RANDOM ASSIGNMENT IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH Some Ethical and Legal Issues

Randomization techniques entail sound methodological means to assign participants to groups for experimental purposes. However, prior to applying this technique to criminal justice research, several ethical and legal issues must be considered. For example, in a legal context, the objectivity afforded by the randomization process may be interpreted as “arbitrary.” Similarly, depriving control group participants of the presumed benefits of a newly launched program may be regarded as unethical. It may be possible to adapt the randomization procedure to experimental contingencies. However, caution must then be taken in carrying out the adaptation, as the methodological rigor and hence the interpretability of the results may be affected.     

The Literary Journalism of Guadalupe Loaeza and Cristina Pacheco

Abstract — This article examines the writings of the Mexican literary journalists, Guadalupe Loaeza and Cristina Pacheco. It traces the political agendas of the writers through an analysis of their work in two collected volumes, Las niñas bien (Loaeza) and Sopita de fideo (Pacheco). The paper argues that while each author focuses on opposite ends of the social scale, each piece of writing contains an implicit or explicit attack on the Mexican ruling classes which mismanage the economy, squander its wealth and condemn the majority to economic misery.