Trickster, Hero, Helper: A Report on the Lawyer Image

This study presents evidence that there are three distinct images of lawyers that are held by both lawyers and the public. The lawyers' professional subculture and values are explored through examination of the three images and their interrelationships as seen from differing perspectives. Implications are drawn concerning issues of lawyer identity, social responsibility, lawyer-client relations, and the unity of the bar. The images are related to other symbolic structures, including the adversary system, the family, and Western myth.     

Area characteristics and regional variates as determinants of area property crime levels

This article seeks to examine the area characteristics that act as determinants of area property crime levels, namely, incidence and prevalence. The crime figures are extracted from the 1984 British Crime Survey. Area characteristics are taken from the 1981 UK census. Initial exploratory analysis considers the non-Gaussian nature of the crime data, the statistical implications of this, and the transformations used to overcome these problems. In addition, possible regional and inner-city/non-inner-city variations are considered. The later stages move from simple individual correlations to multiple regression models. Three regression models are considered and the reasons for refining these are explored, with the results indicating that both area characteristics and regional influences play a role as determinants of the area crime level. In particular, population density and the area population age profile have significant roles to play. The conclusions support the recent revival of the application of ecological concepts in the analysis of crime levels.     

Modeling individuals' behavior: Evaluation of a policymaker's tool

With a continuous decline in the cost of manipulating data and a continuous increase in the richness of data banks, policymakers have increasing opportunities to build and apply so-called microsimulation models—models that attempt to simulate the behavior of the individuals in a large population under a specified program. The efforts of the Department of Labor to use a model in evaluating proposed changes in the unemployment insurance system point up both the power and the weaknesses of such models. Any user who applies these models without attempting to understand which of their strengths and weaknesses are most important for analyzing the problem at hand is asking for trouble. Easy to use or not, these models are not user-friendly.     

Social drinking in supportive contexts among college males

Two hundred and five male college students were administered a number of self-report questionnaires to assess the role of social drinking in their social support processes. Results indicated that the quantity and frequency of social drinking was positively related to seven of the ten social support variables associated with male social network members, but only one of ten female support variables. Other results showed that subjects obtained half of their companionship support in social drinking encounters, as well as over a quarter of their emotional support and one fifth of their material assistance and problem-solving support. Further analysis demonstrated that the male subjects received a higher proportion of all types of support while drinking when the support sources were male than compared to when they were female. These results are consistent with previous studies, which found that social drinking and social support are positively related. Social drinking seems to play an important role in the social support processes of college males, especially when other males are involved.Received Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Current research interests include substance abuse and social support.Received Ph.D. from University of California at Irvine in community psychology. Current interests include social support and etiology of depression.