An examination of the New York mandatory seat belt law on a university campus

On January 1, 1985, the mandatory seat belt law went into effect in New York State; violators were now subject to a fine of $50.00. Police officers issued nonpenalty-based warnings during the month prior to the law's imposition. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of the warning versus the fine and a fine-plus-prompt condition (the prompt delivered by the experimenters) on seat belt use on a university campus. Results indicated that significantly more drivers used their sear belts during the fine conditions as compared with the warning condition and that significantly more female drivers used their seat belt during all conditions. A significant difference was not found, however, between the fine and fine-plus-prompt conditions.We gratefully acknowledge the comments of Michael Leippe on an earlier draft of this manuseript.     

Weak links in the BEE chain? Procurement,skills and employment equity in the metals and engineering industries

The Department of Trade and Industry's 2003 strategy identifies ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ (BEE) as being broad-based, inclusive, and part of a sustainable long-term growth and development strategy. In this, it is consistent with the 2001 Black Economic Empowerment Commission report, the ANC 2002 conference resolution and ultimately the ANC's Reconstruction and Development Programme of 1994. We use firm-level information in the metals and engineering industries to examine the actual nature and extent of BEE across the dimensions of ownership, procurement, employment equity and training. Its aim is to examine the relationships between BEE concepts and provisions and the responses that firms took in practice. Direct pressure for BEE in metals and engineering firms arises from legislation and regulatory provisions governing employment equity, skills development and procurement. It also follows from procurement provisions applying to large companies that buy from metals and engineering firms, as well as to mining firms and State-Owned Enterprises such as Eskom and Transnet.     

Nocturnal Oviposition Behavior of Forensically Important Diptera in Central England

Timing of oviposition on a corpse is a key factor in entomologically based minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) calculations. However, there is considerable variation in nocturnal oviposition behavior of blow flies reported in the research literature. This study investigated nocturnal oviposition in central England for the first time, over 25 trials from 2011 to 2013. Liver-baited traps were placed in an urban location during control (diurnal), and nocturnal periods and environmental conditions were recorded during each 5-h trial. No nocturnal activity or oviposition was observed during the course of the study indicating that nocturnal oviposition is highly unlikely in central England.     

Risk,reconviction rates and pro-offending attitudes for child molesters in a complete geographical area of London

Abstract

The study reports on all convicted child molesters in an inner city area over seven years, half of whom received a community treatment package. The average time at risk in the community was three years. There were 17 ‘failures’: subjects who were either breached for non-compliance, or reconvicted for general, violent or sexual offences. Historical, rather than cognitive variables appeared to be associated with failure. Key factors were a history of being sexually victimised and previous sexual/violent convictions.     

Offenders have higher delay‐discounting rates than non‐offenders after controlling for differences in drug and alcohol abuse

Purpose. Do criminal offenders discount future rewards more rapidly than non‐offenders? Theories of criminality assume that impulsivity is a key predictor of offending and suggest an affirmative answer, but there are no prior relevant studies with adult offenders and the only previous study with juveniles failed to find that offenders discounted delayed rewards more steeply than controls ( Wilson & Daly, 2006 ). Method. We measured rates of delay discounting for adult offenders incarcerated in two medium‐security facilities in New Zealand (n= 63) and non‐offender controls (n= 70) using a questionnaire which asked participants to nominate an indifference point – an amount of money to be received after a delay that was equal in value to an immediate amount – for immediate rewards varying from $500 to $4,000. Indifference points were converted to annual discounting rates. Self‐reported measures of alcohol and drug abuse were also obtained. Results. Offenders discounted future rewards substantially more than non‐offenders, and rates varied systematically with amount and delay for both groups, consistent with previous research. The difference in delay discounting between offenders and controls remained significant after controlling for self‐reported drug and alcohol use. There were no significant gender differences. Conclusions. These results suggest that offenders have a deficit in delay discounting, likely appearing in late adolescence or early adulthood, which may lead them to make suboptimal choices.     

Congressional apportionment and the fourteenth amendment

This paper examines state interest in the nine bases of congressional seat apportionment considered for the House of Representatives as part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. We ask, what if voters preferred apportionments that delivered larger vote shares to their state? We then show that among all states, one basis of apportionment was a weak Condorcet winner, while the others were in a vote cycle. In both chambers of Congress, however, pure majority voting created orderings of the nine bases and a different Condorcet winner. Ironically, Congress did not select either Condorcet winner. Instead, a population-based apportionment was reported out of committee and passed both chambers as a consequence of agenda control and lack of pairwise voting. Our analysis provides an example of how agenda setting with incomplete information unintentionally can produce undesirable outcomes for a legislature.

     

Managing Pluralism: The European Case

This article begins by clarifying the meanings attributed to pluralism; it then places the European case in a global context. The body of the article looks at the management of religious pluralism in Europe in terms of commonality and difference. At one and the same time, Europe is becoming increasingly secular and religiously plural—both trends are important if we are to understand the issues at stake. A close examination of four individual cases (Britain, France, the Netherlands and Greece) reveals, however, that it is important not to jump to conclusions regarding outcomes. Each country must be considered on its own terms. The final section introduces a rather different feature: the European Court of Human Rights, noting its place in the management of religious pluralism. A growing jurisprudence emanating from the Court is becoming increasingly influential.