How Not to Increase Participation in Local Government: The Advantages of Experiments When Testing Policy Interventions

Local governments benefit from nonelected committees that provide citizen input on important issues. Although these committees offer a valuable tool for policy makers, they suffer from low participation and tend to underrepresent economically disadvantaged citizens. This article reports the results of a randomized survey experiment that evaluated the relative effectiveness of offering social recognition or skills training. The findings show that entreaties to participate premised on gaining social recognition had no effect on willingness to participate and that offers to provide training actually decreased citizens’ willingness to participate, especially among economically disadvantaged citizens. Even though these approaches may hold promise, this particular policy intervention did not live up to that promise. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of testing policy interventions before wide‐scale implementation and the utility of randomized experiments in this process.     

A novel multiplex for simultaneous amplification of 20 Y chromosome STR markers

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay capable of simultaneously amplifying 20 Y chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) markers has been developed to aid human identity testing and male population studies. These markers include all of the Y STRs that make up the "extended haplotype" used in Europe (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I/II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, and YCAII) plus additional polymorphic Y STRs (DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS447, DYS448, DYS388, DYS426, GATA A7.1, and GATA H4). Primers for the markers DYS385, DYS389, and YCAII target duplicated regions of the Y chromosome and thus can provide two polymorphic peaks for each respective primer set. This Y STR 20plex, which utilizes 34 different PCR primers, is the first to include a simultaneous amplification of all the markers within the European "minimal" and "extended" haplotypes. Relative primer positions are compared between the newly developed primers described here and previously published ones. Efforts were made to avoid X chromosome homology in the primer design as well as close packing of PCR product size ranges in order to keep all alleles less than 350 bp through careful examination of known allele ranges. Haplotype comparisons between the 20plex and a commercially available kit found excellent agreement across the 76 samples in the Y chromosome consortium panel.     

Moving beyond Ford,Atkins, and Roper: jurors' attitudes toward the execution of the elderly and the physically disabled

Abstract

The central purpose of the current study is to correlate level of support for the death penalty, death-qualification status, attitudes toward the death penalty (ATDP), legal authoritarianism (RLAQ (Revised Legal Attitudes Questionnaire)), and demographic indices with attitudes toward the execution of the elderly and the physically disabled. Two hundred and fifty residents of the 12th Judicial Circuit in Florida completed a booklet that contained the following: (1) one question that measured their level of support for the death penalty; (2) one question that categorized their death-qualification status; (3) the ATDP; (4) the RLAQ; (5) 20 questions that measured participants' attitudes toward the execution of the elderly and the physically disabled (EEPD); and (6) standard demographic questions. Results indicated that level of support for the death penalty, death-qualification status, attitudes toward the death penalty, legal authoritarianism, and demographic indices were significantly related to four components of the EEPD. Legal implications and applications are discussed.     

The use of an identity to examine the association between technological changes and aggregate labour utilization in agriculture

The purpose of this article is to examine certain aspects of the interaction between changes in agricultural technology and changes in the aggregate level of labour utilization in agriculture. The first part of the article describes an identity which establishes a relationship between the average output per person in agriculture, the size of the agricultural labour force in relation to the area under cultivation, and the average yield per acre of cultivated land. It also suggests that changes in each of the two latter parts of the identity can be associated with a particular form of technological change. The second part presents the Japanese, Taiwanese and Mexican experiences of agricultural growth in terms of the identity, with supporting data on the nature of the technological changes that have occurred. The final part begins with a summary of the experience of the three countries. Thereafter, it suggests that, in view of the high rate of growth of the labour force in developing countries, there should be a greater appreciation of the ways in which government policies may influence the direction of technological changes and of the possible implications of these changes on aggregate levels of labour utilization in agriculture.

The approach to assessing the impact of technological change that is incorporated in this paper differs in two respects from the approaches of standard literature on the subject (3, pp. 88–101; 4, pp. 709–29; 1, pp. 312–20). ? In the first place, it involves an explicit though partial explanation of the phenomenon rather than an emphasis on measuring its effect. Each of the two forms of technological change—land‐saving and labour‐saving—is identified as the introduction of particular new resources. A more complete explanation would require an additional hypothesis as to why individual entrepreneurs might want to innovate (that is, to introduce new resources); no such hypothesis is included in this study. In the second place, the suggested approach does not require the specification of a production function. The use of an identity has the advantage of allowing useful insights into the process of technological change while avoiding the analytical biases that can be introduced in specifying a production function.     

The Interplay Between Diabetes and Pancreatitis: Two Case Reports of Sudden,Natural Deaths and a Review of the Literature

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common disease involving insulin resistance or deficit that, when left unchecked, may cause severe hyperglycemia and subsequent end‐organ damage. Acute pancreatitis (AP) is inflammation of the pancreas that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. AP and DM both account for a significant amount of sudden deaths, and rarely both disease processes may be present in the same decedent, causing some difficulty in wording the cause of death statement. Although much research has been directed at studying the causes and risk factors for AP and DM, there is a complex interplay between these diseases that is not fully understood. This study presents two autopsy cases of sudden, natural deaths that illustrate this interplay, along with a review of the literature. An algorithm for differentiating AP and DM is then discussed in the context of the presented cases as a proposed aid for forensic pathologists in the certification of such deaths.     

Intimate partner violence within a cohort of Pacific mothers living in New Zealand

Maternal reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) were obtained from a cohort of Pacific mothers living in New Zealand. The Conflict Tactics Scale was completed by 1,095 women who had given birth in the past 12 months, and who were married or living with a partner as married. The 12-month prevalence of "victimization" through verbal aggression was 77%, 21% for "minor" physical violence, and 11% for "severe" physical violence. The 12-month prevalence of "perpetration" of verbal aggression against a partner was 90%, 35% for "minor" physical violence, and 19% for "severe" violence towards their partner. The experience of social inequality and acculturation are associated with IPV, albeit differentially across the experience of victimization and perpetration. Factors significantly associated with victimization are ethnicity, maternal education, social marital status and household income. Factors significantly associated with perpetration are ethnicity, cultural alignment, maternal birthplace and alcohol consumption since the birth of the child.     

Rapid amplification of commercial STR typing kits

Forensic DNA typing is currently conducted in approximately 8–10 h. The process includes DNA extraction, quantitation, multiplex PCR amplification, and fragment length detection. Today's commercial multiplex short tandem repeat (STR) typing kits are not optimized for rapid PCR thermal cycling. Current protocols require approximately 3 h for amplifying a multiplex containing 15 STR loci plus amelogenin. With the continuing development of miniaturization technologies such as microfluidic and micro-capillary devices, there is a desire to reduce the overall time required to type DNA samples. Such miniature devices could be used for initial screening at a crime scene, at a border, and at airports. There is also the benefit of reducing the required PCR amplification time for labs typing single-source reference samples. Surveys of fast processing polymerases working in combination with rapid cycling protocols have resulted in the development of a ‘rapid’ PCR amplification protocol. Results are obtained in less than 36 min run on a standard peltier-based thermal cycler employing a heating rate of 4 °C/s. Capillary electrophoresis characterization of the PCR products indicates good peak balance between loci, strong signal intensity and minor adenylation artifacts. Genotyping results are concordant with standard amplification conditions utilizing a standard 3 h (non-rapid) thermal cycling procedure. The rapid assay conditions are robust enough to routinely amplify 0.5 ng of template DNA (with 28 cycles).     

Are We Getting Value for Money from Behavioral Interventions for Offenders? A Research Note Reviewing the Economic Evaluation Literature

Public expenditure on the criminal justice system represents a significant fiscal burden to government worldwide, making the economic evaluation of interventions aimed at improving justice outcomes critical to informing resource allocation. This study systematically reviews and assesses the scope and quality of economic evaluations of behavioral interventions aimed at reducing reoffending. Only seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, with wide variation in methodological approaches, including differences in costing perspectives, study design, and the definition of cost and outcome measures. The majority of behavioral interventions for offenders remain unevaluated from an economic perspective, representing a significant evidence gap for informing cost-effective and efficient allocation decision. Based on the studies reviewed, economic benefit can be derived from investing in offender behavioral programs. However, whether this investment represents ‘value for money’ remains unclear. What is clear is that economic evaluations in the justice health sector lag behind research in other areas of public policy.