,公共组织和私人组织之间有相同点,公共组织之间也有差异。根据效率和公正的纬度,应该将组织尤其是公共组织作进一步的细化。这种思路不仅可以澄清行政学发展历程中的几次范式转移,明确当前新公共管理理论成功和遭受批判的结症,而且可以为行政学的研究提供很好的视角。     

专家证言、新科学理论与法官角色——以美国法中的Daubert标准为中心

在专家证言的可采性判断标准上,Daubert标准替代＂普遍接受＂标准成为发展方向。Daubert标准在赋予法官很大的自由裁量的同时,也赋予其艰巨的＂守门人＂角色。Daubert标准将决定权中心从专业界移至法官。Daubert标准对多种因素的弹性考量给新科学证据的可采性提供了机遇和可能,但是一切要取决于法官的自由裁量和＂守门人＂职责的履行。     

Women and the judiciary in Syria: appointments process,training and career paths

This article describes the recruitment, training and career paths of women judges and public prosecutors in Syria over a period of 30 years (1975–2005). It analyses both quantitative and qualitative data drawn from official statistics and interviews conducted with 67 women judges and public prosecutors in Syria's largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. The paper focuses on how training of the judiciary has changed since the founding of the new Institute of Judicial Studies and the effect this change has had on women's career paths. The entry of women to the judiciary in 1975 and the restructuring of the training system in 2002 are the two most important events in the recent history of the judiciary in Syria.     

Wine, fruit, and emission reductions: the CDM as development strategy in Chile

Through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol, a developed country actor with a binding emission reduction target can use emission reductions from a project implemented in a developing country to meet this target. At the same time, CDM projects are meant to contribute to sustainable development in the host country, as defined by this country. The CDM is often taken to illustrate a broader contemporary turn in environmental policymaking toward market liberalism, flexibility, and pluralism, where the governance of the CDM involves ??agency beyond the state?? at different political levels and across various jurisdictions. While such an image of the CDM certainly identifies important aspects, it also downplays the ways in which states govern the CDM, not at the international level but at the domestic level through the host country prerogative to define its sustainable development priorities. Early on in the scholarly debate on the CDM, fears were raised about a ??race to the bottom?? with regard to sustainable development requirements on CDM projects. Our research on Chile confirms that hypothesis, with the important addition, that the ??race?? is not simply a structural feature of the CDM, but a deliberate strategy. We argue that Chile has actively chosen to put only marginal emphasis on securing the CDM??s contribution to sustainable development, and instead uses the CDM primarily as a tool to attract foreign investments, treating carbon credits as just another export product.     

The development and application of a diatom-based quantitative reconstruction technique in forensic science

Diatoms are a group of unicellular algae that have been recorded and classified for over 200 years and have been used in a range of applications in forensic science. We have developed a quantitative diatom-based reconstruction technique to confirm drowning as a cause of death and localize the site of drowning in two recent, high-profile, case studies. In both case studies we collected diatom samples from the local and/or regional area to act as a control in the examination of diatom assemblages associated with lungs and clothing. In Case Study 1 the modern analog technique suggested that all lung and clothing samples have statistically significant similarities to control samples from shallow water habitats. In Case Study 2, the analog matching suggested that the majority of lung samples show a statistically significant relationship to samples from a pond, indicating that this was the drowning medium.     

When it pays to be honest: How a variable period of good conduct can improve incentives in personal bankruptcy proceedings

Consumer bankruptcy regulation in the United States as well as in many other countries allow consumers to petition for a partial debt discharge. Usually, a debt release is possible when the debtor behaves in the creditors’ best interest and after filing for bankruptcy signs over her entire disposable income for a fixed period. Depending on the country the period lasts between three and six years. We show that a fixed period distorts the consumer’s ex-post incentives to work hard. Instead, we suggest to adequately reduce the outstanding claim and to make debt release contingent on payment. When the consumer manages to pay back the reduced amount, the rest of the initial debt should be discharged immediately. In effect, the consumer becomes the residual claimant of her endeavors. The period of good conduct is effectively variable. JEL classification D18. D91. K29     

Information communication, organizational capability and new product development: an empirical study of Chinese firms

This study focuses on how information acquisition and communication influence new product development through organizational capability. Our empirical results, based on sample data from 607 Chinese firms, show that external information acquisition has a positive effect on proactiveness capability and a negative effect on operation capability. In contrast, however, we find that internal information communication has a negative effect on proactiveness capability and a positive effect on operation capability. Finally, we find that proactiveness capability has a significant positive impact on operational capability and NPD. This research extends the literature on information communication, organizational capability, and NPD in general.     

领导发展：理论溯源与途径探析

发展是社会永恒不变的主题,领导理论与实践的发展是建设政治文明的重要组成部分。从领导发展的理论溯源、理论架构、内容、途径以及可持续发展等方面进行具体分析与研究,对领导科学的完善以及领导管理科学化具有重要的意义。     

Context effects in forensic science: a review and application of the science of science to crime laboratory practice in the United States.

This article discusses the phenomenon of "context effects" by reviewing the findings and practices of a range of scientific fields, including astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, and especially the relevant research and theory from psychology. Context information, such as expectations about what one is supposed to see or conclude, has been found to have a small but relentless impact on human perception, judgment, and decision-making. The article then considers the vulnerability of forensic science practice to context effects, and concludes by suggesting that forensic science adopt practices familiar in other fields of scientific work, in particular blind or double-blind testing and also the use of evidence line-ups.