Understanding the Regulatory Thicket: Interactions Among State Environmental Regulators and Regulatees

Research exploring state-level regulatory interactions in the U.S. often employs survey methodology to ask front-line actors about their experiences. While these efforts are noteworthy, we argue that it is important to investigate these interactions utilizing a different approach. In this exploratory study, we use randomized vignettes, to which a respondent can react without fear of revealing practices or succumbing to social desirability. Our results are in concert with a growing body of literature that suggests cooperation between the regulator and regulatees is essential for future interactions in order to achieve compliance, yet each party’s perceptions may not be completely congruent.     

Police perceptions of ADHD in youth interviewees

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in witness-victim/suspect interviews holds strong relevance for policing. Four purpose-written vignettes were used to test the extent to which ADHD interviewee behaviour impacts on the work of 46 experienced Australian detectives and their ability to identify ADHD as a likely diagnosis. Detectives reported frequently encountering ADHD-type interviewees in their work; perceiving such interviewees to be at a very significant risk of future contact with the criminal justice system; and perceiving ADHD-type behaviour to exert a highly significant impact on interviewing time efficiency as well as quality. Detectives gave highly significant ratings of ADHD as a likely explanation of vignettes describing ADHD-type behaviour for witness-victims as well as suspects. However, they could not identify ADHD as the most likely explanation over and above other possibilities. Implications are discussed in terms of a rationale for future research targeting police awareness and training needs in ADHD.     

Beyond crime seriousness: Fitting the punishment to the crime

This paper presents an exposition of how the factorial survey approach may enhance empirical assessments of the complex judgment principles involved in public views of just punishments for convicted offenders. Ratings of the appropriateness of sentences given across 50 typical crimes obtained from a household sample (N=774) of the Boston SMSA and several special-interest samples in 1982 are examined in three alternative ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression equations. These analyses show there is not a one-to-one direct relationship between public perceptions of the seriousness of criminal acts and desired sanctions. Crime seriousness is modified by the characteristics of the offenders and victims and by the consequences of the crimes. Preferred punishments also vary in severity by demographic, experiential, and attitudinal characteristics of the persons who make the judgments.     

“MORE OF A STREET COP THAN A DETECTIVE”: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF PARENTING COORDINATORS IN NORTH CAROLINA

This research project examined roles and functions of parenting coordinators (PCs) identified by AFCC's Guidelines for Parenting Coordination and other literature. The researcher used a semi‐structured interview schedule that included information about practices, procedures, and a series of five case‐based vignettes that contained commonly occurring ethical and legal dilemmas in PC practice. The results found that PCs generally saw their role as enforcers of existing orders and primarily used skills in conflict management, parent education, and information coordination with other professionals. PCs would use arbitration powers to make minor decisions or refer to court as a last resort.     

Self-Complexity and Crime: Extending General Strain Theory

General strain theory suggests that a number of conditioning factors affect who is more likely to respond to strain with crime. This study introduces a previously neglected conditioning variable from the social psychology literature, self-complexity (SC). SC refers to (1) the number of identities individuals perceive as important to themselves; and (2) the varied characteristics they ascribe to these identities. The central argument of this study is that those who are lower in SC, or those with fewer identities and more overlap among these identities, should be more susceptible to the negative emotional and behavioral effects of strain. This assertion was tested through a vignette study of undergraduates. Results indicate that those who are lower in SC are more likely to intend to assault another person and drink heavily than those who are higher in SC. The findings suggest that SC should be included among traditional conditioning variables explicated in GST.     

Consensus with respect to the fairness of incomes: Differences between social groups

This article deals with consensus on norms on how incomes in a society ought to be distributed. Functionalist theories presume consensus between almost all members of a society. Marxist theories presume at least some dissension, e.g., persons in unfavorable positions will support the achievement principle to a lesser extent and the equality and need principle to a larger measure. In 1987, a vignette study was conducted among a sample of 795 individuals representative of the Dutch population between the ages of 18 and 70. The respondents were presented with a random sample of 15 vignettes and requested to assign a fair income to the described household. A total of 11,394 fair incomes were assigned to the virgnettes. In the analysis the respondents were grouped on value patterns and income position. There was consensus on the main achievement attribute occupational prestige in assigning fair incomes. There was also some dissension discernible between different groups. However, neither of the theories was fully corroborated.