Improving eyewitness identification accuracy by screening out those who say they don't know

Improving eyewitness identification evidence remains a key priority for research. Basic laboratory research has consistently demonstrated that allowing participants to withhold answers about which they are unsure leads to improved accuracy. Surprisingly, this approach has not been the subject of comprehensive investigation in the eyewitness identification literature. In this article, we explored the utility of allowing uncertain witnesses to opt out of an identification decision, by providing an explicit don't know option. Further, we contrasted the rate of use of this explicit option with the frequency that participants spontaneously withheld a decision when asked to respond in their own words. Four hundred and twenty participants witnessed a mock crime video before being presented with a showup of the perpetrator or an innocent suspect. Participants were tested either immediately or after a 3-week delay, with one of the three report options: Participants either made their choice in their own words (spontaneous report), chose between identifying and rejecting the showup (forced-report), or chose between identification, rejection and don't know (free-report). Only 2.2% of witnesses spontaneously used a don't know response, compared to 19.3% who used it when the option was explicit. Compared with the forced-report decisions, free-report decisions were more accurate, more diagnostic of the suspect's guilt or innocence, and came at no cost to the number of correct decisions rendered. These data suggest that utilisation of an explicit don't know option may be of practical value.     

The Possibility of Lawful Act Economic Duress: Pakistan International Airlines Corp v Times Travel (UK) Ltd

The voidability of a contract procured by ‘economic duress’ is now well-established, but the precise boundaries of the doctrine remain contested. In Pakistan International Airlines Corp v Times Travel (UK) Ltd [2021] UKSC 40, the Supreme Court confronted the longstanding controversy as to whether a threat to perform a lawful act can provide grounds for a threatened party to avoid a contract for economic duress. This note argues that the Court's decision to affirm the existence of ‘lawful act duress’ is welcome. It is further argued that the specific kind of lawful act duress identified by the majority and relevant to determining the appeal, described as ‘deliberate maneuvering via illegitimate means’, provides helpful (and defensible) clarification of the content of this doctrine, and that the Court was correct to hold that the contract in Times Travel was not voidable on this basis.     

The ‘Mingrelian Question’: Institutional Resources and the Limits of Soviet Nationality Policy

Based on primary source materials from the Georgian Party archive and periodical press, this article examines the conflict between central and local elites in the Soviet Republic of Georgia over whether or not to grant linguistic and territorial rights to residents of one of its regions. The case demonstrates how the promises and aspirations of Soviet nationality policy were actually negotiated and interpreted on the local level in the early years of Soviet power, and how actors attempted to make use of nationality policy in order to mobilise the institutional resources available to them.     

The Versailles Settlement and Identity in French Flanders

This article examines the local reactions to the Versailles negotiations and final settlement along the north-eastern frontier of France, discussing both immediate reactions to the post-war conditions, as well as longer-term trends in identity formation within the region. It shows that the practical considerations of rebuilding after the war outweighed desire for revenge upon Germany, and that on average they were less interested in forcing Germany to pay more, than ensuring the short term costs were met whoever paid them. It also shows that the peace settlement did have a concrete effect in solidifying the border as a marker of identity, with increasing distinction made between the French Flemish and the neighbouring Belgian population.     

Turbulent Stasis: Comparative Reflections upon Intercommunal Violence and Territoriality in the Israel/Palestine Conflict

From (at least) the Balfour Declaration of 1917 right down to the present day, the Zionist-Palestinian conflict has been sculpted by external forces. But never entirely so: grassroots patterns of confrontation have also been vital. This article therefore adopts a “bottom-up” approach to the evolution of the conflict since the early twentieth century.     

Towards universal health coverage in Zambia: impediments and opportunities

Universal health coverage has been given a prominent place in the post-2015 global development agenda, but there are concerns over its feasibility in low- and middle-income countries. This article assesses successive Zambian governments’ efforts to achieve this agenda. We discuss the recent restructuring of health governance to support policies that re-emphasise the social determinants of health and health equity. This includes a new Ministry of Community Development and Mother and Child Health alongside the Ministry of Health. We argue that recent innovations in policy and practice need to be extended to include ministries which focus on economic development.     

Supporting farmer participation in formal seed systems: lessons from Tharaka,Kenya

This article examines contemporary challenges of formal seed sector participation for resource-poor farmers in Tharaka and engages in a wider discussion of national seed policy and formal seed sector development in Kenya. While many farmers reported utilising modern seed varieties developed by the formal seed sector, the majority of these were introduced through seed aid and maintained through seed saving, supporting seed system integration strategies. Building on these findings, the article discusses ways in which national seed policy in Kenya might be refined to better meet national and regional development goals focused on decreasing the incidence of hunger and poverty.     

Separated by Bars or Dollar Signs? A Comparative Examination of the Financial Literacy of Those Incarcerated and the General Population

This study examines the level of financial literacy of inmates in Arkansas correctional institutions. Furthermore, it compares the financial knowledge, planning, and practices between not only white and non-white inmates but also between males within and outside of penal institutions. Specifically, this research combines primary data on the financial realities of those within correctional institutions and existing statistics on the public to examine the relationship between demographics, banking history, use of non-traditional lenders, and financial literacy. While prior literature on the public is extensive, research on the financial literacy of individuals currently incarcerated is sparse. Findings indicate vast differences between the public and those within penal institutions, particularly in financial knowledge and planning. For our incarcerated sample we find similar disparities between our white and non-white respondents. Last, we find that youth, minority status, and lowered education are predictors of lower financial knowledge, use of predatory lender use, and poor financial planning among inmates. This is crucial because low levels of financial literacy, use of predatory lenders, and poor financial planning often provide barriers to asset accumulation, which increases the probability of incarceration and recidivism.     

How U.S. decision-makers assessed their control of multilateral organizations, 1957–1982

Although quantitative studies have identified relationships between the interests of powerful, wealthy states and the lending patterns of international financial institutions, they do not illuminate influence processes that give rise to these patterns. Three closely held internal assessments by the U.S. government of its influence over decisions in various international organizations are now declassified; they provide information about internal processes unlikely to be obtained through interviews of current officials or observation of public behavior. Their findings overlap to some degree academic research on this phenomenon, but also reveal hitherto unsuspected facets of U.S. diplomacy as well as candid internal assessments of U.S. successes and failures.