The Perils of Public Health Regulation

Policies that are designed to promote public health should not use coercion to discourage unhealthy decision making. Though public health officials may be experts about medical regularities in a population, they are not experts about which dietary or lifestyle choices are best for particular indiviuals. Experts in regulatory agencies also face several political incentives that undermine their ability effectively to promote health at the population level. Furthermore, without consent, coercive public health policies are extremely difficult to justify to citizens. For these reasons, states should not enforce coercive public health policies, even if the state subsidizes citizens' healthcare. Many of the same reasons to reject coercive public health regulations are also reasons to reject other coercive paternalistic policies.     

Patterns of Courtroom Justice

Any one film can sustain a myriad of compelling intepretations. A collection of films, however, sharing formal and substantive qualities, reveals a common effect more than a diversity of meanings. This essay traces the shared formal and substantive qualities of a group of films, as I name them ‘trial films’. It documents this genre of film by identifying the genre’s norms of viewing and identification. It also investigates peculiar hybrid discourse of the trial film genre that combines both filmic and legal discursive practices to show how trial films cultivate support for the American system of law through its constitution of a specific viewing audience. In so doing, I broach the following questions: how do images of law in film help sustain the power and legitimacy of legal institutions? How does the study of film genres, like the courtroom drama, reveal the way law lives beyond its formal processes?     

Same- and Cross-Gender Sexual Harassment Victimization in Middle School: A Developmental-Contextual Perspective

Using a developmental-contextual framework, the present study investigated risk factors for same- and cross-gender sexual harassment victimization in 986 middle school students. Participants completed questionnaires in the fall and spring of the same school year so risk factors could be explored longitudinally. Results revealed that gender differences existed for same- and cross-gender forms of harassment. While girls reported more instances of receiving same- and cross-gender unwanted sexual attention, boys were more likely to report being victims of same-gender gender harassment. Important differences in risk factors also existed. Being bullied in the fall and feeling disconnected from school were risk factors for same-gender victimization but not for cross-gender victimization. Romantic relationship status, which was a significant risk factor for both same- and cross-gender victimization, was qualified by significant gender interactions. Results are explained through a developmental-contextual lens and implications for intervention are discussed.     

Dynamics of Ninhydrin‐Reactive Nitrogen and pH in Gravesoil During the Extended Postmortem Interval

Estimating the postmortem interval of skeletal remains is difficult, as few tools exist to do so. To address this problem, we conducted a field experiment to measure the chemistry of swine (Sus scrofa domesticus Linnaeus) gravesoil after 1 year and 3 years postmortem. Carcasses were placed on the soil surface of a pasture during June in a cold (Dfa) climate. Significant (p < 0.05) increases in ninhydrin‐reactive nitrogen, pH, total nitrogen, and nitrate in gravesoil were detected 1 year postmortem. Significant differences in gravesoil chemistry were not detected 3 years postmortem. These observations coincided with gaps in plant growth 1 year postmortem and the development of lush vegetation 3 years postmortem. We conclude that these phenomena can be used to assist the decision‐making process regarding the allocation of resources during the early stages of a death investigation.     

Prediction of institutional aggression among personality disordered forensic patients using actuarial and structured clinical risk assessment tools: prospective evaluation of the HCR-20, VRS,Static-99, and Risk Matrix 2000

A minority of men and women with intellectual disabilities at times engage in, and are suspected, or convicted, of illegal activity. Recent policy developments in England and Wales emphasise the need to respond appropriately to putative offending risk through the provision of safe and effective community management, treatment, and support services. In line with these concerns, research has focused increasingly on testing the utility of an evolving variety of risk assessment procedures. Here, the authors set out to challenge the repertoire of a number of prominent and/or recently developed risk assessment procedures and the scope of an associated research literature, on the basis that contextual risk factors are receiving insufficient attention in relation to offending among people with intellectual disabilities. Drawing on the wider criminological literature, a novel study is reported that compares key contemporary proximal social and environmental circumstances in the lives of offenders and non-offenders with intellectual disabilities. A contextual risk score is derived, providing statistical support for increased consideration of the impact of relevant social and environmental circumstances. Increased emphasis on key contextual risk factors is recommended to strengthen community service responses to offenders with intellectual disabilities.     

Ethnic differences in the relationship between psychopathy and (re)offending in a sample of juvenile delinquents

The present study focused on the relationship between psychopathy and delinquency in a multiethnic sample of juvenile offenders (N=207, n=105 native Dutch, and n=102 immigrants) referred to a treatment program. Aims were (1) to examine the cross-ethnic equivalence of the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD); (2) to compare the mean levels of psychopathic traits in native Dutch and immigrant juvenile delinquents and (3) the strength of the associations between psychopathic traits and delinquency in both the native Dutch and immigrant samples. Measurement invariance was established for APSD factors assessing callous-unemotional (CU) traits and impulsivity. However, there were ethnic differences in the factor structure of narcissism. No differences were found between ethnic groups in mean levels of CU traits and impulsivity. Finally, the association between impulsivity and self-reported delinquency was stronger for native Dutch than for immigrant juveniles. Further research is needed in order to make the treatment of juvenile delinquents with psychopathic traits in ethnic minority groups more effective according to the specific needs of these juveniles.     

Do Beliefs About Herbicide Quality Correspond with Actual Quality in Local Markets? Evidence from Uganda

Adoption of modern agricultural inputs in Africa remains low, restraining agricultural productivity and poverty reduction. Low quality agricultural inputs may in part explain low adoption rates, but only if farmers are aware that some inputs are low quality. We report the results of laboratory tests of the quality of glyphosate herbicide in Uganda and investigate whether farmers’ beliefs about the prevalence of counterfeiting and adulteration are consistent with the prevalence of low quality in their local market. We find that the average bottle in our sample is missing 15 per cent of the active ingredient and 31 per cent of samples contain less than 75 per cent of the ingredient advertised. Farmers believe 41 per cent of herbicide is counterfeit or adulterated. Beliefs are significantly correlated with quality at the local market level, but beliefs remain inaccurate, adjusting for only a fraction of actual differences in quality. Price is also significantly correlated with quality in local markets, but prices also adjust for only a fraction of quality differences. Although, like fertiliser and hybrid maize seed, herbicide in Uganda is low quality, herbicide use is substantially higher.     

Civic Engagement,Pedagogy, and Information Technology on Web Sites for Youth

Scholars of political socialization are paying increasing attention to how the Internet might help cure the civic disengagement of youth. This content analysis of a sample of 73 U.S.-based civic Web sites for youth introduces a framework for evaluating Web sites' strategies for fostering active communication for citizenship. We offer the first systematic assessment of the extent to which a broad range of Web sites aim to develop young people's abilities to use information and communication technology (ICT) as a vehicle for civic participation and to engage with ICT as a policy domain that encompasses issues (such as freedom of speech and intellectual property rights) that shape the conditions for popular sovereignty online. The study finds low levels of interactive features (such as message boards) that allow young people to share editorial control by offering their own content. In addition, few sites employ active pedagogical techniques (such as simulations) that research suggests are most effective at developing civic knowledge, skills, and participation. We also find little attention to ICT policy issues, which could engage budding citizens in debates over the formative conditions for political communication in the information age. We conclude with suggestions for civic Web site designers and hypotheses for user studies to test.