Deterrence Theory and the Implementation of Speed Limits in the American States

Despite the ubiquitous nature of these policies, there is disagreement in the literature regarding the direction and size of the impact that speed limits have on traffic‐related fatalities. We argue in this paper that the mixed results in previous work may arise because these studies have missed an important component of the implementation of speed limit laws. More explicitly, they have failed to adequately control for the deterrent effect of enforcement and sanctions. We develop the argument that the observed impacts of speed limits will be overly large when the certainty and severity of punishment are not accounted for. We test this assertion in a cross‐sectional time series analysis of state‐level traffic fatalities from the years 1990–2006 and find that lower speeds do save a significant number of lives. Interestingly, we find that the impact is significantly overestimated for 65‐mph limits and significantly underestimated for 70‐mph limits when enforcement, penalties, and the interaction of the two are excluded. The results also suggest that fines have a rather modest impact on fatalities unless states employ a sufficient number of troopers to enforce posted limits. In addition to clarifying previous findings related to speed limit policy, therefore, the findings contribute to the general application of deterrence theory by empirically confirming that the importance of sanction severity is dependent on the perceived certainty of punishment.     

Ad sanctitatem mortuorum: tomb raiders,body snatchers and relic hunters in late antiquity

In late antiquity there emerged new laws that sought to protect the dead through the prevention and punishment of crimes that contravened the sanctity of the body and its resting place, including the profanation of cadavers, tomb violation, and grave‐robbery. On a more personal level, individuals used epitaphs to convey their wishes to be left undisturbed after burial, and family and kin members began searching for new ways to commemorate the memory of loved ones that did not put their mortal remains at risk. At the same time, the increasing popularity of the cult of saints and martyrs put greater emphasis on the importance of relics as objects of veneration, which in turn led to elaborate strategies of acquisition, including the exhumation, transporting and dismembering of the dead. All of these developments were inspired in some degree by a growing awareness of the body as a symbol of God's eternal love for mankind. Yet paradoxically, literary and archaeological evidence confirms that grave‐robbing was a relatively widespread phenomenon during this time. The question for historians, therefore, is one of legitimacy: in what instances was the violation of tombs considered acceptable or legitimate, and by whom? In answering this, we can learn a great deal about the cultural and religious factors that underpinned the development of new laws and customs concerning the treatment of the dead.     

The role of heritage attractions in sustainable tourism strategies: The experience in Ireland

Ireland, located on the north‐west periphery of Europe, illustrates all the difficulties of a small, marginal, island economy. It is an ancient landscape rich in heritage and cultural features. Tourism is now a vital part of the Irish economy and recent research has demonstrated that ‘Irishness’. whilst difficult to define, is the major appeal to overseas visitors. In 1989 the Irish Government challenged Bord Failte (the Irish Tourist Board) to double revenue from overseas tourists and create 25,000 new jobs. Heritage attractions formed a fundamental feature of Bord Failte's Framework Plan for Tourism. The methodology adopted for the development and interpretation of heritage attractions is evaluated in this paper, together with an assessment of the outcomes of the strategy. This particular initiative is discussed in the context of sustainable tourism strategies.     

Life in the kitchen: Television advertising,the housewife and domestic modernity in Britain, 1955–1969

The modern kitchen was emblematic of a cold war obsession with household consumer durables as a measure of national progress. Its roots lay in a largely American idea of the ‘new household’ and the modern housewife. The article explores how television advertising in Britain played its part in helping to promote these co-joined aspects of the cross-Atlantic domestic ideal. In pursuing this argument, the article emphasises the way American domestic ideals took distinctive directions in Britain. Contributing to this adaptation of American ideals was a range of home-grown influences that shaped the remaking of the post-war home and women’s social role.     

Evidence of early tobacco in Northeastern North America?

While tobacco use was a widespread and important social practice among Native Americans during the Historic Period, the prehistoric origins of the practice are poorly understood. Smoking pipes significantly predate botanical evidence of tobacco in Eastern North America. A promising technique for addressing this problem is gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis to identify nicotine or related compounds in smoking pipe residues. GC/MS analysis of a smoking pipe dating to approximately 300 B.C. from the Boucher Site, a Middlesex-complex site from Vermont, has produced evidence of nicotine decay products. This is interpreted as evidence for an Early Woodland Period origin for tobacco use in Eastern North America. The cultural and chronological implications of this finding are discussed.