Taking crime out of crime business

It is one thing to assert that conventional market analysis is critically useful in understanding criminal enterprise. It is more challenging to suggest that corrupt and compromised legal regulation interacts with other critical market variables to maximise market advantage for crime business in a similar manner to legitimate regulatory forces in their protection and enhancement of legitimate business enterprise. The central argument of this paper is that crime business mirrors other business forms when considered in terms of critical market variables, and that in particular regulatory forces when inverted from their original purposes can influence market conditions in the same ways desired from the legitimate regulatory form. The main research direction deriving from the analysis of regulatory influences over specific criminal enterprises is how do certain critical market forces essentially facilitate criminal enterprise as a market phenomenon. This paper suggests how through comparatively analysing nominated critical market forces in the context of lucrative and recurrent criminal enterprises, common business decision-making may be predicted and thereby controlled beyond a law enforcement paradigm. In fact, the paper argues that when perverted law enforcement regulation operates as an inter-connecting market characteristic then it can have a similar influence over illegitimate enterprise that law enforcement may provide legitimate business.By establishing a richer and more enterprise-oriented understanding of crucial market variables, it becomes possible to refine control strategies at critical entry and exit points in the operation of clandestine crime businesses. The paper will challenge a comparative theorising of what makes crime business a good business, and how normative distinctions between illegitimate markets are made less convincing when positioned against an analysis of the interaction of critical market variables.     

Hatred,A Solidification of Meaning

While friend/enemy are commonly perceived to be mutually constitutive opposites, it is not so evident that hatred is the opposite of love. Hatred is oriented by two ideologies specific to European thought—‘nature’ as an illusory universal, and the ‘ego’ (me, moi), distinct from the ‘I’, as an irreducible expression of identity. The origins of racial hatred in naturalised hierarchical classification at the time of European colonial expansion demonstrates how naturalism and egoism combined to produce an over-valuation of one’s own self or group as authentic or pure. Drawing on Pascal, Fanon and Derrida, this essay challenges the autonomous, self-loving and naturalised sense of self. It calls for education as a form of action against racial hatred, including hate-speech. It suggests that the dignity or absoluteness of each individual or group should be thought as a ‘sense’ which cannot be reduced to a meaning. This is in contrast to hatred which presupposes closed or solidified meanings.     

Mixed Motives: Economic,Social, and Normative Motivations in Business Compliance

This article develops theoretical understanding of the motives of business firms and their managers for compliance. First, we develop a typology to conceptualize and measure business motives relevant to compliance behavior. We distinguish between three categories of motives: economic, social, and normative. We hypothesize, however, that business firms and their managers do not divide into types motivated exclusively by singular priorities. We expect each firm to hold a constellation of plural motives. Moreover, we expect that economic and social motives are more alike between regulatees within the same regulatory regime than normative motives. Second, we conduct a preliminary test of the plausibility of our typology of motives and our theory of constellations of plural motives using data from a survey of the thousand biggest companies in Australia. Finally, we conclude that the path from fundamental interests or motives to behavior is filled with constraints and contingent factors at the individual, organizational, and structural levels.     

Talking Law in Times of Reform: Paradoxes of Legal Entitlement in Cameroon

Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out between 2003 and 2005, this article examines how legality is constructed in present‐day Adamaoua Province, Cameroon. Focusing on an instance of a process locally referred to as la concertation, I analyze how state officials and cattle traders gather to discuss the practical fate of law. As a heightened moment of suspended enforcement, la concertation is productive for both officials, who work out the limits of their respective spheres of authority and imagine a trade based on business norms and practices that severely limit the scope of regulatory action, and traders, who manage to stave off the increased scrutiny that income tax law presupposes, while asserting their concern for the integrity and consistency of the law.     

The imaginary of ethical business practice

This essay aims to contribute to an unobtrusive criminology of organisation. In particular its focus is on organisational imagineries of ethical business practice. The essay thus is about organisational imageries and imagination, as well as about the connections between those and what might roughly be called organisational justice. This essay tries to find out whether the imaginery of specific organisations holds come clues as to the boundaries (of imagination) within which textual or practical forms of organisational justice may take shape. This essay is part of a broader, though fairly recent research agenda that deals with the role and impact of imagination in organisational life.     

Women,family, and small business in late nineteenth century Sweden

In Sweden, unmarried women and widows had a long historical tradition of involvement in the retail trades and in handicrafts. They supervised enterprises between the death of their husbands and another male heir, and poor women had the right to become hawkers or innkeepers. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the number of unmarried women increased, and the authorities wanted to open new trades in which women could earn their own living and not become an economic burden on local government. Given these new possibilities, women developed several different strategies, which can be seen in the three Swedish towns of Sundsvall, Härnösand, and Umeå when their business history of the later part of the nineteenth century is examined. Women's business involvements exhibit the older patterns of family survival, but now add motives having to do with status maintenance and emancipation.     

Climate Change and Global Citizenship

The international climate change regime has failed. Even the most optimistic assessment of action to limit greenhouse pollution in the coming few decades will not prevent calamitous changes in Earth's climate. Arguments for international—that is, interstate—justice that have permeated international negotiations on climate change have been insufficient in fostering robust action by states. Indeed, by diverting all responsibility to states, focusing on international justice has not addressed consumption and pollution by hundreds of millions of affluent people around the world, including many millions living within developing states that have no treaty obligations to limit nationwide pollution. Increasingly, however, it is these individuals that matter: more and more of them who are not now subject to any climate‐related legal obligations are able to afford lifestyles that lead to greenhouse gas emissions and more climate change. This is especially true given the very rapid increase in the numbers of affluent people in the developing world. Bearing this in mind, this article goes beyond the still important questions of international climate justice to explore cosmopolitan or global climate justice. Global justice demands that affluent individuals in both affluent and poor states do much more to limit their pollution of the atmosphere. By being good global citizens, capable persons can help states start the world on a path to reducing the severity of climate change.     

Women,family, and small business in late nineteenth century Sweden

In Sweden, unmarried women and widows had a long historical tradition of involvement in the retail trades and in handicrafts. They supervised enterprises between the death of their husbands and another male heir, and poor women had the right to become hawkers or innkeepers. During the second half of the nineteenth century, the number of unmarried women increased, and the authorities wanted to open new trades in which women could earn their own living and not become an economic burden on local government. Given these new possibilities, women developed several different strategies, which can be seen in the three Swedish towns of Sundsvall, Härnösand, and Umeå when their business history of the later part of the nineteenth century is examined. Women's business involvements exhibit the older patterns of family survival, but now add motives having to do with status maintenance and emancipation.     

A study of business letter features

As part of their work, forensic document examiners examine word processed letters. The purpose of this study, the first of its kind, was to determine how common or rare certain features are in word-processed business letters and if any of these features could determine the author or source. Initially, 114 original business letters were obtained that were dated from 1999 through 2003. Specific features of the letters were selected for examination. These features were letter format, type style, the point size of the font, margin spacing to ascertain the use or nonuse of the default margins for Word (1.25 in. nonjustified) and the default margins for WordPerfect (1 in. nonjustified). In addition, the research involved the examination of the right margins to determine if they were justified or not and the use of the comma or colon in the salutation of the letter. The features of each letter were independently examined by the authors and the findings documented. As expected, several features were found to be very common. For example,full block format was used on 48% of the letters followed by the semi-block with 39%. The Times Family of fonts was used on 67% of the letters. Font point size 12 was the most popular with 70%. The nonjustified default margins were widespread with 67% and the colon was the overwhelming favorite in the salutation with 79%. There were some unexpected findings that could possibly lead to the identification of a source or typist.     

让哲学回到日常生活

哲学家要眼光向下 ,让高悬的沉思立足现实 ;不仅要关注自然、社会及思维的一般规律 ,也要关照人类日常生活 ,那里同样存在广博而又最富实践性的哲学。主体的对象化和客观化过程 ,个体和社会的异质化与同质化作用 ,以及开明的自我主义的生存活动 ,都是在相互依存的家庭结构中 ,在密集交织着的“地方世界”或社会共同体中进行和实施的。正是在日常生活中 ,更真切地反映了一切生命都内含着一种无限上进的激情和奋发为雄的冲动     

Crime scene actions and offender characteristics in arsons

Purpose. Crime scene actions displayed by offenders in arsons were analysed in relation to offender characteristics and self‐reported motives. Methods. Data were drawn from an official police database and consisted of a random sample of arsons occurring in Finland between 1990 and 2001 (N = 189). The structure of dichotomous variables derived through a content analysis of crime scene actions and offender characteristics was analysed using non‐metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) analyses. Results. The analyses revealed four separate crime scene action types, with thematic emphasis on either expressive or instrumental motivation and the target being either a person or object. The MDS solution for offender characteristics suggested four types of offenders: Self‐destructive, Serial, Criminal, and Adolescent. In order to analyse the associations between action and characteristics themes, each case was assigned to one of the action and characteristic themes or a hybrid based on the frequency of variables present from each theme. Several statistically significant associations between the action and characteristic themes were found. Self‐reported motives were also analysed in relation to the themes. Conclusions. The results support the thematic classification of arsonists presented in Canter and Fritzon (1998). The results are discussed with regard to earlier research and deducing offender characteristics based on crime scene actions.     

Academic entrepreneurship and business schools

In this paper, we employ resource-based and institutional theories to examine the current role of business schools in academic entrepreneurship. In particular, we seek to identify and understand the challenges to business schools contributing to the transfer of knowledge to enable academic entrepreneurship. Employing a case-based method, we present evidence from 42 interviews with technology transfer officers (TTOs), business school deans, business school entrepreneurship faculty and scientists in eight UK universities. Our empirical analysis is focused on analyzing the challenges arising from the links between business schools and three other principal stakeholders of academic entrepreneurship (i.e., the university management, TTOs and academics in science departments). The findings suggest that in addition to concerns about the nature of their human capital, the ability of business schools to fill knowledge gaps in the development of academic entrepreneurship is constrained by the institutional structures of universities which influence: the strategies of the university and the business school; links between business schools, TTOs and scientists; and process issues relating to differences in language and codes, goal differences, incentives and rewards, expertise differences and the content of interactions. We conclude that if business schools are to play a more prominent role in academic entrepreneurship there is a need to develop internal university processes and policies that promote rather than hinder internal knowledge flows between business schools, TTOs and science departments.     

Down to business

Legal context: A comparison of patent law relating to business method inventionsin the USA, before the European Patent Office, and in the UK. Key points: Broadly speaking, the interpretation of the US, UK, and Europeanpatent law concerning what can and cannot be patented appearsto have been largely finalized. However, as new cases are heardthe status quo is often disturbed, and this can make the applicationprocess difficult and expensive for applicants. The UK and Europeanpositions differ, despite guidelines indicating that as faras possible, the positions should be the same. In the USA also,although the approach is very different to Europe and the UK,a debate seems still to be raging as to the limits of the subjectmatter for which patents should be granted. Practical significance: The article will be helpful for anyone who wishes to quicklyunderstand the present approach to business method inventionsin these three jurisdictions.     

Human Rights and Unfair Dismissal: Private Acts in Public Spaces

This article addresses the termination of employment because of the conduct of the employee in her leisure time, in the light of the right to private life. It explores the impact on the retention of employment of activities taking place outside the workplace and outside working hours, and argues that the approach of UK courts and tribunals, which is based on a primarily spatial conceptualisation of privacy, is flawed. A fresh approach to privacy, resting on the idea of domination, is proposed, which is sensitive to the particularities of the employment relationship. Considering the fairness enquiry in dismissal, it argues that off‐duty conduct may lead to lawful termination of employment only if there is a clear and present impact or a high likelihood of such impact on business interests; a speculative and marginal danger does not suffice. It further proposes that a particularly meticulous test is appropriate when certain suspect categories, such as the employees' sexual preferences, are at stake.     

The Possibility and Value of Coherence

It would seem axiomatic that the law should be coherent in the sense that it should be consistent and correspond to an underlying justificatory rationale. Indeed, coherence would appear to be a good, in and of itself, and give rise to other benefits which are desirable in a legal system. In this article, I explore the value and achievability of coherence. I argue that it is largely inevitable that common law legal systems are not coherent, but that each legal system will comprise areas of coherence. I examine whether it is possible to improve coherence through legislation or adjudication but conclude that any coherence attained through the former may be temporary and achieving coherence through the latter is difficult both in principle and in practice. In looking at the value of coherence, I contend that while coherence may have various intrinsic and instrumental benefits, its value should not be overstated; many of the benefits which coherence is said to provide are present in legal systems where it is lacking; other benefits depend on the awareness of a country’s citizens and I suggest that, outside of extremes, citizens are probably unaware of the degree to which their legal system is coherent. Moreover, full coherence may lead to characteristics which are undesirable in a legal system.     

Ecological Belief in a Just World

To date, there is considerable evidence that the perception of injustice influences environmental behavior in a positive way. Nevertheless, some people do not take action, even if the injustice seems obvious. Concerning this matter, approaches like the belief in a just world theory or system justification theory provide an explanation. However, so far, there is no scientific research on whether the perception of ecological justice, which is taken for granted, concerning an ecological belief in a just world (EBJW) may lead to differences in people’s environmental behavior. This paper investigates a newly conceived construct of the EBJW, regarding its occurrence as well as its disposition in the context of other constructs. Therefore, a new scale has been developed for the purpose of this study by means of a questionnaire with German citizens (n = 312) examining motives for energy-relevant behavior. The scale analyses confirm the validity of the new scale. Even though the EBJW did not score high in the total sample, possibly due to significant differences between the participants (particularly socio-demographic variables and different group memberships) it can be stated that there is definitely a relationship between the EBJW and justification arguments and, ultimately, a lack of responsibility for energy saving. Regression analyses reveal that the EBJW, together with cognitive and affective appraisals of justice, can explain energy-relevant commitment, such as engagement in behavior that has negative impact on the climate. Based on these findings, it is suggested that the EBJW is measurable and that it seems to warrant further research.     

Deradicalization: not soft,but strategic

The present article considers deradicalization programs. It is observed that deradicalization is primarily a strategic tool, that it was already used in the 1970s, that it can occur spontaneously, and that is should be differentiated from physical disengagement. An evaluation of existing deradicalization programs lead to the propositions that 1) deradicalization programs in the area of right-wing extremism primarily focus on changing behavior not thoughts, that 2) currently there is insufficient insight in what motives people to deradicalize, and 3) that insights from psychology are still insufficiently used to increase effectiveness of deradicalization. Research can make an important contribution to optimize efficiency of deradicalization for counterterrorism purposes.     

Criminological and Medico-legal Aspects in Homicidal and Suicidal Sharp Force Fatalities

The interpretation of sharp force fatality dynamics may be difficult in some cases, but a contribution to analysis of the phenomenon may be provided by case studies. Therefore, the purpose of our study is focused on identifying, in observed sharp force fatalities, reliable parameters that can differentiate a homicidal and suicidal manner of death, with particular reference to criminological parameters. Data derived from sharp force fatality cases in Padua and Venice from 1997 to 2019, anonymized and collected in Excel, included personal, circumstantial, clinical, and psychopathological–criminological data, as well as crime scene investigation, necroscopic, and toxicological data. Statistical analyses were performed using chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Possible predictors of homicide were analyzed by logistic regression. Six parameters (bloodstains distant from the body, clothing lacerations, hesitation/defense wounds, number of injuries, and potential motives) were significantly different in the two groups (p < 0.05). An independent statistical association between potential motives explaining the crime (p < 0.001; OR 27.533) and homicide on multiple logistic regression analysis was highlighted. The absence of clothing lacerations was inversely related to homicide (p = 0.002, OR 0.092). To the best of our knowledge, this is one of very few Italian studies concerning the differential diagnosis between homicidal and suicidal sharp force fatalities. The dynamics of the event is established in most cases by the integrated evaluation of data from crime scene investigation and the autopsy. Nevertheless, in an atypical scenario, a psychopathological–criminological analysis may provide essential elements, and particular attention should be given to the identification of potential explanatory motives.     

Motive,Action, and Confusions in the Debate over Hate Crime Legislation

In this article I argue that the objections against hate crimes defined as separate offenses and in terms of group animus are misguided and are based upon a mistaken view of human action that does not see motives as constituent parts of complex actions. If we are going to have hate crimes legislation, there are no good formal reasons keeping us from having distinct offenses for hate crimes or from having ones defined in terms of group animus. My goal is to clear up a number of action-theoretical confusions that have led some theorists and jurists to raise objections that draw attention away from the real crux of the debate over hate crime legislation. Initially, I defend several considerations that weigh against an understanding of hate crimes legislation as being concerned exclusively or even primarily with character, belief, or motive. These considerations in turn help undercut the related concern that hate crime legislation violates free speech protections.