Using immersive virtual reality and ecological psychology to probe into child molesters' phenomenology

Abstract

Child molesters (n=13) and sexually non-deviant subjects (n=29) were immersed with virtual characters depicting relevant sexual features while their sexual arousal and gaze behaviour were assessed to characterise their sexual preferences and intentional dynamics. Sexual arousal was measured using circumferential penile plethysmography (PPG). Gaze behaviour dynamics were derived from average gaze radial angular deviation (GRAD) and GRAD coefficient of variation (GRADCV). Results show distinct sexual arousal profiles according to sexual preferences and point towards the existence of specific gaze behaviour dynamics guided by sexual intentions. Theoretical interpretations are based on the ecological psychology of J. J. Gibson, the extended mind theory and the integrated theory of sexual offending. Theoretical underpinnings stemming from these approaches are advocated as being especially well suited to explain how virtual reality can help probing into child molesters' phenomenology as lived from the “first-person” stance.     

Inxeba (The Wound): Sexual,Gender, Cultural and Religious Traumata on the African Screen

Abstract

This article is divided into two distinct parts. The first part contextualises John Trengove’s internationally renowned, award-winning, feature-length isiXhosa film, Inxeba. The second part of the article is an interview with Batana Vundla, conducted by Mark Kirby-Hirst (Film Theory and Visual Discourse Subject Manager at The Open Window), held in mid-2018, shortly after the High Court’s decision was made public regarding the final classification of Inxeba. The interview ranges from Batana Vundla’s history in the South African film and television industries, to the production processes behind the scenes of the film and concludes with a focus on the nuanced manner through which the film often broaches a wide variety of physical and psychic traumata.     

The Tian Anmen massacre

The aftermath of the 2008 general election saw a series of upheavals occur in the Malaysian political landscape, not least of which was the emergence of a so-called “new politics.” Driven primarily by concerns over issues of public governance, this politics contained a set of interrelated questions involving changing notions of legitimate political authority. Although much has already been written about whether or not the post-2008 changes to Malaysia's socio-political terrain are genuine and enduring, I argue that many such analyses are too narrow in scope and fail to adequately recognise the complexity involved in such social realities. By distinguishing between the images and practices of the Malaysian state, this article aims to highlight the dynamic, contingent and contested nature of processes of legitimation. A detailed investigation of the consensus/dissensus surrounding Prime Minister Najib Razak's concept of 1Malaysia as the basis of a collective national identity reveals a more fundamental contestation occurring within contemporary Malaysian politics and society over the source(s) of political and moral legitimacy. While the opposition's challenge to Najib's administration remains formidable, of more pressing concern to Najib might be the objections arising from within his own party over the direction in which he is taking them. To define the present horizon of socio-political possibilities in Malaysia it is not enough, therefore, to simply explain how legitimation occurs; we must also be able to account for the way(s) in which it can occur.     

Privatizing Urban Services Through Homeowners Associations: The Potential and Practice in Phoenix

Homeowners associations (HOAs) are private nonprofit corporations that regulate, “tax,” and provide urban services to growing numbers of U.S. residents. As such, HOAs may affect cities' public service delivery. Interviews with department heads in Phoenix, Arizona reveal how enclaves of private services influence the city's planning and provision of public services. The findings suggest that HOAs do not substitute private for public services in Phoenix. Instead, qualitative differences in the services themselves (particularly concerning their purpose and scale) and in the legal powers of their providers create a more nuanced pattern of public-private service delivery.     

财政立宪主义与“土地财政”治理

我国地方政府的"土地财政"引发了不少问题。财政立宪主义视野下,该现象是由央地财权划分不够合理,以及地方政府权力与当地居民权利不够平衡造成的。如果能够做到以宪法绝对统摄各类财税法律法规,则"土地财政"问题就可得到治理。     

比较法视野下的盘查措施

盘查属于行政强制措施,并同时适用于刑事侦查领域。世界各国均对盘查设立了实体要件和程序要件,并针对不同种类的盘查措施给予不同的限制。我国的盘查措施的种类单一,立法未能设立启动盘查措施所需的要件,未能区分盘查措施与刑事强制措施的界限,此外,出租屋成为盘查的重点场所,相关的司法救济制度阙如,这些都是我国盘查措施适用中突出的问题。建立科学的盘查措施体系,严格确定盘查措施的界限,逐步取消对出租屋的盘查制度,完善司法救济制度是解决问题的根本途径。     

电子资金类诈骗罪的若干问题

电子资金类诈骗罪的行为方式独特 ,它不仅涉及现实空间 ,而且涉及虚拟空间。本文认为 ,该类犯罪的犯罪对象是财物 ,犯罪的着手始于虚拟空间的特定时刻 ,犯罪既遂的条件是发生现实结果 ,在认定是构成电子资金类诈骗罪还是盗窃罪时 ,应充分考虑进入虚拟环节前的现实性环节行为的性质。     

浅谈虚拟生存的特点及其超现实性

虚拟生存消解了物理世界的时空观,超越了现实社会中的个体身份和角色,实现了个体真实自我和潜意识的需求。文章通过对虚拟生存的特点及传统哲学的现实性的深入分析,发现用现实性解释虚拟社区时会得出虚拟社区既是现实又不是现实的结论,从而进一步得出虚拟社区以及虚拟生存具有超现实性的结论。     

论虚拟财产刑法保护的现状及其出路

当今世界被互联网分割成现实世界和虚拟世界,网络拉近人们彼此距离的同时,其负面效应之一——网络犯罪亦困扰着刑法适用。其中,虚拟财产在传统的刑法理论中并没有合理的定位,涉及虚拟财产的犯罪也没有得到合法、合理的解决,存在同一性质的案件因适用不同的刑法规范而得出不同判决结果的情形。鉴于此,明析虚拟财产刑法保护的诸种困境的目的在于探求实现虚拟财产的刑法保护的路径,即通过司法解释、立法解释抑或修订刑法等方式加以实现,旨在实现刑法的正义性、安定性与合目的性,进而实现法律正义与法律的人文关怀。     

对“天价”葡萄案的刑法思考

“天价”葡萄案引发了数个值得思考的刑法问题 ,通过对这一案件的分析可以发现 :首先 ,盗窃行为的成立并不需要行为人对盗窃对象的价值有所认识 ;其次 ,在行为人无法认识盗窃对象的特殊价值时 ,以违法性认识取代社会危害性认识可以更好地解释对行为予以刑法处罚的根据 ;最后 ,“天价”并非无价 ,被盗葡萄的价值仍可以确定 ,但该数额不能包括由此造成的直接经济损失