Exploring the type-of-crime hypothesis, religiosity, and spirituality in an adult male prison population

This study examined the association between measures of spirituality and religiosity and characteristics of current criminal conviction in a male prison population. Spirituality was operationalized as spiritual well-being and existential well-being. Religiosity was operationalized as frequency of religious service attendance, whether an individual considered himself to be religious, and how strongly an individual believed his religious beliefs influenced his behavior. Inmates whose convictions were property related reported greater spiritual wellbeing, were more likely to consider themselves religious, and to say that religious beliefs influenced their behavior than inmates whose crimes were not property related. Inmates whose convictions were drug related were less likely to consider themselves religious, and inmates whose conviction involved violence were more likely to consider themselves religious but less likely to endorse statements that religious beliefs influenced their behavior. The distinction between religiosity and spirituality is discussed in terms of the type-of-crime hypothesis.     

Reverse Sex Discrimination: Manhart

The author addresses himself to the problems of sex discrimination in pensions. He contends that there have been fundamentai errors in the perceptions of those problems. Equality in pay-both of wages and of fringe benefits-requires equality in employer contributions, which produces actuarial equality in benefits. This is true for pensions, at least, both as a matter of statutory interpretation and as a matter of fundamental fairness, absent a compelling need that has not been and probably cannot be shown. He concludes that Manhart was wrongly decided but that in any event it should be given the narrowest possible interpretation and not be permitted to sire illegitimate progeny.     

The reasonable citizen: A model for bridging ethics and politics in the EU

The ethical-political model of the EU needs normative rethinking after the pandemic. Using Dworkin's ‘thesis of continuity’ between ethics and politics, I argue that a strong model of the citizen, called on to exercise duties and civic virtues, is badly needed by the EU. The legitimacy of EU political institutions is not enough, if we want to promote the participation of citizens to their functioning. The basic point is that of arguing in favour of the model of ‘the reasonable citizen’, aimed to overcome the dominant liberal model of ‘citizenship as rights’. This is shown by the ‘European Social Model’, but its weaknesses need to be supplemented by a republican conception. In order for the reasonable citizen not to be just an abstract ideal, some measure of operationalisation is proposed through ‘progressively increasing constellations of common identities’; these rely on and respect the multiple demoi of the EU.     

When Women Run,Voters Will Follow (Sometimes): Examining the Mobilizing Effect of Female Candidates in the 2014 and 2018 Midterm Elections

Political Behavior - In this paper, we examine whether women candidates are more likely to spur turnout in election years when gender-related issues are central to the national debate. We argue...     

Violence in school: An investigation of physical,psychological, and sexual victimization reported by Italian adolescents

In Italy, numerous studies have been carried out regarding the phenomenon of bullying; however, studies on single incidences of sexual, physical, and psychological victimization at school remain scant. Therefore the aim of this study is to examine the phenomenon of scholastic violence with a broader perspective, as well as all the possible perpetrators including adults. The sample consisted of 277 adolescents (64% female), ranging from grade 6th to 13th (mean age = 13.29, SD = 2.19). Sixty-four percent of the participants were middle school students, the remaining were high school students. Results show that the most commonly reported type of victimization is psychological violence (incidence= 77%), followed by physical (incidence= 52%), and sexual victimization (incidence= 24%). These forms of violence are mainly inflicted by peers. The research confirmed the validity of the tool and its applicability in the Italian context for screening violent behavior at school.     

Partisan Differences in Nonpartisan Activity: The Case of Charitable Giving

How do political identities shape seemingly non-political behaviors, such as consumption activity? This paper explores the extent to which political divisions impact apolitical behaviors, focusing on the case of voluntary donations to charitable organizations. Drawing on recent work showing partisans’ differing use of “conspicuous consumption,” we develop and test expectations as to how charitable activity may differ for Democrats and Republicans. Using three national surveys, including an original two-wave panel study, we find sizable differences in overall giving between partisans, with Republicans giving more to charity on average. We show that partisan differences in religiosity, and not differences in beliefs about government spending or desires to signal economic status, explain partisan gaps in giving. Our findings contribute to our understanding about the broader consequences of political fragmentation in the United States and provide further evidence for the social, as opposed to ideological, roots of political identity.     

Separating the Shirkers from the Workers? Making Sure Respondents Pay Attention on Self‐Administered Surveys

Good survey and experimental research requires subjects to pay attention to questions and treatments, but many subjects do not. In this article, we discuss “Screeners” as a potential solution to this problem. We first demonstrate Screeners’ power to reveal inattentive respondents and reduce noise. We then examine important but understudied questions about Screeners. We show that using a single Screener is not the most effective way to improve data quality. Instead, we recommend using multiple items to measure attention. We also show that Screener passage correlates with politically relevant characteristics, which limits the generalizability of studies that exclude failers. We conclude that attention is best measured using multiple Screener questions and that studies using Screeners can balance the goals of internal and external validity by presenting results conditional on different levels of attention.     

Fluorescence and Structural Degradation in Composite Resins as a Function of Temperature*

Abstract: Detecting composite resin upon postmortem examination can be difficult. Ultraviolet illumination has been suggested to ease location of this material; however, this may not be advisable in incineration situations. Understanding of the chemical and physical properties of resin as a function of temperature is an important parameter in identification of this material in incineration circumstances. Twenty-seven discs of resin, Quixx (Dentsply), Filtek Supreme (3 M), and Tetric Ceram (Ivoclar) were prepared and exposed to increasing heating conditions of 200°C–900°C in 100°C increments for 30 min. Analysis was performed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible light spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, optical microscopy, and UV illumination. Characterization of the material occurred at each temperature range. The organic components and the fluorescence properties were lost at temperatures above 300°C. The inorganic component remained through 900°C. This information can aid in detection of resin in high temperature circumstances.