LABORATORY ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIMENTS FOR CORRECTIONS An Alternative Method

The methodology of laboratory organizational experiments has seldom been applied to corrections. Its advantages of flexibility, experimental control, ability to replicate theoretically important but naturally rare occurrences, and its potential for cross-validation of other research are shown to be of both practical and theoretical relevance to corrections. The problems of realism, generalizability, practicality, and ethics are examined and a remedy proposed: the sociodramatic simulation of correctional organizations to contrast the effects of theoretically important structural properties and correctional approaches, This remedy synthesizes the realistic and the symbolic approaches to organizational simulation. It is practical, and it resolves many of the ethical problems.     

PROBLEM-ORIENTED POLICING IN VIOLENT CRIME PLACES: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT*

Over the past decade, problem-oriented policing has become a central strategy for policing. In a number of studies, problem-oriented policing has been found to be effective in reducing crime and disorder. However, very little is known about the value of problem-oriented interventions in controlling violent street crime. The National Academy of Sciences' Panel on the Understanding and Control of Violent Behavior suggests that sustained research on problem-oriented policing initiatives that modify places, routine activities, and situations that promote violence could contribute much to the understanding and control of violence. This study evaluates the effects of problem-oriented policing interventions on urban violent crime problems in Jersey City, New Jersey. Twenty-four high-activity, violent crime places were matched into 12 pairs and one member of each pair was allocated to treatment conditions in a randomized block field experiment. The results of the impact evaluation support the growing body of research that asserts focused police efforts can reduce crime and disorder at problem places without causing crime problems to displace to surrounding areas.     

The Quest for a Coherent School Science Curriculum: The Need for an Organizing Principle

Achievement test results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) suggest that the performance of US students in science is not strong either in terms of international or national standards. Yet, the US is preceived as a world leader in standards‐based and “hands‐on” science reform. In this article I argue that the major policy issue confronting the science community that addresses this apparent disconnect is the development of an organizing principle that would serve to limit the number of essential topics, subordinating some topics in science standards to others. Furthermore, this organizing principle would weave the reduced set of topics into a sequence that is logical and that leads to an unfolding of a key story or stories in science that are intrinsically interesting to students and that provide the basis for understanding science by future literate citizens and not just the memorization of isolated facts to be forgotten when school finishes.     

A New Ambassador for Brand China

THE recent trip abroad by Chi- na＇s leading couple, President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, attracted global media attention. There are many aspects to write about, but perhaps most inter- esting from an economic point of view is the positive impact of China＇s new first lady on China as both a global and domestic brand. In Europe,