Going to Jail Sucks (And It Really Doesn’t Matter Who You Ask)

A growing body of research suggests that, according to both offenders and criminal justice practitioners, jails and correctional boot camps are viewed and experienced as significantly more punitive than prison. Nevertheless, limited research exists examining the perceptions of the public regarding jail conditions and operations. Using responses from 1,183 Kentucky adults, we examine public opinion regarding the punitiveness of jail when compared to prison. We determine that, with the exception of boot camp, respondents feel that jail is the most punitive noncapital sanction. Additionally, respondents who had been convicted of a felony at some point in their lives and respondents with lower household income indicated that they would serve significantly less time in jail to avoid prison than their counterparts if given the option. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Pneumomediastinum and Soft Tissue Emphysema in Pediatric Hanging

Postmortem computed tomography (CT) is increasingly being used as a tool in forensic pathology. The exact value of postmortem imaging in detecting specific conditions has not yet been established, but in specific cases, it can be used as a diagnostic tool demonstrating findings that remain undetected during autopsy, as in this case. Pneumomediastinum and soft tissue emphysema were detected with postmortem CT in a 3‐year‐old girl after hanging. It was not found during autopsy. This radiological finding matches 3 adult cases previously described. It is assumed that in this case, the first reported in a child, hanging was the most likely cause as well. In the adult cases, it was interpreted as a vital sign; the person must have been alive to create a pressure gradient causing rupture of the alveoli. This case demonstrates one of the added values of postmortem imaging, the possibility of demonstrating findings that remain undetected during autopsy.     

Intuitive Practice by Municipal Controllers

The restrictions placed by New Public Management on the work of municipal controllers raise questions regarding if and when these public controllers can make effective use of their intuition. A study has been carried out to answer these questions. Intuition in this study is defined as a ‘non-conscious process involving holistic associations that are produced rapidly, which result in affectively charged judgments’. While experience deals with known facts, intuition focuses on new ones. The study was carried out in the form of a simulation in which municipal controllers were asked to analyse the financial situation of a fictional municipality. Afterwards the participants were presented with four factors and were instructed to indicate which factor had been decisive in the financial process. Two factors required extensive experience as a municipal controller, while one factor required the use of intuition. The initial expectation was that experienced controllers would make more use of their intuition. Another supposition was that the use of intuition would increase with increasing time pressure. The research has shown that good use of intuition does indeed require experience. Thus, experienced public controllers make more and better use of their intuition than their less experienced colleagues. In addition, the use of intuition increases with the decrease in time available for analysis, but experience plays a crucial role in this respect. Further, the study reaches the conclusion that intuition and rational analysis do not so much exclude as complement each other. A good use of intuition requires considerable experience in rational analysis. Finally, the results of the study demonstrate that the use of intuition does not lead to worse decisions than those made using rational analysis.     

Oil Spill Causation and the Deepwater Horizon Spill

The April 20, 2010, BP Deepwater Horizon blowout riveted citizen and elected officials' attention on coastal oil spills in ways not seen since the ill‐fated 1989 Exxon Valdez crisis. A commonly voiced lament included why was the tragedy not prevented? Why the seemingly poor safety practices and who is to blame? Could a spill of such catastrophic proportion happen elsewhere in the future? Applying a spill prevention causation framework developed through the examination of other major near‐shore incidents over a 23‐year period, the author finds Deepwater Horizon exhibited a pattern of shortcomings evident in these other spills. These shortcomings are rooted in policy imperfections, a weak regulatory regime, organizational deviance in lieu of integrity, and interorganizational structure deficiencies.     

Reforming security industry training standards: an Australian case study

ABSTRACT

This article critiques recent developments in training in the Australian security industry. Regulation of the industry is state- and territory-based, with eight jurisdictions enacting purpose-built legislation. Training was a key area of reform in the 1990s and early 2000s, but standards remained fragmented until 2008 when the Committee of Australian Governments agreed on a national competency framework to be implemented by 2010. However, despite the adoption of a common curriculum for core security tasks, the project derailed spectacularly in terms of consistency of standards, as revealed by a number of major inquiries and associated sources. This article analyses the reasons for this situation and recommends an alternative model to optimise competency standards in security work that includes much greater specificity in hours of instruction and in teaching and assessment methods. The lessons from this study have wider application given that deficits in security training appear to be a common problem internationally.     

Relationship between victimization and substance use treatment motivation in a jail-based sample: the role of adult attachment and peer support

The current study investigated the impact of victimization on substance use treatment motivation and the potential role of adult attachment and peer support, with a sample of 149 justice-involved individuals participating in a jail-based substance treatment program. Results of mediation analyses indicated that attachment anxiety mediated the relationship between victimization and problem recognition and desire for help; more victimization was associated with higher levels of attachment anxiety, which in turn predicted greater problem recognition and desire for help. Attachment avoidance mediated the association between victimization and desire for help, wherein more victimization was associated with more attachment avoidance, which in turn predicted a greater desire for help. Moderation analyses indicated that peer support moderated the relationship of attachment anxiety with desire for help, but not with problem recognition. For those perceiving high peer support, individuals with high attachment anxiety tended to report a greater desire for help; for those with low peer support, attachment anxiety did not predict desire for help. Clinicians might consider the role of attachment in treatment planning, particularly for those with a history of victimization. Treatment programs might benefit from cultivating an atmosphere of peer support while enabling and subsequently increasing the willingness for treatment.     

Documenting the Louisiana Sugar Economy, 1845–1917: An On-line Database Project

Documenting Louisiana Sugar (http://www.sussex.ac.uk/louisianasugar), an on-line database project rolled out in July 2008 and now freely available, provides historians and social scientists with an innovative tool for examining one sector of the plantation economy and agrarian society in the American South. Utilizing exceptionally detailed annual crop returns and additional census records, the project makes available two fully searchable databases that allow users to examine in micro and macro detail the evolution of one of America's definitive plantation crops, namely cane sugar. These are available on the project's website, which also includes census material, illustrations, bibliographies, and essays. What follows is a report describing the evolution and aims of this innovative effort to make primary sources widely available in digitized form on the internet.