Sexual violence among dates and acquaintances: Trends and their implications for marriage and family

While it would be difficult to make a conclusive case that there has been a significant increase in forcible rape during the past generation, there is evidence showing that the rate of date rape has increased dramatically during this period. This study describes certain sociocultural changes that society has undergone during this time that appear to be largely responsible for this trend. These include the equalization of sexual freedom for females vis-a-vis males, the pervasive and questionable ways in which the mass media and popular culture feature human sexuality, and the widespread, excessive use of alcoholic beverages among male and female adolescents and college students.     

Spousal Homicide in Russia Versus the United States: Preliminary Findings and Implications

Increased research on spousal homicide warrants a cross-cultural comparison that Russia and the United States could provide. As a first step, official statistics and scholarly reports are summarized in terms of spousal homicide rates, sex-ratios of spousal homicide, and circumstances of these homicides and inclusion of attempted homicides in Russia. The statistics are adjusted to compensate for several methodological limitations in establishing homicide data, such as misclassifications of homicides. Adjusted homicide data suggest that Russia has a higher spousal homicide rate, more female victims, and fewer shootings than the United States. Women in Russia may be two and one-half times more likely to be killed by their spouses or lovers than their counterparts in the United States. The break-up of the Soviet Union and contradictory status of women in Russia may contribute to these findings. Future research might include homicide case reviews and perpetrator assessments to substantiate and refine these preliminary findings.     

Cheap bribes and the corruption ban: A coordination game among rational legislators

Legislators in modern democracies (a) accept bribes that are small compared to the value of the statutes they pass and (b) allow bans against bribery to be enforced. In our model of bribery, rational legislators accept bribes smaller not only than the benefit the briber receives but than the costs the legislators incur in accepting the bribes. Rather than risk this outcome, the legislators may be willing to suppress bribery altogether. The size of legislatures, the quality of voter information, the nature of party organization, and the structure of committees will all influence the frequency and size of bribes.     

Kelsen and Hruschka: Concepts of imputation

This article is a combination of two previous papers that were presented at the International Colloquia of the International Association for the Semiotics of Law. I am grateful in particular to the participants of the Lesbos colloquium for their advice and contributions, from which this article benefits.