Apoha and the nominalist/conceptualist controversy

Journal of Indian Philosophy -     

Attitudes about electronic monitoring: Minority and majority racial group differences

Past public opinion research routinely uncovered significant variation in attitudes toward justice system policies among different racial groups. The bulk of punishment attitudinal research, for the most part, focused on more severe sanctions, namely, incarceration and the death penalty. More recent research investigated the perspectives and experiences associated with intermediate sanctions. There are few intermediate sanctions receiving more attention than the use of electronic monitoring, especially with sex offenders. In this article, it is demonstrated that non-White college students have significantly different attitudes about the punitiveness and inequality of electronic monitoring. These findings were uncovered through 599 completed surveys from two universities, and using factor analysis and least-squares regression analysis. Theoretical and practical implications for continued use of this sanction are discussed.     

Use of the SIRS in Compensation Cases: An Examination of Its Validity and Generalizability

The Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS; Rogers et al., Structured interview of reported symptoms (SIRS) and professional manual, 1992) is a well-validated psychological measure for the assessment of feigned mental disorders (FMD) in clinical, forensic, and correctional settings. Comparatively little work has evaluated its usefulness in compensation and disability contexts. The present study examined SIRS data from 569 individuals undergoing forensic neuropsychiatric examinations for the purposes of workers’ compensation, personal injury, or disability proceedings. Using bootstrapping comparisons, three primary groups were identified: FMD, feigned cognitive impairment (FCI), genuine-both (GEN-Both) that encompasses both genuine disorders (GEN-D) and genuine-cognitive presentation (GEN-C). Consistent with the SIRS main objective, very large effect sizes (M Cohen’s d = 1.94) were observed between FMD and GEN-Both groups. Although not intended for this purpose, moderate to large effect sizes (M d = 1.13) were found between FCI and GEN-Both groups. An important consideration is whether SIRS results are unduly affected by common diagnoses or clinical conditions. Systematic comparisons were performed based on common disorders (major depressive disorder, PTSD, and other anxiety disorders), presence of a cognitive disorder (dementia, amnestic disorder, or cognitive disorder NOS), or intellectual deficits (FSIQ < 80). Generally, the magnitude of differences on the SIRS primary scales was small and nonsignificant, providing evidence of the SIRS generalizability across these diagnostic categories. Finally, the usefulness of the SIRS improbable failure-revised (IF-R) scale was tested as a FCI screen. Although it has potential in ruling out genuine cases, the IF-R should not be used as a feigning screen.

Assessing the Domestic Violence Training Needs of Benefits Workers

Domestic violence victims often have economic and employment needs that either directly or indirectly stem from their victimization. In their efforts to seek services, victims may turn to benefits workers who are given the task of providing clients with short-term financial help, job training, access to health care, and assistance in obtaining a job. It is not clear whether benefits workers are adequately prepared to help domestic violence victims. In this study, 189 social services workers from the Commonwealth of Virginia were surveyed to assess the training needs of all social services workers. This article focuses on the specific training needs of benefits workers and draws comparisons between benefits workers’ training needs and other workers’ needs. The findings suggest that benefits workers are perceived as knowing less about domestic violence than other social services workers. Implications are discussed. This research was supported by a contract from the Virginia Institute of Social Services Training Activities     

Evidence of securitisation in the economic sector of security in Europe? Russia’s economic blackmail of Ukraine and the EU’s conditional bailout of Cyprus

Although the Copenhagen school’s securitisation theory and their sectoral analysis are integral parts of European security studies, the school’s economic sector of security has almost been completely ignored. In this article I examine why this is, and whether it makes sense to retain this sector. In the process I flesh out the logic of securitisation in the economic sector. I suggest that one reason why the economic sector of security has been neglected is that real life examples fitting the Copenhagen school’s logic of security as the exception have – in this sector – remained outstanding. Research in other sectors of security has shown however that securitisation does not need to include extraordinary countermeasures; instead it can play out below the level of the exception. Using alternative formulations developed in securitisation studies that relax the threshold for the success of securitisation, I attempt to locate evidence of economic securitisation by looking at two empirical cases. 1) Russia’s economic blackmail of Ukraine at the start of that country’s ongoing crisis. 2) The EU’s conditional bailout of Cyprus during the Eurozone crisis which necessitated capital controls. On the basis of the empirical evidence gathered I conclude by arguing the case for the economic sector of security.     

A Holistic Multi-Scale Approach to Using 3D Scanning Technology in Accident Reconstruction

Three-dimensional scanning and documentation methods are becoming increasingly employed by law enforcement personnel for crime scene and accident scene recording. Three-dimensional documentation of the victim's body in such cases is also increasingly used as the field of forensic radiology and imaging is expanding rapidly. These scanning technologies enable a more complete and detailed documentation than standard autopsy. This was used to examine a fatal pedestrian-vehicle collision where the pedestrian was killed by a van while crossing the road. Two competing scenarios were considered for the vehicle speed calculation: the pedestrian being projected forward by the impact or the pedestrian being carried on the vehicle's bonnet. In order to assist with this, the impact area of the accident vehicle was scanned using laser surface scanning, the victim was scanned using postmortem CT and micro-CT and the data sets were combined to virtually match features of the vehicle to injuries on the victim. Micro-CT revealed additional injuries not previously detected, lending support to the pedestrian-carry theory.     

The Expansion of “Private” Schools in England,Sweden and Eastern Germany: A Comparative Perspective on Policy Development,Regulation, Policy Goals and Ideas

In a diverse range of European countries, there has been an increase in the proportion of pupils attending schools owned by private bodies but funded by the state. This article compares the policy development and governance of private government-dependent schools in three countries/regions: England, Sweden and Berlin/Brandenburg in Eastern Germany. It is found that the regulatory frameworks vary and are associated with specific policy goals and ideas, with apparently similar ideas having different meanings. It is also found that the growth of private government-dependent schools is related to policy goals, differing institutional configurations and political parties.     

The Political Ecology of Austerity: An Analysis of Socio-environmental Conflict under Crisis in Greece*

The paper focuses on two largely understudied and interrelated aspects of the post-2008 economic crisis: how the politics of austerity influences the dynamics of environmental conflict and how the environment is mobilized in subaltern struggles against the normalization of austerity as the hegemonic response to crisis. We ground our analysis on two grassroots conflicts in Greece: the “no-middlemen” solidarity food distribution networks (across Greece) and the movement against gold mining in Halkidiki (northern Greece). Using a Gramscian political ecology framework, our analysis shows that by reciprocally combining anti-austerity politics and alternative ways of understanding and using “nature,” both projects challenge the reproduction of uneven society–environment relations exacerbated by the neoliberal austerity agenda.     

Identity Styles,Positive Youth Development,and Civic Engagement in Adolescence

Identity formation is a core developmental task of adolescence. Adolescents can rely on different social-cognitive styles to seek, process, and encode self-relevant information: information-oriented, normative, and diffuse-avoidant identity styles. The reliance on different styles might impact adolescents’ adjustment and their active involvement in the society. The purpose of this study was to examine whether adolescents with different identity styles report differences in positive youth development (analyzed with the Five Cs—Competence, Confidence, Character, Connection, and Caring—model) and in various forms of civic engagement (i.e., involvement in school self-government activities, volunteering activities, youth political organizations, and youth non-political organizations). The participants were 1,633 (54.1 % female) 14–19 years old adolescents (M _age  = 16.56, SD _age  = 1.22). The findings indicated that adolescents with different identity styles differed significantly on all the Five Cs and on two (i.e., involvement in volunteering activities and in youth non-political organizations) forms of civic engagement. Briefly, adolescents with an information-oriented style reported high levels of both the Five Cs and civic engagement; participants with a normative style reported moderate to high scores on the Five Cs but low rates of civic engagement; diffuse-avoidant respondents scored low both on the Five Cs and on civic engagement. These findings suggest that the information-oriented style, contrary to the diffuse-avoidant one, has beneficial effects for both the individual and the community, while the normative style has quite beneficial effects for the individual but not for his/her community. Concluding, adolescents with different identity styles display meaningful differences in positive youth development and in rates of civic engagement.