Statistical tests of discrimination in punishment

A method, adopted from the labor econometrics literature, is proposed for detecting discrimination in punishment. The method requires the separate estimation of time served and punishment probability equations for, say, whites and blacks. The coefficients from the white equation are used to predict the punishment blacks would receive if treated like whites. A test of no discrimination against blacks is a test that the black punishment predicted by the black equation is equal to the punishment predicted by the equation using the white coefficients but the black endowments or characteristics. A further test is proposed that evaluates the economic efficiency of disparities in punishment. The test is restricted to measuring the recidivism effect of equality of treatment in punishment. The discrimination test and the efficiency test are illustrated using the U.S. Board of Parole data for 1972. Statistically significant racial disparities in punishment are uncovered and are found to be economically inefficient.     

Evaluation of the south carolina comr/cunity long-term care medicaid waiver for the elderly and disabled

Medicaid waivers play an important role in the health policy process. Various health care policy initiatives have encouraged states to experiment ith their Medicaid programs by expanding coverage to populations not traditionally covered by Medicaid, or by delivering Medicaid services in non traditional ways. Lessons learned by individual states' Medicaid waivers could be an important part of the health care reform debate. This paper presents an evaluation of a Medicaid waiver operating in South I Carolina. The South Carolina Community Long-term Care Waiver for the Elderly and Disabled is evaluated for cost effectiveness, quality of care, and client satisfaction. This evaluation shows that the waiver is highly effective in offering individuals who are medically and financially eligible for Medicaid supported nursing home care a viable, cost effective, high quality alternate to institutionalization.     

Strong Reciprocity and the Roots of Human Morality

Human morality is a key evolutionary adaptation on which human social behavior has been based since the Pleistocene era. Ethical behavior is constitutive of human nature, we argue, and human morality is as important an adaptation as human cognition and speech. Ethical behavior, we assert, need not be a means toward personal gain. Because of our nature as moral beings, humans take pleasure in acting ethically and are pained when acting unethically. From an evolutionary viewpoint, we argue that ethical behavior was fitness-enhancing in the years marking the emergence of Homo sapiens because human groups with many altruists fared better than groups of selfish individuals, and the fitness losses sustained by altruists were more than compensated by the superior performance of the groups in which they congregated.     

The first international proficiency test on ketamine and norketamine in hair

This paper discusses the organization of the first international proficiency test (PT) programme on ketamine (K) and norketamine (NK) in hair samples. The primary objective of the programme was to evaluate the analytical capability of participating laboratories on hair analysis for K and NK via comparison of results. Authentic samples, instead of spiked samples were used in the programme to mimic the analysis of incorporated illicit drugs in real-life situations. Eight of the ten participating medical or forensic laboratories from Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore and the USA returned results to the organizer. Quantification methods from these laboratories were confined to GC-MS and LC-MS/MS. Performance assessment based on z-score indicated that only three laboratories achieved satisfactory results for both the analysis of K and NK. It was concluded that the overall performance of the participating laboratories was fair and there is still room for further improvement. Additional similarly designed PT programmes are recommended to be organized in order to encourage reliable measurements of illicit drugs in hair samples. Taking into account the substantial effect on the consensus values within limited number of data points, a recommendation on the provision of reference values assigned by accurate methods will be of benefit to small size PT programmes in the forensic field.     

Umbilical cord blood banking: beyond the public-private divide

Umbilical cord blood is a source of haematopoietic progenitor cells, which are used to treat a range of malignant, genetic, metabolic and immune disorders. Until recently, cord blood was either collected through donations to publicly funded cord blood banks for use in allogeneic transplantation, or stored in commercial cord blood banks for use in autologous transplantation. The line between public and private cord blood banking is being blurred by the emergence of "hybrid" models that combine aspects of both the public and private systems. The authors describe these hybrid models and argue that their emergence is explained by both market forces and public sector policy They propose that the future of the sector will depend heavily on several key developments that will differentially affect public, private and hybrid banking models.     

Racially conditional donation: the example of umbilical cord blood

While direction of donated tissue to family members has long been accepted, direction to members of specific racial groups has been opposed, on the basis that it is discriminatory and contrary to the ethos the institution of organ donation seeks to promote. It has, however, recently been proposed that racially conditional donation may provide a useful--and ethically acceptable--way to address the social inequalities and injustices experienced by certain cultural groups. This article examines the ethical, legal and cultural arguments for and against racially conditional donation, concluding that the practice is more likely to undermine the values of equity and justice than to promote them and that it may also lead to other unfavourable personal and social outcomes.