The Agrarian question and peasant movements in twentieth‐century India: A review of some studies of Bihar

Arvind N. Das (ed.), Agrarian Movements in India: Studies on 20th Century Bihar, The Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3, Special Issue, London: Frank Cass, 1982. Pp. 152; also in hardback; £19.50.

This review of a collection of studies of the turbulent Indian state of Bihar emphasises the need for a clearly defined unit of study and for an adequate analysis of social structure. The review examines the diversity of colonial era peasant movements, the importance of nationalism and communalism, and the contrast between the colonial and post‐colonial situations. The review also criticises the misleading presentation of the colonial era peasant leaders as committed radicals and comments that even nowadays the goals of peasant protest are generally reformist rather than radical.     

Book Review Getting Reacquainted With an Old Friend Psychological evaluations for the courts: A handbook for mental health professionals and lawyers (2nd ed.). Gary B. Melton,John Petrila,Norman G. Poythress, & Christopher Slobogin. New York: Guilford Press, 1997. ISBN 1-57230-236-4

Law and Human Behavior -     

Development and validation of videotaped scenarios: a method for targeting specific participant groups

Researchers using scenarios often neglect to validate perceived content and salience of embedded stimuli specifically with intended participants, even when such meaning is integral to the study. For example, sex and aggression stimuli are heavily influenced by culture, so participants may not perceive what researchers intended in sexual aggression scenarios. Using four studies, the authors describe the method of scenario validation to produce two videos assessing alcohol-related sexual aggression. Both videos are identical except for the presence in one video of antiforce cues that are extremely salient to the young heterosexual men. Focus groups and questionnaires validate these men's perceptions that (a) the woman was sexually interested, (b) the sexual cues were salient, (c) the antiforce cues were salient (antiaggression video only), and (e) these antiforce cues inhibited acceptance of forced sex. Results show the value of carefully selecting and validating content when assessing socially volatile variables and provide a useful template for developing culturally valid scenarios.     

Psychopathy and Sexual Sadism

Psychopathic personality disorder and sexual sadism share several common characteristics, such as emotional detachment from the suffering of others or the preparedness to inflict pain or injuries. Based on a sample of 100 male forensic patients (all of them sex offenders, half of them sadistic), the concept of psychopathy and sexual sadism as a unified construct was tested empirically. Pooling indicator variables for psychopathic and sexually sadistic disorders showed that a two-factorial solution yielded a better fit than a single-factor model. The two factors identified psychopathy and sexual sadism as separate latent variables. More specifically, the data were compatible with a path model in which affective deficits and behavioral disinhibition of the psychopathy domain are precursors to sexually sadistic conduct.     

The dual nature of anti-corruption agencies in China

As the pace of modern life quickens considerably and changes come fast and furious in public affairs, the qualifications based on which public servants are recruited, the skills they are required to master in order to deal with the new situation, the challenges they are faced with, and the administrative behavior they demonstrate are all no longer the same. Bureaucrats in anti-corruption agencies are no exception. This article will review the latest development in China’s public administration, as unethical bureaucratic behavior in anti-corruption agencies has been among the increasingly vexing pathologies the authorities have to cope with.

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