RESPONDING TO THE "CALL FOR PAPERS": Participation at A.S.C. Annual Meetings

The purpose of this study is to examine the participation of criminology and criminal justice graduate departments at the 1977-1979 American Society of Criminology meetings. Results show that institutional prestige. not productivity, is the leading predictor of meeting participation. In addition, meeting participation does not appear to be influenced by meeting site. Finally, it is suggested that criminologists focus more attention upon professional activities in order to facilitate our understanding of criminology as a science.     

The investigation of the density of human hair in the forensic medical expert assessment of its similarity

Principally new, simple and objective method for investigation of human hair density is suggested. Hair identity in relation to a concrete person can be confirmed or excluded by statistical processing of the results obtained.     

Evaluation of microbial soil identity in forensic science

Microbiologic analysis of different soil samples was undertaken to assess the value of this method for forensic purposes. Three groups of micro-organisms were isolated on selective media: bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. Comparison of the morphology of the colonies led to the conclusion of non identity of the soil samples under examination. The method was applied to soil traces on articles of clothing, trousers, shoes, and stockings. It was found that the soil did not originate from the suspected scene of a crime. Examination of the microbiologic soil composition does not provide an absolute certainty of identity, but it is highly reliable.     

ASSESSING THE VALIDITY OF OFFICIAL DATA ON ARSON*

Prior research has not examined the validity of Uniform Crime Report (UCR) “reported crime” figures on the offense of arson. The reporting of arson is distinguished from that of other index offenses by the requirement that an investigation occur that establishes that a fire has been purposefully set or attempted; the counting of all arsons regardless of their occurrence with other offenses; the detection and reporting of the offense by noncitizens; and the infrequent existence of exclusive police jurisdiction. Because of these unique characteristics, past approaches to assessing the validity of data on index crimes, such as a comparison with victim reports of crime, are not possible or appropriate. In this study UCR data on arson are compared with data obtained through a national survey (n=683) of fire departments. The comparisons indicate that UCR data are significantly lower than the rate of arson reported by local fire departments both overall and across all regions of the country.     

"My'Partner'in Law and Life": Marriage in the Lives of Women Lawyers in Late 19th and Early 20th Century America

This essay examines the ways in which women lawyers of two generation–the pioneer generation of the 1880s and the "new woman" generation of the 1910s–confronted the dilemma of marriage and career. Members of the Equity Club in the 1880s revealed three distinct sets of attitudes toward balancing marriage and career: the separatist approach that a professional woman must remain single; the Victorian attitude that a married woman must sacrifice her career; and the integrated approach that a woman could have both marriage and career. Women lawyers surveyed by the Bureau of Vocational Information in 1920 revealed that the "new woman" generation of women lawyers lived in an era of transition. While they shared the same separatist, Victorian, and integrated views toward marriage and law practice as did women lawyers in the 1880s, they also embraced the new values of the early 20th century which shaped both the contours of the legal profession and the parameters of women's lives. Set within the context of the new values of the era, the separatist, Victorian, and integrated approaches to resolving the dilemma of marriage and career, which were originally formulated by women lawyers in the late 19th century, assumed new meanings for women lawyers in the early 20th century.