Crime on the High Seas: Crimes of Globalization and the Sinking of the Senegalese Ferry Le Joola

The world’s second largest maritime disaster occurred on September 26th 2002, the sinking of the Senegal’s state run ferry Le Joola, killing 1863 passengers. In the wake of the sinking, it became clear that the state of Senegal held liability for the ferry’s failure; the government readily admitted its errors and several ministers either stepped down or were removed from their positions. In many ways, this case, at least on the surface, looks like a classic example of a state crime – illegal activities carried out by the state or state agencies. However, despite unequivocal governmental responsibility, we suggest that this was not simply a case of state crime. Rather, a thorough investigation and analysis of the reasons and forces behind the Le Joola sinking suggest that international institutions, primarily the World Bank, bear culpability for the disaster due to the way in which their policies and economic development demands altered Senegal’s social, economic and political structures. In conclusion, we offer a criminological analysis of the catalysts leading to the reinstatement of the state run ferry to the coastal waters and the subsequent actions taken by the State of Senegal and of International Society.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Nashville, TN. November 17–20, 2004.     

Toxicant Exposure and Mental Health—Individual, Social, and Public Health Considerations

Abstract:  Thoughts and moods are the result of biological processes; disordered thoughts and moods may be the result of disordered biological processes. As brain dysfunction can manifest with emotional symptoms or behavioral signs, the etiology of some mental health afflictions and some abnormal conduct is pathophysiological rather than pathopsychological. Various studies confirm that some chemical toxicants which modify brain physiology have the potential to affect mood, cognitive function, and to provoke socially undesirable outcomes. With pervasive concern about myriad chemical agents in the environment and resultant toxicant bioaccumulation, human exposure assessment has become a clinically relevant area of medical investigation. Adverse exposure and toxicant body burden should routinely be explored as an etiological determinant in assorted health afflictions including disordered thinking, moods, and behavior. The impact of toxicant bioaccumulation in a patient with neuropsychiatric symptoms is presented for consideration as an example of the potential benefit of recognizing and implementing exposure assessment.     

Psychopathy and Sexual Sadism

Psychopathic personality disorder and sexual sadism share several common characteristics, such as emotional detachment from the suffering of others or the preparedness to inflict pain or injuries. Based on a sample of 100 male forensic patients (all of them sex offenders, half of them sadistic), the concept of psychopathy and sexual sadism as a unified construct was tested empirically. Pooling indicator variables for psychopathic and sexually sadistic disorders showed that a two-factorial solution yielded a better fit than a single-factor model. The two factors identified psychopathy and sexual sadism as separate latent variables. More specifically, the data were compatible with a path model in which affective deficits and behavioral disinhibition of the psychopathy domain are precursors to sexually sadistic conduct.     

Political ideology, quality at entry and the success of economic reform programs

This study investigates how government ideology matters for the success of World Bank economic policy loans, which typically support market-liberalizing reforms. A simple model predicts that World Bank staff will invest more effort in designing an economic policy loan when faced with a left-wing government. Empirically, estimates from a Heckman selection model show that the quality at entry of an economic policy loan is significantly higher for governments with a left-wing party orientation. This result is robust to changes in the sample, alternative measures of ideology, different estimation techniques and the inclusion of additional control variables. Next, robust findings from estimating a recursive triangular system of equations indicate that leftist governments comply more fully with loan agreements. Results also suggest that World Bank resources are more productive—in terms of reform success—in the design of policy operations than in their supervision. Anecdotal evidence from several country cases is consistent with the finding that left-wing governments receive higher quality loans.     

Dark Knights Rising: The Aurora Theater and Newtown School Massacres and Shareholder Wealth

Purpose

This study analyzes the stock price impact of the Aurora theater and Newtown (Sandy Hook) school massacres on both domestic (US) and foreign theater operators and US gun manufacturers in an effort to document the economic effects of these tragedies.

Methods

The well-established “event study” methodology from the fields of economics and finance is employed to assess the impact of the shootings on the affected companies after controlling for risk and overall market movements.

Results

The Aurora theater shooting resulted in striking declines for Cinemark (the targeted theater) as well as major US competitors, but had no impact on overseas theater chains. Smith & Wesson (maker of the gun used in Aurora) showed no response, whereas Ruger (a competitor) exhibited large gains. Both Smith & Wesson and Ruger plunged after the Newtown shooting, although neither made the weapons used in the shooting.

Conclusions

Contrary to prior research on workplace homicides, the results show that random mass shootings have profound effects on targeted companies. In addition, the results suggest the presence of a very strong “contagion effect” (where negative events affecting one company impact others in the same industry). The negative responses of both publicly-traded US firearms manufacturers to the Newtown shooting suggests a “sea-change” in the debate over gun ownership in the US.