Brief lives: economic life and political life in the history of economic thought

This paper considers the relationship between economic life and political life as it has been articulated in four contexts in the history of economics: the ancient, the mercantilist, the classical and the neoclassical. It examines the changing ways in which these aspects of behaviour have been seen to be related, and how that relationship has taken on different forms in different epochs of economic thought. The analysis seeks to reveal some of the remaining questions that arise in the question of the relationship between economic man and political man.     

The DNA field experiment: a randomized trial of the cost-effectiveness of using DNA to solve property crimes

We report the results of a prospective, randomized study of the impact and cost-effectiveness of DNA evidence in investigating property crimes, mainly residential burglary. Biological evidence was collected at up to 500 crime scenes in five U.S. cities between 2005 and 2007, and cases were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups in equal numbers. DNA processing was added to traditional investigation in the treatment group. A suspect was identified in 31% of treatment cases and 13% of control cases. A suspect was arrested in 22% of treatment cases and 10% of control cases. Across the five sites, each additional arrest—an arrest that would not have occurred without DNA processing—cost slightly more than US14,000. In the most cost-effective sites, an additional arrest cost less than US14,000. In the most cost-effective sites, an additional arrest cost less than US4,000. Expanding the use of DNA as an investigative tool has profound implications. Since DNA-led investigations are more costly than business-as-usual, substantial investments will be required to expand the capacity of crime laboratories, police, and prosecutors to use this investigative tool efficiently. In time, such a change may also impact the types of crimes of cases processed in the criminal justice system.     

The predictive validity of the Depression Hopelessness Suicide screening form for self-harm among prisoners

The Depression Hopelessness Suicide Screening Form (DHS) includes 12 ‘critical items’, which have not been validated for the prospective prediction of self-harm. We conducted a retrospective cohort study (N = 4196) to validate the ability of the DHS critical items to prospectively predict inmates with at least one incident of self-harm during the first six months of imprisonment. While the critical items were highly sensitive (89.5%) at predicting incidents of self-harm, 51.3% of the inmates endorsed at least one item. Five items reflecting more recent and specific risk factors reduced the referral rate to 17.7%, while maintaining high sensitivity (84.2%). While the DHS has high sensitivity to predict inmates at risk of self-harm, treating all items as equally critical results in excessive numbers of false positives that likely exceed the capacity of prison resources for professional assessment and intervention. Referral rules based on recency and specificity of risk factors are proposed.     

Examining the “virtual”; publication as a “newspaper of record”;

Newspapers as a record of the day's events and chronicle for public business have been part of the United States' unofficial governing system for several hundred years. The expression “newspaper of record”; has specific meaning and import for librarians, historians and lawyers. This article compares the statutory characteristics of “newspapers of record”; with the qualities of modern electronic newspapers delivered by on‐line delivery services. The article concludes that the definitions of “newspapers of record”; used by librarians, historians and statutes may not be met yet by electronic editions of newspapers. Thus, on‐line newspapers may not be able to carry legal notices.     

Stopping the revolving door: a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of interventions for criminally involved individuals with major mental disorders

Faced with high and increasing rates of mental disorder within the criminal justice system (CJS), a range of interventions have been implemented in an effort to prevent continued involvement in criminal activities among this population. A meta-analytic review was undertaken to consider the effectiveness of interventions for criminally involved adults with a mental disorder targeting either improved criminal justice or mental health outcomes. Furthermore, characteristics that were hypothesized to predict better outcomes were examined. Studies that considered sex offender interventions, or focused solely on antisocial personality, intellectual and cognitive, or substance use disorders were excluded. Results assuming a fixed-effects model combining 37 effect sizes from 25 studies (N = 15,678) support the effectiveness of these interventions in terms of reductions in any CJS involvement (d = 0.19 excluding one outlier). Interventions had no significant effect on an aggregate mental health outcome (d = 0.00). However, when considering distinct mental health outcomes, intervention participants had significantly better functioning (d = 0.20) and fewer symptoms (d = 0.12). There were no significant effects of the interventions on mental health service or medication use. Moderator analyses identified seven sample, intervention, and design characteristics that were related to the magnitude of the effect sizes for criminal justice outcomes, and suggest implications for service provision, policy, and research. Results suggested some relationship between intervention effects on mental health and criminal justice reinvolvement, although future research is needed in this area, especially given the absence of mental health outcome data in many studies.     

The public relations philosophy of John W. Hill: bricks in the foundation of issues management

This paper contends that John W. Hill, founding partner of Hill and Knowlton, based his philosophy of public relations on four signal elements of issues management: strategic business planning sensitive to the threats and opportunities of public policy; high standards of corporate responsibility; issues monitoring; and issues communication. His philosophy, now nearly one‐half century old, was enlightened in that it fares well against the standards of ethics, symmetry and sensitive relationship management championed in public relations literature today. This analysis is based on the philosophy Hill expressed in his two books, which establish him as one of the founders of modern issues management. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.