Deliberate Violations Research Articles

Lehman Brothers: A License to Fail with Other People’s Money

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (“Lehman”) is the largest bankruptcy ever filed, with losses to investors, both small and large, totaling billions of dollars. In January 2008, Lehman Brothers, heavily invested in by pension plans such as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the New York State Teachers Retirement Plan, traded at a high of over $65 per share. At that time, Lehman reported record numbers of nearly $60 billion in revenue and more than $4 billion in earnings. However, a mere eight months later, Lehman’s stock was trading under $4 per share, and on September 12, 2008, Lehman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.The Bankruptcy Court appointed an Examiner to investigate and report on Lehman’s business affairs, with particular regard to “any fact ascertained pertaining to fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, misconduct, mismanagement, or irregularity in the management of the affairs of the debtor, or to a cause of action available to the estate.” The Examiner’s findings, taken at face value, reveal that the legal system that allowed Lehman’s failure will permit similar failures in the future because, for the most part, Lehman’s actions did not violate the law.This report explores Lehman’s risk management in a declining market and the valuation of its assets. Lehman, after recognizing the magnitude of the economic crisis, doubled-down on its risk, dramatically increasing the amount it was prepared to lose, while also disguising the declining value of its assets. These acts were not inadvertent, but rather were deliberate violations of internal risk limits and conscious overvaluations of its assets.

Aberrant Behaviors and Road Accidents among Iranian Truck Drivers, 2010.

Road accidents are a social phenomenon in different communities that its infra-structural dimensions of which as well as technologic failures such as road quality, and tech-nical faults of automobiles, need to be assessed in detail. Iran has the first order in the world for deadly road accidents. This study was designed to assess the association between aberrant behaviors of truck drivers and the incidence of road accidents in Yazd, center of Iran, in 2010. This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 300 truck drivers in Yazd. We used 3 questionnaires, including one for demographic data, Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), and one for drivers' self-evaluation of the of their driving. Five types of the behavior had the highest frequency: Misjudge speed of oncoming vehicle when overtaking.; Deliberately disregard the speed limits late at night or very early in the morning.; Ignore 'give way' signs, and narrowly avoid colliding with traffic having right of way.; Stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle on a two-lane highway, you are driven by frustration to try to overtake in risky circumstances.; Drive with only 'half-an-eye' on the road while looking at a map, changing a cassette or radio channel, etc. The more the driver's driv-ing was influenced by emotional and mental states the more deliberate violations and slips. Among truck drivers, safety has not developed sufficiently, and because of the dangers of road accidents both for the drivers and other people and its economic losses, the importance of the presenting some solutions is completely obvious.

Quantum-efficiency enhancement of CMOS photodiodes by deliberate violation of design rules

In this paper we propose and experimentally prove that the quantum efficiency of CMOS-compatible photodiodes can be improved in any standard process at no additional complexity, cost or surface area. The improvement is obtained by slightly boosting the drift component with respect to the diffusion component of the photogenerated current by means of an increase in the p–n junction effective area, and consequently in the volume of the depletion layer. This is accomplished by texturing the junction profile, which is realized when we intentionally violate the design rules that dictate the minimum distance between supposedly independent diffusion or implanted regions, and when we use the gate-oxide mask accordingly. To form a composite photodiode these closer bordering regions partially merge due to lateral diffusion that expand further under the boundaries of the respective photomask definitions throughout the overall thermal cycle in the process. Several characteristics of different process generations are discussed. We achieved 4% measured efficiency gain in an n-well/p-epi textured structure compared to a p+/n-well/p-epi conventionally flat photodiode. A quantum efficiency gain of at least 18% can be inferred, from an artifactual test, between textured and flat n-well/p-epi junctions.

The ‘Enforcer’ in Elite-Level Sport: A Conceptual Critique

The role of the ‘enforcer’ in elite-level sports contests is a familiar one. Simply, the role involves establishing or restoring a ‘moral balance’ to the sporting encounter when it is absent – usually when match officials are thought to be failing to apply the laws/rules of the game. How the enforcer secures this outcome is more morally contentious as it may involve deliberate violations of the laws/rules of the sport. In this paper we consider the role of the enforcer in rugby union. First we interrogate some of the extant sports ethics literature and explore the notion of ‘fairness’ in the well-played game, including the role of the enforcer. Second, we illustrate conceptually how the ethos of elite sport as a moral discourse creates a theoretical platform from which to assess the intervention of an enforcer. Third, we address the role of match officials as members of the practice community from an institutional sense (what the international governing body for rugby union makes explicit) and from an empirical sense (what actually occurs or might occur) in the circumstances that precipitate the intervention of ‘enforcers’. We conclude that the conceptual tension between the laws and the spirit (ethos) of the game is reflected in the choices facing players when playing the game.

Job title inflation

Job titles are defined as socially reinforced symbols that are based on cooperation. Further, job title inflation (JTI) is defined as a deliberate violation of cooperative principle maxims that is intended to extract gains for an organization. The cooperative principle, which is borrowed from the theory of conversational implicature, is expanded to explain how job titles maintain social value, thus acting as important symbols. It is proposed that some organizations practice JTI because they tacitly understand that job titles possess symbolic value that can be leveraged for potential organizational benefit (e.g., increased productivity or sales). Further, three JTI formulas are offered that describe how JTI may be achieved, and a model that uses social exchange theory to describe how JTI ultimately leads to organizational level outcomes is presented. Implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Research on Structural Equation Model of Affecting Factors of Deliberate Violation in Coalmine Fatal Accidents in China

Abstract This article researches the influencing factors of coalmine employees' deliberate violation behaviors in China coalmine fatal accidents. It adopts factors in individual level and organization level of coalmine employees as external variables, behavioral valence and behavioral cost perception as mediating variables, and two types of characteristic deliberate violation, namely, high-cost-and-high-valence type and high-cost-and-low-valence type of coalmine employees as endogenous variables to construct a structural equation model of deliberate violation factors. The research indicates that the bibliographical characteristics of coalmine employees have a direct positive influence on two types of deliberate violation behaviors; the coalmining production conditions have no bearing on these behaviors; the nature of production task indirectly influences the behaviors positively by perceived valence; and the characteristics of coalmine organizations and relationship characteristics both have an indirect negative influence.

Speeding–deliberate violation or involuntary mistake?

The power of two different theoretical frameworks, the theory of planned behaviour (expanded to include moral norm) and the driver behaviour questionnaire, to predict and explain drivers' speeding behaviour are compared and a combined model is suggested. One hundred and seventy-five test drivers, participating in a large-scale ISA-evaluation, answered a questionnaire in spring 2000. Based on the questionnaire data, logged speeding in autumn 2001 was predicted and LISREL-analysis was used for structural equation modelling. According to the results the two frameworks, alone or in combination, could explain between 38 and 53% of self-reported speeding and between 24 and 26% of logged speeding. A combination of the theory of planned behaviour and the driver behaviour questionnaire is presented and implications for the understanding of driver speed control are discussed.

The Israeli Disengagement Plan: A Prejudicial Action

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is just that, a conflict. It has had its ups and downs, but it has been characterized by violence, and consequently is viewed as a violent struggle. There have been many efforts to end the cyclical relationship between the Israelis and Palestinians of attack and counter attack, resulting in several peace agreements and increased communication between both sides. Cooperation and dialogue have been hallmarks of the achievements and successes that do exist in this relationship. Now the Israelis have diverged from this course and are in the process of unilaterally withdrawing their troops and citizens from the Gaza Strip. The end to the Israeli occupation is a good thing, but it must be done properly, and it should not disrupt the peace process or the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians, unfortunately that is exactly what the unilateral plan has done. This article argues that the Unilateral Disengagement Plan being implemented by the Government of Israel as a means to pull its troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip violates both the Israel and PLO: Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, as well as the Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and thus prejudices them. By acting unilaterally, the Israelis violate direct terms of these agreements as well as the overall spirit of them. As these documents remain relevant tools in the peace process, the direct and deliberate violation of them by the Israelis can only have negative impacts upon the overall peace process and the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The actions Israel is pursuing will undermine the Palestinians' trust in the Israeli Government, and call into question their roll as a partner to peace.

Safety rules and regulations on mine sites – The problem and a solution

Introduction: Many accidents and incidents on mine sites have a causal factor in the rules and regulations that supposedly are in place to prevent the incident from occurring. The causes involve a lack of awareness or understanding, ignorance, or deliberate violations. The issue of mine rules, procedures, and regulations is a central focus of this paper, highlighted by this recent comment – “very few people have accidents for which there is no procedure in place…” Method: An attitudinal survey was conducted at 33 mines throughout NSW, Queensland and international mine sites involving almost 500 mineworkers. The survey was in the form of a self-completing questionnaire, consisting of approximately 65 questions. It aimed to seek the opinions of the mining workforce on safety rules and regulations generally, as well as how they apply to their specific jobs on a mine site. The research also aimed to investigate: (a) the level of awareness and understanding of mine rules and procedures such as manager's rules and safe work procedures (SWPs); (b) the level of awareness and understanding of mine safety regulations and legislation; (c) the extent of communication of and commitment to rules and regulations; (d) the extent of compliance with rules and regulations; and (e) attitudes regarding errors, risk-taking, and accidents and their interaction with rules and regulations. The sample consisted of a random selection of underground and open pit mines, extracting coal, metals, or industrial minerals. Results: The insights provided by the mineworkers enabled a set of principles to be developed to guide mine management and regulators in the development of more effective rules and regulations. Conclusions and Impact on the Mining Industry: (a) Management and regulators should not continue to produce more and more rules and regulations to cover every aspect of mining. (b) Detailed prescriptive regulations, detailed safe work procedures, and voluminous safety management plans will not “connect” with a miner. (c) Achieving more effective rules and regulations is not the only answer to a safer workplace.

No Time for Silence

In this essay, I respond to the position, taken by the Solicitor General of the U.S. Dept. of Justice in Chavez v. Martinez, 122 S.Ct. 2326 (2002) and by Professor Steven Clymer in 112 Yale L.J. 447 (2003), that the police are free to disgregard Miranda. I suggest that the privilege against self-incrimination is best viewed as a ban on certain official conduct outside of a criminal trial, not as an evidentiary rule. The Supreme Court in Kastigar v. United States, by blessing prosecutorial grants of immunity pursuant to statute, did not intend to extend this same authority to police officers in back rooms. I further argue that a deliberate violation of any right invoked under Miranda should give rise to a viable civil rights claim. Scholarly attacks on Miranda are simply misdirected unhappiness with the privilege itself. Finally, I suggest that the tragic events of September 11, 2001, do not warrant the abandonment of the privilege in ordinary domestic criminal cases.

The Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire: a cross-cultural study

The aim of the present study was to investigate if the original factorial structure of the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) was replicated in Finland and The Netherlands. A postal questionnaire survey of drivers was carried out in Britain, Finland and The Netherlands. Exploratory factor analysis together with target (Procrustes) rotation and factorial agreement indexes were calculated to investigate the applicability of Finnish and Dutch versions of DBQ. Results of the factor comparisons showed that the DBQ four-factor structures found in Finland and The Netherlands were congruent but not perfect with the target structure found in Britain. Reliabilities of the scales were around the same level as in the British data. In addition to the four first-order factors, two second-order factors (deliberate violations and unintentional errors) were found in all three countries which supports the original structure by Reason et al. [Ergonomics 33 (1990) 1315]. Issues related to cross-cultural use of traffic behaviour questionnaires are discussed.

Introductory Remarks: Panel Discussion/Remarks

THESE are difficult days for international humanitarian law— indeed, for international law in its broader sense. The principal reason for this state of affairs lies not only in the technicalities or the fine points of international law. We have also witnessed a decline of human and humanitarian values. This decline of values has, in turn, led to an erosion of humanitarian principles. International humanitarian law works relatively well when the contesting parties share its basic precepts and goals. It does not work well when there is a challenge to those shared values by one or more of the parties. This was true even before the emergence of the relatively recent phenomenon of terrorism. During World War II, for example, Nazi Germany refused to apply international humanitarian law on the eastern front. International humanitarian law has been based on a fundamental neutrality—color blindness if you will—of rules governing the conduct of war. The legality of recourse to war, the jus ad bellum , had no consequences for how wars were fought, for the jus in bello. The elementary chivalry that characterizes these rules includes principles prohibiting attacks on civilians and establishing the rule of proportionality to govern the scope of permissible damage to civilians. War and aggression were “reserved” to states, as was the right of self-defense. These fundamental rules are based on the assumption of symmetry . In particular, it was assumed that conflicts would be fought between sovereign states. As a result, POW status and privileges and due process for trials could almost be taken for SOCIAL RESEARCH, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Winter 2002) Introductory Remarks BY THEODOR MERON granted. Indeed, even in civil wars, the model was a government against a rebel entity seeking power and legitimacy and thus willing to abide by at least the basic rules. In such situations various equivalents of the rules applicable to international wars would apply, in addition to the fundamental rule of humane treatment. Indeed, one might say that even in civil wars there was a certain symmetry, a certain reciprocity, between the parties, which fostered compliance. Most of these fundamentals are now called into question. Can international law perform well also in asymmetrical situations? When terrorists practice or even proclaim complete disregard of international rules, what is the incentive for anti-terrorist forces to abide by the law? The moral philosopher Michael Walzer has written that the very definition of “terrorism is the deliberate violation” of those norms: “For ordinary citizens are killed and no defense is offered . . . in terms of their individual activities. . . . They are simply killed to deliver a message of fear to others like themselves” (Walzer, 1977: 203). Traditional humanitarian law applies to wars, or armed conflicts . Terrorism, however, is also common in situations falling short of war. In these circumstances, we must confront particularly difficult questions: Will the reactions conform to humanitarian rules of war, and how strictly? Will battlefield rules be ignored, deconstructed, revised, bent? The same kinds of questions arise for the conduct of trials. We may repeat the question asked by Professor Adam Roberts (2002): Does the problem extend beyond the conduct of the adversaries to the very adequacy of the law? If there is a problem with the law’s fit, what can we do about the normative framework, short of undermining the existing law? It is worth noting that the definition of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court treaty applies, fortunately, also in peacetime. Outside this specific context (crimes against humanity), are national laws and procedures the principal normative framework in nonwar situations? How effective will inter1182 SOCIAL RESEARCH national human rights be in ensuring that national procedures conform to international standards? Is the new International Criminal Court likely to be effective in handling terror cases? Should trials of terrorists be entrusted to ad hoc international tribunals created by the Security Council under Chapter 7 of the UN charter? In terms of international law, several distinct but interrelated prongs or segments of relevance exist. The first is the question of resort to force and its justification, the jus ad bellum, the law of the UN charter. The second is the applicability of rules of combat, or rules of...

Second Generation Employment Discrimination: A Structural Approach

This article explores current and emerging regulatory approaches to manifestations of workplace bias. Second generation bias involves structures and patterns of interaction within the workplace that, over time, exclude members of non-dominant groups. This complex and dynamic type of problems poses a serious challenge for a first generation system that depends on judicial or legislative elaboration of rules, enforced by judicial sanctions for deliberate violations. Over the last decade, an interesting and complex regulatory pattern has emerged to address second generation bias. Multiple public, private and nongovernmental actors are actively and interactively developing systems to address issues such as sexual harassment and the glass ceiling. Each of these institutional actors has begun to approach these questions as posing essentially issues of problem solving. Each has, to varying degrees, linked their anti-bias efforts with the more general challenge of enhancing institutional capacity to manage complex workplace relationships. These multiple actors have, perhaps unwittingly, begun to carve out distinctive roles and relationships that form the outlines of a dynamic regulatory system for addressing second generation discrimination. This article offers a framework that makes visible these emerging and converging patterns for addressing second generation discrimination problems in the judiciary, the workplace, and mediating institutions. It explores the potential for a judicially de-centered, holistic, and dynamic approach. This new regulatory approach shifts the emphasis away from primary reliance on after-the-fact enforcement of specific legal rules. Instead, normative elaboration occurs through a fluid, interactive relationship between problem solving within specific workplaces and the courts, mediated by non-governmental actors. In this framework, compliance is defined, achieved through, and evaluated in relation to improving institutional capacity to identify, prevent, and redress exclusion, bias, and abuse. The article documents examples of this structural approach in the workplace, the courts, and the non-governmental sector, and then extrapolates from these examples to offer a starting point for identifying how internal workplace processes can meet concerns about accountability, legitimacy and effectiveness. In particular, it provides case studies of Home Depot, Intel, and Deloitte & Touche, and analyzes how these initiatives achieve accountability and effective remediation of second generation problems. It also addresses the counter-tendencies and patterns that undercut the viability of this structural approach, and proposes some preliminary steps that encourage the information pooling, capacity building, and accountability mechanisms needed to more fully realize the potential inchoate in the Supreme Court's structural jurisprudence. These proposals highlight the importance of professional and institutional gatekeepers, such as insurance companies, research consortia, human resource practitioners, advocacy organizations, and lawyers, in performing these crucial roles within the emerging regulatory system.

Human rights and the responsibility of intellectuals

There is much richness in the responses of the participants in this symposium on Kosovo and I cannot possibly to do justice to all the interesting and provocative thoughts presented. What follows are some of my own thoughts about the conflict on Kosovo and its implications for human rights. I present these thoughts in relation to various--but not all--points brought up by the authors. I would like to begin by making some general observations about the relationship between intellectuals and human rights. Intellectuals were the creators of the idea of universal human rights; there is probably no greater legacy from the Enlightenment than the idea that there are universal norms and values that should govern human conduct (at that the same time, though, the idea of relativism, which is fundamentally incompatible with the idea of human fights, also emerged out of the Enlightenment and this is a point to which I will return later). In the modern era, it is intellectuals who continue to articulate idealized visions of the normative bases of social life and who play a special role as protectors of human fights and social justice. The idea that the intellectual is not simply a producer of ideas, but the conscience of society is built into many definitions of the intellectual. Consider the view of Edward Said, himself a leading public intellectual: the intellectual "is an individual endowed with a faculty for representing, embodying, articulating a message, a view, an attitude, philosophy or opinion to, as well as for, a public..." 1 The intellectual is someone"whose place it is to confront orthodoxy and dogma (rather than to produce them). . .who cannot easily be coopted by governments or corporations, and whose raison d'etre is to represent all those people and issues that are routinely forgotten or swept under the rug. The intellectual does so on the basis of universal principles: that all human beings are entitled to expect decent standards of behavior concerning freedom and justice from worldly powers or nations, and that deliberate or inadvertent violations of these standards need to be testified and fought against courageously." 2 The last part of Said's definition is notable for its overt normative injunction for the intellectual to act according to universal principles to protect the weak.

O chamado direito alternativo

Proclamação de juízes do Rio Grande do Sul: "O Direito acima da Lei. O compromisso do juiz é com a Justiça, não com a lei. A lei injusta não deve ser aplicada". Irrealismo desse ideal. Em caso de conflito num caso concreto, o que se pede ao juiz não é sua aspiração pessoal de Justiça, mas uma declaração do que a lei manda, nesse caso concreto. Para evitar o arbítrio, forçoso é abraçar as leis. A sentença contra legem constitui violação deliberada de norma jurídica, e autoriza ação judicial contra o juiz. A missão verdadeira do juiz: aplicar as leis com a lógica do jurista, que é a lógica do razoável. O problema da interpretação das normas jurídicas. Justiça e caridade: o papel destas virtudes, na atividade humana.

Behavioural economics and compliance with safety regulations

What are the conditions that influence compliance with and violations of safety rules? Behavioural economics provides a framework on the basis of which it is possible to develop a parsimonious model of these conditions and to derive interventions that are applied relatively easily. It is argued that a major part of the deliberate violations of rules and regulations in sociotechnical systems can be explained as a consequence of the disregard of three propositions of behavioural economics by system designers and managers: (1) unclear or conflicting rules or constraints, (2) delayed, ambiguous or missing feedback, and (3) absence of clear priority rules in cases of conflicts between high-level and low-level safety commitments.

Contrary to nature : Inuit conception of witchcraft

The present contribution to the phenomenology of witchcraft will depend for its data on the traditional conceptions, rites, and folklore of witchcraft among the Inuit (Eskimo) of Čanada and Greenland. A phenomenological definition of witchcraft may be obtained through recognition of its position within Inuit religion. Like many native North Americans, the Inuit epitomized their religion in the concept of balance. The Polar Inuit understood religion to have the function "to keep a right balance between mankind and the rest of the world". Without exception, the rites of Inuit witchcraft were rites of Inuit religion that were made unnatural, through the alteration of one or more features. Because counterclockwise ritual motions were specific to witchcraft, the expression "contrary to nature" may be understood to epitomize the Inuit's own appreciation of witchcraft. Whether witchcraft depended on deliberate violations of traditional observances, on malicious uses of magic formulae and songs, and/or on ritual motions, witchcraft proceeded "contrary to nature". Thus, witchcraft can be defined as special practices, which together with the beliefs and folklore surrounding them, are believed to be innately disruptive of the balance between mankind and the numina. Because it is contrary to nature, witchcraft is innately anti-social. The disruption of the balance of mankind with the numina is not the private act of the witch against a victim, but a danger for the entire community.

Prevention Of Pollution By Oil And Hazardous Materials In Marine Operations

Abstract A brief summary of legislation and international treaties applicable to pollution by marine operations is given. Pollution is defined as the discharge of anything which affects or is harmful to the ecology, use, or esthetic quality of the receiving body either temporarily or permanently. The causes of pollution are deliberate violations, poor practices, and unavoidable accidents. The solution to pollution is prevention, minimizing effects when total prevention is not realistic, and finally cleanup. These solutions are best effected by education, engineering, and enforcement, in that order. Data is presented which points out the major operational causes of pollution with the not too surprising result that human error, manifested in overfilling, vessel mishandling, and improper system operation, is the major contributor. Possible corrective measures are discussed with emphasis that all such measures must meet the test of necessity, effectiveness, and practicality.

Antitrust Aspects of Transatlantic Investment

As indicated by Mr. Fugate in the following article, there can be no question that foreign investment is welcome in the United States. The new products, new technology, and new competition accompanying such investment can only be a plus for the American economy. Our antitrust laws have the task of maintaining a competitive economy, free from unduly restrictive practices or market domination, and in a period when growing concentration of economic power within the United States is becoming a matter of increasing concern, this task would be made considerably easier by the introduction of new sources of competition from abroad. The procompetitive philosophy behind our antitrust laws has been given a great deal of credit for the vigorous, imaginative, and flexible business spirit in our country. Exclusionary or discriminatory business practices directed at foreign firms will be given no different treatment at the Antitrust Division or the Federal Trade Commission than when a U.S. firm is the victim. We have a duty to enforce the law with an even hand, and we, like other nations, will do everything we can to prevent deliberate violations of our law. In other words, in a very important sense, our antitrust laws are a distinct advantage to the foreign company doing business here. In my opinion, foreign companies considering U.S. investment are unduly concerned about the effects of the U.S. antitrust laws in regulating their business activities. Aside from exemptions for particular regulated segments such as railroads and public utilities, the antitrust laws cover industry generally in the United States and are based on the idea of business freedom, the very antithesis of regulation. While the antitrust laws are firmly enforced and apply both to the interstate and foreign commerce of the United States, they are well charted, and, if in doubt, the businessman and his lawyer

International Force in a Disarming—but Revolutionary—World

General disarmament plans, like weapons of mass destruction, supply excessive solutions to problems, and, like those weapons, they tend to leave unanswered many highly pertinent questions about lesser conflicts, low-level disorders, ambiguous enemies, and local policing jobs. By and large, strategic planners have come to recognize this weakness in military doctrines, but it is not certain that the planners of general and complete disarmament (GCD) yet recognize that a blueprint geared to the deliberate violation, the great war, the two super-states in hostile confrontation, may turn out to be quite irrelevant to the real problems of a disarmed or even semidisarmed world. At best such a blueprint is bound to be deficient until it comes to grips with disorders other than classic open encounters of two states—that is, with the painfully familiar gamut ranging from civil war fomented in a great state by outside agents to the purely internal breakdown of law and order in a small state.