The Influence of Personal Values on Legal Judgments

The non‐legal factors that influence judicial decisions have been the subject of extensive debate. Theoretical and empirical work has focused on factors including political ideology, activism, attitudes, and demographics. Personal values are related to these factors and are central to decision making. The study described in this article translated theories and techniques from psychological research to examine the role of personal values in judicial decision making. A novel method of assessment of value expression in legal opinions revealed a different pattern of values expressed in the majority and minority opinions of a case that divided the Supreme Court. An empirical study of legal academics extended this analysis and highlighted the significant influence of personal values on legal decisions. The value:decision paradigm provides a new framework to analyse judicial decision making, judicial division, and judicial discretion and has significant implications for judicial diversity.     

In remembrance of Robert D. Tollison

We discuss the mechanisms related to quadratic voting, from Vickrey’s counter-speculation mechanism and his second-price auction, through the family of Groves mechanisms and its most notable member, the Clarke mechanism, to the expected externality mechanism, Goeree and Zhang’s mechanism, the Groves–Ledyard mechanism, and the Hylland–Zeckhauser mechanism. We show that each mechanism that involves collective decisions has a quadratic aspect and that all of the mechanisms that we discuss are applications of the fundamental insight that for a process to be efficient, all parties involved must bear the marginal social costs of their actions.     

Lessons from a crisis: An analysis of Toyota's handling of the recall crisis

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how Toyota managed the recall crisis through surveying public relations experts. By gathering and analyzing the perspectives of public relations (PR) executives and professors toward the Toyota recall crisis, this study tries to evaluate and measure Toyota's public relations strategies for managing the recall crisis. To collecting data, 34 public relations professors and 92 public relations practitioners were interviewed. According to the findings of this study, PR professionals emphasized that Toyota responded poorly (slowly/dishonestly) and lacked communication with the public. With regard to improvements Toyota may work on, PR experts advised not only to resolve internal corporate problems but also to strengthen the relationships with consumers and obligation to investigate further. In regarding with the lessons from the Toyota's crisis, PR professionals highlighted that it is necessary to take anticipated preventative measures and improve investigative duties and preparation for better dealing with crises.     

Regional socio‐economic variations and deprivation indices

People and Places II: Social and Economic Distinctions in England. By David Gordon and Ray Forrest. SAUS, the University of Bristol, 1995. Pp.135. £19.95.     

推动资源枯竭型城市转型 深入推进可持续发展战略

该文指出,面对新的历史发展机遇和挑战,中国应当进一步明确发展思路和发展重点,努力在经济结构调整、发展方式转变上探索出一条新路,为资源枯竭型城市谋求新一轮发展,推进中国可持续发展。     

Portable high‐resolution automated 3D imaging for footwear and tire impression capture

The forensic science community raised the need for improved evidence recognition, collection, and visualization analytical instrumentation for field and laboratory use. While the 3D optical techniques for imaging static objects have been extensively studied, there is still a major gap between current knowledge and collecting high‐quality footwear and tire impression evidence. Among optical means for 3D imaging, digital fringe projection (DFP) techniques reconstruct 3D shape from phase information, achieving camera‐pixel spatial resolution. This paper presents a high‐resolution 3D imaging technology using DFP techniques dedicated to footwear and tire impression capture. We developed fully automated software algorithms and a graphical user interface (GUI) that allow anyone without training to operate for high‐quality 3D data capture. We performed accuracy evaluations and comparisons comparing with the commercial high‐end 3D scanner and carried out qualitative tests for various impressions comparing with the current practices. Overall, our technology achieves similar levels of accuracy and resolution with a high‐end commercially available 3D scanner, while having the merits of being (1) more affordable; (2) much easier to operate; and (3) more robust. Compared with the current practice of casting, our technology demonstrates its superiority because it (1) is non‐destructive; (2) collects more evidence detail than casts, especially when an impression is fragile; (3) requires less time and money to collect each piece of evidence; and (4) results in a digital file that can easily be shared with other examiners.