Scientific Realism as a Meta-Theory of International Politics

The recent increase in interest in scientific realist foundations for international relations theory, spearheaded by Wendt in various works, most fully articulated in his Social Theory of International Politics , and supported by a number of other authors, has brought to the fore a set of related issues in the philosophy of the social sciences. The advocacy of scientific realism in the international relations literature has largely taken the form of attacks on various nonscientific realist foundational theories. Consequently, the success of the arguments for scientific realism depends in large measure on the accuracy of the characterizations of the competing views. This paper argues that Wendt and others have misrepresented the challengers and have thus overstated the superiority of scientific realism. The paper further considers the aims and purposes of providing meta-theoretical foundations for IR theories, and argues that when the alternative accounts are properly described, the purposes are better satisfied by the latter and, in particular, by a version of Duhemian conventionalism.     

A methodology for assessing citizen perceptions of police

This study was initiated to determine perceptions that Wichita community residents hold toward their police. A scale, Citizen's Perception of the Police, was developed. Race and dogmatism were examined as variables influencing perceptions. Non-white residents evaluated police less favorably than did whites. No significant difference was found on level of dogmatism in evaluating the police. The methodology for developing the scale is described. Applications of these methods to other communities was suggested as well as the importance of assessing citizen perceptions of the police to obtain data which will optimize the setting of goals for police-community relations programming.     

Advertising and the Price and Quality of Legal Services: The Case for Legal Clinics

Because the holding in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona is narrow and because some lawyers remain opposed to advertising, the dispute over lawyer advertising continues. Many who favor restricting advertising contend that it will not benefit consumers. They argue that prices must either rise to cover the cost of advertising or, if prices do fall, that quality must also drop.
This article addresses itself to both charges. The first section is theoretical, demonstrating how advertising could lower the costs of producing legal services. Advertising increases the volume of services a lawyer can expect to sell. Greater volume, in turn, allows greater specialization in production, more effective use of systems management, and the substitution of paralegals and capital for lawyer inputs. The authors argue that each of these changes will lower costs, thereby lowering prices without necessarily reducing quality. The second section is empirical, comparing the prices and particularly the quality of services produced by a heavy advertiser, the Legal Clinic of Jacoby & Meyers, and the traditional firms in the Los Angeles market with which the clinic competes. Quality is defined both subjectively and objectively, and original data are presented indicating that the quality of service that the clinic supplies is at least equivalent, and on some measures better, than the quality of service that traditional firms provide.     

The lay component in Scottish juvenile justice

A recently completed study of the Scottish juvenile justice system, employing a variety of methodological approaches, is used as a source of information on the behavior and attitudes of the lay volunteers who make up children's panels and are responsible for decisions concerning young people who are alleged to have committed an offense or are believed to be in need of care and protection. The reported data relate to the beliefs of panel members as to the causes of delinquency and the objectives of intervention and alternative disposals; the topics they raise for discussion in children's hearings and the factors which influence the decisions they make; and the manner in which they are perceived by the children and parents who have appeared before them.