Konfliktuelle Integration?

Seit den 1980er Jahren gehören Konflikte mit einem ethnischen Hintergrund zur Alltagsrealität in Frankreich. In Deutschland fehlen dagegen weitgehend solche Konflikte. Ausgehend von Unterschieden im institutionellen Kontext der Integration von Zuwanderern in Deutschland und Frankreich untersucht der vorliegende Artikel die soziale Lage der türkischen Immigranten in Deutschland und der maghrebinischen Immigranten in Frankreich anhand von Daten des Sozio-Ökonomischen Panels (SOEP) und des Europäischen Panels der Haushalte (ECHP). Dabei wird die Hypothese geprüft, ob das Fehlen von Konflikten in Deutschland zum Teil durch die bessere soziale Lage der türkischen Bevölkerung erklärt werden kann. Die Daten zeigen unter anderem, dass die Arbeitsmarktsituation und die ökonomische Lage der türkischen Bevölkerung in Deutschland im Vergleich zur Lage der maghrebinischen Bevölkerung in Frankreich weniger prekär sind. Sozialstrukturelle Unterschiede allein können allerdings die Entstehung von Konflikten nicht erklären. Abschließend wird deshalb untersucht, inwiefern das jeweilige Integrationsmodell die Entstehung von sozialen Konflikten fördert bzw. verhindert.     

Youth’s Perceptions of Parental Support and Parental Knowledge as Moderators of the Association Between Youth–Probation Officer Relationship and Probation Non-compliance

As a community-based sanction, juvenile probation exemplifies the potential of both communities and families to make significant contributions in promoting positive changes among offending youth. Yet, surprisingly little research has explored the nature of these relationships and its association with offending. This study (1) examined the associations between youth–officer relationships, youth perceptions of parental support and knowledge, and probation non-compliance and (2) explored the role of parental support and knowledge as moderators of the association between youth–officer relationships and probation non-compliance among 110 youth supervised on probation (23 % females; 60 % African American). The findings showed that tough or punitive youth–officer relationships were associated with greater counts of technical violations, but fewer counts of delinquent offenses. Parental support was associated with fewer counts of delinquent offenses and parental knowledge was associated with fewer counts of both delinquent offenses and technical violations. These findings provide evidence to the important role of both parents and probation officers and underscore the potential benefits of parent–officer collaboration in facilitating successful interventions among offending youth.     

Theoretical and methodological issues in studying children's capacities in legal contexts

Understanding children's capacities in legal contexts is an urgent priority for psychology and the law. The distinction between capacity and performance is discussed in light of two research goals: (a) identifying children's capacities relevant to law; and (b) identifying the circumstances under which their performance varies. This discussion leads to three fundamental research issues that are explored. First, in addition to general capacity, the effect of specific legal contexts on performance requires investigation. Second, capacities research must take a developmental approach using appropriate, ecologically valid target and comparison samples. Third, legal standards and their inherent developmental assumptions about children's capacities must be operationalized and investigated from both legal and psychological perspectives.     

Resources versus Capabilities: Social Endowments in Egalitarian Theory

Two of the most important theories in contemporary liberal egalitarianism are Ronald Dworkin's equality of resources and Amartya Sen's capability approach. Recently Dworkin has claimed that Sen's capability approach does not provide a genuine alternative to equality of resources. In this article, we provide both an internal and an external critique of Dworkin's claim. In the first part of the article we develop an internal critique by providing a detailed analysis of Dworkin's claim. Andrew Williams has contested Dworkin's claim, but he has failed to convince Dworkin of his objections. We analyze this debate, and offer an argument that, we hope, settles this dispute. In the second part of the article we argue that an analysis beyond the current parameters of the liberal-egalitarian debate points to three significant differences between Dworkin's and Sen's egalitarian theories: the degree to which they rely on an ideal-theoretical approach; their ability to judge social structures that are intertwined with people's social endowments; and their endorsement of a well-defined criterion to demarcate morally relevant from morally irrelevant inequalities. This broader analysis not only reinforces our conclusion that Dworkin's equality of resources and Sen's capability approach are genuinely distinct, but it also suggests some more general insights that may be relevant for a better understanding of contemporary egalitarian thinking.     

Disentangling the racial test score gap: Probing the evidence in a large urban school district

We examine the size and distribution of the gap in test scores across races within New York City public schools and the factors that explain these gaps. While gaps are partially explained by differences in student characteristics, such as poverty, differences in schools attended are also important. At the same time, substantial within‐school gaps remain and are only partly explained by differences in academic preparation across students from different race groups. Controlling for differences in classrooms attended explains little of the remaining gap, suggesting little role for within‐school inequities in resources. There is some evidence that school characteristics matter. Race gaps are negatively correlated with school size—implying small schools may be helpful. In addition, the trade‐off between the size and experience of the teaching staff in urban schools may carry unintended consequences for within‐school race gaps. © 2006 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Mass homicide and suicide deadliness and outcome

A study of 98 lone, rampage killers in the United States from 1949 to 1999 found that those who were killed by police officers killed and wounded more victims than those who completed suicide who, in turn, killed or wounded more victims than those who were captured. Those rampage killers who completed suicide were less likely to be judged schizophrenic and more likely to be killing present or former co-workers.     

Informing Juvenile Justice Policy: Directions for Behavioral Science Research

Recent policy initiatives threaten to reduce the rehabilitative mission of the juvenile court or eliminate the court entirely. This article lays out a framework for an empirical assessment of these developments. It first evaluates the available and potential empirical support for three hypotheses about juveniles that might justify maintaining a separate, rehabilitation-oriented juvenile justice system: the hypotheses that, compared to adults, juveniles are more treatable, less culpable, and less deterrable. On the assumption that the continued existence of a rehabilitation-oriented juvenile court can be justified, it then provides suggestions as to how existing intervention strategies for juveniles could benefit from research attention to several substantive and methodological issues. These include refining outcome criteria and sampling strategies, matching offender and program characteristics, reexamining intervention efficacy, and focusing on decision makers and resource allocations.     

When development breeds contempt: case examples of community-driven health systems initiatives

This article discusses case examples of community-led initiatives triggered by the introduction of an external development programme in Senegal and Mali. These are community initiatives that learn from projects initiated and funded by an external donor organisation, and transform interventions to better meet their own needs. The circumstances leading to the demand for, and successful establishment of, health infrastructure are examined to understand the triggers. These breakthroughs demonstrate unintended benefits of development, and the need to leverage donor-led initiatives. Therefore, community involvement, participation, and empowerment are key in establishing local ownership in development projects.