Computerized lie detection: Advancing the state of the art

Several questions addressing human versus computerized lie detection have been answered as a result of technological advances in the computer field. User friendly software has enabled the polygraph examiner to make necessary test adjustments in “real time” clinical environments. Many of the issues surrounding test procedures and chart evaluation are resolved incorporating this proven technology. Particularly significant is the conversion of physiological responses of a binary system to that of a digital recording, eliminating the subjective errors associated with manual chart measurements usually found with the inexperienced examiner. Online acquisition of data utilizing the ability to make corrections in recording artifacts, along with the capability to perform the final exam analysis in record time are two major examples of computer advantages in the truth verification field.     

System maintenance and legitimation: An historical illustration of the impact of national task forces and committees on correction

Historically, national bodies have addressed the problem of change and reform within the correctional system. The thesis of this article is that special task force commissions, such as the National Advisory Commission on Corrections which generated extensive standards and goals for corrections in 1973, inhibit rather than promote changed within the system they are changed with reforming. This negative impact takes place for several reasons: First, the establishment of such commissions will tend to reduce pressures for change. Second, the members of such commissions, by virtue of their socialization and training, are more adept at processing the language of the system than dealing with its substance. Third, commissions, by making recommendations for change, revise the language through which the system is conceptualized, which in effect legitimizes the system in its existing form.Commissions iterate and legitimize the status quo rather than promote system-wide change. The changes which do occur are only those which are necessary to insure that the system will remain stable. In an attempt to illustrate the arguments, excerpts from Corrections, published by the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (1973) are compared with Transactions, published by the National Congress on Penitentiary and Reformatory Discipline (1870).     

Identity status in high school students: Critique and a revised paradigm

The validity of applying the Marcia identity status paradigm to study of high school students is examined. Uncritical categorization of young adolescents into the identity statuses originally validated upon university students raises various issues. A revised paradigm for study of identity style among high school students is presented. It is suggested that the issues raised—the validity of measures for varying age groups and the role of environmental demands—are related to the eventual formulation of a life-span conceptualization of identity style.Received his Ph.D. from University of Toronto. Research interests are life-span developmental psychology and adolescent behavior.Received B. A. from the Northeastern Illinois University.     

COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS: IS IT JUST ANOTHER WAY OF TINKERING WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM?*

This article discusses the theory underlying community corrections, problems involved in implementing it, and describes two recent evaluations of comprehensive community corrections, one in Minnesota and one in Oregon. Among the issues addressed are whether or not it has achieved the intended goals of reducing incarceration in state prisons at less cost, and whether or not it has widened the net of social control.     

On writing contemporary electoral history

From 1945 onwards, the Nuffield Election Studies have provided comprehensive accounts of general election campaigns in Britain. Such studies have been emulated in other countries, but the series has no counterpart anywhere else. The co-author draws on his personal experiences to discuss how the authors use their sources and research materials in writing contemporary history. Attention is paid to the problems and pitfalls in conducting interviews with political élites.     

¡A Nosotros,nos Tienen que Respetar! (They Have to Respect us!): Gangs,Inter-Generational Conflict,and Graduated Governance in Urban Nicaragua

Critical Criminology - Gangs are often associated with violence and chaos, but they can also be institutional vectors for the imposition of particular forms of social order, based on their...     

The decline and fall of the roman empire lessons on management

The Roman Empire experienced decline and renewal on many occasions. While certainly political in nature, the solution to these imperial crises also entailed the successful application of management. In examining the history of these imperial crises, four major managerial themes can be seen: (1) organizational legitimacy, (2) anti-corruption, (3) organizational stability, and (4) effective leadership. The combination of these led to an assured imperial renewal.

First renewal entailed the identification of the regime with what could be termed as an “organizational culture” -- the moral ideal of the Empire. Second, renewal entailed reform of the abuses and corruption that had, in many instances, contributed to the decline. Third, renewal necessitated the institutionalization of these reforms thought the establishment of an effective administrative structure. Fourth, the strength of character of visionary leadership was required.

The Roman Empire endured through its ability to integrate these four elements - legitimacy, anti-corruption, stability and leadership. Its success at this enabled Rome to govern the vast Mediterranean world. To a great extent this success represents the triumph of management.     

The death penalty loses its mind: an interview with Professor James Acker

In April 2009 the American Law Institute (ALI) made the decision to withdraw its support for the a section of the Model Penal Code that had been instrumental in shaping contemporary death penalty legislation. The Institute had created the modern legal and criminal justice administration framework for capital punishment as part of its Model Penal Code in 1962. Professor James Acker, one of the leading scholars on the death penalty in the United States, speaks to the import of this decision while providing some historical context for ALI’s involvement in the matter initially.     

A century (plus) of parenthood

This paper summarizes the broad foundations of the changing nature of parenthood by examining trends in coresidence with children under age 15. Our study uses data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Samples (IPUMS) to provide a portrait of demographic parenthood in the US over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In describing changes in parenthood over the past 110 years, we distinguish between those living with own children and those living with other children. We focus in particular on changes in gender patterns of coresidential parenthood and changes in the likelihood that divorced men and women live with children. We also examine the impact of the baby boom on parenting. Our findings support a recasting of ongoing discussions of the parental roles of American men and women by shifting the historical demographic focus from biological transitions to the social aspects of parenting.