Deregulation redux: does mandating access to bottleneck facilities necessarily improve welfare?

We demonstrate that deregulation in the form of vertical separation of network components into natural monopoly and potentially competitive markets does not truly represent a lessening of regulatory burdens. That is, vertical separation is not synonymous with deregulation; “more competitors” is not equivalent to “more competition”. We assume a public interest regulator that is constrained to set a unit price that maximizes expected welfare subject to a break-even constraint. We show that under both symmetric and asymmetric information cases the information demands on the regulator of the vertically integrated system are no greater than those in the case of vertical separation.     

College Students’ Punishment Perceptions of Online Solicitation of Children for Sex

The present study addresses the perceptions of university students regarding punishments for individuals whom engage in the online solicitation of children for sex. Differences in biological sex and age of victim and sex of offender may influence university students’ views of punishment for this behavior. Using self-reports from a 2?×?2?×?2 factorial survey, the results indicate that respondent sex, political ideology, and offender sex are important factors in explaining punitiveness for engaging in the online solicitation of a child for sex. Interestingly, victim age was shown to not influence punitive perceptions of online solicitation of children for sex. These results are discussed in the context of policy implications.     

The Role of Self-Control in College Student’s Perceived Risk and Fear of Online Victimization

College student use of the internet for online social networking purposes is increasing in popularity. Facebook is a social networking website used by college students, with estimates of over 7.5 million users spanning over 2,000 colleges and universities. Unfortunately, Facebook users can encounter some detrimental consequences, including fear of victimization. The purpose of the present study is to examine the correlates and structure of potential fear from using Facebook. Using self-report data from 224 college students at a southeastern university during the spring 2007 semester, we examine the link that low self-control has with perceived risk and with fear of online victimization among Facebook users. The results of the present study are discussed in the context of policy implications.     

The viability and possible applications of high resolution mark replicator casting compound in document examination.

Mark replicator casting compounds are commonly associated with recovering toolmark detail. A series of experiments was designed to identify the possible applications, and assess the overall viability, of using mark replicator compound to record indentations on questioned documents. The trials included testing the effect of Isomark High Resolution Mark Replicator on different paper-based substrate types, and observing in particular, any damage that it may cause. The experiments also tested the effect that the mark replicator has on subsequent fingerprinting techniques. It was found that the mark replicator successfully recorded indentations on paper and card surfaces. In some cases, the mark replicator caused staining on some of the surfaces and had a negative effect on the quality of fingerprints subsequently developed.     

What Have We Done Wrong? The Responsibilities of the Rich

This paper surveys hostile reactions to claims that the 11 September attacks were understandable in terms of the actions of the west towards poor parts of the world and the rich countries' own public commitments to democracy and affluence at home. The paper argues that domestic resentment is likely to continue to foment because concerted institution-building commensurate with the rich countries' material capacities has been neglected. Much responsibility for the global discontent can be attributed to policies advocated by the west and imposed on both rich and poor countries alike by policy-elites within the rich countries. Intellectuals have a role in re-activating the sorts of high-minded state-building and policymaking capacities that preoccupied them in the immediate post-1945 period.     

Resolving armed conflict： The Acehnese experience of mediation

A growing number of armed conflicts are ending in negotiated and mediated settlements. While mediation has been acknowledged as an effective means of dispute resolution in many areas, such as family law, medical law and commercial law, it has only quite recently been employed for the resolution of armed conflicts. It is the aim of this article to analyze how mediation was successfully employed in resolving conflicts in the region of Aceh in Indonesia. After 25 years of armed conflict, a peace deal was signed in 2005 between the government of Indonesia and an armed Acehnese group, the Gerekan Aceh Merdeka（GAM）. This article will detail the history of the conflict and the mediation process, focusing on the mediation strategies and characteristics.     

Radiographic Recognition of Dental Implants as an Aid to Identifying the Deceased

Abstract:  This study was undertaken to determine if dental implants can be radiographically differentiated by company type to aid forensic identification of the deceased. Recognition of dental implants on intraoral radiographic images was assessed in a blind study using a radiographic examination guide to highlight differences between dental implants. Inter- and intra-examiner comparisons were conducted and a computer program (Implant Recognition System^®) was evaluated to see whether it improved the accuracy of implant recognition. The study found that dental implants could be radiographically differentiated by company type. The Implant Recognition System^® in its current form was of little benefit for radiographic assessment of dental implants for forensic odontologists. Prior knowledge of implant types, with a McNemar's statistical value of 92.9, proved to be most significant in identification.     

Parental Indifference and Children’s Digital Piracy in South Korea: Mediation Effects of Low Self-Control and Misconception

Digital piracy is a global concern for society. Although adolescents’ digital piracy in South Korea is pervasive, its cause has rarely been examined. Using data collected by the Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC) in 2009, this study conducted structural equation modeling to determine if low self-control and social learning theory accounted for digital piracy. This study found that parental indifference increased adolescents’ digital piracy through low self-control and misconception about digital piracy. However, there were no direct effects of parental indifference on the digital piracy behaviors. In particular, the mediation effect in the model combining low self-control and misconception was greater compared to other models. Overall, the combination of low self-control and social learning theory provided a more meaningful framework to explain adolescents’ digital piracy. Results of this study can offer ways to aid in the examination and remediation of this particular form of deviant behaviors on the Internet by adolescents.     

Open Borders and the Right to Immigration

I do not argue for or against substantive immigration policies in this paper. Rather, my thesis concerns what kinds of reasons are morally salient in the construction of just immigration policies. I argue that philosophical proposals for regulating immigration should be evaluated according to the following methodological principle: The unit of analysis in terms of which principles for regulating immigration must be evaluated is the socially situated individual. I defend this principle indirectly by applying it to cosmopolitan principles for regulating immigration in order to demonstrate the moral inadequacy of theories of immigration that adopt an inappropriate unit of analysis. Failure to evaluate the moral adequacy of their own substantive proposals in terms of their effects on socially situated individuals leads some cosmopolitans to endorse substantive recommendations for regulating immigration (namely, open borders) that, I argue, disproportionately burden members of institutionally disadvantaged groups.

Tracking Capital Homicide Cases in Jefferson County,KY 2000–2010

In 1998, Kentucky’s adopted the Racial Justice Act (RJA). The key sponsor of the law, Kentucky Senator Gerald Neal asserted that it was not a result of whether you were for or against the death penalty but “whether the death penalty should be subject to the same standards of nondiscrimination as any other institution in our state.” However, one noted negative effect of the RJA is that prosecutors have adopted policies to seek the death penalty in every eligible case, rather than making this decision on a case-by-case basis. This study examines the outcome of such policies in Jefferson County, Kentucky from 2000 to 2010.