Social role playing and moral judgment development

This study examined the relationship between social role playing and moral judgment development. Subjects were 197 students enrolled in introductory social science courses at a public junior/community college in a metropolitan area in southeast Florida. The 78 males and 119 females ranged in age from 17 to 66 years, with a mean age of 22. Rest's (1979a, 1979b) Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used to measure level of moral judgment. Social role playing was measured by the number of separate roles held by subjects in the past or present. Academic aptitude, socioeconomic status, age, and sex were included as control variables. Academic aptitude, age, and social role playing each had significant zero-order correlations with moral judgment, and social role playing added significantly to the explanation of moral judgment, controlling for academic aptitude and age. Implications of these results for the understanding of the development of moral judgment and for intervention programs are discussed.     

Research on detection techniques for pattern modifications of playing cards used in illegal gambling operations

We investigated pattern-modified marked cards used in fraudulent gambling cases in Korea. These cards are printed with modifications to some of the repeated marks on the back, revealing the hand on the front and enabling fraudsters to deceive their victims. We proposed a method for identifying the modified part by first enhancing the card's color difference using an image processing technique and then calculating the similarity between the repeated basic patterns with a Siamese network. This method is fast and convenient, as it can determine the deformation with only 1 or 2 cards and can be implemented in mobile applications, allowing law enforcement officers to investigate quickly. The proposed method serves as a useful tool to aid document examiners in making judgments, as it does not require expensive equipment and effectively visualizes the alterations.     

Sharing aquatic genetic resources across jurisdictions: playing ‘chicken’ in the sea

International regimes regulating access and benefit sharing were originally designed to promote conservation and fairness objectives concerning the use of the world’s biological resources for their genetic material value. These regimes determine from whom permission is required to take the resources and who obtains the benefits of their use. They have evolved separate frameworks in three distinct jurisdictional areas—within national jurisdiction, beyond national jurisdiction and in the Antarctic Treaty Area. This article argues that if these regimes continue to evolve separately, there is a strong temptation for countries to play ‘chicken’ with biological resource governance through forum shopping or opting out of agreements that do not suit their political ends. Using game theory and a transgenic tilapia fish example incorporating genetic material from the three jurisdictional areas, it illustrates the legal and ethical dilemmas that can arise from the territorial (jurisdictional) approach to access and benefit sharing—to the detriment of fairness and conservation in tilapia’s countries of origin. Tilapias are known as the ‘chicken of the sea’ because they dominate global farmed production and developing countries depend on them as their primary source of protein, livelihoods and trade. This means there will be serious consequences if the regimes do not achieve their fairness and conservation objectives for sharing their genetic material. This article concludes that a purpose-driven cooperative governance approach can sidestep the game of chicken and promote fairer and more conservation focused outcomes than the current jurisdictional approach for the developing country providers of migratory aquatic resources.     

Regulating internet platforms in the EU - The emergence of the ‘Level playing Field’

This paper analyses the European Union's regulatory policy on platforms. The first part of the paper looks at the how the EU formulates platform policy while the second analyses the proposed and existing laws that already cover them. The final part looks at the consequences of the level playing field as the guiding regulatory principle. The main argument is that EU regulatory intervention concerning platforms seeks to bring linear providers in line with platforms through the "level playing field" or, in other words, that the EU seeks to protect the incumbents and minimise disruption rather than enhance the value-creating potential of platforms.     

An uneven playing field: The impact of strain and coping skills on treatment outcomes for juvenile offenders

Purpose

This study examines the experiences of a group of drug-abusing juvenile offenders following their release from a residential treatment facility in order to determine how pre-existing levels of strain and coping skills affect their ability to benefit from the treatment program and avoid recidivism and relapse.

Methods

During an extensive pre-treatment interview, the youths were asked a variety of questions assessing potential sources of strain (including the experience of physical/emotional abuse and intra-familial violence, parental drug use, and physical/emotional health problems) and a variety of coping (cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual) skills. We hypothesized that pre-existing strain levels would decrease the likelihood of treatment success just as pre-existing coping skills levels would enhance it, but also predicted that the impact of strain on treatment success would be moderated by existing coping skills and that coping skills would have the greatest capacity to affect treatment outcomes among youths with higher levels of pre-treatment strain.

Results

Our findings offered mixed support for our hypotheses, including evidence that some coping skills mitigated the negative impact of strain whereas others seemed to intensify it. Implications of our findings are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.     

Levelling the EU participatory playing field: A legal and policy analysis of the Commission's public consultations in light of the principle of political equality

The EU Commission has a long tradition of consulting interested parties when formulating its policies. While the rationale, format and legal basis relied upon by the Commission when holding public consultations have changed over time, its systematic inability to make those consultations equally accessible to all affected parties has remained constant. This article discusses the extent to which such a consultation practice conflicts with the principle of political equality, as enshrined in Article 9 TEU. Given the Commission's unrestrained discretion regarding who, how and when to consult and the absence of corresponding participatory rights, it argues that the EU can no longer presume that all stakeholders—especially citizens and civil society groups—enjoy equal access to EU institutions. Rather, under a proposed substantive reading of the principle of political equality, it contends that EU institutions are procedurally required to ensure that everyone will effectively be given equal opportunities of access to the policy process. Only a series of structural, power‐shifting reforms—some of which are proposed in this article—may enable participation to become an autonomous form of legitimation of the Union.     

(Let's) playing by the rules: A choice of law rule for communication of copyright material from video games to the public,through Let's Plays

Several proposals have been made regarding a choice of law rule for ‘ubiquitous infringements’ (the unauthorised dissemination of copyright material online) but none have been implemented by national courts, which continue to struggle with the issue of what law determines whether ubiquitous infringements have occurred. This article explores fresh solutions to that issue, focusing on the scenario where copyright material from video games is communicated to the public, through its inclusion in Let's Plays (playthroughs of video games streamed from platforms like YouTube), or where such use of that material, under the terms of a license, is contemplated. In this scenario, the issue of infringement should be governed by the law of the place of the video game developer's incorporation, as a proxy for laws qualifying as the lex loci protectionis (law of the country where protection is sought (Fawcett & Torremans (2011)), abbreviated as the LLP). Where any party can prove specific differences between the law of the place of the developer's incorporation and a law qualifying as the LLP (called State A's law for ease of reference), in aspects essential for deciding whether infringement has occurred, the forum court must issue separate rulings as to whether (i) the claimant's copyrights under State A's laws have been infringed; and (ii) the claimant's copyrights under laws besides those of State A have been infringed. Courts should also adopt, as a mandatory rule of their domestic law, a rule precluding de facto infringements of copyrights in video games and/or their constituent elements from giving rise to liability for infringement.     

Firesetting and playing with fire during childhood and adolescence: Interview studies of 18‐year‐old male draftees and 18 − 19‐year‐old female pupils

Purpose. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the interest of young men and women in playing with fire in childhood and as adolescents. Methods. Two interview studies were performed with fifty 18‐year‐old men and forty‐five 18‐19‐year‐old women. Results. The two studies showed that playing with fire is a common phenomenon among children. In the male group, 70% reported playing with fire in childhood, and in the female group, the proportion was 44%. None of the young men played with fire at the age of 18, while 44% of the young women did. In the draftee's study, playing with fire resulted in uncontrollable fires destroying three buildings, one car and a grass wall. There was one uncontrollable fire in the girls' study. The reasons for not playing with fire in childhood were said to be parental exhortation, prohibition, supervision, fear, and respect for fire. The motives for playing with fire in childhood were curiosity and distraction in the male group, and excitement‐seeking and amusement in the female group.     

中国法治政体的始创辛亥政治革命的法治论剖析与省思

法治政体理论在根本上把法治理解为,只有立宪政体才会要求并实现法律统治的一个政体问题。建立民主立宪的法治政体是辛亥政治革命的目标。为达成这一目标,民国初年的《临时约法》等法律初步构建了中华民国法治政体的雏形,但这一政体也陷入多重困厄之中。孙中山等人对这一政体及其困厄进行了富有价值的探索与反思。从法治政体理论及民初缔造法治政体的实践出发,可以对治法型法治的思想观念进行比较性的检视。     

论合同生效要件之证明责任分配

民法教义学中,合同履行请求权至少应包括合同生效要件。其中,合同的特别生效要件由原告承担证明责任,学说及实践中已无异议;合同的＂一般生效要件＂,并无＂符合＂与否的问题,而只有＂违反＂如何的问题。私法自治原则要求,证明责任分配在参与民法外部体系的构建时,将合同效力要件规定为＂效力阻却要件＂,交由被告承担证明责任,所以,应对《证据规定》第5条规定之＂生效要件＂作目的性限缩。此种以证明责任为解释目标的进路,表明证明责任分配也是法规范之关联脉络的一种,解释论亦应以证明责任分配为解释目标。     

《左传》训诂丛札

<左传>文辞古奥,义蕴深微.由于时代悬隔,虽经历代训释,疑义犹夥.本义湮没,通假不明,指代不清,诸般情形,在在多有.本文就襄公时期若干训诂问题予以新的探讨.     

加强党的执政能力建设的理论体系

党的执政能力建设,在内容上不断丰富,是社会发展到一定程度而形成的科学的理论体系;在理论上不断创新,是相对独立的理论体系;在体系上不断完善,是发展和开放的理论体系。     

关于侵权诉因排除提单管辖权条款适用的反思——以无单放货案件的处理为视角

提单的管辖权是正确处理无单放货等提单纠纷的首要问题。提单的管辖权条款属于协议管辖,是国际私法中“当事人意思自治原则”的产物。无单放货案件存在违约责任与侵权责任竞合的情形,所谓的“侵权纠纷一般不适用协议管辖条款”的规则并不能当然适用。根据现行法以及民事侵权的基本法理,分析中国法院用于否定提单管辖权条款适用的“侵权诉因”及“与争议没有实际联系”两个主要事由,认为以“侵权诉因”排除提单管辖权条款适用的做法不仅于法无据,而且违背法理;而以“与争议没有实际联系”作为否定承运人总部或主营业地之管辖连接点的理由也过于极端。在上述批评的基础上,提出解决提单管辖权条款问题的三点策略。     

不当得利返还请求权之再定性

传统民法把不当得利返还权定性为债权而归入债权编,然而这种定性定位不利于保护当事人的合法权益,而且与我国物权变动的有因模式相冲突。通过对不当得利制度的历史考察和价值分析,得出的结论是:它是一种概括的混合的救济权,既可以救济对人性的权利,也可以救济对物性的权利。不当得利、不当得利之债和不当得利返还请求权是不同范畴的概念。     

论我国代理法理念的重塑

1999年中国大陆新《合同法》第402条、403条的规定,大胆借鉴英美法系代理法的做法,突破《民法通则》将代理仅限于显名代理的陈腐规定,建立了隐名代理制度和不披露本人的代理制度。本文就此分析了我国代理理念从区别论到等同论的变化及其对我国当前的经济、民事活动即将发生的重大影响。