Learning to Build a Better Mousetrap

Scholars do not usually test for the duration of the effects of mass communication, but when they do, they typically find rapid decay. Persuasive impact may end almost as soon as communication ends. Why so much decay? Does mass communication produce any long-term effects? How should this decay color our understanding of the effects of mass communication? We examine these questions with data from the effects of advertising in the 2000 presidential election and 2006 subnational elections, but argue that our model and results are broadly applicable within the field of political communication. We find that the bulk of the persuasive impact of advertising decays quickly, but that some effect in the presidential campaign endures for at least 6 weeks. These results, which are similar in rolling cross-section survey data and county-level data on actual presidential vote, appear to reflect a mix of memory-based processing (whose effects last only as long as short-term memory lasts) and online processing (whose effects are more durable). Finally, we find that immediate effects of advertising are larger in subnational than presidential elections, but decay more quickly and more completely. [Supplementary material is available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Political Communication for the following free supplemental resource(s): discussion of methodological issues; results for a alternative specifications of key models; full reports of model results.]     

Combatting peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material via anti-piracy laws: Issues,trends, and solutions

This article analyses potential end-user copyright violations associated with peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and the anti-piracy efforts currently underway in order to tackle them. This article discusses international developments in terms of trends, issues and solutions aimed at addressing peer-to-peer file sharing of copyrighted material. First, the article introduces P2P file sharing, its increasing significance in the growing digital media economy, and the legal issues surrounding this topic. Next, the article provides a comparative analysis of global efforts and trends in preventing digital piracy by analyzing relevant legislation, case law and practices in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and Japan. In addition, the article reviews Hong Kong's current case law and proposed legal reforms including an analysis of their deficiencies with respect to addressing P2P copyright infringement. The article concludes with an analysis of existing trends in preventive measures against copyright infringement through P2P file sharing and suggests directions on future legal and non-legal measures that Hong Kong as well as the international community can take in combating digital piracy and copyright infringement through peer-to-peer file sharing.     

Good practice in eliciting disclosures from sex offenders

Abstract

Eliciting useful and reliable disclosures from sex offenders is imperative for effective risk management. Responsiveness to accurate self-report by sexual offenders of their risky thinking and problematic behaviours ensures that offenders are dealt with at the correct risk level. This requires practitioners to use a range of constructive strategies and techniques for eliciting disclosures. Drawing on a recent study that investigated the nature and usefulness of disclosures, this paper explores the inherent challenges and identifies best practice in this important area of work.     

Electronic Grassroots: Does Online Campaigning Work?

This research explores the implications of the growing use of the Internet to campaign and win elections in the United States. After exploring the historic assumptions and motivations behind the use of the Internet to campaign, the authors use election data from the 2006 midterm congressional elections and webpage ranking data from the leading web-based ranking service to assess the impact of Internet campaigning. The findings indicate that web presence is a significant predictor of the total votes candidates garnered in the 2006 congressional elections, even when controlling for variables such as funding, incumbency and experience. Further, the findings also suggest that, generally, Democrats had a stronger web presence than Republicans and this increased presence contributed to their success in the election. This research suggests that potential candidates need to be particularly concerned about the success of their websites and their popularity within the Internet community when running for office.     

Steve Backer,Grand Fleet Battlecruisers

Desmond Bristow, with Bill Bristow, A Game of Moles: The Deceptions of an MI6 Officer (London: Little, Brown and Co., 1993). Pp.292. £18.99. ISBN 0–316–90335–3.

Nicholas Elliott, Never Judge a Man by his Umbrella (Salisbury: Michael Russell, 1991). Pp.201. £14.95. ISBN 0–85955–182–2.

Nicholas Elliott, With My Little Eye: Observations Along the Way (Norwich: Michael Russell, 1993). Pp.111. £12.95. ISBN 0–85955–200–4.     

The promise and limits of racial/ethnic concordance in physician-patient interaction

Although some scholars suggest that racial/ethnic concordance between physicians and patients will do much to eliminate disparities in medical care, the evidence for concordance effects is mixed. Using nationally representative data with an oversample of blacks and Latinos, this study examines a variety of topics, including beliefs about and preferences for concordance, the effects of concordance on patient experiences, and interactions between expectations and experiences. The results point to the limited effects of concordance in general but illuminate for whom concordance matters most. The results encourage more nuanced and contingent theories. They suggest that racial/ethnic concordance holds little salience in the minds of most black and Latino patients and that discordance has little effect. Nevertheless, there is some evidence that concordance has a positive effect among those who prefer concordance-thus the apparent effects of concordance might reflect the effects of patient choice more than concordance per se. The conclusion sketches policy implications, including the merits of promoting concordance among targeted groups of patients, even in the absence of overall effects on disparities.     

Medical care of individuals residing in substance abuse and recovery homes: an analysis of need and utilization

The current study examined medical care need and utilization patterns among a substance abusing and recovering population (n = 876), investigating factors such as employment and drug use categories (e.g., pharmaceutical use, cocaine use, heroin use, alcohol use). It was found that those who were unemployed needed and utilized greater medical care than those who were employed. Results indicated that heroin, cocaine, and/or alcohol use was not predictive of medical care need or utilization, whereas pharmaceutical drug use was predictive of medical care need and utilization. Trauma and risky use of substances were not significant predictors of medical care need or utilization whereas the suicide severity composite was significant. Potential implications for misuse of medical services (e.g., to obtain pharmaceutical drugs of use) and federal medical care expenditure allocation are discussed.     

Youth Supplying Tobacco to Other Minors: Evaluating Individual and Town-Level Correlates

The present study employed multilevel random-effects regression analyses to model individual and community correlates of youth supplying tobacco to other minors. Data from 8486 youth in 40 Midwestern junior high and high schools were examined. Results indicate community support for tobacco-possession laws was associated with lower likelihood of youth supplying tobacco to minors. Individual attitudes supporting tobacco possession laws were also associated with lower likelihood of supplying tobacco. Recent smoking, using a social source or purchasing tobacco in the past month, successfully purchasing tobacco during the last attempt to buy it, and having friends who use tobacco were associated with an increased likelihood of supplying tobacco to minors. Results also suggest that purchasing tobacco in the past month or being successful during the last attempt to buy it dramatically increase the odds of supplying tobacco among Never and Past Smokers. Implications of these findings are presented.

Is There a “Singles Tax”? The Relative Income Tax Treatment of Single Households

The existence of a "marriage tax," in which many married couples pay more taxes when married than their combined taxes as single individuals, is well known. However, largely lost in the attention devoted to married taxpayers is the treatment of single taxpayers. This article examines the relative tax treatment of single and married taxpayers. Various types of representative taxpayers are constructed, and the difference in income taxes paid by single taxpayers and married taxpayers is calculated. These calculations show that there is a "singles tax"; that is, a single individual typically pays a greater income tax liability than a married couple with identical income, especially when the main transfer programs are considered.