Design of an algorithm to identify persons with mental illness in a police administrative database

North American police maintain a database to track events and information related to their involvement with the public that contain a series of electronic caution/dependency flags attached to an individual's name for internal communication. To identify persons with mental illness in a police administrative database, an algorithm was developed that was composed of (a) caution/dependency flags, (b) addresses, and (c) key search words indicative of mental illness. Based on the level of confidence of the algorithm, persons with mental illness (PMI) were then assigned to one of three categories: Definite, Probable and Possible PMI. Results for 2000 include the sociodemographic characteristics of PMI and non-PMI in the database. The mean number of contacts, types of interactions, re-involvement with a year, charges and dispositions are described. The algorithm provides a cheap, quick method to identify PMI for North American police. It enables police to monitor the effectiveness of pre-arrest diversion programs and allows researchers to analyze questions of criminalization and mental illness.     

The Treatment Needs of Substance Abusing Batterers: A Comparison of Men Who Batter Their Female Partners

Though the co-occurrence rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) and problems with alcohol and other drugs (AOD) is 50 % or higher among men in clinical samples, little attention has been given to examining the characteristics of batterers with AOD problems (AOD batterers). We compared 274 AOD batterers and 524 non-AOD Batterers (batterers who do not have AOD problems). Results indicated AOD batterers were more violent, and were more likely to perpetrate violence that is severe in nature. They also reported higher levels of anger and trauma, had a greater proclivity toward a borderline personality orientation, and were much more likely to use AOD during an incident of violence at least half of the time (41 % versus 9 %). Results underscore the need for screening of batterers for AOD problems and substance abusers for IPV, and suggest that AOD problems might serve as an important indicator to help identify particularly complex cases.     

Trial complexity

A field experiment is reported that examines the effects of trial complexity and trial procedures on jury performance. Juror question asking and notetaking were randomly assigned to 75 civil and 85 criminal trials. Principal components analyses of judges' responses revealed three components of trial complexity: evidence complexity, legal complexity, and quantity of information. None of these components was significantly related to judge-jury verdict agreement. Each component uniquely affected jurors' assessment of the trial, but none affected theirs or the judges' verdict satisfaction. Interactions reveal that juror questions were most beneficial for assisting the jurors with legal complexity and evidence complexity. Natural variation in judges' commenting on the weight and credibility of witnesses, or summarizing the evidence, use of special verdict forms, pattern instructions, and juror orientation was also measured. Of these, the use of special verdict forms appeared to provide the greatest benefits.     

The Definition and Measurement of ‘Gang Status’: Policy Implications for Juvenile Justice

In this article, we examine gang membership and gang activity in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. We collected the data through a self-administered questionnaire completed by 373 randomly selected 9th and 11th grade students attending two high schools and two junior high schools. By the self-report method, 56 indicated they were currently active in a gang; another 45 had been members of gangs but were no longer involved; and, “wannabes,” or students who at some time had considered joining a gang but did not or could not, totaled 68. The 169 students who indicated some interest in or involvement with gangs represented 45% of the total sample. A more restrictive definition of actual gang membership (i.e., the group must have initiation rites and employ some external symbols of membership, such as “colors,” tattoos, or handsigns) results in a different trichotomization. We employ both the self-definition and restrictive definition of gang membership in our analysis of their personal biographical characteristics and criminal behavior. Our findings suggest that self-definition demonstrates clearer ties to self-reported gang-related activities than does the more restrictive one. We discuss the policy implications of this finding in the article.     

Global Trade Policy Development in a Two-Track System

The World Bank identifies two trends within the internationaltrading system: multilateral negotiations sponsored by GATT/WTObased on evolving rules grounded in non-discrimination, andbilateral and regional negotiations between nations that reducetrade barriers on a reciprocal and preferential basis. Thisarticle asks how we might enhance the global trade policy developmentprocess through interaction and coordination between these twotrade policy development systems. It seeks an understandingof the nature of bilateral trade negotiations so that we cancompare bilateral and WTO-sponsored multilateral processes.In so doing, we can observe how these two systems naturallyinteract thus enabling us to consider how that interaction maybe better designed to enhance the international trade policydevelopment system. After examining current trends in bilateraland regional trade negotiations, this article considers theopportunities and challenges of a two-track system for developingtrade policy by examining bilateral trade negotiations conductedby Australia, Singapore and the United States. The article concludeswith observations that may assist in re-framing the currentdebate over bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations andincludes recommendations for the effective management of a two-tracktrade policy development system.     

Are Procedural Rights Derivative Substantive Rights?

Law and Philosophy -     

Bias in OMB's economic forecasts and budget proposals

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) annually submits the President's budget for the U.S. government to the Congress. The economic forecasts and revenue and outlay proposals contained in the budget have been criticized as biased, especially during the 1980s. Tests for bias in one year ahead proposals for the 1963–89 period show no bias in economic forecasts and revenue estimates, but substantial bias in outlay proposals. Most outlay proposals are consistently less than actual outcomes, accounting for underprediction of the Federal deficit. OMB outlay proposals appear to be influenced by politics. Republican administrations show more significant proposal biases, with defense proposals higher and domestic outlay proposals lower than outcomes. The Office of Management and Budget consistently understates the deficits by resorting to the most optimistic economic assumptions it can credibly — and now sometimes even incredibly — employ. — Senator James SasserWall Street Journal, 25 January 1990     

The Impact of School Mental Health Services on Out-of-School Suspension Rates

The current study investigated whether the presence of school-based mental health clinicians in an urban school district was associated with reduced out-of-school suspension rates. Forty one elementary schools with expanded school mental health (ESMH) programs were compared to 41 schools without ESMH programs. Correlational analyses revealed associations between suspension outcomes and several school-level demographic variables including school attendance rate, percent of students in poverty, and percent of nonwhite students in the school. After controlling for these variables, however, results of stepwise linear regressions demonstrated no significant differences between ESMH and non-ESMH schools on suspension outcomes. Results of the current study suggest that the presence of ESMH clinicians will not necessarily impact suspension rates in an elementary school. Targeted and well-implemented approaches to address behaviors that lead to suspension, or school- and system-level policies to provide alternatives to suspensions, will likely be a better route to achieving this outcome.     

Associations Between Violent Video Gaming,Empathic Concern,and Prosocial Behavior Toward Strangers,Friends, and Family Members

Exposure to media violence, including violent video gaming, can have a cognitive desensitization effect, lowering empathic concern for others in need. Since emerging adulthood offers increased opportunities to volunteer, strengthen relationships, and initiate new relationships, decreases in empathic concern and prosocial behavior may prove inhibitive to optimal development during this time. For these reasons, the current study investigated associations between violent video gaming, empathic responding, and prosocial behavior enacted toward strangers, friends, and family members. Participants consisted of 780 emerging adults (M age = 19.60, SD = 1.86, range = 18–29, 69% female, 69% Caucasian) from four universities in the United States. Results showed small to moderate effects between playing violent video gaming and lowered empathic concern for both males and females. In addition, lowered empathic concern partially mediated the pathways between violent video gaming and prosocial behavior toward all three targets (at the level of a trend for females), but was most strongly associated with lower prosocial behavior toward strangers. Discussion highlights how violent video gaming is associated with lower levels of prosocial behavior through the mechanism of decreased empathic concern, how this association can affect prosocial behavior differently across target, and finally what implications this might have for development during emerging adulthood.     

More Than a Just a Game: Video Game and Internet Use During Emerging Adulthood

The purpose of this study was to gain a clearer understanding of the pattern of video game and internet use among college students and to examine how electronic leisure was related to risk behaviors (i.e., drinking, drug use, sex), perceptions of the self (i.e., self worth and social acceptance), and relationships with others (i.e., relationship quality with parents and friends). Participants included 813 undergraduate students (500 young women, 313 young men, M age = 20, SD = 1.87) who were mainly European American (79%), unmarried (100%) and living outside their parents’ home (90%). Results suggested that (a) video game use was linked to negative outcomes for men and women, (b) different patterns of video game and internet use existed for men and women and (c) there were different relations to risk behaviors, feelings about the self, and relationship quality based on the type of internet use, and based on gender. The discussion focuses on the implications of electronic leisure on the overall health and development of young people as they transition to adulthood.