Management research in criminal justice: Exploring ethical issues

While there has been a steady increase of management research in criminal justice organizations in recent years, far too little attention has been devoted to the dilemmas surrounding these research efforts. The first dilemma is associated with the treatment of information or data while the second is associated with the treatment of human subjects. The purpose of this paper is to begin the debate in this sensitive area by exploring the primary ethical issues of each dilemma which must be constructively dealt with by management researchers if they are to avoid potential harm to their subjects, while at the same time, assure the validity of their results. Finally, several strategies which appear useful in addressing these ethical issues will be considered.     

Automatism: comparison of common law and civil law approaches--a search for the optimal

This article reviews common and civil law approaches to automatism with discussion of legal definitions and the conditions in which automatism occurs. The common law approach to sane (exogenous) and insane (endogenous) automatism is examined. Despite a change in the law, which obviates mandatory incarceration for all persons found not guilty on the basis of insane automatism, the stigma of insanity remains. A number of Continental jurisdictions, though, have adopted an approach divorced from judgmental labels, whereby acts, which result from automatism, are classified under the rubric of unconsciousness. The article draws upon this approach, analyses alternatives to insane automatism and proposes instead an analysis by reference to "cognitive dysfunction", thereby removing all reference to the concept of insanity.     

Forensic evaluation and haplotypes of 19 Y-chromosomal STR loci in Koreans

In this study, 19 Y-specific STR loci (DYS19, DYS389I/II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385, DYS388, DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS446, DYS449, and DYS464) were analyzed in 301 unrelated Korean males by three multiplex PCR systems. The haplotype diversity using the classical set of Y-STRs (DYS19, DYS389I/II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, and DYS385; multiplex I) was 0.9963. For the same individuals, the haplotype diversity value using the new set of highly informative Y-STRs (DYS385, DYS446, DYS449, and DYS464; multiplex III) was 0.9989, while that using the combined set of Y-STRs by adding DYS388 to the previously studied DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS437, DYS438, and DYS439 (multiplex II) was 0.9509. A total of 297 different haplotypes were identified using the 19 Y-STR markers, of which 293 were unique and 4 were found twice. The overall haplotype diversity was 0.9999. The evaluation of the information of selected markers by combination of each marker with the minimal haplotype showed that DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS437, and DYS438 do not significantly contribute to increment of haplotype diversity. However, respective conjunction of DYS464, DYS449, and DYS446 with the minimal haplotype considerably increased the haplotype diversity. Especially, DYS464 is expected to be the most useful marker that can be included in the expanded minimal haplotype. These results including the haplotype data at 19 Y-STR loci in the present study would provide useful information in forensic practice in a Korean population.     

Characterization of deletions in the DYS385 flanking region and null alleles associated with AZFc microdeletions in Koreans

Eight DYS385 allele size discrepancies and six DYS448 null types were detected among 708 Korean men when results of three in-house multiplex short tandem repeat (STR) systems were compared. The systems included both ordinary and reduced size amplicons. Sequence analysis revealed deletion mutations at two sites upstream of the DYS385 core repeats and deletion of the entire DYS448 locus. At DYS385, allele size differences were one or two repeats and were dependent on the primer set used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Location of the primer target sequence in a flanking region of the STR, distal or proximal to the deletion, determined allele size. Two widely used commercial kits amplify DYS385 so as to include the mutable sites. Arrangement analysis of sequence tagged sites demonstrated that the deletion patterns at DYS448 (and DYS464) were associated with arrangements of the azoospermia factor c gene (AZFc). The DYS448 deletion appears relatively frequent in Asians.     

Two States: A Comparative Analysis of Gujarat and Bihar’s Growth Performance Between 1981–2011

We examine the growth performance of two states, Gujarat and Bihar, whose economic turnaround under the leadership of Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar has received a lot of attention in the run up to the recently concluded national elections. We study if there are trend breaks in the growth rates in Gujarat and Bihar relative to the national average after these respective leaders came to power. We decompose the growth rates in these two states by sector, namely, agriculture, industry, and services, and try to ascertain where any potential growth spurt may have come from. We also look at the evidence on trend breaks in growth of real wages in these states relative to the national average as a first step to understand how growth may or may not have trickled down to the poorer sections.     

Transition in agriculture: Empirical indicators and results (evidence from Punjab,India)

In this paper, the author studies the impact of agricultural transition on certain well‐known empirical relationships that have, so far, been identified with backward agriculture. The study tests the relation between farm size and productivity to see if the inverse relation breaks down with the advent of new technology. Farm size is also related to several other variables in an analysis of agricultural transformation. Using recent data the results indicate that: the historically more advanced regions exhibit a positive relation between farm size and productivity; in regions which have been recently transformed the relation is neither significantly negative nor positive, and in the relatively backward areas the inverse relation still prevails. Corresponding changes in other variables also tend to reflect the nature and extent of transition in agriculture.