The political practice of genetic epistemology

Genetic epistemology is sometimes taken by those unfamiliar with it as a justification for a meritocracy of moral reasoning and the continued oppression of people employing reasoning at lower stages than those who seek to perpetuate the oppression. Whether this interpretation is praised or reviled, it remains erroneous. In particular, this misunderstanding is applied to attempts by genetic epistemologists to apply its insights to the construction of the larger social world. However, a genetic-epistemological politics is really characterized by a concern for maintaining systems permitting free discourse among moral agents. This article outlines the nature of the erroneous interpretations and discusses genetic epistemology's proper application to politics. Stephen chilton is assistant professor of political science at the University of Minnesota at Duluth, where he specializes in conceptual analysis in the fields of comparative politics and political psychology. He is the author ofDefining Political Development (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1988);Grounding Political Development (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1991); and (with Shawn Rosenberg and Dana Ward) ofPolitical Reasoning and Cognition: A Piagetian View (Duke University Press, 1988).     

A case of sudden death by decidual cell embolism

A 35-year-old multipara died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism about 12 h after delivery. The morphological features and the entry site of the emboli into the circulation suggested that they were decidual cells. Intact decidual cells accounted for only a minority of the emboli: the great majority were cells that had lost their nuclei and/or had been fragmented. The presence of embolized areas, accompanied by fibroblasts and newly formed capillaries, suggested that the embolization process had started before the beginning of labor. However, no symptoms suggesting embolism had been recorded on the clinical chart.     

Orosomucoid (ORM) typing by isoelectric focusing: description of two new alleles in a German population and thermostability in bloodstains

The genetic polymorphism of serum orosomucoid (ORM) was studied in 168 unrelated German individuals using isoelectric focusing followed by immunoprinting. Two new alleles, tentatively designated ORM1*14 and ORM2*13, were identified. The method was successfully applied to demonstrate ORM1 types in dried bloodstains. Each type of ORM1 was also correctly determined in bloodstains heated at 130 degrees C for 30 min. The results indicated that ORM1 is a new powerful genetic marker system for the grouping of bloodstains.     

The fair process effect and procedural criteria in the resolution of disputes between intimate same-sex friends

This series of studies extended procedural justice research to the informal domain of dispute resolution in intimate same-sex friendship. The first study identified the types of disputes that occur between friends and the concerns that friends have when choosing dispute resolution procedures. Seven dispute types and 11 procedural criteria were found relevant to dispute resolution in friendship. Study 2 assessed the importance of procedural criteria for resolving several dispute scenarios. As expected, ratings of criterion importance were affected by subject and disputant sex. Females rated four criteria as more important than did males, and one criterion was rated as more important in disputes involving a male and a female than in disputes involving two females. The importance of procedural criteria was also influenced by the type of dispute, but this effect was qualified by an interaction with the dispute version. It was suggested that the importance of procedural criteria is generally defined by the context of friendship and specifically defined by the dispute topic. In Study 3, the relations among subject sex, traditional fairness variables, and criterion-based measures of process control were examined. Consistent with studies in other domains, process control predicted procedural justice, and decision control predicted distributive justive. Moreover, the hypothesized fair process effect emerged as a function of speed, a criterion-based measure of process control.     

Attitudes of police officers toward their professional ethics

Professions are guided by codes of ethics to aid them in performance of their duties and to ensure maintenance of high standards of conduct. Police officers are faced with a maze of obligations in the performance of their official duties. The “Law Enforcement Code of Ethics” and “Canons of Police Ethics” were created to make explicit the conduct considered appropriate for police officers and to guide them in the performance of their duties.This study investigates how police officers in several police agencies view their professional ethics. Some of the broader questions examined in the study are the following: Do police officers have a clear understanding of the “Law Enforcement Code of Ethics” and the “Canons of Police Ethics?” Do they feel constrained by agency, societal, or other factors from behaving professionally? Do they consider their ethics adequate to guide professional conduct, and are they willing to abide by the principles? The responses indicate reliance on personal ethics in situations where standard police ethics are not clear, and suggest the need for further research in police ethics.     

The effects of stealing thunder in criminal and civil trials

The effectiveness of a persuasion technique referred to asstealing thunder was assessed in two simulated jury trials. Stealing thunder is defined as revealing negative information about oneself (or, in a legal setting, one's client) before it is revealed or elicited by another person. In Study 1, 257 college students read or heard one of three versions of a criminal assault trial in which a damaging piece of evidence about the defendant was absent (no thunder), brought up by the prosecutor (thunder), or brought up by the defense attorney and repeated by the prosecutor (stolen thunder). In Study 2, 148 college students heard a civil negligence trial in which damaging evidence about the key plaintiff's witness was absent (no thunder), brought up by the defendant's attorney (thunder), or brought up by the witness himself (stolen thunder). In both studies, stealing thunder significantly reduced the impact of the negative information. A path analysis of the processes underlying the effect suggested that verdicts were affected because of enhanced credibility.Often a difficult decision in opening statements is whether, and if so how, to volunteer weaknesses. This involves determining your weaknesses and predicting whether your opponent intends to use them at trial. There is obviously no point in volunteering a weakness that would never be raised at trial. Where, however, that weakness is apparent and known to the opponent, you should volunteer it. If you don't, your opponent will, with twice the impact. (Mauet, 1992, pp. 47–48)We would like to thank Michelle Cox, Gim Koay, Dana Koay, and Ralph Mueller for their helpful input. Thanks also to Irv Horowitz and Steve Karau for their comments on earlier drafts.     

Computerizing Accounting Systems in Developing Bureaucracies: Lessons from Kenya

Kenya's agriculture ministries are reforming their accounting systems and the reform includes computerization. This article examines the impact of computers on accounts and the lessons that can be drawn from Kenya about building computerized accounting systems.
Four propositions emerge about the impact of computers on the accounting systems. First and surprisingly, the initial impact of computers is indirect. Their primary impact is to strengthen the manual accounts which the ministries continue to rely upon. Second, computers promote effectiveness reforms by changing procedures, rather than efficiency reforms by accelerating the throughput of data with existing procedures. Third, computers do not initially promote document processing but do improve data processing. Fourth, computers do promote rudimentary analysis.
One conclusion from the Kenya case is that modular implementation of computerized accounting is helpful. Implementing modules rather than an integrated system means that accounting reforms can begin without waiting for lengthy procedural reforms. Modular implementation also facilitates agency involvement in the design of the system.