A recidivism analysis of Maryland's community probation program

This study employed a type of quasi-experimental research design that compared a sample of offenders who underwent community supervision (HotSpot) with a matched sample of offenders who underwent “normal” probation supervision (presample) in Maryland. In addition to examining the recidivism pattern of both offender groups, specific attention was also devoted to the potential inhibiting effects of social bonds. Twelve months of recidivism information was collected to include both rearrest and technical violations. Results suggested that the survival distribution (for both rearrest and technical violation) of HotSpot probationers was not significantly different from the survival distribution for pre-HotSpot probationers. In addition, probationer's level of “stakes in conformity” served to inhibit both measures of recidivism, suggesting that offenders with more social bonds were less likely to incur a rearrest or citation for a technical violation. Theoretical and policy implications are highlighted, as are directions for future research.     

LAWYER'S DUTY TO DISCUSS ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILDREN

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has been championed for its power to devise agreements that meet the parents' and the children's needs and for its ability to encourage parties to work together, eventually leading to stable agreements. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct do not create any ethical duty to advise, suggest, or encourage lawyers to discuss ADR with their domestic relations client. In the medical field, patients are given a choice of treatment under the informed consent doctrine, but there is no analogous doctrine in the legal field. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct should be revised to reflect the best interests of children, as well as client choice. Clients, specifically parents in domestic relation matters, are entitled to know their options, and lawyers should be obligated to provide them with the information that will enable them to make informed decisions–decisions that will benefit their children and ultimately our nation.     

Regulatory Stringency, Green Production Offsets, and Organizations' Financial Performance

Some scholars have argued that environmental regulatory pressures constrain organizations' financial opportunities, while others maintain that environmental regulations can spur product and technology innovations and encourage greater operational efficiencies. Advocates on both sides have evidence in support of their positions. However, considering both perspectives in tandem and recognizing that other factors may be associated with improved financial performance, we may find that neither position is valid, or that both are. Relying on data for manufacturing facilities in seven countries, this study shows that more stringent environmental policy regimes are related to diminished firm profits. Yet organizations that are motivated by a green production focus—defined as enhancing internal efficiencies and new product and technology development—are more likely to improve their environmental performance. They also demonstrate a greater probability of benefiting financially, thereby offsetting the cost of regulation or accruing a net gain.     

FEMININE SEXUALITIES IN CHICK LIT

Feminists have offered highly contested readings of whether the depiction of active feminine sexual subjectivities in some popular cultural genres is progressive or regressive in feminist terms. This article aims to contribute to these debates by exploring representations of women's sexualities in a selection of texts by Marian Keyes, a popular Irish writer of contemporary fiction for women, known as chick lit. Following Charlotte Brunsdon, our study looks specifically for evidence of feminine sexual agency in these texts. The analysis reveals that Keyes's women are proactive in trying to stake out their own sexual territory in an assertive and fun-loving way. Their final efforts, though, look remarkably conventional in the form of heterosexual monogamous relationships, suggesting in feminist terms that these cultural shifts in representations are neither straightforwardly progressive nor regressive.     

Preventing innovative cooperations: the legal exemptions unintended side effect

In 2004, European competition law had been considerable changed by the introduction of the new Council Regulation No. 1/2003. One of the major renewals was the replacement of the centralized notification system for inter-company cooperations in favor of a so-called legal exemption system. We analyze the implications of this reform and its arising uncertainty on the agreements firms implement, especially on innovative agreements like vertical R&D agreements. By means of a decision theoretic approach, we show that the law’s intention to reduce the incentive to establish illegal cartels will be reached but innovating cooperations might be prevented. To avoid this unintended side effect, fines but not the monitoring activities should be increased.     

Diplomaten zwischen Sozialisation und Kalkulation: Bestimmungsfaktoren des Berufserfolgs im Auswärtigen Dienst

This article examines the determining factors of career success in the German Foreign Service. Based on the socialization and the rational choice approach, we design two models from which empirical relevance is evaluated through data from four career entry cohorts (attaché training courses 1970–1973). The statistical analysis of a systematic survey shows that facets of career calculation such as networking or conformity more strongly influence the professional achievements of a diplomat than that of group-specific features such as family background or party membership. Even though we cannot strictly separate the models from each other, it becomes evident that the rationalist explanation predicts career success better than the factors attributed from the socialization model.