Hong Kong redux

There are surprises ahead for both Hong Kong and the China of which it will become a part. This article focuses on how the reversion of Hong Kong will affect the future of politics in both societies. Even though rule by Beijing will change Hong Kong's commercial and political life, China will also be changed by having to deal with the emerging elite of Hong Kong and those persons from the mainland who have been educated in the West. This will not produce democracy in either Hong Kong or China but it will reduce the likelihood that China will become a hegemonic power in East Asia.     

An application of Megargee's Algebra of aggression to the case of theodore bundy

The case of Theodore Robert Bundy, a young man allegedly responsible for the murders of more than 36 women in five states, has captured the imagination of many people in current society. The killer resembles the “boynext-door” stereotype of an attractive, articulate young man. The women were most often college co-eds abducted from crowded areas or struck down while they were alone. The crimes themselves were brutal sexual assaults, with the bodies of the victims often discovered months later in uninhabited areas. Such crimes demand efforts on the part of crminologists and psychologists toward an understanding and, ultimately control of potential future behavior, Megargee's Algebra of Aggression, in which he attributes the propensity to commit violent acts to specific factors, offers one such framework of understanding. While theoretical and after-the-fact, it may aid comprehension of crimes which are currently incomprehensible. This paper applies Megargee's Algebra of Aggression to the crimes of Theodore Robert Bundy. It seeks to explain Bundy's actions in terms of his instigation to aggression, habit strengths which encouraged continued violent acts, inhibitions which may have limited some of his activity, and situational factors which fostered violence as an acceptable response. It is based on a review of the literature deading with Bundy and the author's own involvement as an investigator in one of Bundy's crimes, the Chi Omega murders at Florida State University.     

Tax and Spending Limits in Colorado

In 1992, Colorado voters approved the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), which severely limits the growth of revenues and spending by state and local governments. TABOR was layered over two earlier revenue-restricting measures. Throughout the 1990s, the state enjoyed a robust economy and the effects of these restrictions were largely masked. However, government funding for several basic services in Colorado was rapidly slipping. When Colorado went into recession, the effects of these restrictions were fully felt for the first time, but neither the governor, legislature, nor policy nonprofits have been able to find a way out of the budget bind.     

Psychopathy and Recidivism Among Female Inmates

Despite a plethora of studies investigating psychopathy among male offenders, little is known about the applicability of this construct to female populations. Research has shown that prevalence rate, symptom presentation, and diagnostic comorbidity differ for females as compared to males. The current study is the first to examine the relationship between psychopathy and recidivism among women. Recidivism data on a sample of 78 female inmates were examined at a 1-year interval in relation to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), inclusion criteria for the Antisocial Personality Disorder Diagnosis from the Personality Disorder Examination (PDE), and selected scales from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Antisocial and Aggression scales). The egocentricity subscale of the PAI, Factor 1 of the PCL-R, and the verbal aggression subscale of the PAI were the best predictors of future recidivism. Specific differences emerged between male and female offenders when comparing the present data with previous studies of male psychopaths.