Digital humanities and the history of working women: a cascade

In this introduction to the special issue on ‘Women's work in changing labour markets’, we argue that a combination of digital advances, notably the digitization of individual- and contextual-level data, the creation of internationally comparable occupation-based classifications, and the development of statistical models allowing for contextually informed analysis, has brought us to the brink of new developments in the field of women's work. Census and vital registration data contain more information on occupations of women than previously thought, and when used in combination with other digitized sources they allow one to assess the possible under-registration of women's work, as illustrated by some of the contributions to this special issue. Other contributions show how standardizing occupation-based classifications allows for temporal and regional comparisons of women's work and makes it feasible to study how community or regional characteristics influence that work. None of these developments – large-scale digitization of individual-level data, standardization of occupational titles and measures of stratification, and contextually informed analyses – is completely new; in some cases they are actually rooted in a venerable research tradition. However, in combination they might well constitute a cascade in the history of working women.     

Types of crimes committed by repeat DUI offenders

This study investigates whether repeat driving under the influence (DUI) offenders have more extensive histories of violent, property, and drug crimes than first-time drunk drivers. It also offers an exploratory investigation into the extent of their criminal specialization. Negative binomial regression was performed on arrest and criminal history data from a systematic random sample of 429 DUI arrestees. Analyses controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and employment found that being a repeat DUI offender increased the total number of violent and property convictions (regardless of severity) and petty misdemeanor/violation property convictions. The results suggest DUI recidivists are generalists rather than specialists and that impaired driving is best viewed as just one manifestation of a host of deviant behaviors. They also illustrate the challenges of rehabilitating and deterring DUI recidivists and the potential differences between first-time and repeat DUI offenders. The findings should not be interpreted as support of enforcement or deterrent DUI policies that focus on repeat offenders, as limited resources are most efficiently directed at the general population of impaired drivers.     

论医疗事故技术鉴定意见的证明力及存在的问题

符合法律规范的医疗事故技术鉴定意见在行政处理医疗纠纷上具有证明力,可以从鉴定人资格和条件、鉴定程序和方法等方面予以印证。但当其作为诉讼中的法定证据鉴定意见使用时,其证据力方面还存在一定问题,尤其与新修订的《民事诉讼法》存在不一致,应予完善,以提高其证据力。     

再论危险驾驶罪的客观方面——超前立法观、实质解释论、类型思维法之运用

《刑法修正案(八)》第22条增设了危险驾驶罪,但是该罪的行为类型欠缺多样性,醉驾行为没有情节的限制,双重既遂标准同时存在,从而导致了该罪的预期功能与现实效果之间的扭曲。为了填补立法漏洞,加强本条的可操作性,应当运用超前立法观、实质解释论和类型思维法,适当丰富该罪的行为类型,将其解释为具体危险犯,以"足以危害公共交通安全"作为统一的既遂标准。     

Medical regulation of cognitive enhancement devices: some concerns

The authors present a cogent and detailed case for altering the Medical Devices Directive to allow regulation of cognitive enhancement devices (CEDs). Protection against significant risk of harm, especially for the vulnerable, and promotion of benefit through informed use of CEDs are all good features of the proposal. However, the pre-market approval process has limitations, which we explore. We raise the possibility of ‘risk compensation’ in response to the introduction of safety measures, which could alter its effectiveness. The proposal alludes to use of ‘formally trained practitioners,’ which provide a further tier of regulation for CEDs within the proposal. We consider some positive and negative implications of this aspect of the proposal that might warrant further consideration.     

我国诉讼中证人证言证明力探析

证人证言证明力是证人证言对案件起证明作用的关键,就我国诉讼理论和实际而言,由于证人作证意识较差、法律规定的漏洞或相对笼统、司法人员应有素质的欠缺等原因,致使证人证言的证明力较差。为保证案件质量,实现司法公正,提高证人证言证明力已成为我国司法实践中的重要课题。从理论上探讨了证人证言证明力的标准及其重要性;从取证、查证、认证的角度,全面分析了我国诉讼中证人证言证明力的现状;并提出了提高证人证言证明力的途径。     

包庇黑社会性质组织罪若干问题研究

包庇黑社会性质组织罪是指国家机关工作人员包庇黑社会性质组织的行为。它是修订后的刑法在第 2 94条第 4款所增加的一个新罪名。本罪所侵犯的直接客体是什么 ?包庇的对象是否只能是“黑社会性质的组织” ?“包庇”行为如何界定以及本罪的立法是否需要进一步的完善等问题均值得研究     

“直接证据”的迷思

将直接证据与间接证据等区别开来,强调前者的重要性和优越性,是一种流布甚久的普遍观念。能否进行这种区分、如何区分以及这种区分是否具有规范意义等问题,在近年来也受到了理论研究的关注。从诉讼证明的认知构造来看,"直接证据"的界说应当区分严格的理解和日常习惯的理解;无论哪一种界说,都没有多少实际的规范意义。比较而言,关于直接证据的诸种传统界说多是有问题的;近年来的论争,无论是何种论说,都未能促进人们更好地理解此方面的问题。应当放弃在日常习惯理解意义上界分直接证据与间接证据等的视角来制定相关证据规则的努力,注重对前者的证明力进行审查。     

Situational factors and police use of force across micro-time intervals: A video systematic social observation and panel regression analysis

The current study analyzes police use of force as a series of time-bound transactions between officers, civilians, and bystanders. The research begins with a systematic social observation of use-of-force events recorded on police body-worn cameras in Newark, New Jersey. Researchers measure the occurrence and time stamps for numerous participant physical and verbal behaviors. Data are converted into a longitudinal panel format measuring all observed behaviors in 5-second intervals. Panel logistic regression models estimate the effect of each behavior on use of force in immediate and subsequent temporal periods. Findings indicate certain variables influence use of force at a distinct point in time, whereas others exert influence on use of force across multiple time periods. The most influential variables relate to authority maintenance theoretical constructs. This finding supports prior perspectives arguing that police use of force largely results from officer attempts to maintain constant authority over civilians during face-to-face encounters. Nonetheless, a range of additional variables reflecting procedural justice, civilian resistance, and bystander presence significantly affect when police use force during civilian encounters. Results provide nuance to theoretical frameworks considering use of force as resulting from the interplay between officer and civilian actions and reactions.     

Piercing the surface: A mechanical analysis of stabbing with household tools

Estimating the applied power during a stabbing incident, or estimating the minimal force necessary to penetrate the body with a certain weapon is a challenging task in forensic practice. A thorough forensic evaluation of stabbing forces needs objective numerical experimental data. Stabbing tests of 12 different weapons – including knives, a pair of scissors, a fork, screwdrivers, a rasp, a corkscrew, and a utility knife blade – were performed with a Mecmesin MultiTest-dV material tester on pork loin and ballistic gel to estimate the stabbing forces and dynamics. Penetration force (F_p) and maximal force (F_max) were recorded, and the registered force curves were analyzed. F_max was 159.8–212.07 Newton (N), 30.56–30.58 N, 168.9–185.48 N for various knives; 171.39–190.43 N for the pair of scissors, 233.6 N for the fork; 532.65–562.65 N, 370.31–367.19 N and 314.51–432.89 N for various screwdrivers, 44.14–56.62 N for utility knife during pork loin stabbing. The butter knife, corkscrew and rasp were not able to penetrate the pork loin, and the curved fork bent during stabbing. The results prove that weapon characteristics greatly influence the force necessary for penetration. Maximal stabbing force depends mostly on tip sharpness, and the force sharply decreases after penetration occurs, which indicates that edge sharpness is not as important as tip characteristics during stabbing perpendicular to skin surface. The penetration force during stabbing with a pair of scissors is comparable to the penetration force of knives. Stabbing with screwdrivers generally needs larger force than average knives but depends greatly on screwdriver size.