Delivering Legality on the Internet: Developing Principles for the Private Provision of Commercial Law

The development of commercial trade on the Internet has generateda demand for commitment services not met by publicly providedlaw. In this environment, privately provided means of deliveringlegality to support trade have emerged, supplying "trust" and"assurance" services through digital certificates and digitalseal programs. I survey these developments and from them generatea set of principles to guide economic analysis of privatelyprovided commercial law.     

Symbolic Racism and Whites’ Attitudes Towards Punitive and Preventive Crime Policies

This study analyzes the determinants of Whites' support for punitive and preventive crime policies. It focuses on the predictive power of beliefs about race as described by symbolic racism theory. A dataset with 849 White respondents from three waves of the Los Angeles County Social Survey was used. In order to assess the weight of racial factors in crime policy attitudes, the effects of a range of race-neutral attitude determinants were controlled for, namely individual and structural crime attributions, perceived seriousness of crime, crime victimization, conservatism and news exposure. Results show a strong effect of symbolic racism on both types of crime policies, and in particular on punitive policies. High levels of symbolic racism are associated with support for tough, punitive crime policies and with opposition to preventive policies. Sub-dimensions of symbolic racism qualified these relationships, by showing that internal symbolic racism (assessing perceived individual deficiencies of Blacks) was most strongly predictive of punitiveness, whereas external symbolic racism (denial of institutional discrimination) predicted opposition to structural remedies. On the whole, despite the effects of race-neutral factors, the impact of symbolic racism on policy attitudes was substantial. Thus, White public opinion on both punitive and preventive crime policies is at least partially driven by racial prejudice.     

Discovery of decomposed and mummified corpses in the domestic setting--a marker of social isolation?

Mass media reports attribute the occurrence of decomposed or mummified corpses in a domestic setting mainly to an increasing social isolation of elderly people. Not much is known about the demographic and medical conditions under which individuals are found months or even years after death in their homes. For this study, autopsy reports of individuals found dead and mummified or decomposed between 1993 and 1997 with those from 1963 to 1967 were retrospectively analyzed. Between 1993 and 1997, a total number of 320 individuals were found decomposed at home compared to 412 such cases between 1963 and 1967. The proportion of individuals older than 64 years was significantly higher during the 1990s study period. Furthermore, the proportion of deaths attributable to natural causes was significantly lower during the 1990s, whereas the rate of suicides was nearly three times higher.     

STR data for nine Y-chromosomal loci in Guinea Equatorial (central Africa)

Allele and haplotype frequencies for nine Y-specific STR loci (DYS19, DYS389-I, DYS389-II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS393, DYS434, DYS437, and DYS439) were obtained from a sample of 57 males from Guinea Equatorial.     

Sudden unexpected death resulting from hypothalamic sarcoidosis

The authors report a case of sudden death in a 23-year-old woman in whom autopsy by the medical examiner revealed hypothalamic sarcoidosis. The decedent had experienced 6 months of amenorrhea and a 50-pound weight gain. She sought medical attention when she experienced headache, and after imaging and laboratory studies, she was suspected of having neurosarcoidosis. She appeared to respond well to corticosteroid therapy. However, 6 weeks after the beginning of therapy, she was found dead on the floor of her residence. Autopsy showed extensive granulomatous inflammation of the hypothalamus and adjacent structures. Previously reported cases of hypothalamic sarcoidosis are reviewed. A hypothesis for the mechanism of sudden death is presented.     

Just as you like it: How allocators decide in cases of conflict between own and recipients' views of justice

The present study examined how people, who are instructed to make just allocations, decide in situations of conflict when their personal views of what constitutes the appropriate justice standard are partly at variance with the opinions and preferences of the recipients of the allocations. We expected, in line with recent theories, which stress that justice behavior is at least partly motivated by the desire to get one's actions accepted and approved, the allocation decisions to be influenced not only by the allocators' own ideas of what constitutes a just solution but also by the preferences they perceive to exist for the recipients. It was predicted that the likelihood that allocators will abandon their personally preferred justice standards and allocate in accordance to recipients' preferences will increase with increasing numbers of cues suggesting an alternative allocation. Subjects having a strong personal preference for the equality over the equity standard of justice were asked to make just allocations of payments among two workers. Availability vs. lack of explicit information about the recipients' allocation preferences and expectation of future interaction with one of the recipients were used to operationalize differing amounts of pressure exerted on the allocators' decisions. Results showed a considerable readiness on the part of the allocators to abandon their own views of justice, the amount of readiness varying with the amount of pressure that was weighing upon them.     

The role of race in predicting job attitudes of patrol officers

This study examines the differences in selected work-related attitudes of black and white patrol officers in Detroit, Michigan, and Oakland, California. Previous research has noted significant differences in work-related attitudes between black and white employees. Results of this data revealed significant differences in such attitudes between black and white officers, as well as variations between the Detroit and Oakland samples. Findings from this study suggest that future studies of racial differences in occupational studies will need to be very specific as to the occupation and work environment studied.     

Adult female victims of child sexual abuse: multitype maltreatment and disclosure characteristics related to subjective health

This study examined the impact of child sexual abuse and disclosure characteristics on adult psychological and psychosomatic symptoms. Data on abuse characteristics, disclosure-related events, and subjective health were collected through semistructured interviews and questionnaires from 123 adult women reporting having been sexually abused in childhood by someone close. The results indicate that disclosure-related events have a stronger relation than abuse characteristics to long-term consequences of childhood sexual abuse. In particular, a positive reaction from a partner was related to fewer symptoms. Of the abuse characteristics, exposure also to physical abuse was strongly associated to psychological sequelae.     

Does Body Image Play a Role in Risky Sexual Behavior and Attitudes?

Body image and sexuality, both physically-oriented domains of the self, are likely linked, but few studies have examined their associations. In the present investigation, we studied emerging adult undergraduates (ages 17–19), focusing specifically on risky sexual behaviors and attitudes. Participants (N=434) completed a survey on body image, lifetime sexual behavior, sexual double standard attitudes, and attitudes about condoms. Males who evaluated their appearance more positively and who were more oriented toward their appearance were more likely to report risky sexual behavior, yet females who evaluated their appearance more positively were less likely to report risky sexual behavior. For most sexual attitudes, patterns did not differ by gender. Individuals who were more oriented toward their appearance believed more in the sexual double standard, and those who had more positive evaluations of their appearance perceived fewer barriers to using condoms. Intervention implications are discussed.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2003 Emerging Adulthood Conference, Boston, MA.Doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include body image, sexuality, and gender in adolescence and emerging adulthood.Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. She received her PhD in developmental psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests include sexuality, interpersonal relationships, and gender role development during adolescence and emerging adulthood.Doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include gender, adolescent development, and family relationships