Not ‘Islands,Entire of Themselves’: Exploring the Spatial Context of City-level Robbery Rates

The current study examines spatial dependence in robbery rates for a sample of 1,056 cities with 25,000 or more residents over the 2000–2003 period. Although commonly considered in some macro-level research, spatial processes have not been examined in relation to city-level variation in robbery. The results of our regression analyses suggest that city robbery rates are not spatially independent. We find that spatial dependence is better accounted for by spatial error models than by spatial lag models. Further exploration of various spatial weights matrices indicates that robbery rates of cities within the same state are related to robbery rates of other cities within the same state, regardless of their proximity. Our analyses illustrate how systematic inquiry into spatial processes can alert researchers to important omitted variable biases and identify intriguing problems for future research.

Development of a Nomenclature System for a Canine STR Multiplex Reagent Kit*†

Abstract: Despite the popularity of dogs in US households, canine DNA evidence remains largely untapped in forensic investigations partially because of the absence of well‐defined forensic short tandem repeats (STRs), lack of standardized and validated PCR protocols, STR reagent kits, and poorly developed nomenclature. A nomenclature system was established based on internationally recognized recommendations for human forensic STRs for a recently developed canine STR reagent kit. Representative alleles were sequenced from each of the 18 STRs and the sex‐typing marker included in the kit. This study also reflects on the impact of point mutations, insertions, and deletions within and outside the STR core repeat structures. An understanding of the STRs’ sequence and repeat structures will enable development of a robust and reliable allele nomenclature and improve the accuracy and precision of allele fragment sizing in canine forensic profiling. The expected allele sizes have been calculated, and their repeat stuctures defined based on sequence information.     

The trouble with psychopathy as a general theory of crime

The concept of psychopathy, as defined by Robert Hare, is reviewed with respect to its status as a general theory of crime. A hybrid of the medical pathology model and personality trait approach, the psychopathy concept proposes that a significant portion of serious crime is committed by psychopathic individuals. Hare's version of psychopathy, besides demonstrating weak applicability and a propensity for tautology, is subject to labeling effects, oversimplicity, reductionism, the fundamental attributional error, inattention to context, and disregard for the dynamic nature of human behavior. It is concluded that the psychopathy concept is substantially limited with respect to its ability to describe and clarify general criminal behavior but that it may still have value as a partial explanation for certain types of non-criminal predatory behavior.     

Follower at the Frontier: International Competition and Japanese Industrial Policy

A dominant orthodoxy in political-economic analyses of international competition is to highlight how national industrial performance and the competitive balance between nations are determined by domestic features of national political economies. In contrast, this article reverses these causal arrows by highlighting how the international competitive environment itself can shape and reshape domestic and state structures. Japan's high-profile, large-scale national research and development programs in computer and semiconductor technologies serve as instructive testing grounds for this argument. Illustrating how shifts in international competitiveness can induce changes in domestic structures, Japan's R&D projects display a secular decline in the government's interventionist capabilities as the country's computer and semiconductor industry dramatically moves from industry follower to technological pioneer.     

Reports call for end to harms caused by Criminal Code prohibitions surrounding prostitution

The sale of sexual services between consenting adults is legal under Canadian law, yet the Criminal Code prohibits many activities related to prostitution and the sex trade. As a result, many people who work in the sex trade come into conflict with the law. In recent reports, two Canadian organizations have called for the repeal of the current Criminal Code prohibitions on activities related to the sex trade. Pivot Legal Society's report, "Voices for Dignity: A Call to End the Harms Caused by Canada's Sex Trade Laws," was released in March 2004. The Conseil permanent de la jeunesse, a 15-member advisory panel to the Québec government, released "Prostitution de rue: avis" in April 2004.     

Improper sealing caused by the Styrofoam integrity seals in leakproof plastic bottles lead to significant loss of ethanol in frozen evidentiary urine samples

Evidentiary urine samples (n = 345) stored frozen at -20 degrees C in their original containers (leakproof 100 mL plastic bottles) upon retesting for ethanol resulted in concentrations that were significantly lower (average loss = approximately 30%) than those prior to their storage at -20 degrees C (p < or = 0.0001). The observed loss of ethanol was independent of the method of thawing or the concentration of ethanol in the samples, but was dependent on the sample volume in the container, i.e., the larger the volume of sample the larger the magnitude of ethanol loss. The loss of ethanol was determined to be due to improper sealing by a Styrofoam integrity seal attached to the mouth of the container. Accordingly, adopting leakproof plastic containers that do not contain Styrofoam integrity seals, but rather an outside and across the cap tape integrity seal for evidence collection and long-term storage, will prevent loss of ethanol due to evaporation.     

The use of thoracolumbar and hip joint dysmorphism in identification

A case of roentgenographic identification of a deceased person is presented. Comparison of antemortem and postmortem radiographs of the vertebral column and hip joint, for the purpose of identification, was based on the deceased medical history, and the fact the deceased was endentulous, and fingerprint comparison was not feasible. Evaluation of anatomical variants, due to the effects of degenerative disease, provided positive identification in a visually unidentifiable deceased person.     

Predicting Institutional Adjustment and Recidivism with the Psychopathy Checklist Factor Scores: A Meta-Analysis

This study explored the validity of the PCL/PCL-R factor scores in predicting institutional adjustment and recidivism in forensic clients and prison inmates. Forty-two studies in which institutional adjustment, release outcome (recidivism), or both were assessed prospectively with the PCL/PCL-R yielded 50 effect size estimates between the PCL/PCL-R factor scores and measures of institutional adjustment/recidivism. A meta-analysis of these findings disclosed that Factor 2 (Antisocial/Unstable Lifestyle) correlated moderately well with institutional adjustment and recidivism, whereas Factor 1 (Affective/Interpersonal Traits) was less robustly associated with these outcomes. Direct comparisons of the mean effect sizes attained by Factors 1 and 2 revealed that Factor 2 was significantly more predictive of total outcomes, general recidivism, violent recidivism, and outcomes from the 12 most methodological sound studies than Factor 1. There was less differentiation between Factors 1 and 2 on measures of institutional adjustment.     

Political efficacy and trust: A report on the NES pilot study items

Political efficacy and trust—among the most frequently used survey measures of general political attitudes—are often maligned for their lack of reliability and validity. This paper reports results from the National Election Studies 1987 pilot study, which included more than thirty-five efficacy and trust items. Five attitudinal dimensions were hypothesized; four emerged clearly. One scale, internal efficacy, is especially robust; a four- to six-item scale represents a considerable improvement on existing NES measures. External efficacy is distinguished from political trust, at least when the former is measured in terms of the fairness of political procedures and outcomes rather than in terms of elite responsiveness to popular demands. Though less decisive, there also is support for dividing trust into incumbent- and regime-based components. The failure to find a similar incumbent- and regime-based distinction for external efficacy is in accord with theoretical perspectives.Revised version of a paper presented at the 1988 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association.