bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interrogation and the Criminal Process
Authors: Reiss Albert J. , Black Donald J.
Published: October 2007

The relative absence of formal provision for the resolution of conflict among organizations in the American legal system results in each one controlling others in the system through constraints on the processing of people and information as inputs to their own organization. This paper focuses on the specific case where the courts attempt to control the behavior of the police through the exclusionary rule, particularly as set forth in the Miranda decision. Data on interrogations of suspects in field patrol settings show that arresting officers always had evidence apart from the inter rogation itself as a basis for arrest. It would appear that the introduction of Miranda-type warnings into field settings would have relatively little effect on the liability of suspects to crimi nal charges, particularly in felony cases, assuming current police behavior with respect to arrest.
Methodological Problems in the Study of Organized Crime as a Social Problem
Authors: Cressey Donald R.
Published: October 2007

The secrecy of participants, the confidentiality of materials collected by investigative agencies, and the filters or screens on the perceptive apparatus of informants and investigators pose serious methodological problems for the social scientist who would change the state of knowledge about organized crime. There is overwhelming evidence that an organization variously called "the Mafia," "La Cosa Nostra," and "the syndicate" operates in the United States, but its activities are perceived as a "social problem" by "insiders" who have access to confidential information, not by most of the public. The social scientist has a duty to tell the members of his society when he believes they are in trouble. This is not necessarily unscientific because, once established as a social problem, a phenomenon can be studied scientifically with the help of funds appropriated for its eradication. Even if not established as a social problem, organized crime can be studied from the perspective of organizational theory. In this kind of study, social scientists will have to borrow methodological techniques from archaeologists and geologists, who manufacture data by reasoning that knowledge about inaccessible affairs can be obtained from considering affairs that are accessible to study. This kind of process can be used to create, from study of the structure of organized crime, information about criminals' norms and interaction processes.
Public Attitudes toward Gambling and Corruption
Authors: Gardiner John A.
Published: October 2007

Operation of large-scale gambling by crime syndicates requires both a popular desire to consume illegal services and at least tacit acceptance by local officials. In "Wincanton," a middle-sized industrial city, city officials were paid to overlook gambling, and also engaged in other corrupt activities. A survey of city residents indicated general tolerance or approval of gambling, but hostility toward all forms of official corruption. When corruption was exposed by federal investigators, Wincanton voters elected reform candidates for local offices. Analysis of voting patterns indi cates that voting in reform elections parallels normal party voting patterns; a constant proportion of voters in each pre cinct in the city will deviate from their normal party allegiance following exposures of corruption.
World Resources for the Year 2000
Authors: Malenbaum Wilfred
Published: October 2007

The argument of this article draws upon recent projections of resource requirements throughout the world in the year 2000, made for the United States National Com mission on Materials Policy. The projections for the world were also made separately in ten major component areas. All estimates for the year 2000 rest upon modern theory and mea surement of the dynamic characteristics of two basic constitu ent elements of materials requirements: (1) the prospect for progress in domestic output in these ten areas and (2) the intensity-of-use of nonrenewable materials, as per capita in come changes. While materials requirements in the year 2000 will grow markedly to levels at least three times those of the recent past, the method of projection gives significantly lower requirements levels than are estimated by others. A basic statistical conclusion is that rates of growth of supply will need to be significantly lower in the future than in the past. Ma terials prices will tend to decline, relative to other prices. The results lend support to the thesis that supply limitations are not likely to limit economic expansion in the future. It is flexibility in the demand for materials that is relevant for eco nomic growth; man and man's institutions have demonstrated their great capacity for such flexibility. It is argued that the mistaken identification of supply shortage with materials crisis rests on misinterpretations of the role that materials do, in fact, play. This point is illustrated in the current energy crisis. The article thus contrasts with neo-Malthusian propositions on limits to growth that are so well-publicized today.
The Future of Economic Activity
Authors: Wiener Anthony J.
Published: October 2007

To form expectations about the future, one must ask what has been happening and what will continue. Economic growth, technological development and the idea of material progress are many centuries old; they will not be reversed within a few decades, unless extraordinarily com pelling new forces emerge. Neo-Malthusian arguments, pos tulating imminent "overshoot" of limits—environmental, agri cultural and resource—are unpersuasive. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need to improve feedback mechanisms, so that appropriate and timely adjustments can be made before such limits are approached. The controversy over the future of economic activity will probably rage on, although both the unlimited growth and equilibrium scenarios, currently being debated, are utopian. More realistically, competent manage ment of a world increasingly affluent and reliant on technology may bring about limited but tangible progress, while misman agement or misfortune may result in disasters.
Ethnic Relations of the Future
Authors: Morsell John A.
Published: October 2007

One of the significant developments of recent years in American life is the birth, or re-birth, of interest in ethnicity. Although the melting pot model of ethnic relations never really implied the disappearance of all traces of ethnic identity, the interests of ethnicity were expected to remain subordinated to those of the community, represented by the nation. Under the stimulus of the Negro revolution of the 1960s, with its accompanying emphasis on racial identity— the black pride and Black Power thrust—other ethnic group ings in America have shown signs of increasing discontent with what they regard as the submergence of their ethnic interests. These developments have not only paralleled those in the black community, they are intricately related to them in a complex of inter-ethnic competition for recognition, public attention and social and economic benefits. The existence of the new ethnicity in the context thus delineated, obviously means that serious sources of social tension exist. If they are to be handled without damage to the social fabric, both good will and ingenuity will be required.
The Great American Search: Causes of Crime 1876-1976
Authors: Hirschi Travis , Rudisill David
Published: October 2007

Biology, psychology, and sociology have suc cessively dominated American criminology over the last 100 years. Given that the biological and psychological ap proaches were both oriented toward the characteristics of the offender, they were easy to test in principle, and their eventual decline is now interpreted as a consequence of their failure to survive empirical tests. With the rise of the sociological view, there was a corresponding decline in testability, especially with reference to the characteristics of the offender, and there followed a lengthy period of theoretical development virtually independent of research. The sociological theories prominent during this period stressed the multiplicity of cultures in American life, on the one hand, and the differential distribution of opportunity to achieve common goals, on the other. With the rise of large- scale research conducted by sociologists, these theories were themselves subject to test, and theories more closely grounded on the results of research became possible. At the moment, sociological theorizing focuses on the effects of the processing of offenders by agencies of social control.
American Women and Crime
Authors: Simon Rita J.
Published: October 2007

The topic of women and crime is currently enjoying a vogue, because women, in general, and research related to many aspects of women's lives are now popular topics for research. This article analyzes the relationship be tween the contemporary woman's movement, the role of women in crime, and the changing socioeconomic and politi cal statuses of American women. Statistics on female arrest patterns for different types of offenses going back four decades are presented. The changes in women's propensities for committing different types of crimes are discussed and ex planations about why these changes have occurred are offered. Statistics describing American women are compared with female crime data available for some 25 different countries. The extent to which women are victims of various types of offenses is also discussed. In its conclusion, the article offers some prognosis for the short-run future on how American women are likely to participate in criminal ac tivities.
The Heritage of Cain: Crime in American Fiction
Authors: Grenander M.E.
Published: October 2007

For almost two centuries American fiction has featured crime, but its treatment in popular literature, which strokes the norms of a mass audience, has been quite different from that in high art, which examines critically the assump tions and values of our society. A study of serious fiction can, therefore, probe fundamental issues for us: How does literature define crime? Why does this definition differ occasionally from the statutory one? What crimes has fiction taken most seriously? How does fiction assess the criminal's circumstances and motivation? What is the literary attitude to criminal responsibility? What is the victim's role in crime? How is the criminal apprehended? How does the trial contribute to equity? How are legal professionals, the jury, and the insanity defense portrayed? How does litera ture rank criminal punishments? We can postulate tentative answers to these rather open-ended questions, but in a larger sense their value is heuristic, forcing us to reconsider some hypotheses we may have taken for granted.
Psychoanalysis and Crime: A Critical Survey of Salient Trends in the Literature
Authors: Fitzpatrick John J.
Published: October 2007

Psychoanalytic studies of criminal motivation generally have followed the salient trends within the his torical development of psychoanalytic theory. The first trend, initiated by Sigmund Freud in an essay entitled "Criminals from a Sense of Guilt" (1916), highlighted the motiva tional priority of unconscious psychosexual conflict. Social and economic factors were minimized. Psychoanalytic ego psychologists subsequently have questioned the explanatory adequacy of the libido theory and have modified the theoretical orientation of psychoanalysis. This theoretical reorientation has been reflected in recent psychoanalytic studies of crime, which not only seek to account for the contextual diversity of antisocial behavior but also emphasize the etiological significance of character development, the adaptational functions of the ego, and the important role played by the environment in the criminal's life.
Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy
Authors: Smith Dwight C.
Published: October 2007

The attractiveness of alien conspiracy theories in American public opinion stretches back to the early days of the Republic. "Mafia" has been the name of one such theory. When placed in context with other conspiracy theories, such as the Bavarian Illuminati scare of 1798- 1799 and the Red Scare of 1919-1920, the reasons for emergence of a "Mafia" theory in 1890-91, and again in 1946-1963, become clear. Contemporary public opinion regarding crime is heavily influenced by the post-World War II resurgence of "Mafia" claims, though the evidence behind them is questionable. The role of "Mafia" as a force in public policy is clear, however, and events of the last decade suggest that the consequent shifts in legal strategies, and an increasing sense of injustice generally, have been greater threats to American society than the presumed alien conspiracy behind the anti-Mafia policies.
Criminal Sentencing in the United States: An Historical and Conceptual Overview
Authors: Dershowitz Alan M.
Published: October 2007

The criminal sentence seeks to reduce the frequency and severity of crimes by employing the following mechanisms: (a) isolating the convicted criminal from the rest of the population, so that he is unable to commit crimes during the period of his enforced isolation; (b) punishing the con victed prisoner, so that he—and others contemplating crime —will be deterred by the prospect of a painful response if convicted; (c) rehabilitating the convicted criminal, so that his desire or need to commit future crimes will be diminished. During different periods of our history, the power to deter mine the duration of a convicted criminal's sentence has been allocated to different agencies: first to the legislature; then to the judiciary; and now—under indeterminate sentencing—to the parole board. The locus of sentencing authority has a con siderable effect on such factors as the length of sentences, the degree of discretion, and the disparity among sentences. The century-long trend in the direction of indeterminancy seems to be ending. It is likely that the coming decades will witness a return to more legislatively-fixed sentences.
The First Steps Toward the Integration of Social Theory and Social Policy
Authors: Hage Jerald , Hollingsworth J. Rogers
Published: October 2007

This paper presents a theoretical framework as a first step in the constructing of a body of theory for under standing certain types of policy outcomes. While the frame work operates at a somewhat general level, it does not apply to all policy problems. Nevertheless, it does permit us to code most policy studies and offers some potential for de veloping generalizations which transcend a number of policy sectors. The essay combines general variables with an interest group approach to the study of public policy. By knowing the relative power of specific interest groups, we are able to increase the predictability of what policy outcomes will prevail. The type of analysis presented herein should help to establish more clearly the constraints under which policy- makers operate and to clarify the consequences that are likely to follow when certain kinds of policies are adopted.
Conceptions of Research and Development for Education in the United States
Authors: Holzner Burkart , Salmon-Cox Leslie
Published: October 2007

In the early 1960s, spurred by federal initia tives and funding, a movement got underway to place educa tional practice on a foundation of scientifically based know ledge. The Research and Development Centers pro gram was the first of several institutional approaches to what came later to be known as the knowledge production and use (KPU) system in education. Based on their thirteen. years of case study experience of one such center, and their application of a sociology of knowledge framework to some of the larger policy issues, the authors trace some of the positive and negative effects of this attempt to place education in the domain of "big science." They discuss the evolution of models for educational R&D, which are prescrip tive, rather than descriptive, of intellectual activity. The development of epistemic communities and ensuing stan dards of judgment in the one institution are also seen to have been crucial to its development. While a final judg ment of the efficacy of the Research and Development Cen ters program and other related efforts is not possible, some of the products and outcomes of these programs are now visibly available.
Contemporary Crime in Historical Perspective: A Comparative Study of London, Stockholm, and Sydney
Authors: Gurr Ted Robert
Published: October 2007

The question is whether historical evidence from other Western societies helps us understand the apparent increase in contemporary crime. Official records of offenses against persons and property in London, Stock holm, and Sydney show remarkably similar trends during the past 150 years. From around 1840 to 1930, indicators of common crime fell by an average ratio of 8:1. Since then, especially since 1950, they have increased by similar ratios. Changes in criminal law, police systems, and judicial policies in these societies are examined to see whether they explain the trends. One conclusion is that the trends are a roughly accurate tracing of real changes in the mag nitude of socially-threatening behavior. Another is that the policies and institutions, credited for a century of improving public order, have little impact on the contemporary increase. It is suggested that those who blame increasing crime on "repressive" or "inefficient" officials are missing the real social and intellectual issues.
Some Observations on the Plan-Market Relationship in Centrally Planned Economies
Authors: Katsenelinboigen Aron , Levine Herbert S.
Published: October 2007

This paper is comprised of several sets of observations on the plan-market relationship in centrally planned economies, as reflected in the experience of the Soviet Union. The paper begins with a discussion of the division of economic relations into vertical and horizontal and a description of the extensive and varied role of horizontal relations in the Soviet economy. A second set of observations concerns the beginning of market type mechanisms in the centrally controlled horizontal relationships among enter prises. A third set relates to the differences between routine production processes and creative processes. A fourth and final set of observations concerns the centralization of appointment making power and other aspects of the role of the Party in the Soviet economy. The paper ends with two conclusions: one, plan and market are not substitutes, but are complements for each other; two, the key problem of balance between plan and market is related to the issue of power in the society.
Singing in the Spirit
Authors: Norton Nadjwa E. L.
Published: October 2007

This article examines how one spiritual, Black, male, first grade teacher and one spiritual, Black first grader name music as a spiritual practice. The data arise from a 1-year multicultural feminist critical narrative inquiry. The findings demonstrate how the participants' age, ethnicity, class, and spirituality shape music as a spiritual practice. The study details how spiritual people negotiate public schools, conceptualize diverse notions of spirituality, and engage reflection. The article calls for the creation of more equitable policies and practices within schools that value and draw on music as an aspect of spirituality of the students and teachers within.
Relocation in Rural and Urban Settings
Authors: Gross Zehavit
Published: October 2007

This article describes aspects of the relocation of schools from the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip ( Gush Katif) after implementation of the disengagement plan in summer 2005. The study describes “successful” and “unsuccessful” relocated schools in the eyes of parents and the impact of the schools' new geographical positioning on the parents' discourse. Parents from successful rural schools in the periphery mainly emphasized the schools' attainment of educational—ideological goals, whereas parents from a semiurban school located close to the center mainly emphasized learning achievements. Although both groups underwent the same trauma of disengagement, the parents from successful rural schools expressed a more segregated tendency, whereas parents from the semiurban school expressed a more integrated and multicultural tendency. The semiurban school located close to the center serves as a mediator between the particularistic and universalistic concepts of the refugees from Gush Katif and as a means to normalization and integration within general society.
Testing for Multigroup Invariance of the Computer Anxiety Scale
Authors: Marcoulides George A. , Emrich Christin , Marcoulides Laura D.
Published: October 2007

The Computer Anxiety Scale (CAS) measures the perceptions of individuals with respect to their anxiety toward computers. Although the CAS was developed a number of years ago, research has shown that its factor structure has remained stable. Recent cross-cultural studies using samples of college students from various countries have also shown that the construct of computer anxiety as measured by the CAS has not changed. The present study uses structural equation modeling techniques to examine whether the CAS remains stable in two samples of German college students, the first from a traditional attendance-based lecture course and the second using Web-based tools. Results provide support for the invariance of the factor structure of the CAS.
Toward a propaganda/commercial model of journalism in China? The case of the Beijing Youth News
Authors: Yuezhi Zhao
Published: October 2007

This paper explores the accommodations and tensions between Party journalism and market-driven journalism in the Chinese press by focussing on the Beijing Youth News, the Beijing Communist Youth League organ that has achieved remarkable commercial success in recent years. It argues that while market mechanisms have led to innovations and created some relative autonomy in some areas, the introduction of market logic into Party journalism may lead to the emergence of a propaganda/commercial model of journalism which performs more subtle and less didactic ideological work for the Party.
Recovery and the Good Life: How Psychiatric Survivors Are Revisioning the Healing Process
Authors: Adame Alexandra L. , Knudson Roger M.
Published: October 2007

The recovery literature in clinical psychology often focuses on abstract outcome measures of mental health and wellness that in turn serve to shape the process and goals of psychotherapy. However, there is often an experiential disconnect between these conceptualizations of recovery and the lived experience of psychological suffering and healing. In the current article, the authors present alternative views of what recovery or, more accurately, what living a good life means for a group of people who identify themselves as psychiatric survivors. Like the feminist paradigm, the psychiatric survivor movement does not separate the personal and political, and thus this counterculture facilitates the telling of alternative narratives of recovery that more closely represent people's lived experiences. The authors discuss how these alternative discourses of the movement conceptualize the good life in terms of creating countercultural communities, engaging in political activism, and working for social justice and human rights in the mental health system.
The Plot Thickens—or Not: Protonarratives of Emotions and the Chinese Principle of Savoring
Authors: Sundararajan Louise
Published: October 2007

What are emotions good for? This article makes the radical claim that the primary function of emotion is not merely to serve the purpose of coping and adaptation, but to foster an expansion of experience and consciousness that contribute importantly to a subjective self, without which biological survival would be meaningless. This argument is inspired by the Chinese notion of aesthetic savoring, which is explicated by a phenomenological account of “protonarratives” of emotions. Protonarratives are “small stories” that are more creative than full fledged narratives, partly because of their successful resistance against the latter's telos. By keeping the narrative impulses to the minimum, and by resisting the temptation of the plot to “thicken,” protonarratives reduce our risk of submitting to compulsory outcomes—such as action and problem solving—of the emotion narrative. This phenomenological analysis of savoring concludes with a discussion of its implications for the psychology of emotion.
Workers' Participation and Industrial Democracy-Variations on a Theme
Authors: Robbins John R.
Published: October 2007

THE CONCEPT of worker participation in management is fraught with difficulties, semantic, political and technical. This paper is intended to clarify some of the varied approaches to the topic.

The semantic problem is not merely that, for the vocabulary used may contain an indication of the intent of the author. There is a great deal of interchangeability between the terms worker participation and industrial democracy though I think that an important and fundamental distinction can be made between them, and many of the other terms can be subsumed under these headings.
Empirical and Scientific Knowledge in the Textile Industry
Authors: Clark Charles H.
Published: October 2007

REITARATION in publications of U. S. Institute, and by speakers at its meetings, of the backwardness of the domestic textile industry in the utilization of scientific research, has been interpreted in some quarters as a serious reflection upon the technical progress and status of the industry as compared with other old industries. The fallacy of such interpretation is refuted in this paper by Mr. Clark, presented last March before Committee D-13 of the A. S. T. M.
Analysis of Weighted Silk
Authors: Mease Ralph T.
Published: October 2007

A GENERALLY applicable, rapid, and convenient method for the determination of the amount of pure silk fibre in silk textiles is described. Weighting and finishing materials are removed by repeated extractions with hot water, 2 per cent sodium carbonate solution and a solution containing 2 per cent of hydrochloric and 2 per cent of hydrofluoric acids. Results of analyses of samples of known composition are presented which indicate that the results are correct to within 1 per cent of the weight of the dried finished material. Results obtained by inexperienced analysts working in different laboratories have been in good agreement when samples of the same silk were analyzed. Qualitative methods for the identification of the following weighting materials are given: Aluminum, lead, phosphate, silica, tin, zinc.
The Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide and of Water Vapor by Paper Pulp
Authors: Salley Donovan D.J.
Published: October 2007

Isotherms for the adsorption of carbon dioxide and of water vapor by two paper pulp samples, one slightly beaten and one well beaten, have been observed over a range of temperatures. Heats of adsorption and area of surface concerned have been calculated. For water vapor, the heats of adsorption and the surface area are essentially equal for both pulps. For carbon dioxide, the heat of adsorption is greater and the area is smaller for the well beaten than for the slightly beaten pulp.
The Quantitative Determination of Stiffness in Individual Yarns
Authors: Saxl Irving J.
Published: October 2007

IN view of the importance of the exact knowledge of stiffness in individual yarns and yarn combinations, a method has been developed for measuring these characteristics quantitatively. It consists essentially in determining the force necessary to bend a piece of yarn, held at one end, through various angles. For convenience in the application of the force, the yarn is formed into a U-bend, the load being applied at the center of the U. The bending angle is variable by means of a turning device. The instrument is used in conjunction with am analytical balance.

The method described lends itself to a great many different applications. Among others, the load-versus-deflection characteristics for various types of yarn have been determined. The influence of the number of filaments and proper sizing upon the stiffness is shown, as is the hysteresis effect. The method lends itself to the determination of the modulus of clasticity.
A Study of Warp Size Distribution on Continuous Filament Bright Viscose Rayon
Authors: Yelland William E.
Published: October 2007

Evidence obtained by means of a study of cross-sections of sized rayon yarn is presented to show the marked difference in distribution on the yarn between the gelatin-glue class of size and the converted starch class. The effect of relative viscosity of the size mix is illustrated. The different behavior of yarns from different manufactures is noted, and the effect of can-drying on the yarn cross-section is discussed.
Electrophoretic Studies of Wool
Authors: Sookne Arnold M. , Harris Milton
Published: October 2007

A new investigation of the electrophoretic properties of wool shows that phthalate ion, used in buffers in earlier work, exhibits a specific ion effect, and shifts the isolectric point to lower pH values. In acetate buffers, the isoelectric point of wool scales and cortical cells was found to be at pH 4.5. Samples of ground or powdered wool show an isoelectric point at pH 4.2. Much of the confusion which exists concerning the location of the isoelectric point has arisen from the assumption that the isoionic and isoclectric points are identical. The significance of both of these points in wool processing is discussed.
Another Look At the Agenda-Setting Function of the Press
Authors: McLeod Jack M. , Becker Lee B. , Byrnes James E.
Published: October 2007

The agenda-setting hypothesis asserts that the media have an effect indirectly by choosing certain issues for emphasis, thus making those issues more salient to the audiences. The hypothesis, stated in such general terms, presents formidable conceptual and methodological difficulties that are dealt with in this article. A controlled study of the audiences of two newspapers with differing content emphases was conducted during the 1972 presidential campaign. The results show only moderate support for the agenda-setting hypothesis; the honesty in government issues, given heavy play in one of the two newspapers, failed to generate much enthusiasm among readers of either paper. In addition the results suggest agenda setting is not a broad and unqualified media effect. Predicted differences mainly were restricted to the less involved and less motivated partisans who were heavily dependent on the newspapers for their political news. Finally, the importance of studying issue saliences apart from political attitudes was illustrated by the relatively strong relationship between such saliences and voter turnout and direction.
Message Locus and Message Content
Authors: Stamm Keith R. , Pearce W. Barnett
Published: October 2007

Results of several studies developed from a process model of coorientation are discussed and summarized. In the process model described, four cognitive states are defined in terms of the accuracy with which each person in a dyad perceives the similarity between his own orientation and the orientation of the other. Two new studies are reported: (1) allowing options in the locus of communication behavior, and (2) analyzing the degree of "self-disclosure" in messages generated with respect to different cognitive states. The frequency of messages with a locus external to the dyad was low and did not vary across coorientational states; in the second study, variance in self-disclosure was not explained by coorientational states. The new studies did, however, provide replication of previously demonstrated regularities in information giving and seeking behaviors. While seeking and giving of information have been found to vary predictably, the content of communication behavior has not.
Political Radicalization as a Communication Process
Authors: Woelfel Joseph , Woelfel John , Gillham James , McPhail Thomas
Published: October 2007

Based on data taken from 412 adult education students in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, this research attempts to show that attitudes toward French Canadian Separatism by the sample members can be accounted for by differentiaf communication processes. Results show that attitudes held by sample members are well explained (R2 = .64) by a weighted average of the information they received from interpersonal and media sources. The resultant attitude shows substantial effects on behaviors related to separatism for the same respondents.
Strength and Duration of the Effect of Aggressive,, Violent, and Erotic Communications On Subsequent Aggressive Behavior
Authors: Zillmann Dolf , Hoyt James L. , Day Kenneth D.
Published: October 2007

This study investigated the aggression-modifying, immediate effect on provoked individuals of exposure to a neutral, an aggressive, a violent, or an erotic communication. All communications were followed by a common, non-involving, nonaggressive communication. Under these conditions, neither the effect of the aggressive nor that of the violent communication differed appreciably from the effect of the neutral communication. In contrast, the effect of the erotic communication significantly exceeded the effects of all other communications, yielding more intense aggressiveness. Measures of excitatory changes were also obtained. The differentiation of these measures coincided with the differentiation of measured aggressiveness, thus lending support for the excitation-transfer paradigm, which was employed as an explanatory mechanism. The relative strength and the short-lived nature of the aggression-enhancing immediate impact of aggressive and violent communications are discussed.
Communication in Crisis
Authors: Mileti Dennis S. , Beck E.M.
Published: October 2007

The communication of messages of the impending impact of some natural disaster agent can play a key role in averting natural catastrophe. This article examines the social processes involved in disaster warnings which function to elicit evacuation in such threat situations. These processes and the role of the mass media in forming situational definitions requisite for evacuation are examined in reference to data gathered in Rapid City, South Dakota where on June 9, 1972 a flash flood produced a major disaster.
Audience Reaction and Its Effect On Perceived Expertise
Authors: Duck Steven W. , Baggaley Jon
Published: October 2007

A hypothesis derived from Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory suggests that in circumstances of uncertainty or ambiguity the perception of a speaker's expertise will be liable to influence by the reactions of an "audience. " As a test of this prediction two groups of subjects were presented with a televised lecture on a technical topic with which they were unfamiliar. One group saw the lecture with positive audience reactions inserted and one with negative audience reactions. In the negative condition the lecturer was rated as less expert (p <0.05), more confusing (p < 0.01), and more shallow (p < 0.05), whilst ratings of personal attractiveness were unaffected. It is concluded that perceived expertise is subject to manipulation and bias under conditions of unfamiliarity and uncertainty.
Media-Specific Learning Effects
Authors: Helmreich Reinhard
Published: October 2007

The experiment dealt with the question of the comparative learning effects of television and radio. It was determined that both of these media impart knowledge to the same extent and that the forgetting of the knowledge is not media-specific. However, emotional impressions were found to be different for television viewers and radio listeners. These media-specific emotional impressions do not change with the passing of time after the program presentation. Thus the media-specific emotional impression seems to remain constant over time and seems to be largely independent of the retained or forgotten cognitive content.
Media Content as Social Indicators
Authors: Beniger James R.
Published: October 2007

The idea that measures of mass media content might complement survey research in monitoring social change is as old as public opinion polling itself. This article argues for social indicators to parallel economic indicators based on media content. Developed here is one such indicator, the "Green field Index" of Readers' Guide entries. Usefulness of such an index is argued in terms of recent findings on the "agenda-setting" function of the media, which imply that public attitudes and opinions may be more closely correlated with media coverage than with more objective social conditions. This is illustrated with four separate measures of the "drug problem" among American youth in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which suggest that media indicators are as good as objective measures and poll data for monitoring change. Usefulness of the Greenfield Index is demonstrated in two applications: (1) to decomposition of the issue of race relations into more subtle component shifts in media attention, and (2) the exposure of media coverage of crime and criminal activity as subject to the periodic cycles that characterize fads. Linked to more objective measures and public opinion surveys, media indicators like the Greenfield Index afford relatively inexpensive means to assess social change at the macro level.
Prediction of Youth Contacts With Law Enforcement Agencies
Authors: Feldhusen John F. , Aversano Francis M. , Thurston John R.
Published: October 2007

The purposes of this research were to determine the predictors of juvenile delinquency, to develop a practical system for early identification of its causes, and to determine the extent to which youngsters' contacts with law enforcement agencies could be predicted over an eight-year period. The subjects were children in grades three, six, and nine who had been nominated by teachers as displaying aggressive-disruptive or socially approved behavior. The criterion to be predicted was contact with law enforcement agencies. While all criterion data were collected eight years after the original nomination and collection of predictor data, the actual dates of contact with law enforcement agencies varied from as little as one year to as long as eight years after the original nomination. Predictive accuracies ranging from 69% to 79% were achieved using stepwise multiple discriminant function analysis.
Correctional Treatment and Coercion
Authors: Warren Marguerite Q.
Published: October 2007

Objections to correctional treatment have been made on two grounds: (1) it is unethical because it is inevitably coercive; and (2) there is no evidence that it is effective in reducing crime. These two objections are intertwined, for the extent to which we can reasonably require offenders to take part in treatment programs is dependent on the probability of success. This article describes three frequently occurring types of offenders, along with prescribed treatment strategies. Success rates and other treatment outcome measures are presented, showing large differences for the three offender types. Implications for the coercion issue are discussed.
The Effect of a Juvenile Diversion Program On Rearrests
Authors: Quay Herbert C. , Love Craig T.
Published: October 2007

Four hundred thirty-six participants, ages 12 to 16, in a pretrial intervention project were compared to an equivalent group of 132 cases who were treated by whatever other means were available to the juvenile justice system. The experimental group incurred significantly fewer rearrests over an average exposure period of 311 days. Differential results were obtained for subgroups of the experimentals, and certain factors were also found to be predictive of outcome.
Interpersonal Skills Training
Authors: Bornstein Philip H. , Winegardner Jill , Rychtarik Robert G. , Paul William P. , Naifeh Stephen J. , Sweeney Teresa M. , Justman Allisen
Published: October 2007

In order to assess the efficacy of an interpersonal skill training program with adult offenders, 14 males presently serving terms in Montana State Prison were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: (a) interpersonal effectiveness training or (b) waiting-list control. The interpersonal effectiveness training group met for six one-hour sessions during which time inmates rehearsed, modeled, and were coached in generating appropriate responses to socially problematic conflict situations. Dependent measures, administered pre- and posttreatment, included the Personality Research Form (PRF), S-R Inventory of Anxiousness (SRIA), and Interpersonal Behavior Role-Play Test (IBRT). Major results indicated interpersonal effectiveness training group superiority on IBRT training and generalization assessment items (p's<.01). These findings were discussed with regard to the establishment of effective coping strategies both within correctional and natural environments.
Intensive Community Treatment
Authors: Crozat Pamela , Kloss James D.
Published: October 2007

Chronic unemployment remains a major obstacle to the successful community adjustment of offenders. As part of a comprehensive community treatment program, offenders with multiple employment handicaps were taught job-seeking skills and given intensive support in finding and maintaining employment. Based upon comparisons with a randomly assigned control group, clients receiving these services had significantly greater rate employment. Absenteeism and other work-related problems remained high however, and the initial impact on unemployment gradually dissipated over a 28-month follow-up period. Although the program was considered successful, it appears that intensive community treatment must be even more closely integrated with special employment and training oppurtunities for offenders in order to overcome the multiple barriers to their employment.
Age and Prison Violence
Authors: Mabli Jerome , Holley Charles , Patrick Judy , Walls Justina
Published: October 2007

This project assessed the impact of increasing inmate age heterogeneity on violent and assaultive behavior at two Federal Correctional Institutions. The project spanned a period of two and one-half years. The results indicated that the strategy may be viable for establishing and maintaining a relatively nonviolent institutional environment.
Diagnostic Labeling
Authors: Holland Terrill R.
Published: October 2007

The use of four broad diagnostic categories (normality, personality trait disorder, sociopathy, and psychiatric disturbance) was examined for four mental health clinicians conducting presentence evaluations of 560 felony offenders (140 cases per clinician). Although these four groups of subjects did not differ on age, offense severity, number of prior convictions, IQ, or MMPI performance, clinicians nonetheless varied widely both in their relative frequencies of use of these categories and their utilization of information in making diagnostic discriminations. Furthermore, labels and sentencing recommendations were related to each other in such a way that the attribution of normality was accompanied by a predominance of recommendations for placement on probation, while classification as a sociopath was associated with recommendations for long-term, involuntary confinement in an institutional setting. Those clinicians with the most highly deviant recommendation rates also exhibited the most extreme differences in their use of the normal and sociopathic categories and made judgments that were minimally related to objectively assessed characteristics of offenders. It was concluded that biases in the definition and assignment of labels might be reduced by means of a combined clinical-statistical approach to gathering and utilizing diagnostic information.
Contingency Management in a Cellblock Token Economy
Authors: Milan Michael A. , Throckmorton William R. , McKee John M. , Wood Larry F.
Published: October 2007

Two studies were performed with imprisoned adult felons (I) to expand the generality of the use of positive reinforcement procedures as alternatives to intensification of punishment for the reduction of undesirable behavior with this client population; and (2) to identify the functional relationship between the magnitude of token reinforcement and the performance of a desired activity. In Study 1, a reversal design with a follow-up component indicated that the positive reinforcement of rule following was effective in reducing the occurrence of rule violations and that the effect of the procedure appeared to be partially irreversible. Study 2 used an expanded reversal design to determine the progressive effects on performance of successive increases in the magnitude of token reinforcement and to compare these effects for clients with and without a long history of participation in a token economy. It was found that each successive increase in reinforcement magnitude produced proportionally smaller increases in group performance, and that the effects were markedly similar for groups with differing histories of participation in the economy. Group and individual performance records are compared, and the manner in which group data may mask individual response patterns is discussed.
Female Partners for Male Police
Authors: Johns Christina J. , Barclay Andrew M.
Published: October 2007

Sixteen male state police troopers with either a male or a female partner responded to a training film designed to provoke impulsive aggression. Troopers and partners fired blank loads directly at a movie screen when they felt it would have been appropriate to do so had the situations depicted in the movie been occurring in real life. The hypothesis, that female presence would affect shooting responses of male troopers, was confirmed. Troopers with female partners fired more often and with fewer errors than did troopers with male partners. The results are discussed in terms of two models of aggressive behavior and the practical applications of the findings.
Release From a Maximum Security Psychiatric Institution
Authors: Quinsey Vernon L.
Published: October 2007

A stepwise regression analysis was used to predict length of stay in a maximum security psychiatric institution from 14 clinical and demographic variables. Two groups were studied separately: a cross sectional group of 181 men who were potentially eligible for release to a less secure setting and a group discharged to a less secure setting (N = 94). It was predicted that an admission offense of homicide, a diagnosis of personality disorder, and a younger age on admission would be positively correlated with length of stay because these variables are related to perceived dangerousness. In the cross sectional group, education was the best predictor (r = -.26), followed by age on admission, and an offense of homicide. In the discharge group, an offense of murder was the best predictor (r = .40), followed by a diagnosis of retardation. The reasons for the relationship between length of stay and both years of education and a diagnosis of retardation are at present obscure but are probably not related to the patients' perceived dangerousness.
Work Relations and Cynicism Among Prison Guards
Authors: Poole Eric D. , Regoli Robert M.
Published: October 2007

While researchers have recently focused their attention on cynicism as a role characteristic of prison guards, they have tended to view cynicism as a consequence of the organization of prison work and have not examined the attitude as the outcome of interaction with others in the institution. The present research explores the feasibility of this line of explanation. Data for the project were derived from questionnaire responses of 144 guards working in a large-state, maximum-security institution in the midwest. In addition to the questionnaire data, formal interviews were also conducted with a stratified sample of the institution's guards. While numerous findings emerged from the study, the most general showed that as a prison guard's work relations with inmates, fellow officers, and administrators deteriorate, his level of cynicism increases. From this, we conclude the article with a discussion of the theoretical significance and practical importance of all findings presented.