scholarly journals Being Easy to Communicate Might Make Verdicts Based on Confessions More Legitimate

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 203-225
Author(s):  
Hugo Mercier ◽  
Anne-Sophie Hacquin ◽  
Nicolas Claidière

Abstract In many judicial systems, confessions are a requirement for criminal conviction. Even if confessions are intrinsically convincing, this might not entirely explain why they play such a paramount role. In addition, it has been suggested that confessions owe their importance to their legitimizing role, explaining why they could be required even when other evidence has convinced a judge. But why would confessions be particularly suited to justify verdicts? One possibility is that they can be more easily transmitted from one individual to the next, and thus spread in the population without losing their convincingness. 360 English-speaking participants were asked to evaluate the convincingness of one of three justifications for a verdict, grounded either in a confession, eyewitnesses, or circumstantial evidence, and to pass on that justification to another participant, who performed the same task. Then, 240 English-speaking participants evaluated the convincingness of some of the justifications produced by the first group of participants. Compared to the other justifications, justifications based on confessions lost less of their convincingness in the transmission process (small to medium effect sizes). Modeling pointed to the most common forms the justifications would take as they are transmitted, and results showed that the most common variant of the justification based on a confession was more convincing (small to medium effect sizes).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Mercier ◽  
Nicolas Claidière ◽  
Anne-Sophie Hacquin

In many judicial systems, confessions are a de facto or even de jure requirement for criminal conviction. Even if confessions are intrinsically convincing, this cannot explain why they should play such a paramount role. Instead, it has been suggested that confessions owe their importance to their legitimizing role. But why would confessions be particularly suited to justify verdicts?Justifications grounded in confessions might make better legitimizing tools because they can be more easily transmitted from one individual to the next, and thus spread in the population without losing their convincingness. 360 English-speaking participants were asked to evaluate the convincingness of one of three justifications for a verdict, grounded either in a confession, eyewitnesses, or circumstantial evidence, and to pass on that justification to another participant, who then had to perform the same task. In a second experiment, 240 English-speaking participants evaluated the convincingness of some of the justifications produced by the first group of participants. Compared to the other justifications, justifications based on confessions lost less of their convincingness in the transmission process (small to medium effect sizes). Modeling pointed to the most common forms the justifications would take as they are transmitted, and results showed that the most common variant of the justification based on a confession was more convincing than those of justifications based on eyewitnesses or circumstantial evidence (small to medium effect sizes). These results suggests that justifications for verdicts based on confessions are more easily transmitted, and thus can more easily legitimize verdicts.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 910
Author(s):  
Dorthe Djernis ◽  
Mia S. O’Toole ◽  
Lone O. Fjorback ◽  
Helle Svenningsen ◽  
Mimi Y. Mehlsen ◽  
...  

Here, we developed and examined a new way of disseminating mindfulness in nature to people without meditation experience, based on the finding that mindfulness conducted in natural settings may have added benefits. We evaluated a 5-day residential programme aiming to reduce stress and improve mental health outcomes. We compared an indoor and an outdoor version of the programme to a control group in a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT). Sixty Danish university students experiencing moderate to high levels of stress were randomised into a residential mindfulness programme indoors (n = 20), in nature (n = 22), or a control group (n = 18). Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale and the Self-Compassion Scale (primary outcomes) along with additional secondary outcome measures at the start and end of the program and 3 months after. Stress was decreased with small to medium effect sizes post-intervention, although not statistically significant. Self-compassion increased post-intervention, but effect sizes were small and not significant. At follow-up, changes in stress were not significant, however self-compassion increased for both interventions with medium-sized effects. For the intervention groups, medium- to large-sized positive effects on trait mindfulness after a behavioural task were found post-intervention, and small- to medium-sized effects in self-reported mindfulness were seen at follow-up. Connectedness to Nature was the only outcome measure with an incremental effect in nature, exceeding the control with a medium-sized effect at follow-up. All participants in the nature arm completed the intervention, and so did 97% of the participants in all three arms. Overall, the results encourage the conduct of a larger-scale RCT, but only after adjusting some elements of the programme to better fit and take advantage of the potential benefits of the natural environment.


1882 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 312-343
Author(s):  
Isaac N. Arnold

The noblest inheritance we Americans derive from our British ancestors is the memory and example of the great and good men who adorn your history. They are as much appreciated and honoured on our side of the Atlantic as on this. In giving to the English-speaking world Washington and Lincoln we think we repay, in large part, our obligation. Their pre-eminence in American history is recognised, and the republic, which the one founded and the other preserved, has already crowned them as models for her children.


Think ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (34) ◽  
pp. 33-56
Author(s):  
Matthew Carey Jordan

This essay is about liberal and conservative views of marriage. I'll begin by mentioning that I would really, really like to avoid use of the terms ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative’, but when push comes to shove, I know of no better labels for the positions that will be discussed in what follows. I would like to avoid these labels for a simple reason: many people strongly self-identify as liberals or as conservatives, and this can undermine our ability to investigate the topic in a sane, rational way. Politics, at least in the contemporary English-speaking world, functions a lot like the world of sports. Many people have a particular team to which their allegiance has been pledged, and the team's successes and failures on the field are shared in the hearts and minds of its loyal followers. In my own case – and here, I ask for your pity – I am a fan of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns. As much as I might wish things were otherwise, I rejoice in the Browns' (rare) triumphs and suffer when they lose (which happens frequently). I do not wait to see what happens in the game before I decide which team to cheer for; if it's an NFL game, and I see orange and brown, I know where my allegiance lies. Furthermore, I identify with my fellow Browns fans in a way that I cannot identify with followers of, say, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clevelanders are my people. We share something, and what we share unites us in opposition to Steeler Nation. Their victories are our defeats. It is a zero-sum game: for one of us to win, the other must lose.


Antiquity ◽  
1928 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
pp. 328-336
Author(s):  
F. Wildte

The Scandinavian peoples emerge into the light of history much later than their neighbours in the South and the West, the Teutons on the Continent and in England. It was only through the Viking raids that the Nordic peoples came into touch with the rest of Europe, and were gradually converted to Christianity. Long after the introduction of the Christian faith they preserved many peculiar and archaic traits. Thus the Nordic peoples retained, with great tenacity and conservatism, their ancient judicial system. This system has therefore been the object of considerable interest even outside Scandinavia, although the manuscripts through which it has become known are much later than the corresponding documents of other Teutonic nations.An investigation of the localities where justice was dispensed in former ages is of importance not only for the history of civilization, but also as a complement to the study of oral and written tradition, and thus to the history of law itself. In view of the many points of similarity between the judicial systems of the various Teutonic nations, some notes on the Thing-steads, or places of assembly, in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, may perhaps be of interest to English-speaking readers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Mahnaz Bazzaz-Yamchi ◽  
Soofia Naghdi ◽  
Amin Nakhostin-Ansari ◽  
Monavar Hadizadeh ◽  
Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari ◽  
...  

Background. Chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP) is one of the common health issues. Hamstring tightness contributes to the development of LBP. This study aimed to investigate the acute and short-term effects of deep dry needling (DN) in patients with chronic nonspecific LBP and hamstring muscle tightness. Methods. A single-group pretest-posttest clinical study design was followed. The outcome measures were the visual analog scale (VAS), passive knee extension (PKE) test, finger-floor distance (FFD) test, and functional rating index (FRI). Patients underwent one session of deep DN of three points on both hamstring muscles, each point for one minute. Patients were assessed before (T0), immediately after (T1), and one week after DN (T2). The FRI was assessed at T0 and T2. Results. Ten women with a mean age of 21.1 years (SD = 1.6) participated in the study. Significant large effect sizes in VAS pain reduction (d = 1.25) and PKE hamstring tightness were obtained (hamstring: right, d = 0.82; left, d = 0.88) at T2. Medium effect sizes were obtained for FFD (d = 0.45) and FRI (d = 0.72) at T2. Conclusion. A single session of deep DN improved pain and function and increased hamstring flexibility. This pilot study supports the use of DN in patients with LBP and hamstring tightness; however, future research with a rigorous study design of randomized controlled trial is required to confirm the findings. This trial is registered with IRCT20180511039612N1.


2011 ◽  
pp. 110-127
Author(s):  
Tytus Jaskułowski

The text attempts to analyse the GDR Ministry of State Security’s offensive operations using the instruments of radio-electronic intelligence against the PPR in 1981. The situation in Poland, the emergence of Solidarność and possible, uncontrolled spreading of a wave of democratisation onto the East Germany’s territory as well, drove the leaders of the latter state to undertake actions aimed at ensuring it access to information on the on-going situation in the PRP. Apart from the data obtained officially, they also intended to resort to independent methods for its acquisition, most of all by employing the secret services. The author focuses on just one aspects of such operations, that is, radio-electronic intelligence. Apart from describing the structure and the working methods of the MfS’ III Directorate responsible for this type of reconnaissance, he presents the guidelines received by this organisation, its modus operandi and forms of work both on the territory of the GDR and the PPR, as well as on that of the other states. He also points to the effects and all the problems resulting from implementing intelligence operations, including those in the context of official co-operation between the secret services of the PPR and GDR. According to the author, the manner of carrying out offensive MfS operations by radio-electronic intelligence allows for a certain scepticism with regard to the thesis that the GDR services had unlimited opportunities to work in Poland. Based on the available archive sources, the observation that the MfS found it difficult to process and apply information obtained as a result of the services’ operations, is warranted. The shortage of competent staff can be clearly seen and not all the available technical instruments could perform their role. What was also important was the lack of understanding at the MfS of the different philosophy of life in the PPR, which determined the reception of its image obtained from the monitoring in place. Moreover, archive searches provide circumstantial evidence indicating that the Polish counter-intelligence was aware of what type of operations were being carried out by the GDR against Poland. The need for co-operation between the MfS and the MSW in the context of the radio-electronic intelligence against other states, as well as the awareness of the risk related to the possible discovery of illegal radio-electronic operations, led to their closing down. This failed, however, to change the belief that the fundamental operating principles of the secret services are to distrust one’s partners and to protect one’s own interests.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaochun Han ◽  
Yoni K. Ashar ◽  
Philip Kragel ◽  
Bogdan Petre ◽  
Victoria Schelkun ◽  
...  

Identifying biomarkers that predict mental states with large effect sizes and high test-retest reliability is a growing priority for fMRI research. We examined a well-established multivariate brain measure that tracks pain induced by nociceptive input, the Neurologic Pain Signature (NPS). In N = 295 participants across eight studies, NPS responses showed a very large effect size in predicting within-person single-trial pain reports (d = 1.45) and medium effect size in predicting individual differences in pain reports (d = 0.49, average r = 0.20). The NPS showed excellent short-term (within-day) test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.84, with average 69.5 trials/person). Reliability scaled with the number of trials within-person, with ≥60 trials required for excellent test-retest reliability. Reliability was comparable in two additional studies across 5-day (N = 29, ICC = 0.74, 30 trials/person) and 1-month (N = 40, ICC = 0.46, 5 trials/person) test-retest intervals. The combination of strong within-person correlations and only modest between-person correlations between the NPS and pain reports indicates that the two measures have different sources of between-person variance. The NPS is not a surrogate for individual differences in pain reports, but can serve as a reliable measure of pain-related physiology and mechanistic target for interventions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukma Nur Ardini

The aim of this paper is to report the observation findings of foreign language beliefs and behaviors among three communities of English speaking communities’ specific of their cultural identity. The study used descriptive qualitative design since the author wants to describe the phenomenon happened in this study. Three English speaking communities were taken as the data; first, Krismit whatsApp group conversation; second, a private whatsApp conversation between two non-native speakers; third, a classroom talk. Those data were taken from the author’s cellphone, then the chats were exported, transcribed and analyzed well through their beliefs and behaviors specific of their cultural identity. The findings of the present study indicate that the awareness of using English pattern in two communities needs to be more highlighted, while the other community revealed the cultural matter in the form of expressions. Therefore, teachers’ and educators’ big effort in decreasing this issue is crucially needed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Keisuke Suzuki ◽  
Yasuo Haruyama ◽  
Gen Kobashi ◽  
Toshimi Sairenchi ◽  
Koji Uchiyama ◽  
...  

Background. The role of central sensitization in refractory pain-related diseases has not yet been clarified. Methods. We performed a multicenter case-controlled study including 551 patients with various neurological, psychological, and pain disorders and 5,188 healthy controls to investigate the impact of central sensitization in these patients. Symptoms related to central sensitization syndrome (CSS) were assessed by the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) parts A and B. Patients were categorized into 5 groups based on CSI-A scores from subclinical to extreme. The Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), addressing pain severity and pain interference with daily activities, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9, assessing depressive symptoms, were also administered. Results. CSI-A scores and CSI-B disease numbers were significantly greater in patients than in controls ( p < 0.001 ). Medium effect sizes (r = 0.37) for CSI-A scores and large effect sizes (r = 0.64) for CSI-B disease numbers were found between patients and control groups. Compared with the CSI-A subclinical group, the CSI-A mild, moderate, severe, and extreme groups had significantly higher BPI pain interference and severity scores, PHQ-9 scores, and CSS-related disease numbers based on ANCOVA. Greater CSI-B numbers resulted in higher CSI-A scores ( p < 0.001 ) and a higher odds ratio ( p for trend <0.001). CSS-related symptoms were associated with pain severity, pain interference with daily activities, and depressive symptoms in various pain-related diseases. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that CSS may participate in these conditions as common pathophysiology.


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