Barriers to prosperity: the harmful impact of entry regulations on income inequality

Public Choice - Entry regulations, including fees, permits and licenses, can make it prohibitively difficult for low-income individuals to establish footholds in many industries, even at the...     

Steroid Use and School Violence,School Violent Victimization,and Suicidal Ideation Among Adolescents

School violence, school violent victimization, and suicidal ideation among adolescents are serious public health concerns. This pilot study investigated the influence of steroid use on problem behaviors. Secondary data analyses of the 2014 PRIDE Questionnaire were performed based on information collected from 38,414 high school adolescents. Results indicated high rates of school violence, school violent victimization, and suicidal ideation. Steroid use was directly related to all three problem behaviors. Results varied based on sex, race, grade level, and ethnicity. Health professionals, schools, and prevention specialists may benefit from the findings of this study. Examination of other factors related to steroid use in relation to the aforementioned problem behaviors is imperative.     

Half measures and incomplete reforms: the breeding ground for a hybrid civil Society in Ukraine

Abstract

In the space of 24 years, Ukraine has experienced three ‘revolutions’: the revolution for independence, the ‘Orange Revolution’ and the ‘Dignity Revolution’. On each occasion the event has been lauded as a triumph of democracy over authoritarianism and as evidence that Ukraine will soon be able to assume its rightful place as a free, democratic state in Europe. On two out of three occasions the reverse has occurred; while the people have taken to the streets to protest against flagrant corruption and abuse of power, the oligarchs have responded with only minor changes to the political system. The reins of political and economic power have remained firmly in their hands, and Ukraine’s prospects for political and economic development have deteriorated. The Dignity Revolution of 2014 is seen as different from preceding revolutions because civil society appeared to be much more active and it has succeeded, in part, in maintaining pressure on government for reform. It is important to understand, however, that despite periodic and dramatic demonstrations of outrage over the corrupt and authoritarian practices of the political elites, civil society has generally been classed as apathetic, weak and ineffectual. Thus, the current challenge for Ukrainian civil society is to overcome its own limitations so that it can better hold government to account.     

Measuring Children's Suggestibility in Forensic Interviews

According to the scientific literature, childrens’ cognitive development is not complete until adolescence. Therefore, the problems inherent in children serving as witnesses are crucial. In preschool‐aged children, false memories may be identified because of misinformation and insight bias. Additionally, they are susceptible of suggestions. The aim of this study was to verify the levels of suggestibility in children between three and 5 years of age. Ninety‐two children were examined (44 male, 48 female; M = 4.5 years, SD = 9.62). We used the correlation coefficient (Pearson's r) and the averages variance by SPSS statistical program. The results concluded that: younger children are almost always more susceptible to suggestibility. The dimension of immediate recall was negatively correlates with that of total suggestibility (r = ?0.357 p < 0.001). Social compliance and source monitoring errors contribute to patterns of suggestibility, because older children shift their answers more often (r = 0.394 p < 0.001). Younger children change their answers more times (r = ?0.395 p < 0.001).     

Potential risk and promotive factors for serious delinquency in Japanese female youth

In Japan, concerns toward contemporary youth offending and violence have resulted in multiple changes in the treatment of youth. These changes are the result of negative societal perceptions of youth following a string of violent youth-on-youth murders and media sensationalizing juvenile crimes. Compared to what is known about male criminality, very little is known about female criminality, particularly about important risk and promotive factors for delinquency. Using the risk factor prevention paradigm, the study investigates potential risk and promotive factors for delinquency in 219 Osaka female youths, aged 15–18. The findings show that the strongest risk factors were high risk-taking and having troubled peers, whereas having a nonworking mother had promotive effects. Females were also compared to males, and the only significantly different factor was having a nonworking mother.     

Respectful Inter-Group Interactions: A Method for Revising Group Attachment?

In the present study, we investigated whether respectful treatment shaped participants’ perceptions of procedural justice during interactions with out-group authorities, and whether the effects of respectful treatment would extend to participants’ attachment to their in-group and to the authority’s social group. We hypothesised that the nature of the relationship between the out-group and a participant’s social group (diametrically opposed vs. not opposed to one another) would moderate the effect of respect on participants’ procedural justice judgements, attachment to the in-group, and attachment to the out-group. Participants (n = 186) read a short, fictitious news story describing an interaction between a fellow in-group member (the subordinate) and an authority. As predicted, respectful treatment increased perceptions of procedural justice and also led participants to feel more attached to the authority’s social group. Contrary to expectation, participants’ attachment to their in-group was not affected by treatment, but instead by authority group membership: interactions with an authority from a social group diametrically opposed to the participant’s social group led participants to become significantly more attached to their in-group, regardless of the authority’s behaviour (respectful vs. disrespectful) in the interaction. Results are discussed in terms of practical strategies for authorities to effectively manage interactions with out-group subordinates.     

Universal Jurisdiction Meets Complementarity: An Approach towards a Desirable Future Codification of Horizontal Complementarity between the Member States of the International Criminal Court

This paper will propose a first draft provision concerning horizontal complementarity between the member states of the ICC. Firstly, the idea of subsidiary universal jurisdiction will be introduced. At its heart, the work will bring the concepts of vertical complementarity and subsidiary universal jurisdiction into relation to define a desirable future codification of horizontal complementarity. The author will focus on the following seven issues that have to be addressed during the drafting of such codification: The relationship between the actors; the legal qualification of horizontal complementarity; the underlying idea and ratio behind the concept; a positive or negative determination of complementarity; the definition of horizontal complementarity; the question who the final arbiter of a determination should be; the matter of compliance with decisions. It will be seen that Art 17 ICC Statute can serve as a useful basis of this codification but that the special relationships on the inter-state level will inevitably lead to some deviating requirements of this principle.     

Unpaid debt to society: exploring how ex-felons view restrictions on voting rights after the completion of their sentence

The Supreme Court has asserted that ex-felon disenfranchisement is not a punishment. Regardless of the Court’s interpretation, however, many ex-felons perceive restrictions on voting rights as punitive. Therefore, felony disenfranchisement should be examined in terms of criminological theories of sanctions. In Florida, ex-felons are prevented from voting after the completion of their sentence until they go through a lengthy and in some cases impossible process of rights restoration. The consequences of this policy have resulted in hundreds of thousands of Floridians who have completed their sentences, but are unable to vote. This research employs 54 semi-structured interviews with men convicted of felonies in Florida who have lost the right to vote, but have completed their sentencing obligations to the state. Our purpose is to better understand the meaning former offenders attribute to the loss of their civil rights. Findings from this study suggest that many former offenders view this type of punishment as illegitimate and are angered by both the complex system of restoration and the inability to participate in democratic life. Other ex-offenders are embarrassed or fatalistic about their loss of rights. The implications for criminal justice policies and practices are discussed.     

Can you keep a secret? Introducing the RT-based Concealed Information Test to children

The present study validates a novel version of the Reaction time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) adapted for young children (7–10 years). Their ability to deny the possession of relevant information was related to individual differences in intelligence, processing speed, executive functioning and affective problems. The comparison between the knowledgeable group of children (N = 84) who took part in a mock surprise scenario and the unknowledgeable group (N = 78) indicated that by early school-age the RT-CIT can be considered a relatively reliable diagnostic tool for detecting concealed information. We found evidence indicating that executive functions are predictors of children's proficiency in concealing information; however, the specific interrelations were complex (children with lower inhibition and spatial working memory, but with better shifting performance were easier to detect as possessing concealed information). Finally, we found limited evidence for a substantial association between parent-reported emotional problems and children's proficiency in concealing information. This investigation has practical implications for the development of rigorous protocols to detect children's concealed knowledge within legal environments.     

True and false memories in middle childhood: the relationship with cognitive functioning

This study was designed to investigate developmental changes in true and false memories and to detect links among them in middle childhood. Participants were 372 Italian children (from 6 to 11 years, 174 males) divided into two age groups. After hearing a story, children provided a free-recall and their true and false retrieved information was measured. Then children were repeatedly asked some true and misleading questions about the story and their cued-recall and interrogative suggestibility were measured. Finally, children again recalled the story to assess the post-event misinformation effect of the suggested information. Individual differences in fluid intelligence, working memory and executive functions were also assessed to investigate their relationships with true and false memories. Typical age effects were found in memory recall and interrogative suggestibility. Interesting links among true, spontaneous and suggested false memories were found. Finally, analyses did not reveal the existence of a relationship between suggestibility and cognitive functioning.