Understanding Acts of Consent: Using Speech Act Theory to Help Resolve Moral Dilemmas and Legal Disputes

Understanding what it means toconsent is of considerable importance sincesignificant moral issues depend on how this actis defined. For instance, determining whetherconsent has occurred is the deciding factor insexual assault cases; its proper occurrence isa necessary condition for federally fundedhuman subject research. Even though mosttheorists recognize the legal and moralimportance of consent, there is still littleagreement concerning how consent should bedefined, or whether different domains involvingconsent demand context-specific definitions.Understanding what it means to consent isfurther complicated by the fact that currentlegal conceptions are not necessarily groundedin argument; they typically depend on appealsto authority and precedent. The purpose ofthis paper is to use speech act theory toprovide a theoretically grounded conception ofconsent; such a conception can aid in the justresolution of legal and moral disputes thathinge on whether an act of consent occurred.     

Regional Technology Policy and the Emergence of an R&D System in the Basque Country

The political changes of the late 1970s early 1980s opened up a process of devolution and decentralization in Spain which reached very important levels in historical regions such as the Basque Country and Catalonia. In the R&D policy realm, Basque government policies had an important impact in the emergence of a regional R&D system from stratch in a short period of time. The industry-oriented Basque model was also rather innovative in the Spanish context of the 1980s, which was dominated by public, basic science-oriented national research councils. In this paper we analyze the process of configuration of regional R&D policies in the Basque Country by looking at the interplay between structural factors, actors, interests, ideas, and institutions. We also look at the main achievements and shortcomings of those policies.     

Toward Understanding the Psychology of Reactions to Perceived Fairness: The Role of Affect Intensity

In social psychology it has been argued that the importance of justice cannot be overstated. In the present paper, we ask whether this indeed is the case and, more precisely, examine when fairness is an important determinant of human reactions and when it is less significant. To this end we explore what drives people's reactions to perceived fairness and argue that although social justice research has reported effects of fairness perceptions on people's affective feelings, a close examination of the literature shows that these reactions appear less frequently and less strong than one would expect. It is proposed here that this has to do with the neglect in the social psychology of justice of an important determinant of affective reactions: individuals' propensity to react strongly or mildly toward affect-related events. As hypothesized, findings of two empirical studies show that especially people high in affect intensity show strong affective reactions following the experience of outcome fairness (Study1) and procedural fairness (Study2). When affect intensity is low, however, weak or no fairness effects were found, suggesting that then fairness may not be an important issue. In the discussion it is thus argued that incorporating affect intensity into the justice literature may further insights into the psychology of reactions toward fairness.     

The effects of unfair procedure on negative affect and protest

The present study extends earlier research on procedural unfairness by assessing subjects' reactions to a procedural change before they learn about the outcome of the changed procedure. Subjects performed a series of four tests. After three tests, the procedure to calculate the test scores was changed into a procedure that was very inaccurate or slightly inaccurate compared to what subjects had experienced until then. The very inaccurate procedure was judged as more unfair as the slightly inaccurate procedure. As predicted, the unfair procedure raised negative affect and motivated subjects to protest. Implications of the results for procedural justice theory are discussed.     

The Special Needs of Victims of Torture or Serious Violence: A Qualitative Research in EU

Abstract

In recent years ongoing wars and serious violations of human rights have driven increasing numbers of people away from their homes, especially in the Middle East and Africa to countries in the European Union to seek asylum. It is estimated that between 5% and 35% of these asylum-seekers and refugees have suffered from torture or serious violence. Studies and practice have shown that an appropriate response to the special needs of victims of torture or serious violence contribute to reduce survivors’ suffering and provide properly international protection. EU legislation recognizes that such vulnerable individuals have special needs, but few of these needs have already been identified and recognized as such. This article reports on a qualitative study carried out in six EU countries - France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta and Portugal - to explore the special needs of victims of torture or serious violence who present among asylum-seekers, during the asylum request procedure, in reception, and throughout rehabilitation and social integration. The study aims to release into the academic community the results of a large policy and practice-oriented study.     

Parenthood and crime: The role of wantedness, relationships with partners, and ses

Purpose

Parenthood may play a pivotal role in the criminal desistance process, but few studies have examined the conditions under which becoming a mother or father is most likely to lead to reductions in criminal behavior.

Methods

The current longitudinal study draws on four waves of adolescent and young adult interview data (N = 1,066) and HLM regression models to examine the impact of parenthood on criminal trajectories, as well as the degree to which the prosocial potential of parenthood is modified by socioeconomic factors, the nature of the relationship between the biological parents, and pregnancy wantedness. The analysis also draws on narrative life history accounts elicited from a subset of these respondents (N = 22).

Results

SES and the wantedness of the pregnancy condition the relationship between parenthood and criminal involvement, however some gender differences emerged. Status of the relationship (married or cohabiting and single) was in general not a strong predictor.

Conclusions

Highly disadvantaged young men and women are not as likely as more advantaged young adults to evidence lower levels of criminal behavior after becoming parents, however wanted pregnancies may reduce female involvement in crime regardless of socioeconomic status. In-depth qualitative data further elucidate the conditional nature of the parenthood-crime relationship.