The role of race/ethnicity and race relations on public opinion related to the immigration and crime link

This article examines two hypotheses related to public opinion concerning immigration and crime. Using data from a recent Gallup poll with oversamples of Hispanics and Blacks, the research examined whether race/ethnicity and race relations matter in the public's opinion of the connection between immigration and crime. After a series of models were performed, results of the final model revealed that race relations, gender (specifically, being male), race/ethnicity, and immigrant status are influential in contextualizing public opinion on the topic. The meaning and policy implications of these findings are also reviewed.     

公共卫生与人权

本文是置人权于中国公共卫生场域中的阐释。起因是2004年后——2004年,人权在中国入宪——当人们试图以人权作为转型中中国公共卫生的基础理念时,却发现从旧体制（计划经济体制）走出来的中国公共卫生很难在实际上接受人权：是同样地保护每一个人,还是保护大多数人;是首先着眼于管理,还是强调国家对每一个人的健康权的积极责任,是在中国,公共卫生必须面对的问题。     

Attending to the role of race/ethnicity in family violence research

Since the 1970s, researchers and public health and/or social policy communities have devoted increasing attention to family violence. Although officially reported crime figures for family violence appear to be declining, rates continue to be high in broadly defined racial and/or ethnic minority groups. More careful assessments of the potential role of race/ethnicity in family violence, and similarities and differences occurring across and within groups categorized based on race/ethnicity, are essential if adequate interventions are to be developed and utilized. This article provides suggestions on conducting better studies on family violence in the United States, particularly with respect to issues of race/ethnicity. The authors begin by considering conceptions and definitions of race/ethnicity and providing a broad definition of family violence. They then suggest issues for consideration at each stage of the research process, from reviewing previous research, to making methodological decisions, selecting samples, choosing measures, and analyzing and interpreting findings.     

Immigrant workers: health, law, and public policy

Immigrant workers are a large segment of the lower echelon of the U.S. labor force, and as many as 3.6 to 6 million of these workers and their families are living in the U.S. illegally. This paper examines who the recent immigrants are: explains why their current situation in the U.S. is an important public health matter; discusses the ethical and policy issues stemming from their health needs and from illegal status; and concludes with a brief look at some implications of the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration and Reform Act, currently before Congress. The paper suggests that the illegal status of undocumented workers intensifies their health risks; that the immigrants' responsibility for budget short-falls in public services is not as clearcut as frequently assumed; and that legislation aimed at regulating the status of immigrant workers in the U.S. is unlikely to solve many of the central problems.     

Race and Ethnicity in Medical Research: Requirements Meet Reality

Race and ethnicity are commonly reported variables in biomedical research, but how they were determined is often not described and the rationale for analyzing them is often not provided. JAMA improved the reporting of these factors by implementing a policy and procedure. However, still lacking are careful consideration of what is actually being measured when race/ethnicity is described, consistent terminology, hypothesis-driven justification for analyzing race/ethnicity, and a consistent and generalizable measurement of socioeconomic status. Furthermore, some studies continue to use race/ethnicity as a proxy for genetics. Research into appropriate measures of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic factors, as well as education of researchers regarding issues of race/ethnicity, is necessary to clarify the meaning of race/ethnicity in the biomedical literature.     

How Race,Sex, and Age Frame the Use of Authority by Local Government Officials

Thanks to the civil rights movement, women and racial and ethnic minorities increasingly hold positions of public authority—but they experience and exercise this authority differently from white men. Based on 162 narratives collected from 49 US local government officials (city administrators and police), I find that women, minorities, and younger officials in positions of authority face a paradox of rules. Because they have lower social status with the public and within their organizations, they must rely on formal and explicit rules as a key basis for their authority, but such reliance causes their very authority to be questioned. Social status based on implicit assumptions about social identities, including race or ethnicity, sex, and age, originates outside of organizations and has effects society wide. This study shows that social status continues to permeate US local government organizations in both subtle and explicit ways, even in bureaucratic settings that are formally committed to merit and professional norms.     

Matching consequences to behavior: implications of failing to distinguish between noncompliance and nonresponsivity

Neither punitive nor therapeutic approaches alone are effective at addressing the dual public health and public safety concerns associated with managing criminal behavior perpetrated by people who have psychiatric and substance use disorders. The optimal solution may instead require the integration of both criminal justice supervision and treatment. Using problem-solving courts (PSCs) as a model, we focus on one dimension of this integrated approach, distinguishing between behavior that stems from willful noncompliance with supervision and behavior that results from nonresponsivity to treatment. First, we discuss the public health and public safety consequences of using singular approaches to address the criminal behavior of this population. We then present lessons learned from PSCs that distinguish between noncompliant and nonresponsive behaviors in making treatment and supervision decisions. Finally, we consider how the concepts of nonresponsivity and noncompliance may be extended, via policy, to probation and parole settings as well as mental health and substance abuse treatment services outside the criminal justice setting in order to enhance public health and safety.     

论作为人权的医疗卫生服务保障权

健康权的争议性首先表现在健康权概念名称的争议性上。现有健康权、医疗权、卫生保健权等概念名称上的分歧,是因为忽略了各种权利所指向的义务对象和设定的义务内容的不同。作为基本人权针对国家并使国家承担建立医疗保障体系和公共卫生服务体系、保障和促进人民健康义务的积极权利是医疗卫生服务保障权,而不是健康权或其它权利。     

THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND SPATIAL PATTERNS OF RECORDED RAPE IN A LARGE UK METROPOLITAN AREA

The present study details a social contextual analysis of 172 rapes and attempted rapes that occurred in a large metropolitan area in the UK. The main focus of the present study concerns the demographic characteristics of rape victims and offenders, including their age and ethnicity, vis-à-vis their relationship. The study also considers the geographic distribution of offences and their relationship to ethnicity and socio-economic status. Our data clearly indicate that the age of offenders is significantly associated with the nature of the victim–offender relationship, and that rape tends to be intra-racial. The data also provide unique comparisons to be made with contextual data on rapes in rural settings. The implications of these findings for the prevention and deterrence of rape, the recording of rape by the police, and the impact of such findings on public education are considered.     

执法主体心理健康的困惑与思考

执法主体心理健康工作近年来取得很大进展，但在执法主体心理健康工作的意义与目标、执法主体心理健康状况、心理健康标准、研究方法和工具以及执法主体心理健康工作者的专业化等方面，还存在一些模糊认识，必须引起关注和思考。     

Prevalence and mental health correlates of harassment and discrimination in the workplace: results from a national study

This study describes past-year prevalence and effects on mental health and drinking outcomes for harassment and discrimination in the workplace (HDW) in a nationally representative random digit dial phone survey conducted in 2003-2004 (n = 2,151). HDW measures included experiences and perceptions of sexual harassment (SH) and generalized workplace harassment (GWH), and perceived harassment or discrimination because of race or ethnicity. Prevalence was examined by sex, race, age, occupation, marital status, and education. Effects of HDW were assessed controlling for demo-graphics and job and life stressors. Experiencing multiple types of HDW was common. SH was more prevalent among women, and Blacks and those of other or mixed race or ethnicity experienced the highest levels of HDW overall. HDW variables explained additional variance in problem drinking and mental health beyond life and job stressors, particularly for women. This study demonstrates that HDW is a prevalent problem associated with poor mental health and problem drinking in the U.S. workforce.     

Voting with their feet: patient exit and intergroup differences in propensity for switching usual source of care

Many analysts advocate patient exit as a strategy for consumers who experience poor-quality care. Exit is believed to have the potential to improve patient welfare by having patients leave (or "exit") poor-performing health care providers, thus signaling their dissatisfaction with the quality of care they have received and thereby admonishing those providers to improve. However, the validity of exit as a signal of consumer dissatisfaction hinges on how closely it reflects dissatisfaction. Intergroup differences in the propensity to exit could also result in unintended consequences. This article examines the association between consumer experience and the decision to change one's usual care providers. It also investigates if there are any intergroup differences in the propensity for changing providers according to insurance status, gender, and race or ethnicity. Data come from household surveys conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Results show significant intergroup differences in propensity for switching usual source of care for voluntary or involuntary reasons related to insurance, rural residency, age, income, race, and ethnicity. Policy implications of the empirical results on exit, voice, and consumerism are discussed.     

Key concepts in evaluating outcomes of ATP funding of medical technologies

The Economic Assessment Office (EAO) of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) commissions economic studies by outside research organizations. A recent study by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) outlines a framework for evaluating ATP funding of medical technologies. The RTI study employs a standard approach to cost-benefit analysis, while utilizing a number of methods unique to health care assessment to measure the benefits brought about by the new medical technologies. This article highlights important analytical points and explicates key concepts forming the basis of understanding for the approach. Concepts of economic returns, such as private and social returns, and the returns to public investment, are discussed in the framework of cost-benefit analysis and net present value. For analyzing the benefits of new medical technology, methods from health care assessment and concepts such as QALYs and the statistical value of life are identified and explained.     

日本结核病立法及其对我国的启示

随着结核病在全球的广泛流行，它严重危害着广大人民群众的身体健康，已经成为重大的公共卫生问题和社会问题。本文通过介绍日本在结核病方面的相关立法经验，分析我国结核病的法律现状及缺陷，探讨对我国的立法启示。     

Reducing racial and ethnic health disparities: exploring an outcome-oriented agenda for research and policy

Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health status and health care, a major focus of Healthy People 2010, remains on the national agenda and among the priorities for the administration of President George W. Bush. Even though the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities challenges the whole nation, individual states are on the front line of many initiatives and are often the focus of important policy efforts. In addition, it is important to focus on states because they are already responsible for much of the health and public health infrastructure, and several states have developed initiatives dating back to the release of Margaret Heckler's report on the gaps in health outcomes by race in 1985. This article makes the case for an outcome-oriented approach and provides a summary of lessons learned based upon preliminary investigations into constructing and applying two indices, the disparity reduction profile to measure effort and the disparity index to measure outcomes.     

Race and Ethnicity Effects in Federal Sentencing: A Propensity Score Analysis

Research has examined the role of race and ethnicity in the punishment of offenders. Narrative and meta-analytic reviews have indicated that race/ethnicity influences key sentencing outcomes, at least under certain conditions. This research relies almost exclusively on regression-based analyses for determining race and ethnicity effects. While this technique is useful, recent statistical advances may provide more accurate race/ethnicity estimates. The current study employs propensity score analysis to compare punishment outcomes across White, Black, and Hispanic offenders sentenced in US federal courts during the years 2006 through 2008. Results suggest that (a) during the in/out decision the effect of minority status is frequently smaller than that estimated by regression modeling and (b) during the sentence length decision the effect of minority status is frequently larger than that estimated by regression modeling. Consequently, the modeling strategy may produce different conclusions regarding the presence of race- and ethnic-based disparity in sentencing outcomes.     

Ownership conversions in health care organizations: who should benefit?

Because equity capital is becoming an important financing source for health care organizations, the conversion of many such organizations from nonprofit to for-profit status is a significant public policy issue. Since many states require converting nonprofits to repay the "community" for its investment during the nonprofit status period, three questions arise: (1) How much is the entity worth? (2) How much of that worth should be returned to the community? (3) In what form should it be returned? The paper addresses these questions, and demonstrates why responsible public policy calls for them to be carefully considered if community interests are to be preserved.     

Law and public health: beyond emergency preparedness

This Article examines three questions: What is public health? What is public health law? What roles can lawyers play in public health? It first describes the breadth of public health, highlighting six trends shaping its future: social determinants of health; synergy between medicine and public health; shifts in focus from external (e.g., environmental and social) to internal (behavioral) risks to health; federalization of public health law; globalization of health risks and responses; and bioterrorism. Because the domains of law that apply to public health are equally broad, the Article next offers a conceptual framework for identifying the types of laws most suitable to different public health problems. Finally, the role of lawyers in the applied field of public health law is examined, first to encourage attention to law's effect on health, even laws having little apparent relationship to health; and second, to recognize that laws intended to achieve specific health outcomes may affect broader legal principles. Lawyers have a unique role to play in ensuring that the legal principles used to promote health also preserve justice.     

Racial and ethnic disparities in police-reported intimate partner violence perpetration: a mixed methods approach

The objectives of this study were to examine racial and ethnic disparities in perpetrator and incident characteristics and discrepancies between police charges and reported perpetrator behaviors in police-reported intimate partner violence (IPV). This cross-sectional study used standardized police data and victim narratives of IPV incidents reported to the police in Dallas, Texas in 2004. The sample included non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic male perpetrators who were residents of Dallas (N = 4470). Offense charges were prioritized in descending order: sexual assault, aggravated assault, simple assault, kidnapping, robbery, and intimidation. Textual data from the victim narratives were coded, based on the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS), and categorized in descending order of priority: sexual (severe, minor), physical (severe, minor), and psychological (severe, minor) assault. Perpetrators were more likely to be Black and Hispanic. Perpetrator and incident characteristics varied significantly by race/ethnicity, particularly age, age difference between partners, marital status, injury, and interracial relationships. Qualitative data revealed that greater proportions of Black and Hispanic men perpetrated severe physical, but not sexual violence, compared with White men. The greatest disparity between CTS categories and police charges occurred among those cases identified by the CTS as severe physical IPV; 84% were charged with simple assault. Significant differences by race/ethnicity were found only for simple assault charges, which were coded as severe physical as opposed to minor physical IPV more often among Black (69% and 31%) compared with White (62% and 38%) men. The disparities revealed in this study highlight the need to enhance primary and secondary prevention efforts within Black and Hispanic communities and to increase linkages between police, community, and public health organizations.     

被害人视角与刑法理论的重构

被害人的公法主体地位的确立构成在刑事实体法领域引入被害人视角的正当性根据。整合规范的被害人视角之于刑事实体法具有重要的意义。它不仅将促成对刑罚、危害、刑事责任等基本范畴的重构,而且对刑事立法、刑法解释与司法推理具有指导作用,同时还影响到量刑理论及实务。