When Crime is not an Option: Inspecting the Moral Filtering of Criminal Action Alternatives

Many theories assume legal compliance stems from rational deliberations about consequences of disobedience. In contrast, morality theories such as Wikström’s Situational Action Theory contend personal morality and moral contexts provide a “filter” prohibiting some people from perceiving and contemplating criminal actions as realistic possibilities. We examine this moral filtering hypothesis using face-to-face household survey data from 573 adults in the Dhaka District of Bangladesh. Results suggest individuals with higher levels of personal morality (moral beliefs; guilt from contemplating violence; moral identity; emotional empathy) and exposure to strong moral settings are less likely to contemplate aggressive and violent actions in response to a provocation. Furthermore, these dimensions of personal and contextual morality appear to be indirectly linked to violent criminal actions through individuals’ tendencies to contemplate aggressive actions when provoked. Overall, our initial inspection of the moral filter hypothesis provides substantial support and highlights areas for theoretical clarification and additional research.     

Ageism in the courtroom: mock juror perceptions of elder neglect

The present study explored ageism in a civil court context. In two experiments, male and female undergraduates (Experiment 1; N?=?215) and community members (Experiment 2; N?=?203) read an institutional elder neglect trial summary in which a nursing home was sued for failure to provide the necessary care for an elderly female resident. The trial varied as to who provided witness testimony: the live victim, a recorded deposition from the victim, the victim’s middle-aged niece (Experiments 1, 2), the victim’s elderly floor-mate (Experiment 1), or no testimony was provided (Experiment 2). Across both experiments, higher ageism was negatively associated with pro-victim ratings (e.g. victim memory). Ageism indirectly decreased the likelihood of ruling for the plaintiff through ratings of sympathy for the victim and victim memory (Experiment 1), and defendant responsibility (Experiment 2). Trial ratings did not differ based on whether victim testimony was presented live or via recorded deposition (Experiments 1, 2). The results suggest that jurors’ ageist attitudes may engender negative perceptions of an elderly victim, which can affect the outcome of neglect cases. We discuss the potential for these findings to inform legal proceedings and protection of elderly individuals.     

Closing the divide: accelerating technology commercialization by catalyzing the university entrepreneurial ecosystem with I-Corps™

In recent years, universities have seen an increasing amount of activity in entrepreneurship and commercialization, not only for students, but for faculty as well. Traditionally, these initiatives have been separate, such that programs and curriculum have been focused on supporting just students or just faculty. In 2012, the National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the NSF I-Corps? program, an innovative funding program that not only offered principle investigators (PIs) funding, but also exposed PIs to an innovation/entrepreneurship curriculum as well. The University of Michigan (U-M) was one of the first two NSF I-Corps? Nodes funded in 2012 and has leveraged the program to catalyze the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This paper describes the growth of this entrepreneurial ecosystem since 1983, the call of entrepreneurship in the U-M College of Engineering and describes the role the U-M NSF I-Corps? program has played across the university. The paper concludes with lessons learned and recommendations to administrators and policy makers considering more active promotion of academic entrepreneurship and commercialization in universities.     

Historical Trends in Graduate Research and Training of Diplomates of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology

The history of forensic anthropology has been documented by numerous scholars. These contributions have described the work of early pioneers in the field and have described important milestones, such as the founding of the Physical Anthropology Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) in 1972 and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology (ABFA) in 1977. This paper contributes to the growing literature on the history of forensic anthropology by documenting the academic training of all individuals who have been granted diplomate status by the ABFA (n = 115). Doctoral dissertation titles were queried to discern broad patterns of research foci. A total of 39 doctoral granting institutions have trained diplomates and 77.3% of board‐certified forensic anthropologists wrote dissertations involving skeletal biology, bioarchaeology, or forensic anthropology. Board‐certified forensic anthropologists are a broadly trained group of professionals with far‐reaching anthropological interests and expertise.     

Development for whom? Homosexuality and faith-based development in Zimbabwe

This article reviews some of the main arguments advanced by scholars operating at the interface of religion and development. It then seeks to expand the current literature on religion and development to include more ‘uncomfortable’ subject matter, such as homosexuality and discrimination. Using the 1995 Zimbabwe Book Fair as a case study, the author argues that international religious NGOs engaged in evangelical activity must show greater attention to the contexts in which they operate. In particular, they must take an explicit stand against homophobia and discrimination. Otherwise, their development interventions risk strengthening and legitimating cultures of exclusion in countries like Zimbabwe.

Le développement pour qui ? Homosexualité et développement basé sur la foi au Zimbabwe

Cet article passe en revue certains des principaux arguments avancés par les érudits qui travaillent à l'interface de la religion et du développement. Il cherche ensuite à élargir les documents actuels traitant de la religion et du développement pour y inclure des sujets « qui dérangent », comme l'homosexualité et la discrimination. En se basant sur le Salon du livre du Zimbabwe de 1995 comme étude de cas, l'auteur soutient que les ONG religieuses internationales engagées dans des activités évangéliques doivent manifester une plus grande attention aux contextes dans lesquels elles travaillent. Elles doivent notamment adopter une position claire contre l'homophobie et la discrimination. Autrement, leurs interventions de développement risquent de renforcer et de légitimer les cultures d'exclusion dans des pays comme le Zimbabwe.

Desenvolvimento para quem? Homosexualidade e desenvolvimento baseado na fé no Zimbábue

Este artigo revê alguns dos principais argumentos levantados por acadêmicos atuando na interface da religião e desenvolvimento. Ele então busca expandir a literatura atual sobre religião e desenvolvimento para incluir assuntos mais “desconfortáveis”, como homossexualidade e discriminação. Utilizando a Feira de Livros do Zimbábue de 1995 como estudo de caso, o autor argumenta que ONGs religiosas internacionais engajadas em atividade evangélica devem dar uma maior atenção aos contextos nos quais elas operam. Em particular, elas devem assumir uma posição explícita contra a homofobia e a discriminação. Do contrário, suas intervenções para o desenvolvimento correm o risco de fortalecer e legitimar culturas de exclusão em países como o Zimbábue.

¿Desarrollo para quién? La homosexualidad y el desarrollo basado en la fe en Zimbabwe

Este ensayo analiza algunas de las principales hipótesis manejadas por los académicos que estudian la religión y el desarrollo. También procura ampliar los estudios actuales sobre religión y desarrollo incluyendo temas más “incómodos” como la homosexualidad y la discriminación. Usando la Feria del Libro de Zimbabwe de 1995 como estudio de caso, el autor sostiene que las ONG religiosas internacionales que realizan labores de evangelización deberán prestar más atención a los contextos donde trabajan. En particular, tendrán que posicionarse explícitamente contra la homofobia y la discriminación. En caso contrario, sus acciones para el desarrollo podrían fortalecer y legitimar las culturas de exclusión que existen en países como Zimbabwe.     

Teaching Chinese Politics: Microblogging and Student Engagement

This article reflects on some of the issues involved in teaching Chinese politics in the west and assesses the rationale for incorporating technology into teaching. The article specifically addresses the potential benefits of using microblogging (Twitter and Weibo) as a supplementary teaching tool in Chinese politics classes. The article argues that microblogging has benefits in terms of helping students develop professional networks, extending contact hours without placing an onerous burden on instructors, contributing to the construction of a supportive and collaborative learning environment and demystifying China for non-Chinese majors. Furthermore, in classes where students possess Chinese language skills, China??s domestic Weibo provide a fascinating window onto social and political issues as they are experienced contemporaneously by Chinese netizens. An assessment of the potential uses of microblogging is timely as the learning preferences of current and future cohorts change and commercial and pedagogical imperatives increasingly impel university teachers to consider the effectiveness of their teaching methods.     

The Coevolution of Public and Private Security in Nineteenth‐Century Chicago

The coevolution of private detective agencies and municipal police bureaucracies in mid‐nineteenth‐century Chicago arose from the breakdown of an older system in which the provision of law enforcement was delegated to local communities. The growth of anonymity and the presence of strangers in a city undergoing massive changes in transportation undermined this delegative system and created the perception of new public security threats. These threats were compounded by the mobilization of ethnicity in partisan politics. To address these new concerns, political and e conomic elites did not innovate, but turned to traditional practices like special deputization. The use of deputization allowed some law officers to sell their services as entrepreneurs to private firms, while also paving the way for a new bureaucratic police department. Networks of security providers locked in this transformation and made public and private policing alike a permanent feature of the city's institutional landscape.     

The Impact of Psychological Injury Evidence and Jurors’ Schemas on Civil Case Decisions

Psychological injury evidence is at the heart of many civil claims. Due to the recent burgeoning of sexual harassment and assault claims which predominantly involve psychological distress, it is especially important to understand how jurors process this evidence at the most basic (or schema) level, and how these preconceived notions influence processing of trial evidence and subsequent legal judgments. As a result, the present paper explores rarely addressed—but fundamental—issues regarding how jurors perceive psychological injury evidence. Specifically, do jurors have psychological injury schemas? And if so, what injuries do these schemas contain, how stable are they, how are they evaluated, and how do they affect jurors’ case perceptions and legal decisions? A review of relevant theory and empirical research reveals that jurors have psychological injury schemas, but they are often poorly developed and susceptible to the influence of prompts used to retrieve these schemas (e.g., questions posed by attorneys during voir dire, the actual injuries adduced by the plaintiff). Also interesting is that despite the relative importance of psychological injury evidence, tremendous gaps remain regarding what actual types of psychological injuries jurors believe typically result in civil cases, how stable these injury schemas are, and precisely how they affect jurors’ decisions. This paper addresses these important issues to help organize and direct future research on the subject, including proposing a model for how psychological injury schemas interact with jurors’ perceptions of the plaintiff’s alleged injuries to affect their legal decisions.