Government Accountability Project

ABSTRACT Forensic experts commonly state that many serial homicide offenders kill for the pleasure of it. At the same time, a small number of leisure scientists have suggested that serial murder may be a particular form of deviant leisure. Despite such suggestions, there has been little scholarly exploration of serial homicide from a leisure science perspective. This exploratory study adds to the existing literature by analyzing content of multiple key texts and documents that describe a large number of serial homicide cases in order to explore an understanding of murder as potential leisure. Leisure-related themes that emerged across case descriptions were (a) serial murder as a game, (b) murder for thrills and intense sensations, (c) murder for simple enjoyment and fun, and (d) murder as unique personal celebration. Subsequently, possible intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints to serial murder as possible leisure were identified. Implications for future research are also discussed.

Whistle-blowers, who speak out in the public interest, are important players in challenging abuses of power. In science, where trust in processes and outcomes is vital, whistle-blowing is especially important. Case studies of US research whistle-blowers show the challenges they face, the reprisals they suffer, and the significant difference they make through their efforts. Legal protections for whistle-blowers are valuable but not enough on their own. Key potential allies for whistle-blowers are scientific peers, government agencies, legislators, media, and NGOs. These allies can provide corroboration, advocacy, and solidarity.

Abstract Waves of concurrent, cross‐country political turmoil suggest that global economic forces can serve as a catalyst for intrastate conflict. This article analyses the role of uncertainty shocks to global food commodity prices in generating political conflict in developing countries. I build a simple model to show that shocks to the uncertainty of commodity export prices can elicit civil conflict in a small open economy. Econometric evidence from a cross‐country panel data set documenting intrastate civil conflict and global food commodity prices from 1966–90 lends support to this hypothesis. The results suggest that policies which reduce the uncertainty of export prices faced by food commodity exporters can facilitate political stability in conflict‐vulnerable countries.