Gender disparity in criminal offenses among persons of high IQ

Criminologists have largely neglected deviance among those with high IQs. This work uses Towers's (1988) concept of conventional genius to analyze how deviant behavior varies by gender among genius offenders. Like Bisi (2002), the authors expect female patterns of deviance to be lower than that for males even within this genius sample. Their work finds that male geniuses are significantly more likely to self-report ever having committed violent felonies. Among the authors' conventional genius sample of university students, gender differences in nonviolent felonies, misdemeanor offenses, and unethical behaviors are not significantly different between the female and male respondents.     

Partner stalking and implications for women's employment

In general research suggests partner violence has a negative impact on women's employment. However, there has been limited examination of partner stalking and consequences for employment. The purpose of this study was to examine partner stalking and employment consequences among two samples of women. One sample was women who had obtained a protective order against a violent partner and had worked in the prior year (n = 482), about one half of these women were stalked by their violent partner and one half were not. The second study examined qualitative information from women recently stalked (n = 62) by a violent partner. Results from both studies suggest that women who were stalked by a violent partner were significantly more susceptible to on-the-job harassment and problems. Also, women reported that stalking by a partner interfered in their work through on-the-job harassment, work disruption, and job performance problems. Implications for policy and research are discussed.     

Development of a harmonised method for the profiling of amphetamines V: Determination of the variability of the optimised method

This paper is the fifth in a series of six in relation to the development of a harmonised method for the profiling of amphetamine [L. Aalberg, K. Andersson, C. Bertler, H. Borén, M.D. Cole, J. Dahlén, Y. Finnon, H. Huizer, K. Jalava, E. Kaa, E. Lock, A. Lopes, A. Poortman-van der Meer, E. Sippola, Development of a harmonised method for the profiling of amphetamines I. Synthesis of standards and compilation of analytical data, Forensic Sci. Int. 149 (2005) 219-229; L. Aalberg, K. Andersson, C. Bertler, M.D. Cole, Y. Finnon, H. Huizer, K. Jalava, E. Kaa, E. Lock, A. Lopes, A. Poortman-van der Meer, E. Sippola, J. Dahlén, Development of a harmonised method for the profiling of amphetamines II. Stability of impurities in organic solvents, Forensic Sci. Int. 149 (2005) 231-241]. The third paper [K. Andersson, K. Jalava, E. Lock, L. Aalberg, Y. Finnon, H. Huizer, E. Kaa, A. Lopes, A. Poortman-van der Meer, M.D. Cole, J. Dahlén, E. Sippola, Development of a harmonised method for the profiling of amphetamines III. Development of the gas chromatographic method, Forensic Sci. Int., in press] dealt with the optimisation of the gas chromatographic and detection methods whereas the fourth paper [K. Andersson, K. Jalava, E. Lock, Y. Finnon, S. Stevenson, L. Aalberg, H. Huizer, E. Kaa, A. Lopes, A. Poortman-van der Meer, M.D. Cole, J. Dahlén, E. Sippola, Development of a harmonised method for the profiling of amphetamines IV. Optimisation of sample preparation, Forensic Sci. Int., in press] concerned the optimisation of the extraction method prior to GC analysis. This paper is a study of the optimised method in order to determine its stability. Investigations of within and between day variations were carried out in four laboratories. Moreover, variations between laboratories were also determined. Both flame ionisation detector (FID) and MS detection were used. One laboratory studied nitrogen-phosphorous detector (NPD) detection as well. For this task, 12 batches of amphetamine were prepared. Six of them were synthesised via the Leuckart route, three via the nitrostyrene route and three via the reductive amination route [A.M.A. Verweij, Impurities in illicit drug preparations: amphetamine and methamphetamine, Forensic Sci. Rev. 1 (1989) 2-11]. Taking into account all studied target compounds and the average results from four laboratories, the within day variation was around 6% for FID and 5% for MS, the between days variation was around 10% for FID and 8% for MS. For NPD detection, within day variation was 5% and between days variation 9% (only one laboratory). Finally, the inter-laboratory variation was about 12% for FID (four laboratories) and 10% for MS (three laboratories).     

Snitching,Lies and Computer Crashes: An Experimental Investigation of Secondary Confessions

Two laboratory studies with 332 student participants investigated secondary confessions (provided by an informant instead of the suspect). Participants allegedly caused or witnessed a simulated computer crash, then were asked to give primary or secondary confessions during interrogation. Study 1 replicated the false evidence effect for primary confessions. Secondary confessions were obtained at a high rate, which was increased by false evidence in combination with incentive to confess. In Study 2 a confederate either confessed to or denied crashing the computer. Incentive increased the rate of secondary confession only in the presence of a denial; that is, incentive increased the number of false secondary confessions only. Implications for the use of incentives during informant interrogation are discussed.     

Miracle to meltdown: A pathology of the East Asian financial crisis

The financial crisis in East Asia was made more dramatic by the fact that the region's performance in terms of economic growth over the preceding decade had been widely perceived as a 'miracle'. What was it that transformed the region's fortunes, and what are the chances for a speedy economic recovery? Systematic analysis reveals that, while there is no unicausal explanation, and while few if any commentators anticipated the crisis before the event, the fundamental difference from previous international financial crises is the extreme indebtedness of the corporate sector of the crisis countries. Private sector repayment difficulties and the associated banking crises triggered the sudden withdrawal of capital and the collapse of exchange rates. Failure to address the underlying private sector debt overhang, and reliance instead on conventional macroeconomic policy solutions, have led to a decline in output and a depreciation in exchange rates which have been far greater than need have been the case.     

Two Cultures,Two Different Shows

I am now yearning for my second home.China,you are very hard to get out of one’s system,and I will return in a couple of weeks!I have just spent three months back in Australia,where the cost of living is so high that it is almost impossible to live without a second source of income.Fortunately,in my case this comes from my writing.While in Australia I negotiated two contracts,one of which was     

Beyond reason: the philosophy and politics of immigration

In this paper, I critically address the role of arbitrary and contingent features in philosophical debates about migration. These features play a central role, and display the importance of ‘unreason’ in the debate and the limits of rational criticism. Certain elements of political thought have to be taken as given, as essential starting points or indispensable building blocks. As such, they cannot be exposed to rational criticism. Political arrangements such as national borders, nation-states and national identities constitute these building blocks, and justify coercive borders in order to sustain them. If we are to subject these arrangements to critical examination, then we move beyond the limits of liberal political philosophy. I examine theorists who take this kind of approach to the ethics of immigration: Michael Blake, Samuel Scheffler and David Miller. I argue that such approaches ask us to balance arbitrary and contingent features of the political world against the non-contingent moral equality of the migrant. If we are to recognize the migrant as an equal reason-giver in the moral contestation of borders, then we are compelled to theorize beyond these limits, and to theorize instead about a global community of equals, a post-national world made up of transnational belonging.     

Failure of auditors: The lack of compliance for business combinations in China

This empirical study investigates the compliance of 344 Chinese listed companies with the Accounting Standard for Enterprises No. 20‐Business Combination, a mandatory reporting standard applicable to companies involved in business combinations. China has recently reformed its auditing sector, enabling private firms to provide auditing services. The results of the study show a low level of compliance by Chinese listed companies. While companies audited by Chinese domestic auditors have significantly lower compliance than companies audited by Big Four auditors on supplementary disclosure that is mandatory under the Chinese accounting standards, compliance remains low even after companies receive unqualified reports from these international auditors. There appears to be a lack of commitment, and possibly expertise, among Big Four auditors, in fully applying the reporting requirements of the business combination standard in a Chinese setting. This raises concerns about the independence of Chinese auditing in disclosing reliable information about business combinations. Broader theoretical contributions of the paper go beyond the Chinese context by problematizing whether well‐resourced international auditors uphold internationally expected standards or succumb to local non‐compliant practices.