Young adults' moral reasoning about prohibitive and prosocial dilemmas

One hundred and five high school and college students were given tasks of social sensitivity, perspective taking, prosocial moral reasoning, and prohibitive moral reasoning. Social sensitivity and perspective taking were positively related to both types of moral reasoning, but only for females. For both males and females, level of principled moral reasoning was greater for the prosocial dilemmas than for the prohibitive dilemmas. Findings are generally viewed as being supportive of Piaget's and Kohlberg's conceptualizations of the nature of moral judgment. Differences between the two types of unrelated moral reasoning are discussed in terms of the relation between an individually constructed set of ethics and a more general social code of ethics.Received his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle in 1976. His research interests include the development of social cognition and the effects of divorce on children.     

Land governance and women’s rights in large-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon

This article identifies and examines the role of actors involved in the process of large-scale land acquisitions in Cameroon. It is based on primary data from interviews conducted among principal actors. Findings reveal that government, chiefs, and to some extent elites, play key roles in formal and informal processes that grant land to investors. However, both processes neglect women and affected communities because there are no mechanisms to hold actors accountable to them, especially to women who depend on land for their livelihood. The article concludes that a legal framework that makes the process transparent and promotes accountability and gender inclusiveness is indispensable.     

Detection of Acetaminophen–Protein Adducts in Decedents with Suspected Opioid–Acetaminophen Combination Product Overdose

Acetaminophen overdose is a leading cause of drug‐induced liver failure in the United States. Acetaminophen–protein adducts have been suggested as a biomarker of hepatotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether protein‐derived acetaminophen–protein adducts are quantifiable in postmortem samples. Heart blood, femoral blood, and liver tissue were collected at autopsy from 22 decedents suspected of opioid–acetaminophen overdose. Samples were assayed for protein‐derived acetaminophen–protein adducts, acetaminophen, and selected opioids found in combination products containing acetaminophen. Protein‐derived APAP‐CYS was detected in 17 of 22 decedents and was measurable in blood that was not degraded or hemolyzed. Heart blood concentrations ranged from 11 ng/mL (0.1 μM) to 7817 ng/mL (28.9 μM). Protein‐derived acetaminophen–protein adducts were detectable in liver tissue for 20 of 22 decedents. Liver histology was also performed for all decedents, and no evidence of centrilobular hepatic necrosis was observed.     

The Political Budget Cycle and Subnational Debt Expenditures in Federations: Panel Data Evidence from India

What political variables explain variations in subnational fiscal expenditures on interest payments on the debt? The author argues that the political budget cycle and center‐right political party ideology—rather than the effective number of parties, alternation of power, ideological proximity between the central government and constituent units, or most forms of political party ideology—can help explain the level of expenditures on interest payment of subnational debt in India. The core empirical finding is that significant increases in expenditures on the debt occur the year in which a state assembly election is held in India.     

Nicholas R. Lardy,ed., The State Strikes Back: The End of Economic Reform in China

Journal of Chinese Political Science -     

Working with Misspecified Regression Models

Objectives

Conventional statistical modeling in criminology assumes proper model specification. Very strong and unrebutted criticisms have existed for decades. Some respond that although the criticisms are correct, there is for observational data no alternative. In this paper, we provide an alternative.

Methods

We draw on work in econometrics and statistics from several decades ago, updated with the most recent thinking to provide a way to properly work with misspecified models.

Results

We show how asymptotically, unbiased regression estimates can be obtained along with valid standard errors. Conventional statistical inference can follow.

Conclusions

If one is prepared to work with explicit approximations of a “true” model, defensible analyses can be obtained. The alternative is working with models about which all of the usual criticisms hold.

     

To recommend or not recommend: That is still the question

The boundaries around what parenting plan evaluators should and should not say in their reports to Courts has been debated in both mental health and legal circles for decades. The controversy about whether parenting plan evaluators should make specific recommendations to Courts regarding access plans and decision-making rights revolves around varied views of the limits of mental health professionals' knowledge about such matters, whether they are socio-moral or psychological in nature, and the benefits to children and society of facilitating case-resolution. In the conversation presented below a seasoned family law attorney and a psychologist who is a frequent critic of the practice of making specific recommendations debate this area of controversy.