Fear of victimization and health

Fear of victimization may have consequences for subjective well-being. I develop and test a model linking fear of victimization to subjective health. I hypothesize that two processes link fear to subjective health-psychological and behavioral. Specifically, I hypothesize that fear of victimization increases psychological distress, and fear decreases outdoor physical activity, especially walking. High levels of psychological distress and low levels of walking, in turn, are associated with poor self-reported health. I find empirical support for the hypothesized processes in a representative national sample of 2031 adults aged 18 to 90 interviewed by telephone in 1990. The negative association between fear and health is explained largely by psychological distress and walking. However, a significant direct effect remains. I conclude with suggestions for future research linking crime and health, focusing on the need for collecting information on community disorganization. Community context is likely the ultimate exogenous variable-the one that sets in motion the destructive cycle of fear, distress, inactivity, and poor health described here.     

Hispanics and the death penalty: Discriminatory charging practices in San Joaquin County, California

Following reinstatement of the death penalty after the Supreme Court's decision in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), social scientists carefully documented evidence of racial and gender bias against defendants and victims at all stages of the death penalty system, from charging to conviction and sentencing. Despite these consistent findings, questions remained. One crucial unknown was whether or not racial bias uncovered in investigations of African Americans and Whites also negatively impacted members of other minority groups, in particular the largest minority group in the U.S.-Hispanics. Are Hispanics, as both victims and defendants, treated more like non-Hispanic Whites or African Americans? This research examined all death-eligible homicides in San Joaquin County, California from 1977 through 1986. Using logistic regression analysis, the investigation uncovered patterns of racial and gender bias, finding defendants in Hispanic victim cases were less likely to face a death-eligible charge than defendants in White victim cases. Evidence of discrimination may have implications for how Hispanic integration and race and ethnicity are understood and for evaluating the success of statutory reforms designed to insure fairness and constitutionality of the death penalty.     

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ alpha oligonucleotide typing on biological evidence samples: casework experience.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method of specific gene amplification was used in casework to synthesize millions of copies of the polymorphic second exon of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ alpha (or DQA1) locus from a variety of evidence samples. The HLA-DQ alpha allelic variants in the amplified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were determined in a rapid non-radioactive test by hybridization to sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes in both the dot-blot and reverse dot-blot formats. This genetic typing system has been subjected to blind proficiency testing; the performance of this test in the analysis of experimentally mixed samples was also evaluated. As of August 1990, over 250 cases have been tested and more than 2000 individual evidence (bloodstains, semen stains, individual hairs, bone fragments, and tissue sections) and reference samples have been analyzed. The first 198 of these cases are summarized in this paper; in 65% of the cases with conclusive results a suspect was included, and in 35%, all suspects were excluded. Individual cases as well as some of the general issues relating to forensic science analysis and this genetic typing system are discussed. The high rate of exclusion reported here combined with the ability of PCR to type old evidence samples suggests the relevance of this genetic test for postconviction review; two cases in which the convicted suspect was excluded are discussed.     

Preserving the Identity Crisis: Autonomy,System and Sovereignty in European Law

This article uses Hans Kelsen's theory of a legalsystem to take a fresh look at European Community law,and the relationship between the European Community,its Member States, and international law. It arguesthat the basis of the Community's legal legitimacy isindeterminate, and offers a model to accommodate thatindeterminacy. This model is founded on aconstructivist approach suggested to be particularlyuseful in the EC context. Using this approach, it isargued that the concepts of system, autonomy andsovereignty in the Community can only be understoodthrough the recognition of a plurality of viewpoints,and that it is crucial, in describing the Community,to distinguish between a concept per se and thechoice to adopt that concept.     

Policy failure and public support: The Iran-Contra affair and public assessment of President Reagan

The Iran-Contra affair is an example of the type of event that is expected to give rise to a rally of public opinion behind the president. However, the public's response to this event, uncharacteristically, was a sharp decrease in support for President Reagan. This case study constitutes an attempt to explore the sources of the public opinion response to foreign policy events. Statements of political elites, news coverage and commentary, and public opinion assessments are examined to test the patriotism, priming, and opinion leadership explanations of the rally phenomenon. The actions of opinion leaders appears to provide the best explanation of the differential public response to the Iran-Contra affair.     

Reviews

Chris Beasley, Sexual Economyths: Conceiving a Feminist Economics (Allen and Unwin) Sydney, 1994.

Jo Bridgeman and Susan Millns (eds), Law and Body Politics—Regulating the Female Body (Dartmouth) Aldershot, 1995.

Rosalyn Diprose, The Bodies of Women: Ethics, Embodiment and Sexual Difference (Routledge) London and New York, 1994.

Moira Gatens, Imaginary Bodies (Routledge) London & New York, 1996.

Elizabeth Grosz, Space, Time and Perversion: The Politics of Bodies (Allen & Unwin) St Leonards, 1995.

Karen Green, The Woman of Reason: Feminism, Humanism and Political Thought (Polity Press) Cambridge, 1995.

Laura E. Donaldson, Decolonizing Feminisms: Race, Gender and Empire‐Building (Routledge) London, 1992.

Maggie Humm, A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Feminist Literary Criticism (Harvester Wheatsheaf) London, 1994.

Maggie Humm, Practising Feminist Criticism: An Introduction (Harvester Wheatsheaf) London, 1995.

Jane Balme and Wendy Beck (eds), Gendered Archaeology: The Second Australian Women in Archaeology Conference, Research Papers in Archaeology and Natural History, No. 26 (ANH Publications, RSPAS, Australian National University) Canberra, 1995.

Patricia Ann Palmieri, In Adamless Eden: The Community of Women Faculty at Wellesley (Yale University Press) New Haven & London, 1995.

Myra Marx Ferree and Patricia Yancey Martin (eds) Feminist Organizations: Harvest Of The New Women's Movement (Temple University Press) Philadelphia, 1995.

Liane V. Davis, Building on Women's Strengths (Haworth Press) New York, 1994.

Dorothy Broom (ed.), Double Bind: Women Affected by Alcohol and Other Drugs (Allen & Unwin) St Leonards, 1994.