A Framework for Assessing the Rationality of Judgments in Carcinogenicity Hazard Identification

Arguing that guidelines for identifying carcinogens now lack a philosophically rigorous framework, the authors present an alternative that draws clear attention to the process of reasoning towards judgments of carcinogenicity

An instinct for detection: psychological perspectives on CCTV surveillance

The aim of this article is to inform and stimulate a proactive, multidisciplinary approach to research and development in surveillance-based detective work. In this article we review some of the key psychological issues and phenomena that practitioners should be aware of. We look at how human performance can be explained with reference to our biological and evolutionary legacy. We show how critical viewing conditions can be in determining whether observers detect or overlook criminal activity in video material. We examine situations where performance can be surprisingly poor, and cover situations where, even once confronted with evidence of these detection deficits, observers still underestimate their susceptibility to them. Finally we explain why the emergence of these relatively recent research themes presents an opportunity for police and law enforcement agencies to set a new, multidisciplinary research agenda focused on relevant and pressing issues of national and international importance

Free Entropy Dimension in Amalgamated Free Products

We calculate the microstates free entropy dimension of natural generators in an amalgamated free product of certain von Neumann algebras, with amalgamation over a hyperfinite subalgebra. In particular, some `exotic' Popa algebra generators of free group factors are shown to have the expected free entropy dimension. We also show that microstates and non--microstates free entropy dimension agree for generating sets of many groups. In the appendix by Wolfgang Lueck, the first L^2-Betti number for certain amalgamated free products of groups is calculated.Comment: The second revised version significantly generalized the main result of the original one, (see the abstract) and contains a new appendix by Wolfgang Lueck. The third and fourth revisions correct some minor mistakes. The fifth version adds a result about embeddability of amalgmated free product

Detect the unexpected: a science for surveillance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline a strategy for research development focused on addressing the neglected role of visual perception in real life tasks such as policing surveillance and command and control settings. Approach – The scale of surveillance task in modern control room is expanding as technology increases input capacity at an accelerating rate. The authors review recent literature highlighting the difficulties that apply to modern surveillance and give examples of how poor detection of the unexpected can be, and how surprising this deficit can be. Perceptual phenomena such as change blindness are linked to the perceptual processes undertaken by law-enforcement personnel. Findings – A scientific programme is outlined for how detection deficits can best be addressed in the context of a multidisciplinary collaborative agenda between researchers and practitioners. The development of a cognitive research field specifically examining the occurrence of perceptual “failures” provides an opportunity for policing agencies to relate laboratory findings in psychology to their own fields of day-to-day enquiry. Originality/value – The paper shows, with examples, where interdisciplinary research may best be focussed on evaluating practical solutions and on generating useable guidelines on procedure and practice. It also argues that these processes should be investigated in real and simulated context-specific studies to confirm the validity of the findings in these new applied scenarios

Assessing the Legitimacy of Governmental Regulation of Modern Speech Aimed at Social Reform: The Importance of Hindsight and Causation

When governmental regulation or punishment of speech occurs subsequent to the speech itself, such regulation is conducted with the benefit of hindsight. This is important because hindsight enables us to discern whether the expression in question has caused any legally cognizable harm. When speech is responsible for such a harm, its punishment is justfied by this causal connection. Yet conversely, when we know that speech is consequence-free, its ex post punishment is conceptually indefensible. In the first part of this article, Mr. Brown criticizes the imminent lawless action standard articulated in Brandenburg v. Ohio for failing to embrace fully this straightforward proposition. Importantly, however, the emergence of the Internet has clouded the application of this concept. E-communication enables a speaker to reach audiences of previously unattainable size, and to do so with unprecedented instantaneousness. In the second Part of this Article, Mr. Brown argues that contemporary First Amendment jurisprudence - and specifically the opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Inc. v. Am. Coalition of Life Activists -fails to incorporate a realistic view of causation in the Internet age. He concludes that although the ex post regulation of consequence-free speech is illegitimate, we should be reticent, in the context of Internet speech, to dismiss the causative role of such expression without first affording this connection close scrutiny