Toward an understanding of the perception of hiv/aids-related risk among prison officers

One consequence of the drug war has been the incarceration of many offenders who pose a health risk to staff. This article presents an analytical framework to examine the factors that influence staffs' perceptions of the threat of infection. Four risk domains influence an officer's self-rated threat of exposure: (1) psychosocial factors, (2) HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, (3) perception of risk in the prison environment, and (4) risk reduction efforts. Officers with lower levels of education, those who worked with medium and maximum custody inmates, and those who had more high-risk encounters with inmates rated their chances for infection as high. Findings are discussed in light of their practical and theoretical applications.     

Juror Judgments in Civil Cases: Hindsight Effects on Judgments of Liability for Punitive Damages

An experiment was conducted to investigate whether hindsight bias influences an important class of legal decisions—civil jurors' judgments of liability for punitive damages. Jury-eligible citizens were shown a videotaped summary of the circumstances surrounding an environmental damage lawsuit. Some subjects were presented a foresight perspective and asked to judge whether or not a railroad should comply with an order to stop operations on a section of track that had been declared hazardous. Other subjects were asked to judge whether the railroad was liable for punitive damages after an accident occurred. Three independent variables were manipulated: temporal perspective with one third of the subjects assessing risks in foresight and two thirds assessing risks in hindsight; subject role with one half of the subjects asked to assume the role of a juror rendering a verdict and one half the role of a citizen whose personal opinion was solicited; and, in the hindsight conditions only, the amount of damage ($240,000 vs. $24,000,000) caused by the accident. Almost all measures of participants' judgments and thoughts about the case showed dramatic foresight–hindsight differences. The participants' role had an effect on some measures; for example, participants in the juror role exhibited slightly smaller hindsight effects when judging liability than did those in the citizen role. The magnitude of the damage caused by the accident had no effects on any measures.     

Juror Judgments in Civil Cases: Effects of Plaintiff's Requests and Plaintiff's Identity on Punitive Damage Awards

Two experiments were conducted to study the manner in which civil jurors assess punitive damage awards. Jury-eligible citizens were shown a videotaped summary of an environmental damage lawsuit and told that the defendant had already paid compensatory damages. They were asked to judge liability for punitive damages and, if damages were to be assessed, to assign a dollar award. Three independent variables were manipulated in the case materials: the dollar amounts that were explicitly requested by the plaintiffs in their closing arguments to the jury, the geographical location of the defendant corporation, and the location of the lead plaintiff. Consistent with prior findings of anchor effects on judgments, we found that the plaintiffs requested award values had a dramatic effect on awards: the higher the request, the higher the awards. We also found that local plaintiffs were awarded more than were geographically remote plaintiffs, while the location of the defendant company did not have reliable effects on the awards. The implications of these results for procedures in civil trials and for theories of juror decision making are discussed.     

The social,behavioral, and health effects of phencyclidine (PCP) use

This study examined the perceived social, behavioral, and health effects of phencyclidine (PCP) use among a sample of 200 users in northern California. The study population, generated through snowball sampling techniques, included heavy chronic, light chronic, and recreational users; the vast majority of subjects were not in treatment facilities. Subjects reported that PCP use—particularly long-term, extensive use—resulted in frequent disruption of education and employment, impairment of relationships with parents and with lovers or spouses, involvement with the criminal justice system, and deterioration of physical and mental health. These findings provide systematic documentation of the extent to which problems previously associated with PCP use occurred among this population of users. In addition, the results illustrate the importance of examining the effects of PCP use in light of the psychosocial developmental processes of adolescence and early adulthood.This research was supported by Research Grant No. DA02293 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.Received M.S. in psychology from California State University, Hayward.Received Ph.D. from University of Iowa.     

B. Reviews and notes of recent bibliographies

i. Le Moyen‐Orient contemporain. By Guy Feuer, with the collaboration of S. Chauvin and F. Pourcelet. (Guides de Recherches, No. 6) Paris, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1975. pp. 245. 48 fr.

ii. Eléments de bibliographie des études arabes. By Aubert Martin. Paris, Publications Orientalistes de France, 1975. pp. iii, 235. 35 fr.

iii. The Emergence of Arab Nationalism from the 19th century to 1921: A Bibliography. Compiled and annotated by Frank Clements, London, Diploma Press, 1976. pp. x, 290. £10.00

iv. Union catalogue of Arabia Serials and Newspapers in British Libraries. By the Middle East Libraries Committee, edited by Paul Auchterlonie and Yasin H. Safadi. London, Mansell, 1977. pp. xvi, 146. £12.50.

v. Arabia Historical Writing, 1973 & 1974. By Fawzi Abdulrazak. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library, 1974 & 1976. 2v. $ 8.65 (for both vols).

vi. Modern Arabic Literature: A Bibliography of Articles, Books, Dissertations and Translations in English. By Salih J. Altoma. Bloomington, Indiana University, Asian Studies Research Institute, 1975. pp. 73. $ 4.00

vii. The Kurds in Iran, a Selected and Annotated Bibliography. By Wolfgang Behn. London, Mansell, and Munich, Verlag Dokumentation, Publishers, 1977. pp. 76. £6.00

ix. American Doctoral Dissertations on the Arab World 1883–1974. Second edition. By George Dimitri Selim. Washington D.C., Library of Congress, 1976. pp. xviii, 173. Obtainable from: Superintendent of Documents, Government Publications Office, Washington D.C. 20402. Price: outside USA $5.75 plus $1.44 for overseas postage.

x. International and regional politics in the Middle East and North Africa: a guide to information sources. (International Relations Information Guide Series, 6). By Ann Schulz. Detroit, Gale, 1977. pp. xii, 244. $18.00

xi. The politics of African and Middle Eastern states: an annotated bibliography. By Anne Gordon Drabek & Wilfrid Knapp. Oxford, Pergamon, 1976. pp. x, 192. £6.75     

Some important variables related to conservation knowledge and interest

This study was an attempt to isolate and identify some important variables related to conservation knowledge and interest in high school age youth. The major goal of this study was to establish some basic variable groups that could provide additional meaning and direction for reintroducing an integrated conservation program into the secondary school curriculum through a more appealing instructional approach. Findings indicated that the assumption of a direct relationship between knowledge and interest does not necessarily hold. Findings also contradict popular assumptions regarding rural-urban, male-female, and age differences in levels of conservation knowledge and interest. Open-ended program approaches based on the variables identified could lead to improved methods for increasing conservation knowledge and interest.Received his M.S. in forestry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Major interest is natural resource education.Received his Ph.D. in education from The Pennsylvania State University. Major interests are recreation education and natural resource education.     

Poverty across the Life Cycle: Evidence from the PSID

The likelihood of experiencing poverty at some point during the adult life cycle is estimated. These probabilities are derived through a set of life tables built upon 25 waves of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and represent an alternative approach to studying poverty than prior empirical studies. Life table analyses are divided into early adulthood (ages 20–40), middle adulthood (ages 40–60),and later adulthood (ages 60–80). The findings indicate that individuals within the sample face a significant risk of poverty at some point during their adult lives, particularly during the early and later stages of adulthood. Duration tends to be relatively short (1 or 2 years), but once poverty occurs, it is likely to occur again. Results also reveal the profound life‐course effect that race, education, and gender have upon the likelihood of encountering poverty during the adult years. Several policy and research implications are discussed. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.