The influence of prisons on inmate misconduct: A multilevel investigation

This article presents the results of multilevel analyses of prisoners' misconduct for the population of over 120,000 federal prisoners incarcerated in June 2001. Prior research has focused on individual-level explanations of inmate misconduct, but this study explicitly examines whether prisons vary in their influence on such misconduct. The study demonstrates that model specification makes a difference in our understanding of which variables are related to misconduct, that the type of misconduct is important for understanding the effects of covariates of misconduct, and that results of multilevel models can easily be used to compare the performance of prisons.     

关于社会科学中量化研究的深层思考

在量化研究中,研究者通常从特定的研究假设出发,通过对抽象概念的操作化定义确定变量,并运用问卷、量表、结构式访谈与观察等方法收集资料,然后进行统计分析来检验研究假设。本文旨在探讨量化研究的本体论前提,并从认识论和方法论视角分析量化研究中的可靠性和有效性问题。     

诱惑性行政调查的合法性界限问题:从相关诱惑性侦查之实践说起

"诱惑性行政调查"是行政法学为描述"钓鱼执法"类行为而构造出的一个符合基础术语特征的概念。诱惑性行政调查作为最有可能被滥用的行政活动之一,理应对其加以防御。但诱惑性行政调查在某些情况下确实可以弥补常规调查手段的不足,故其具有一定的现实合理性。综合衡量之,在一定限度内使用这种调查手段应当被"允许与认同"。并且诱惑性行政调查与诱惑侦查在法律原理上是相通的,借鉴有代表性的美日两国的诱惑侦查理论,对于认识诱惑性行政调查的合法性界限大有裨益。可以说,美日两国的诱惑性侦查之合法性判定基准都糅合了主观标准与客观标准。应该先以"主观标准"审查被调查人的主观意图,再以"客观标准"审查执法人员的行为限度的方法来框定我国诱惑性行政调查的合法性界限。进而,诱惑性行政调查的适用范围应该限于常规行政调查手段难以实现行政目标并且危害性较大的案件,诱惑性行政调查的适用类型也仅限于"机会提供型"。     

Recreating the Third World Project: possibilities through the Fourth World

Abstract

In this paper, we make a theoretical argument that the Third World be returned to its political origins to inspire an updated Third World Project (TWP), revived as a global movement for progressive, anti-imperialist forces, through the Fourth World movement, which highlights internal colonialism. Both the TWP and the United Nations recognise only nation states as full members. We examine how a Third World strategy that brings in the Fourth World, or indigenous, minority and/or stateless groups, can help oppressed groups gain more autonomy and rights through a transnational solidarity rooted in empathy. We trace the intellectual roots and history of the TWP and consider obstacles in bringing together the TWP and the Fourth World movement. A Fourth World strategy corrects the TWP’s implicit approval of an underlying imperialism, and the TWP provides the Fourth World movement a model to accomplish its goal of resisting uncritical modernity.     

Managing children's and adolescents' medical complaints amid parent conflict: Strategies and tools for professionals

Children and adolescents who are having difficulty coping with stress often present with complaints of physical discomfort. Effective treatment approaches exist for many of these issues. Among high-conflict parents, however, children's medical issues can become another canvas for conflict, with parents focused more on blaming one another for the child's distress than on options for assisting the child. Professionals can be drawn into the conflict to such a degree that they overlook essential steps for addressing and managing these issues. The authors present a research-informed model for managing medical and psychophysiological issues amid parental conflict.     

The development and pilot testing of a family treatment court best practices assessment: The model standards implementation scale

In 2019, the family treatment court (FTC) best practice standards (the Standards) were published to clarify attributes of FTC programs associated with superior child, parent, and family outcomes. The Standards cover the breadth of FTC operations including program structure and leadership, substance use treatment and complementary services, and behavioral responses to participants. This study aimed to develop an instrument (the Model Standards Implementation Scale; “MSIS”) that stakeholders can use to assess implementation of the Standards by individual FTCs. The MSIS balances usability with scientific validity. Interrater reliability (IRR), internal consistency, and several types of validity were assessed. Results indicated moderate to strong IRR, high internal consistency, mixed known groups validity depending on Standard, and high convergent and divergent validity. Initial findings suggest good validity and usability of the MSIS for evaluating FTC Standards' implementation. Notably, the process of using the tool functioned to educate FTC team members on the Standards. Although implementation of the MSIS is a resource-intensive process, the opportunity to receive constructive feedback proved to be an effective incentive for initial and subsequent participation in the evaluation among FTCs. Future research is needed to examine predictive validity, including association between Standards' implementation and family outcomes in FTCs.     

Construct validity and internal reliability of the Finnish risk and needs assessment form

Validation of risk and needs assessment instruments used to predict, and reduce, recidivism and misconduct is of ethical, practical and scientific importance. We argue for a focus on variable (i.e. changeable over time) risk factors, and that validation begins with establishing construct validity. The Finnish Risk and Needs Assessment Form, in Finnish Riski- ja tarvearvio (RITA), is a semi-structured interview form adapted from the Offender Assessment System used in England and Wales and consists primarily of variable risk factors. In this study, we examined the construct validity and internal reliability of RITA. The results suggest that the original RITA sections do not provide an adequate statistical model for describing the relationship between scored questions, and we, therefore, offer an improved model. In our proposed model, several scores are influenced by more than one dimension of risk and the dimensions correlate with each other considerably. We suggest that the dimensions that can be measured with RITA are Problems managing economy, Alcohol problems, Resistance to change, Drug abuse and associated behaviour, Aggressiveness and Employment problems. All factors except Drug abuse and associated behaviour had very good internal reliability. We propose this new model to be used in future research with, and in development of, RITA.     

三、五年级学英语起点和语音发展的实验研究

本研究比较三、五年级起点的学生英语语音语调的发展.研究采用准实验设计,样本包括198名中国小学三、五年级学生和15名美国小学生.学年结束时,对被试施行朗读测验、单人单盒磁带录音并将录音带匿名编号、随机混合,由3名英美人以随机顺序各自独立评分.结果表明:无论是按学校分类、按性别分类、还是按任课教师分类,五年级被试的平均分都显著地高于三年级被试,且处于最高分数段者也多是五年级被试.     

Feigning Hand Preference? A Case Report Preliminary Data

Hand preference may be crucial in the forensic domain, notably in cases where the assailant is known to be left‐handed and the defendant claims to be right‐handed (or vice versa). In such cases, forensic psychologists or physicians may be asked to test the hand preference of the defendant. However, hand preference may be faked. The case described here illustrates this problem and addresses potential solutions. We also present preliminary data showing that a standard instrument for measuring handedness is sensitive to feigning. We conclude that when hand preference is determined, multiple sources of information should be assessed in order to identify possible feigning.