Strategic Spending: Does Politics Influence Election Administration Expenditure?

Recently, election administration has been an important part of the national and global conversation about the results of elections. The important issue of election administration spending has not been examined extensively, and the influence of politics on election administration spending levels has not been examined in the United States. While theories of voter turnout and policy preference suggest that politics should influence election administration spending levels in the counties that administer elections, to our knowledge, there has been no evidence produced to support a partisan election administration expenditure effect. This research finds that Republican county commissions in North Carolina spend significantly less on election administration once the county electorate is a sufficient Republican majority. The article presents a novel model and method for estimating election administration spending and calls for additional research to examine the outcomes of these significant differences in spending on election administration.     

Relationships among alcohol outlet density, alcohol use, and intimate partner violence victimization among young women in the United States

Greater access to alcohol has been widely found to be associated with many negative outcomes including violence perpetration. This study examines the relationship between alcohol outlet density, alcohol use, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among young women in the United States. A direct association between alcohol outlet density in one's neighborhood and the likelihood of IPV victimization was examined. Data were from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which followed a nationally representative sample of adolescents into adulthood. Participants were young adult females age 18 to 26 at Wave III. Of the 4,571 female respondents who reported a current heterosexual relationship and had IPV data, 13.2% reported having been the victim of physical violence only and 6.5% experienced sexual only or physical and sexual violence in the relationship during the past year. In the regression models tested, there was no significant direct association between neighborhood alcohol outlet density and IPV victimization nor was there an association between outlet density and drinking behaviors, thus eliminating the possibility of an indirect association. Results of fully adjusted models indicate females who drank heavily, whether infrequently or frequently, were at significant risk for experiencing sexual only IPV or sexual and physical IPV. Asians and Native Americans were at significantly greater odds of experiencing sexual only or sexual and physical IPV compared with non-Hispanic Whites, while non-Hispanic Blacks were at significantly greater odds for physical only IPV. We conclude that a continuous measure of alcohol outlet density was not associated with IPV in models controlling for individual and other neighborhood characteristics. Young women who drink heavily, whether infrequently or frequently, have greater odds of experiencing sexual only or sexual and physical compared to abstainers. Similar to previous study findings, young women living with or married to their partner were at far greater risk of experiencing physical only and/or sexual only or sexual and physical IPV. The study adds to the growing body of literature that examines how community characteristics such as outlet density influence the likelihood of IPV.     

Poisoned social climate, collective responsibility, and the abuse at Abu Ghraib--Or, the establishment of "rule that is lack of rule"

The authors draw upon the experiences of one of the co-authors as an expert witness in sociology for mitigation at three of the courts-martial pertaining to the abuse at Abu Ghraib that were held at Ft. Hood, Texas in the year 2005 (for Javal Davis, Sabrina Harman, and Lynndie England). In addition, this paper is based upon the thousands of pages of affidavits, testimony, and U.S. Government reports concerning Abu Ghraib. These internal government reports, as well as the Levin-McCain report, point to collective responsibility and the responsibility of individuals high in the chain of command for establishing unlawful techniques. We review the shortcomings of a purely psychological approach for understanding the abuse, and turn to Durkheim's original understanding of anomie as a state of social derangement or rule by lack of rule to introduce the ideas of the social origins of and social responsibility for the abuse. We conclude with sociological suggestions for reforming some of the legal, medical, psychiatric, and other professional complicity in the abuse at Abu Ghraib.     

The 2D:4D Ratio as a Predictor of the Risk of Recidivism after Court‐mandated Intervention Program for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators

Differences in aggressive behavior could be partially explained by differential prenatal exposure to testosterone (T). A peripheral marker of prenatal T exposure is the 2D:4D ratio, which has shown a negative correlation with self‐reported aggression in violent men. This study tested the direct association of the 2D:4D ratio with anger expression and the risk of recidivism in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators after psychotherapeutic intervention program. The sample consisted of IPV perpetrators, whose 2D:4D ratio was measured before the intervention. Moreover, after the intervention, anger expression and risk of recidivism in IPV were assessed. Smaller 2D:4D ratio, especially of the right hand, was related to higher anger expression and risk of recidivism in IPV perpetrators. The contribution of this prenatal marker together with other psychobiological variables could play a key role in the propensity to react aggressively when coping with environmental demands.     

Age of First Arrest,Sex, and Drug Use as Correlates of Adult Risk Behaviors Among Rural Women in Jails

Incarcerated women frequently report initiation of substance use and sexual encounters at an early age, and often engage in high-risk drug use and sexual behaviors as adults. This study examined the timing of first sex, drug use, and arrest, as well as their unique influences on specific risky behaviors in adulthood, among a high-risk population of rural women recruited from jails. Ages of initiation were all positively and significantly correlated, and each independently increased the likelihood of several risky behaviors in adulthood. Implications are discussed for screening, intervention, and treatment targeting high-risk women and girls in rural areas, particularly within criminal justice settings.