A HEAVY THUMB ON THE SCALE: THE EFFECT OF VICTIM IMPACT EVIDENCE ON CAPITAL DECISION MAKING*

The past several decades have seen the emergence of a movement in the criminal justice system that has called for a greater consideration for the rights of victims. One manifestation of this movement has been the “right” of victims or victims' families to speak to the sentencing body through what are called victim impact statements about the value of the victim and the full harm that the offender has created. Although victim impact statements have been a relatively noncontroversial part of regular criminal trials, their presence in capital cases has had a more contentious history. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned previous decisions and explicitly permitted victim impact testimony in capital cases in Payne v. Tennessee (1991) . The dissenters in that case argued that such evidence only would arouse the emotions of jurors and bias them in favor of imposing death. A body of research in behavioral economics on the “identifiable victim effect” and the “identifiable wrongdoer effect” would have supported such a view. Using a randomized controlled experiment with a death‐eligible sample of potential jurors and the videotape of an actual penalty trial in which victim impact evidence (VIE) was used, we found that these concerns about VIE are perhaps well placed. Subjects who viewed VIE testimony in the penalty phase were more likely to feel negative emotions like anger, hostility, and vengeance; were more likely to feel sympathy and empathy toward the victim; and were more likely to have favorable perceptions of the victim and victim's family as well as unfavorable perceptions of the offender. We found that these positive feelings toward the victim and family were in turn related to a heightened risk of them imposing the death penalty. We found evidence that part of the effect of VIE on the decision to impose death was mediated by emotions of sympathy and empathy. We think our findings open the door for future work to put together better the causal story that links VIE to an increased inclination to impose death as well as explore possible remedies.     

Scanning Electron Microscope Analysis of Gunshot Defects to Bone: An Underutilized Source of Information on Ballistic Trauma

Recent years have seen increasing involvement by forensic anthropologists in the interpretation of skeletal trauma. With regard to ballistic injuries, there is now a large literature detailing gross features of such trauma; however, less attention has been given to microscopic characteristics. This article presents analysis of experimentally induced gunshot trauma in animal bone (Bos taurus scapulae) using full metal jacket (FMJ), soft point (SP), and captive bolt projectiles. The results were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Additional analysis was conducted on a purported parietal gunshot lesion in a human cranial specimen. A range of features was observed in these samples suggesting that fibrolamellar bone response to projectile impact is analogous to that observed in synthetic composite laminates. The results indicate that direction of bullet travel can be discerned microscopically even when it is ambiguous on gross examination. It was also possible to distinguish SP from FMJ lesions. SEM analysis is therefore recommended as a previously underexploited tool in the analysis of ballistic trauma.     

The future of consumer data protection in the E.U. Re-thinking the “notice and consent” paradigm in the new era of predictive analytics

The new E.U. proposal for a general data protection regulation has been introduced to give an answer to the challenges of the evolving digital environment. In some cases, these expectations could be disappointed, since the proposal is still based on the traditional main pillars of the last generation of data protection laws. In the field of consumer data protection, these pillars are the purpose specification principle, the use limitation principle and the “notice and consent” model. Nevertheless, the complexity of data processing, the power of modern analytics and the “transformative” use of personal information drastically limit the awareness of consumers, their capability to evaluate the various consequences of their choices and to give a free and informed consent.     

关注“被时代”现象对青年的影响

随着自媒体交流、维权、动员、参政、监督等功能的进一步深化,"被时代"现象对青少年社会化进程带来的影响在日益强化。其正面影响是利用网路表达诉求;关注社会关心民情;网络监督推进政改。负面影响是语境负面,以偏盖全;不易查实,极易扩散;随意夸大,诋毁政府。直面"被时代"现象,应该使青年充分认识到:"被时代"现象体现了政府开始更加关注民意、关注民生;说明了中国越来越民主,老百姓可以发表自己的看法,政府有关部门在接受老百姓的意见;折射出人们权利诉求在觉醒,也正在督促政府有关部门改进官僚主义作风。剖析"被时代"现象,在深层次上,应该进一步引导青年:理性看待事物,认清事物主流;善意利用网路,关注青年成长;防止愤青语感,化解消极情绪。     

论当前反腐败斗争形势对大学生思想政治教育的积极影响

当前党领导的反腐败斗争具有领导坚强有力,取得重大进展和依然严峻复杂的特点;形势对于当前高校大学生思想政治教育具有提振思想政治教育工作者战胜困难的勇气与决心、增强教育的说服力、为高校培育践行社会主义核心价值观提供重要启迪以及为大学生学习运用马克思主义立场、观点和方法观察、解决问题提供生动教材等积极影响;学生思想政治教育工作者应充分认识反腐败斗争形势对于大学生思想政治工作影响的重要性,切实主导反腐败斗争形势对学生思想政治教育影响力的发挥,进一步提高自身综合素质以适应反腐斗争形势下的高校学生思想政治教育工作任务。     

Public policy's bibliography: The use of research in US regulatory impact analyses

Major US federal regulatory decisions are developed and justified using regulatory impact analyses (RIAs) mandated by executive order. We examine the scientific citation activity in RIAs, a unique effort that we believe holds significant potential for understanding the use of science in policymaking. This paper reports preliminary findings from collecting and examining scientific citations in 104 RIAs from 2008–2012. We present evidence indicating that some agencies make extensive use of science in RIAs, that there is substantial variation in use across agencies, and show variation across journals and disciplines cited by regulatory agencies. Finally, we present analysis showing that regulatory policymakers make greater use of research published in highly cited scholarly journals. We conclude by outlining several future directions for research using these data.     

民族意识调控简论

民族意识与民族社会之间的相互调节与控制 ,是民族范畴普遍存在的一条基本规律。作为多民族社会主义国家必须关注民族意识调控规律 ,以人民利益为第一原则 ,规定调控的良性目标 ,把握良性调控的大方向 ,全面协调好两种形态三个方面的纵横关系 ,抓好重点、难点和热点。中心环节是对民族意识的直接调控 ,理想境界是对社会系统全方位的调控     

贵州省女性服刑人员的心理健康状况及其相关因素研究

采用王征宇编制的症状自评量表和自编＂基本信息问卷＂对贵州省某女子监狱在押女犯进行施测,并用SPSS15.0对所得数据进行统计分析。结果显示,贵州省某女子监狱在押女性罪犯在症状自评量表上的总分、阳性症状分、阳性症状项目数以及9项因子的得分都显著高于全国常模,表明女性罪犯在躯体化、强迫症状、人际关系敏感、抑郁、焦虑、敌对、恐怖、偏执和精神病性方面都存在明显的异常心理;进一步研究发现,不同年龄、不同文化程度、不同犯罪类型和不同剩余服刑时间的被试者的心理健康水平存在明显的差异,而婚姻状况和已服刑时间不同的被试之间的心理健康水平没有明显差异。     

农村党建工作与经济发展和社会管理的互动——广西北流市村级党建运行模式及其启示

建设社会主义新农村任务的提出,使农村基层党组织在带领群众共同致富和进行良好的社会管理等方面面临新的挑战和问题。广西玉林北流市委积极正视这一问题,在探索农村基层党组织建设中,将地方经济发展和促进社会管理创新结合起来,带动了地方经济发展和社会管理水平的提升,同时也在这一过程中提高了基层党组织服务群众的能力,实现了农村基层党建工作与农村经济发展和社会管理的良性互动。     

Constructing a surveillance impact assessment

This paper describes surveillance impact assessment (SIA), a methodology for identifying, assessing and resolving risks, in consultation with stakeholders, posed by the development of surveillance systems. This paper appears to be the first such to elaborate an SIA methodology. It argues that the process of conducting an SIA should be similar to that of a privacy impact assessment (PIA), but that an SIA must take account of a wider range of issues, impacts and stakeholders. The paper categorises the issues and impacts to be considered in the conduct of an SIA and identifies the benefits of a properly conducted SIA.