Individual Convictions Research Articles

Convolution of individual and group identity: self-reliance increases polarisation in basic opinion model

Opinion formation within society follows complex dynamics. Towards its understanding, axiomatic theory can complement data analysis. To this end, we propose an axiomatic model of opinion formation that aims to capture the interaction of individual conviction with social influence in a minimalist fashion. Despite only representing that (1) agents have an initial conviction with respect to a topic and are (2) influenced by their neighbours, the model shows the emergence of opinion clusters from an initially unstructured state. Here, we show that increasing individual self-reliance makes agents more likely to align their socially influenced opinion with their inner conviction which concomitantly leads to increased polarisation. The opinion drift observed with increasing self-reliance may be a plausible analogue of polarisation trends in the real-world. Modelling the basic traits of striving for individual versus group identity, we find a trade-off between individual fulfilment and societal cohesion. This finding from fundamental assumptions can serve as a building block to explain opinion polarisation.

Miscarriage of justice and expert evidence on the credibility of children's testimony: Some issues regarding its use in Chile and Spain

The purpose of this article is to examine the expert evidence on the credibility of children's testimony and the potential risks it poses as a source of error in the criminal justice system. To achieve this, under the regulatory prism of Chile and Spain, we will identify the main techniques and procedures commonly used in this type of evidence and we will explain how their high margin of error does not align with the requirements of the presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt. Therefore, due to its questionable status as regards reliability and acceptability, we will conclude that this evidence should only be used as peripheral corroborative support of testimony in qualified cases, aiming to minimise its potential negative impact on the wrongful conviction of innocent individuals.

Is the Stick Real? Trends from Concluded Prosecutions of Industrial Environmental Crimes in South Africa

South Africa’s suite of environmental laws contains many criminal sanctions and penalty provisions. Whether the criminal sanction is an effective tool that realises the constitutionally protected environmental right depends on how it is practically enforced and whether potential offenders become aware of such enforcement measures. This article reports on research aimed at collecting and analysing prosecutions for industry-related transgressions (conducted mainly in Magistrate’s Courts) and involving offences under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), the Waste Act, the Air Quality Act and the National Water Act. An analysis of 53 prosecutions shows that most cases resulted in convictions, half were concluded through plea and sentence agreements, half involved the conviction of individuals, no direct imprisonment penalties were imposed, and low fines were imposed in most cases. The findings include that there is some inconsistency in how different listed activities or water uses are treated as separate or consolidated criminal charges, and the exact number, outcome or trends arising from such cases are difficult to determine as there is no central, readily accessible database of concluded prosecutions. Increased access to such information would improve knowledge, implementation and the effective use of the criminal sanction through prosecutions. In turn, this would contribute to the improved realisation of the constitutionally protected environmental right.

Innocence Mortality Tax: The Impact of Wrongful Conviction on Lifespan

The wrongful conviction of innocent individuals is a growing problem for those unjustly convicted and the integrity of our legal system, with exonerees often struggling post-exoneration. Yet, too little is known about the long-term impact of wrongful convictions on those unjustly convicted. Thus, we investigated the effect of wrongful conviction on mortality and lifespan—that is, we tested for the possibility of an “innocence mortality tax.” We found that more exonerees have passed than expected when compared to U.S. death rates, and that exonerees died 13.24 years earlier than expected, given their age, gender, race/ethnicity, and incarceration length. Finally, those exonerees whose cases involved a false confession or mistaken eyewitness identification died significantly sooner than their counterparts. Our results highlight the need for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to continue to find ways to mitigate the harm done to innocent individuals unjustly convicted.

Insurgency, Proxy, and Dependence: How Hezbollah's Ideology Prevails Over its Interest in its Relationship with Iran

Patron states provide their proxies with support for a variety of reasons. To better understand the relationship between states and their proxies, it is important to deconstruct the different means of support. For instance, even after an armed group gains economic and military autonomy, ideological affiliation can be an important factor. The ideological convictions of individuals within an armed group serve as a compass for the actions of the larger group, especially in relations to the patron state. This is the case with Hezbollah. Today, the group has outgrown its dependence on Iran for military and economic support; nevertheless, it remains committed to the ideals of Iran's revolution.

Money laundering conviction rate and capital formation in Nigeria

Drawing from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF, G7) recommendations and the Nigeria Anti-Money Laundering Act that provides the penance and dissuasion for crimes in Nigeria, this study sought to interrogate the efficacy of money laundering conviction rate as an instrument of anti-money laundering policy on capital formation in Nigeria. The study is hinged on contemporary deterrence theory. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design and used quarterly data from 1Q 2010 to 4Q 2019, which was sourced from the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and CBN statistical reports. Hence, Error Correction Model (ECM) was utilized to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the current money laundering conviction rate (MLCR) has a negative and non-significant effect on capital formation in Nigeria. Therefore, the study concludes that the current conviction rate is too weak to deter the act. Hence, it is recommended that the judicial system be rejigged with enabling legislation and autonomy to strengthen it to hasten the trial of such cases and ease conviction of culpable individuals, without necessarily putting innocent victims at jeopardy. Such autonomy should also be granted to the EFCC, ICPC, NFIU etc. and inter-agency synergy should be encouraged.

Avoidant coping strategies in adolescents in situations of social conflict: an attempt to identify personality and family indicators

Goal The purpose of the study was to determine the personality and family indicators of the avoidant coping strategy in adolescent youth in situations of social conflict Method The study was conducted on a sample of 893 middle school students. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) (adapted by Dzwonkowska, Lachowicz-Tabaczek and Łaguna), the Sense of Control Questionnaire (SCQ) by Krasowicz and Kurzyp-Wojnarska, the Stress Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) designed by Włodarczyk and Wrześniewski, the Three-Factor Inventory of Personality States and Traits (TIPST) by Spielberger, the Parental Attitudes Scale (PAS) Plopa, the Questionnaire for Coping Strategies in Parents in Situations of Social Conflict (QSPC) by Borecka-Biernat, and Questionnaire for Coping Strategies in Adolescents in Situations of Social Conflict (QSAC) by Borecka-Biernat were used in the study. Results Young people’s strong conviction of other individuals’ impact on negative and positive outcomes of events, the perception of social conflict as challenge and reacting to that conflict with anger or anxiety co-occurs with the tendency towards the avoidant coping strategy. Among the familial determinants of the avoidant coping strategy, an important role is played by the inadequate parental attitudes towards the adolescent child, as well as the pattern of avoidance in situations of social conflict in the parents. Conclusions Learning about the causes of the avoidant coping strategy in the young person will allow the parents and teachers to better understand the adolescents’ behaviour in situations of social conflict and look at its roots from the adolescent’s perspective. Understanding the causes of this behaviour may become a starting point for creating educational strategies that help young people cope with conflict in a mature way.

Should Per Se Limits Be Imposed For Cannabis? Equating Cannabinoid Blood Concentrations with Actual Driver Impairment: Practical Limitations and Concerns

Fourteen US states have amended their longstanding, effect-based DUI drug laws to per se or zero tolerant per se statutes in regard to cannabis. Other states are considering enacting similar legislation. Under these amended traffic safety laws, it is a criminal violation for one to operate a motor vehicle with trace levels of cannabinoids or their metabolites in his or her blood or urine. Opponents of per se cannabinoid limits argue that neither the presence of cannabinoids nor their metabolites are appropriate or consistent predictors of behavioral or psychomotor impairment. They further argue that the imposition of such per se limits may result in the criminal conviction of individuals who may have previously consumed cannabis at some unspecified point in time, but were no longer under its influence. As more states enact statutory changes allowing for the legal use of cannabis under certain circumstances, there is a growing need to re-examine the appropriateness of these proposed per se standards for cannabinoids and their metabolites because the imposition of such limits may, in some instances, inadvertently criminalize behavior that poses no threat to traffic safety, such as the state-sanctioned private consumption of cannabis by adults.

THE CRIME OF INSULTING RELIGIOUS VALUES IN THE TURKISH PENAL CODE (TPC 216/3)

Hate speech is a type of expression that results from people's inability to tolerate and tolerate certain characteristics of each other in society, such as religion, belief, and race. Such statements are one of the obstacles to the growth of a democratic society that dynamites the society's peace and serenity over time, if not in a short time. When it comes to expressions that can be classified as hate speech, the state's positive obligations in terms of protecting the beliefs and convictions of other individuals of the impacted society will come into play. The Turkish Penal Code (TPC) has laws on the punishment of hate speech expressions in this regard (TPC). One of them is TPC 216/3 on the crime of insulting religious values. Based on this context, the expression of insulting religious values within the scope of hate speech in this study is to examine the elements of the crime of insulting religious values, which is also subject to the decisions of international supervisory bodies, within the scope of TPC 216/3, of the crime of insulting the religious values of a section of the population.
 Keywords: Hate Speech, Insulting Religious Values, Insulting Religion.

Legal protection of democracy in the Czech Republic: functions constitutional jurisprudence

The article is devoted to the study of the mechanism of lustration in the Czech Republic. To this end, the relevant legislation was analyzed, which imposed restrictions on access to positions for certain categories of persons due to their behavior during the totalitarian regime.
 Particular attention was paid to the analysis of the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, which resolved the issue of constitutionality of lustration laws. It was emphasized that the Constitutional Court recognized the nature of lustration as the exclusion of citizens from access to public office, which is carried out directly on the basis of formal, categorical criteria, and not by individual conviction of persons according to the criteria established by law. principles. Each state has the right to determine the conditions of access to participation in governance, and one such condition is loyalty to democracy. At the same time, no person is restricted in access to a political function (deputies, senators). Lustration laws do not establish guilt and punishment. Instead, the implementation of lustration procedures is subject to judicial review. The new generation of politicians and civil servants (with a relatively young middle age) did not know the experience of the previous system, were guided by other values and this could not but affect the intensity of the reform. The political elite has consolidated around public policy priorities based on European values. In addition, lustration legislation has solved another problem - the protection of the rights of those concerned.
 It is concluded that the application of lustration legislation in the Czech Republic has had an undeniable impact on the direction, sequence and pace of systemic reforms. In addition, lustration legislation has solved another problem - the protection of the rights of those concerned. These individuals were protected from the misuse of archival material against them.

Analysis of Digital Marketing Strategy in the Era of the COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affects the advancement of business entertainers in Indonesia. Business entertainers should track down the right technique to make due. One of the procedures during the pandemic is computerized showcasing, which permits business entertainers to advertise their items without being compelled by arrangements during the pandemic. Research on advanced promoting techniques for business entertainers to contend in this pandemic time utilizes subjective strategies with a logical distinct methodology. Expressive exploration is gathering information in light of the elements that help the object of examination. Subjective examination manages thoughts, insights, assessments, convictions of individuals to be contemplated and every one of them can't be estimated by numbers. The motivation behind the review was to discover how the procedures, components, cycles and exercises of business entertainers in utilizing advanced showcasing to contend during the pandemic. The aftereffects of the review show that there have been numerous business entertainers who have utilized advanced showcasing, which is 85%, as a methodology to expand deals and require a comprehension of computerized promoting. In view of exploration investigation, business entertainers who have utilized advanced showcasing can make due and even increment deals without depending on traditional stores.

A Comparative Financial Ratio Analysis Between Conventional and Islamic Banks in GCC

Banking framework establishes the central mainstay of any economy. Banks functions as monetary conduits between sectors that have abundance reserves and those that are in deficiency. The historical backdrop of banking in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) traces all the way back to 1918 with the foundation of the primary bank in Bahrain. The territorial financial evolution is attributable to oil abundance and loaning business that spotlights on building, land and client advances. Throughout the long term, the financial framework worldwide has advanced in its contributions to suit the changing customer requests. One of the essential determinants of this change came about because of the strict convictions of individuals bringing about the remarkable development of Islamic Banking System. The prevalence of these banks are in nations with critical Muslim populace like Iran, Pakistan and Sudan but not limited to them. Islamic banks work under Sharia standards of hazard sharing and premium preclusion as appeared differently in relation to customary banks that purchase cash-flow to pool assets and offer cash-flow to produce revenue pay or benefit. This paper applies banks' endogenic elements identified with their monetary record and pay explanation and utilizing an aggregate of 24 financial ratios relating to the banks’ performance and seeks to thoroughly analyze the same among customary and Islamic banks. This examination clarifies the design, activity and the board of traditional banks in the GCC combined with the working of Islamic banks. The paper likewise intends to decide the beneficial and proficient banks among the chosen sample. The study incorporates 20 institutions, similarly dispersed among Islamic and customary banks utilizing information between the time of 2014 - 2017. The example is comprehensively ordered dependent on benefit ratios, proficiency ratios, asset indicator ratios and risk ratios. Further sub categorization is done to show up at an aggregate of 24 ratios. An independent T-test is used to determine a substantial ratio between Islamic and conventional banks.

Enhanced or distorted wisdom of crowds? An agent-based model of opinion formation under social influence

We propose an agent-based model of collective opinion formation to study the wisdom of crowds under social influence. The opinion of an agent is a continuous positive value, denoting its subjective answer to a factual question. The wisdom of crowds states that the average of all opinions is close to the truth, i.e., the correct answer. But if agents have the chance to adjust their opinion in response to the opinions of others, this effect can be destroyed. Our model investigates this scenario by evaluating two competing effects: (1) agents tend to keep their own opinion (individual conviction), (2) they tend to adjust their opinion if they have information about the opinions of others (social influence). For the latter, two different regimes (full information vs. aggregated information) are compared. Our simulations show that social influence only in rare cases enhances the wisdom of crowds. Most often, we find that agents converge to a collective opinion that is even farther away from the true answer. Therefore, under social influence the wisdom of crowds can be systematically wrong.

A Scoping Review to Identify Barriers and Enabling Factors for Nurse-Patient Discussions on Sexuality and Sexual Health.

Background: Sexuality and sexual health (SSH) are essential aspects of care that have evolved since a 1975 World Health Organization (WHO) report on SSH. However, nurses still consider discussing the subject with patients a challenge. This scoping review aimed to map, synthesize, and summarize findings from existing literature regarding barriers and enabling factors for nurse–patient SSH discussions in care contexts. Methods: A scoping review model inspired by Arksey and O’Malley was used to search for and synthesize studies published between 2009 and 2019. The databases searched were the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, i.e., MEDLARS Online. A total of nineteen articles were eligible to be included. Results: Two main categories of enabling factors were identified, i.e., a professional approach via using core care values and availability of resources. Three major categories of barriers were identified: beliefs and attitudes related to age, gender, and sexual identity; fear and individual convictions; and work-related factors. Conclusions: Applying professionalism and core care values as well as making resources available are likely to promote SSH discussions between nurses and patients. Moreover, there is a need for a norm-critical approach in education and practice.

Criminal Influence and Problems of its Definition in the Criminal Code of Ukraine

The article researches the term “criminal influence” which was introduced to the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter – the CC of Ukraine) by the Law of Ukraine “On amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding liability for crimes committed by criminal community”, and its correlation with the institute of complicity in a crime, in particular with objective elements of accomplices in a crime, as well as with illegal influence. The author concludes that there may be one narrow and two broad types of understanding of this term. Moreover, criminal influence may be considered not only from the criminal legal but also from the criminological point of view. Criminal influence is a part of the broader term of illegal influence. However, in contrast to other types of illegal influence, criminal influence, due to its social danger, is limited by the state specifically by the means of criminal law.The term of criminal influence introduced to the Ukrainian criminal legislation has serious gaps, so that it is extremely poor and practically inapplicable. Moreover, not only this term defined in the note to Art. 255 of the CC of Ukraine, but also corpus delicti provided for in Art. 255-1 of the CC of Ukraine (intentional establishment or dissemination of the criminal influence in society) should be substantially revised. The usage of general formulations and abstract concepts in the disposition of Art. 255-1 of the CC of Ukraine, as well as non-exhaustive lists of objective and subjective elements in the definition of the term of criminal influence violates the principle of legal certainty as a part of a broader rule of law principle. Bringing individuals to the criminal liability for committing crimes related to the criminal influence (intentional establishment or dissemination of the criminal influence in society and request for its application) or conviction of individuals for these crimes with a high probability will cause substantial violations of fundamental principles of criminal law and human rights.

The ambigous role of social influence on the wisdom of crowds: An analytic approach

“Wisdom of crowds” refers to the phenomenon that the average opinion of a group of individuals on a given question can be very close to the true answer. It requires a large group diversity of opinions, but the collective error, the difference between the average opinion and the true value, has to be small. We consider a stochastic opinion dynamics where individuals can change their opinion based on the opinions of others (social influence α), but to some degree also stick to their initial opinion (individual conviction β). We then derive analytic expressions for the dynamics of the collective error and the group diversity. We analyze their long-term behavior to determine the impact of the two parameters (α,β) and the initial opinion distribution on the wisdom of crowds. This allows us to quantify the ambiguous role of social influence: only if the initial collective error is large, it helps to improve the wisdom of crowds, but in most cases it deteriorates the outcome. In these cases, individual conviction still improves the wisdom of crowds because it mitigates the impact of social influence.

LOS JÓVENES LECTORES DE JOSEP MARÍA FOLCH i TORRES Y EL ATRACTIVO DEL IDEALISMO

Josep María Folch i Torres ha sido el escritor de LIJ con más éxito –no solo de ventas– de Cataluña en toda la historia de su sector editorial. De él también debemos destacar su papel de educador de las nuevas generaciones, dotándolas de una base patriótica y cristiana. Este fue el caso del movimiento Pomells de Joventut por él creado. Primero fue escritor “para adultos”, luego amigo y confidente de niños y adolescentes. Este paso no supuso una renuncia: se trató más bien de una reubicación determinada por el propio trasvase paulatino e irreversible de unos ideales personales. En este trabajo analizaremos los diferentes ejes motivacionales que en clave de LIJ nos permitirán percibir en toda su amplitud el atractivo del idealismo de nuestro autor; descubriremos que en sus novelas la ciudad y el campo no son dos mundos antagónicos y contrapuestos, sino dos mundos que se necesitan, que se complementan; dos espacios vitales que hacen posible la consolidación de sus convicciones individuales heredadas de la Renaixença.

The Merits and Limits of Conscience-Based Legal Exemptions

Exemption claims remain a tangled and divisive moral and legal issue both in academia and in the public sphere. In his book Exemptions: Necessary, Justified, or Misguided?, the constitutional scholar Kent Greenawalt zeros in on the vexed question of whether exemptions from rules of general applicability based on the conscientious convictions of individuals or groups are sometimes justified or prudent by discussing a wide range of cases drawn from the American jurisprudence. Although he does not engage in a significant way with political and legal philosophy and comparative law, his contextualist and pragmatic approach is a powerful antidote against oversimplification and dogmatism with regard to exemption claims. Unsurprisingly, Greenawalt’s approach comes at times dangerously close to casuistry, and some of his analyses and normative recommendations would benefit from a firmer footing in moral principles and rational argumentation. In this review, I flesh out some of the strengths and limits of Greenawalt’s valuable book.

THE REDUCED NORMATIVE PROGRAMMING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION LAWS IN BRAZIL AND THEIR POORLY ORGANIZED METHODICALLY INTERPRETATION

The article addresses an issue poorly discussed by the Brazilian Environmental Law, namely: its low legislation normative programming level. An analysis of legal texts about fields such as licensing shows that formal laws have only few rules that drive clear decisions about conflicts due to conflicting interests. Rules that open wide discretionary room for the interpretation/application of managerial and judicial bureaus often prevail. A documental, bibliographic and jurisprudential research will show that lack of minimum hermeneutical reasoning standard in doctrine and jurisprudence, whose content mostly depends on the individual convictions of public agents judging the claim, causes low decision predictability. The act of weighing the principles follows a rational argumentation line and impairs juridical safety. It would be useful and viable to revalorize classical elements of Law interpretation in combination with modern constitutional hermeneutical techniques in order to replace a complex “environmental hermeneutics”.

In-laws or outlaws? Associations between in-law family members’ and individuals’ convictions

The association between individuals’ criminal behaviour and the criminal behaviour of their in-law family members is central to the current study. The criminality of extended family members may pose a risk of (persistence in) criminal behaviour. Data are used from the fourth generation of the Dutch Transfive Study, which contains demographical data as well as and conviction data on family members from consecutive generations of families. Results show a significant association between convictions of individuals and their in-law family members, over and above the effect of having a convicted partner. The strength of the association depends on the severity of the offense as well as on gender. Similarity in convictions before marriage as well as indications of continued similarity after marriage has been found.