Wake Up to Reality: Taiwan, the Chinese Mainland and Peace Across the Taiwan Strait

Relations between the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC or Chinese mainland) have improved significantly since 2008. However, this study suggests that it will be difficult for the two sides to sustain the momentum in cross-strait relations unless Beijing—and to some extent Taipei—begin to recalibrate their relationship in a more pragmatic way and adopt some new thinking on the concepts of sovereignty and the political status of the ROC. In short, they need to figure out a way to acknowledge the fact that both the ROC and PRC exist.     

WHEN CAN REGULATION DEFER TO COMPETITION FOR CONSTRAINING MARKET POWER?: COMPLEMENTS AND CRITICAL ELASTICITIES

When can regulation defer to competition for imposing pricediscipline? We show that high price–cost margins, reflectingscale/scope economies, in combination with demand complementaritiesserve to constrain the market power of the (de)regulated firm.Because price increases that produce even small reductions indemand can generate significant losses in contribution to joint/commoncosts, relatively modest amounts of competition may be sufficientfor deregulation. To assist policymakers in their deliberations,a comparison of firm-specific price elasticities and criticalprice elasticities can be used to determine whether the (de)regulatedfirm would have incentives to raise prices post-deregulation.     

Sexual fantasy in paedophile offenders: Can any model explain satisfactorily new findings from a study of Internet and contact sexual offenders?

Purpose. There is widespread acceptance that sexual fantasy plays a role in sexual offences but little clarity as the nature of this relationship. This paper seeks to understand better the role of fantasy in offending behaviour through the study of sexual fantasy in Internet child pornography offenders when compared with contact offenders. Differences in the patterns of sexual fantasy associated with the different offender types are explored in order to understand how fantasy content is associated with contact offences with children and desisting from such direct acting out. Methods. Participants were all convicted of child sexual offences and recruited with the help of the probation and prison services. Out of these, 16 were Internet‐only offenders, 25 were contact offenders with no history of Internet offending and 10 were offenders with a mixed contact and Internet offending history. A variety of self‐completion questionnaires including fantasy were completed on an individual basis together with a detailed interview. Results. The most common sexual fantasies were typical adult‐male heterosexual fantasies though a variety of child‐oriented and other fantasies were also common. Contact offenders reported fewer girl‐oriented sexual fantasies although the groups did not differ in terms of terms of boy‐oriented fantasies. There was evidence that confrontational fantasies were commoner among contact offenders than Internet offenders. There are relationships between early sexual experiences and fantasy but peer sexual contacts seemed to be important rather than sexual abuse. Conclusion. Generally, the contact offenders seem to have less sexual fantasy pertinent to their offending than did Internet offenders. Fantasy deficit may be involved in contact offending against children.     

U.S. policy and Taiwan’s reintegration into the global community

Taiwan is making headway in its campaign to improve its international position. After years of publicly ignoring Taiwan, many foreign governments are willing to upgrade relations with Taipei. This article outlines the background of Taiwan’s new “pragmatic” approach to foreign policy and explores various considerations that are helping the island break out of its diplomatic isolation. In conclusion, the author suggests that the United States should support Taiwan in its bid to rejoin the international community.     

Combatting the crime of arson: Detection,arrest, and conviction

The criminal aspect of arson, traditionally perceived as a firefighting rather than a law enforcement problem, has become of critical interest in recent years. Data are presented reflecting the escalating trend in arson fires which has developed over a five-year period in four cities in the southern California area. The ability of the law enforcement community to combat this trend effectively is discussed by focusing attention upon the innovative efforts of a multijurisdictional arson control project operating in southern California. Improvements in the detection, arrest, and conviction patterns in the project area for the crime of arson are also discussed.     

Pedophiles: A case study

This study characterizes men who have engaged in habitual sexual conduct with children, or pedophiles. This examination is designed as a content analysis using the academic and practitioner press to describe pedophilia characteristics among predators. The sample of three convicted predators is not the focus of this investigation but used to primarily to help operationalize the realities of pedophiles as seen in the literature. All three participants were offenders in a high profile event in the region of the country where they individuals were apprehended, tried, and eventually convicted. The findings indicate that the behavior of most pedophiles is a way of life prior to, during, and after incarceration. One implication arising from this finding is that rehabilitation might be pointless for these offenders. Further research is suggested to determine classification levels of pedophiles in order to best serve the communities these offenders are released into.