Current contradictions in adolescent theory

This article points out two contradictions in current adolescent theory. The first is between the classical point of view, espousing the notion of storm and stress, and the empirical view, supporting a concept of adolescence as relatively peaceful and harmonious. The latter approach, however, creates a second contradiction because it does not explain how young people cope with the major adaptations demanded as a result of changes in their physical, social, and emotional spheres of life. The article examines the status of concepts such as the generation gap and identity crisis and concludes with the formulation of a focal theory of adolescence which attempts to resolve the contradictions discussed earlier.Received his B.A. from McGill University, Montreal, and Ph.D. from University College, London. Is both a developmental and clinical psychologist. Major interests include adolescence and the preschool years.     

Actual and perceived intrafamilial attitudes of late adolescents and their parents

The present study assessed the comparability of adolescents' (N=184), their mothers' (N=184), and their fathers' (N=184) attitudes toward contemporary societal issues, as well as each familial group's perceptions of the other two groups' attitudes. Results of multivariated analyses of variance indicated that while there were significant overall differences between adolescents' and either parent's self-ratings for the 36 questionnaire items (dealing with such topics as drug use, sexuality, and dress codes), major (i.e., 2-scale-point) differences between generational groups existed on only about 20% of the items. However, as predicted, both adolescents and parents misperceived the extensiveness of the divisions between them. Adolescents significantly overestimated the number of major differences between themselves and their mothers and fathers, while these two parental groups significantly underestimated such divisions. These distortions in perceived attitudes were also reflected in the results of correlational analyses assessing intrafamilial attitude consistencies and inconsistencies across the 36 items. Self-alternative-family-members' perceived attitudes correlations showed greater consistency than existed in the self-alternative-family-members' actual attitudes correlations. Moreover, both analyses of variance and correlational analyses indicated that there was greater similarity between the actual attitudes of the mothers and fathers than between either parental group and their children. These results are discussed in terms of the cognitive and emotional significance of the intrafamilial attitudes of adolescents and parents.Received his Ph.D. from the City University of New York in developmental psychology. Current research interests include the relation of organismic variables to personality/social development.Received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Denver. Research interests include measurement theory and cognition.     

The Error in “Error Rate”: Why Error Rates Are So Needed,Yet So Elusive

Establishing error rates is crucial for knowing how well one is performing, determining whether improvement is needed, measuring whether interventions are effective, as well as for providing transparency. However, the flurry of activities in establishing error rates for the forensic sciences has largely overlooked some fundamental issues that make error rates a problematic construct and limit the ability to obtain a meaningful error rate. These include knowing the ground truth, establishing appropriate databases, determining what counts as an error, characterizing what is an acceptable error rate, ecological validity, and transparency within the adversarial legal system. Without addressing these practical and theoretical challenges, the very notion of a meaningful error rate is limited.     

Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws and Equitable Sharing Activity by the Police

Research Summary

For several decades, critics have argued that civil forfeiture laws create incentives for law enforcement to increase departmental revenue by “policing for profit.” By using data on federal equitable sharing payments to nearly 600 local law enforcement agencies between 2000 and 2012, we examine the relationship between the characteristics of state forfeiture laws and equitable sharing payments to local agencies. Our results indicate that agencies in states with state laws that are more restrictive or less rewarding to police collect more in federal equitable sharing. This finding supports the critics’ argument that police behavior in regard to forfeiture activities is influenced by the financial rewards and burdens involved.

Policy Implications

Our results reveal that the findings of investigative journalism and case study research, that is, that police forfeiture activities are influenced by financial rewards, may be more generalizable to law enforcement than previously thought. Despite recent state‐level reforms, federal equitable sharing and most state forfeiture laws provide limited due process protections and have minimal accountability or reporting requirements. Concerns about the impact of civil forfeiture practices on perceptions of procedural justice and police legitimacy are discussed, and possible policy reforms are reviewed.     

Rapid Identification of Synthetic Cannabinoids in Herbal Incenses with DART‐MS and NMR

The usage of herbal incenses containing synthetic cannabinoids has caused an increase in medical incidents and triggered legislations to ban these products throughout the world. Law enforcement agencies are experiencing sample backlogs due to the variety of the products and the addition of new and still‐legal compounds. In our study, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was employed to promptly screen the synthetic cannabinoids after their rapid, direct detection on the herbs and in the powders by direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART‐MS). A simple sample preparation protocol was employed on 50 mg of herbal sample matrices for quick NMR detection. Ten synthetic cannabinoids were discovered in fifteen herbal incenses. The combined DART‐MS and NMR methods can be used to quickly screen synthetic cannabinoids in powder and herbal samples, serving as a complementary approach to conventional GC‐MS or LC‐MS methods.     

Looking Ahead: Addressing Ethical Challenges in Public Health Practice

Ethical challenges in public health can have a significant impact on the health of communities if they impede efficiencies and best practices. Competing needs for resources and a plurality of values can challenge public health policymakers and practitioners to make fair and effective decisions for their communities. In this paper, the authors offer an analytic framework designed to assist policymakers and practitioners in managing the ethical tensions they face in daily practice. Their framework is built upon the following set of six considerations: determining population-level utility of the proposed action; demonstrating evidence of need and effectiveness of actions; establishing fairness of goals and proposed implementation strategies; ensuring accountability; and, assessing expected efficiencies and costs associated with the proposed action. Together, these considerations create a structured guide to assist decision-makers in identifying potential ethical challenges and in assessing the moral considerations that underlie public health practice - and possibly even, if the conditions are met, reduce the creation of ethical tension. Although the authors'empirical experiences provide the basis for the framework advanced here, their approach remains to be tested and evaluated by public health practitioners.     

Reflections on reforming the Canadian electoral system

Abstract. Canada's plurality vote system has been criticized recently for contributing to the regional and linguistic imbalance of the parties in Parliament. While many of the criticisms are undoubtedly correct, some of the promises held out on behalf of a reformed electoral system are open to question. Before Canada seriously considers abandoning its present electoral system, the assumptions made about alternative systems and the arguments presented on their behalf deserve closer scrutiny than they have so far received. By reflecting on the nature of political change and the representative process in Canada this paper comments critically on the adequacy of some of the claims put forward by the reformers. These claims relate specifically to increased party ‘credibility’ and ‘sensitivity’ under a different electoral system. The paper suggests that some of the claims made on behalf of a reformed system are doubtful, that representation in the sense of acting for others could be more a feature of the current system than of any reformed one, and that further research is needed before any final decision is made to alter the present electoral system. Sommaire. On a critiqueé récemment le système électoral pluraliste du Canada, l'accusant de contribuer au déséquilibre régional et linguistique des partis au Parlement. Beaucoup de ces critiques sont certainement justifyées mais certaines promesses faites dans le cadre d'une reiorme du systeme electoral sont discu-tables. Avant que le Canada n'envisage 1'abandon de son systeme electoral actuel, il faut regarder de plus près qu'on ne l'a fait jusqu'ici les suppositions concernant des systemes de rechange et les arguments presented en leur faveur. En reiléchissant sur la nature du changement politique et sur le processus de la representation en cause, l'auteur fait une critique du bien-fonde de certaines des pretentions avancées par certains reformateurs. Ces critiques portent, plus précisément, sur la ← credibility → et la ← sensibility → d'un systeme electoral different. L'article suggere que certaines des pretentions d'un systeme reiorm6 sont contestables, que la representation dans le sens d'action pour le compte d'autrui est peut-etre beaucoup plus une caracteristique du systeme actuel que de n'importe quel systeme reform^ et que des recherches plus approfondies s'imposent avant que soit prise la decision de modifier le systeme electoral actuel. I wish to thank Duff Spafford of the University of Saskatchewan and Paul McKee, Research Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford, for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper; the Warden and Fellows of Nuffield College for the hospitality and assistance accorded me during my sabbatical leave; and the SSHRCC for its assistance through a Leave Fellowship, 1979-80. The case for an altered Canadian electoral system must be examined a good deal more critically than it has been to date. This essay attempts to contribute to that process by examining a few of the claims made recently on behalf of a reformed electoral system and by commenting on those claims in the light of Canadian political experience. The paper is not intended to make a virtue of the present system but it does raise questions about the liklihood of a reformed system living up to its advance bil-ling. How is the problem defined? What are some of the benefits claimed on behalf of a reformed system? What are the notions of representation underlying the arguments? If answers could be suggested to such questions as these, they may give cause to reflect on the general case being made in support of an altered system and on the appropriateness of abandoning or altering the present system without further study. Although the recent literature on electoral reform in Canada has been sizable, its quality has been uneven. Between the two notable contributions of the last decade (the Cairns-Lovink debate of 1968-70 and the Irvine monograph of 1979) a number of government reports, chapters in books, and newspaper articles were published. If some of the arguments and assertions of this admittedly mixed group remain unchallenged they may in the long run prove seductive to an unsuspecting public, academic as well as general, looking for much more to come from a reformed system than it can possibly deliver. Certainly it has not yet been established in the literature that the electoral system warrants such critical analysis in isolation from or, indeed, at the expense of other representational concerns which in themselves may be more crucial to the healthy operation of the Canadian polity than a reformed electoral system.     

The intellectual legacy of J.E. Hodgetts

Abstract: J.E. (Ted) Hodgetts was influenced by both the political economy approach that he learned at the University of Toronto and by the comprehensive historical method developed by Leonard White, under whom he studied at Chicago. His first great project, Pioneer Public Service, convinced him that responsible government was impossible without responsible public administration. The authors examine how his response to management theories and practices evolved following his participation in the Glassco, Lambert and Gomery commissions. Hodgetts consistently refused the complete separation of politics and administration, and he promoted the use of management techniques to strengthen parliamentary supervision of the public service. The two key components of his legacy are thus a commitment to the democratic values of representative government and the comprehensive study of the internal dynamics of public administration in interaction with the relevant environmental factors.