bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Collective Bargaining and Essential Services: the Australian Case
Authors: Fox Carol
Published: March 2007

The introduction of collective bargaining and the right to strike in the federal jurisdiction in 1993 was accompanied by special provisions for essential services. These enable the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to remove the right to strike and substitute compulsory arbitration in the event of 'threatened danger' to the community. The essential services policy approximates the traditional Australian dispute settlement model. The model entails some choice for principal parties between bargaining and arbitration. Choice between processes is implicit in the essential services policy. This has led to controversy concerning union motives when seeking termination of bargaining. This study concludes that employer motives may also be questioned and that the issue of motives remains problematic. An analysis of disputes invoking the new provisions reveals that a predicted growth in interest arbitration has not occurred. The relevant disputes cover health, fire-fighting and electricity distribution services. Prefer ences between bargaining and arbitration vary for both unions and employers. They may also change during the course of a dispute. The mediating variable of commission discretion is crucial to process outcomes. Claims of unfair advantage to unions arising from the policy are rejected. Claims that the provision encourages action designed to threaten to endanger the public are upheld, where either party prefers arbitration and is prepared to take action to achieve that. A critical element of the policy's operation is evidence presented to the commission concerning the impact of industrial action. In some cases the commission has acted with alacrity to withdraw the right to strike. It has also tolerated lengthy periods of industrial action. This reflects, in good measure, the wide variations in the impact of industrial action. Union evidence, whether supporting or opposing termination of bargaining and the right to strike, has, on balance, fared better than employer evidence. Some weaknesses in the policy are identified. These include its reactive nature. Any pro-active measures directed to maintenance of essential services are solely the product of private or self-regulation. Exploration of international models, including diverse Canadian solutions, is advocated. These are the product of greater debate concerning the regulation of industrial relations in essential services than has occurred in Australia.
The Balance of Power: Formal Perfection and Practical Flaws
Authors: Horowitz Shale
Published: March 2007

A game-theoretic model is used to show that the balance-of-power mechanism has much greater formal power than hitherto understood. Under the strong assumption that all threatened countries must be able to function as crucial coalition partners in deterring any threat, all members of minimum winning coalitions are guaranteed not to lose any resources. Under the traditional, weaker assumption that some coalition must be available to deter any threat, even countries that are not members of minimum winning coalitions are guaranteed against losing any resources. These formal results are significant in two ways. First, they make it possible to reconcile apparently contradictory views in the literature, and to offer a satisfying intuitive interpretation of the balance-of-power mechanism. Second, they point to a variety of factors - operating both separately and interactively - that may cause the balance-of-power mechanism to fail. Examples are uncertainty combined with risk-loving preferences, conflict-averse preferences, offensive technological advantages, economic growth, and technological and political rigidities in the formation of alliances and rivalries. It is argued that efforts to test balance-of-power theory should focus on assessing the relative importance of such factors.
Review Essay : Old, Unhappy, Far-off Things: The New Military History of Europe
Authors: Knutsen Torbjorn L.
Published: March 2007

Military history has tended to emphasize politics, chronology, and great men The narrative often represents attempts to analyze rulers and generals in order to understand the reasons behind their decisions. This traditional approach all too often descends to the level of 'a chronicle of one damn battle after another'. In recent years a 'New Military History' has emerged that eschews narration of events and is primarily interested in the social and institutional context of warfare Its attention is not focused on battles, tactics, and weapons systems, but on social structures, military attitudes, relationships between officers and the rank-and-file, and on the interrelations between military and civil society This essay adumbrates the background for this new historiography, reviews some recent volumes which seek to reinvestigate the military history of Europe and sketchily relates these books to the study of the modern world system.
Does the USSR Have a 'Grand Strategy'? Reinterpreting the Invasion of Afghanistan
Authors: Gibbs David
Published: March 2007

This essay examines the question of Soviet intervention in the Third World. It begins by discussing recent theories of Soviet strategy, including those which hold that the USSR has a grand strategy of expansion in the Third World, as well as the less alarmist views of George F. Kennan. The influence that these debates have had on American foreign policy, and their significance for the recent revival of the Cold War, is discussed The essay then attempts to test these theories, using the Soviet Union's December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan as a case study. The essay describes, at length, Afghanistan's internal politics and foreign relations from the eighteenth century until the present The historical discussion, which emphasizes the post-World War II period, relies primarily on US government documents. The essay concludes, based on the information presented, that the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan reluctantly, and that it did not invade primarily in order to expand its influence. It also concludes that the USSR has not gamed major strategic advantages from its occupation of Afghanistan. Finally, the essay reconsiders the theories of Soviet strategy, and notes that the facts of the Afghan case generally contradict the 'grand strategy' theorists, while they support the views of Kennan.
Chinese Auguries
Authors: Larkin Bruce D.
Published: March 2007

The People's Republic of China, as one part of comprehensive changes which extend to the economy and social policy, has moved to change the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to a smaller, more efficient, better-educated force relying more heavily on advanced weapons and high technology. Although Chinese spokesmen insist that war is a continuing phenomenon and that China must be prepared for war, they describe small-scale wars as more likely and deride prior expectations of massive, large-scale war. Policy statements and China's experience since 1949 suggest that the PLA will prepare for defensive war at the border and assertion of Chinese claims in the western Pacific. For the present, however, China insists on the need for a peaceful environment to achieve economic aims. Globally, China urges 'complete prohibition and thorough destruction' of nuclear weapons and criticizes moves to base weapons in space, but pending deep cuts in superpower strategic systems insists on gradual enhancement of China's own nuclear forces. China could encourage moves toward a largely disarmed world, or could insist on sovereign military capabilities re-enforcing today's heavily armed global stalemate
The Erosion of Restraint in West German Arms Transfer Policy
Authors: Brzoska Michael
Published: March 2007

The left-to-center government coming to power in the FRG in 1969 adopted a comparatively restrictive arms export policy. In the 1970s, restrictions were lifted step-by-step. The analysis of this process focuses on polity and politics of arms transfer policy. Arms transfer policy became split. There was a level of publicly proclaimed restrictions, a level of bureaucratic policy and a level of actual licensing arms exports. The arms industry was increasingly able to shape the political discourse, especially through the use of the argument of creating employment in economically difficult times. At the same time, the popular opposition against arms transfers to the Third World, which had led to the initial restrictiveness, lost its influence on political decision-making. Such split policies, and the use of concepts fraught with ideology seem to be more general phenomena in national politics of arms transfer restrictions.
Crime in Scandinavia during World War II
Authors: Tham Henrik
Published: March 2007

What is the impact of war on crime? A large number of studies have dealt with the subject but have usually focused on only one country at a time. In an attempt to illustrate the question more systematically the Scandinavian countries (excluding Iceland) during World War II have been compared in regard to the development of theft, homicide and assault. Theft rose in all four countries, the explanations being economic factors such as inflation, falling real wages and shortage of goods. Homicide rates, according to conviction data, remained on their `ordinary' levels throughout the war. The total level of alcohol consumption, as strongly influenced by official alcohol policies, had an important impact on the development of assault. Controlling for the number of enlisted men, female crime in all the countries increased more than that of men. The classic hypothesis that war raises morals and reduces crime did not receive support. Not only did total crime and convictions rise but they also seem to have done so regardless of the morally different war experiences of the Scandinavian countries: Finland as a belligerent, Sweden as a neutral and Denmark and Norway as occupied.
Military Expenditure and Economic Growth in Greece, 1960-90
Authors: Antonakis Nicholas
Published: March 2007

There is much controversy in the literature over whether military expenditure is associated with higher or lower growth rates. Most studies on the subject utilize cross-sectional data, and the diversity in their conclusions is attributed mainly to sample variations and differences in the specificational choices and time periods examined. Moreover, to the extent that various regions of the world differ substantially in the natural environments they face and in socioeconomic structures, it is inappropriate to generalize the effects of military expenditure across countries. These facts point to the need for case-specific studies using time-series data for individual countries. In this context, the present article seeks to contribute to current research in the area by investigating the growth effects of military expenditure in the case of Greece over the post-war period. Basically, military expenditure can affect economic growth through both direct and indirect spin-offs, the reallocation of resources and the creation of new resources. Those influences can be captured by a simultaneous equation model comprising three equations, namely growth, savings and military burden. In the context of the general-to-specific approach, the estimation of this model for the Greek economy over the period 1960-90, reveals that the combined effect of military expenditure on the output growth rate is negative, independently of the level of significance used in calculating of the relevant multiplier.
Evaluating Conflict Research on the Diffusion of War
Authors: Simowitz Roslyn
Published: March 2007

In reviewing empirical studies on the causes of war, scholars claim to find evidence of progress. Most reviewers, however, do not present a set of explicitly defined criteria and when they do, their criteria are oftentimes ambiguous and vague. The objective of this study is to provide a set of criteria that are clearly defined and then to apply them in a systematic and objective way to one area of conflict studies: the diffusion of war. To do this, I draw upon criteria taken from the works of Kuhn, Popper, Lakatos and Laudan and re-evaluate the progressiveness of empirical studies addressing war diffusion. The criteria I apply include generality, simplicity, precision, predicting novel information, anticipating results and solving both empirical and conceptual problems. My analysis indicates that there is little evidence of progress on most of these criteria. I suggest that perhaps one reason for declining interest in this area is due to the failure of scholars to view the war diffusion research program as progressive. I also argue that social scientists be more explicit and clear in identifying their evaluative criteria so that their resulting evaluations are more objective and rigorous.
Jewish-Arab Coexistence in Israel: The Role of Joint Professional Teams
Authors: Desivilya Helena Syna
Published: March 2007

This study sought to evaluate the success of professional coexistence between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel, as reflected in joint medical teams, and to explore the generalizibility of coexistence within the teams into mutual national images. Can positive experiences within work-groups mitigate intergroup stereotypes and prejudice, thereby strengthening the Jewish-Arab bond and commitment for peace in the region? We examined the relative strength of the two forces: one stemming from team members' national identity and potentially hampering cooperation caused by adverse residues of protracted antagonism between Jews and Arabs; the other derived from their professional identity and possibly enhancing joint problem-solving among team members. This was a new departure that combined several research domains - research in the area of conflict management, studies on social identity, and research on biases in cognitive processing - that have not yet been integrated. It further entailed a pilot systematic effort to examine the possibility of generalizing from coexistence within joint, binational organic work-teams into overall patterns of relationships between these polarized groups. The study was conducted in a large regional medical center and several ambulatory clinics in Northern Israel. A semistructured interview and a self-report questionnaire served as the research instruments. We found that the success of Jewish-Arab coexistence appears confined to the `local' boundaries of the joint professional teams. No clear evidence was obtained showing that it generalizes into the overall national images and alleviates the protracted antagonism, stereotypes and prejudice. Three categories of explanations are offered for the lack of transfer of successful professional coexistence into global attitudes: these explanations derive from social identity theory, conflict resolution models, and cognitive biases.
The Impact of Boot Camps and Traditional Institutions on Juvenile Residents: Perceptions, Adjustment, and Change
Authors: MacKENZIE DORIS LAYTON , WILSON DAVID B. , ARMSTRONG GAYLENE STYVE , GOVER ANGELA R.
Published: March 2007

Experiences of 2,668 juveniles in 26 boot camps were compared to 1,848 juveniles in 22 traditional facilities. There were no reported differences between juveniles' anxiety and depression in the two types of facilities during their first month of confinement. Overall, juveniles in boot camps perceived their environment to be more positive (i.e., therapeutic), less hostile (i.e., dangerous), and as providing less freedom (conversely more structure) than juveniles in traditional facilities. Relative to others in the same facility, youth who viewed their facility negatively experienced more stress (i.e., anxiety, depression). Scales measuring changes over time found that youth in boot camps became less antisocial and less depressed than youth in traditional facilities. However, analyses suggest that it was not the facility type but positive perceptions of the environment that determined these changes. Furthermore, youth with histories of abuse reported higher levels of stress and exhibited less improvement overall, faring better in traditional facilities.
Punitiveness, Recall, and the Police
Authors: Marshall James , Mansson Helge
Published: March 2007

Three groups of subjects of different social and educational backgrounds—first-year law students, police trainees in the first weeks of their course, and persons (mostly on relief) attending a settlement house—were pretested for punitiveness in a study of recall. The police trainees were found to be more rigid and far more punitive than the other groups. Within each group the mean recall for those subjects scoring above their group median for punitiveness was significantly better than the recall of those below their group median. Possible reasons for this result are discussed. Comparisons are made among control groups, groups subject to status-influence, those who were told they would be witnesses for the prosecution, those told they would be witnesses for the defense, and those told that the principal character had been in a mental institution. The recall scores of these subjects are discussed in relation to punitiveness and recall.
Delinquency as a Function of Intrafamily Relationships
Authors: Venezia Peter S.
Published: March 2007

Observation of delinquent boys in a treatment setting sug gested that they were characterized by premature autonomy, attitudinal distance from the family, and lack of factual knowledge about family members. The more outstanding were these manifestations of emancipation from the family and parental authority, the greater appeared to be the boy's commitment to delinquent values and the less his response to treatment. These observations indicated that a measure of family knowledge might be an efficient indicator of commitment to delinquency and of potential for treatment. A Family Information Test (FIT) containing thirty-two factual questions about family members was empirically developed and administered to 312 experimental subjects and one hundred controls. It revealed the following:

1. Delinquent boys possessed significantly less family informa tion than the nondelinquent controls.

2. Sixteen nondelinquent brothers of experimental subjects possessed significantly more family information than the latter and significantly less than sixteen matched nondelinquent non- siblings.

3. Of all the variables studied, FIT scores, Delinquency Classifications, and Treatment Prognoses demonstrated the highest correlations with Treatment Outcome.

4. The equivalence of the above correlations indicated that FIT scores were acceptable substitutes for the expert ratings of delinquent boys by treatment personnel.

5. The FIT reliability of .75 was established by the split-half method.

6. The FIT's validity was tentatively established on the basis of (a) independent evidence of objective factors associated with delinquency and (b) significant results from Criterion Measure predictions independently made from one half of the experimen tal group to the other.
Performance Measurements in Crime Control
Authors: Hoffman Richard B.
Published: March 2007

The paper treats the problems of performance measurement for crime control activities. The existing performance measurements are strongly dominated by the apprehension-oriented clearance rate. The practical and conceptual problems associated with the clearance measure are discussed as an introduction to a conceptual framework for crime control performance measures. The frame work extends beyond the measures of operating agency perform ance to other classes of measures which are derived from a broader system definition. These additional classes of measures related to (1) economic disincentives to criminal activities and markets, (2) crime prevention, (3) community assistance and control, and (4) quality of life parameters, detailed suggestions for the class of operating agency measures; and external or system based classes of measures are provided to indicate the utility of the conceptual framework.
Assaultive Youth: An Exploratory Study of the Assaultive Experience and Assaultive Potential of California Youth Authority Wards
Authors: Wenk Ernst A. , Emrich Robert L.
Published: March 2007

All 1964-1965 California Youth Authority admissions to the Reception Guidance Center, Deuel Vocational Institution, form the study population for this research. A variety of data was utilized to explore relationships within the sample to simple recidivism on parole and to violent recidivism on parole in par ticular. Using a selection of relevant variables, three independent statistical approaches were carried out. They resulted in a linear predictive index and an effort to develop a prediction equation through a linear regression analysis. The methods employed and the results obtained are discussed.

The authors suggest that efforts to better classify and define violence should be coupled with efforts to develop assessment techniques that are specifically designed to shed light on violence- proneness inpersons. Such research efforts should be continued in addition to or in conjunction with much needed research efforts aimed at modifying violence producingsituations. Such a two- pronged research strategy would acknowledge the interactional characteristic of violence and allow for the hypothesis that both persons and their characteristics, and situations and their charac teristics, contribute to the occurrence or non-occurrence of violence.
Social Relations among Inmate Addicts
Authors: Curcione Nicholas R.
Published: March 2007

In an attempt to treat a relatively neglected aspect of the inmate social system, this paper analyzes friendship patterns among inmate-addicts sen tenced to a NARA program in a federal penitentiary. Two important features of these relationships are the fact that most of the friendships were not indigenous to the institution but instead were developed prior to confinement and that, second, these friendships became the basis for con tractual arrangements which enabled the inmates to cope with the thera peutic stresses imposed on them.
Images of Crime and the Criminal: The Dope Fiend Mythology
Authors: Reasons Charles E.
Published: March 2007

A content analysis of three sources representing general public, scientific, and vested interest publications was made concerning their presentation of the "dope fiend mythology." The "dope fiend mythology" emerged early in the twentieth century and while quantitative and qualitative variations are apparent for different sources and time periods, this imagery has dominated in the diffusion of conceptions of the "drug problem." The Federal Bureau of Narcotics has been the most consistent and persistent presenter of the "dope fiend mythology," emphasizing the criminality of illicit drug users. Within the last decade there has been a reduction in the presentation of the "dope fiend mythology" in the sources investigated.
Gender Bias in Juvenile Justice
Authors: Teilmann Katherine S. , Landry Pierre H.
Published: March 2007

A major issue in juvenile justice is the question of discrimination against females in processing by agents of the justice system. A particular target is female status offenders, who are said to be treated more harshly than male status offenders. This study uses eight data sets from six sites across the country to assess the accuracy of this assertion, controlling for offense and prior record. The results indicate bias against girls for some offenses and against boys for others. However, the pattern varies widely across sites, with little consistency. Although status offenders are consistently given harsher treatment than delinquent offenders, this is as true for boys as it is for girls. There is some evidence that girls are arrested for status offenses at a higher rate than boys, when contrasted with their self-reported delinquency rates. Given the relatively even-handed treatment both genders seem to receive once they are in the system, the role of their parents in bringing about the status offense arrest deserves more attention in future research.
NCCD Research Review : Crime and the Mass Media: a Selective Review of Research
Authors: Garofalo James
Published: March 2007

The mass media are pervasive in the United States, and accusations about the media's role in eliciting deviant behaviors are common. Yet criminologists have paid scant attention to the media in their theories and research. There is, however, a body of research conducted by psychologists, political scientists, and sociologists that bears, directly or indirectly, on the issues of crime and justice. This article draws on that research in reviewing the major findings on a selected set of topics.

In general, the available research shows that crime is a relatively staple topic in the media's news and entertainment presentations. The amount of crime depicted has little relationship to the amount of crime occurring, and violent crimes are high ly overrepresented by the media. The effects of these distorted portrayals on public attitudes and beliefs are unclear because conflicting research results have emerged. On the other hand, the research strongly supports the notion that the viewing of violence increases the probability of behaving aggressively.

The review concludes with several broad suggestions for media-related research that would be relevant to issues in criminology and crimincel justice.
Determinants of Charge Reductions and Final Dispositions in Cases of Burglary and Robbery
Authors: HOLMES MALCOLM D. , DAUDISTEL HOWARD C. , FARRELL RONALD A.
Published: March 2007

Despite an extensive literature on differential justice, relatively few studies have examined whether inequities occur in legal decisions that precede sentencing. This becomes a problem given the vast majority of criminal cases prosecuted in the United States are disposed of through guilty pleas to reduced charges. In an effort to address this issue, the current study examined legal, status, and resource determinants of both charge reductions and final dispositions in cases of burglary and robbery in two U.S. jurisdictions. While the analysis showed that social status influenced the acquisition of private counsel and pretrial release, resources that tended to favor defendants at final disposition, the expectation that charge reductions might be especially receptive to status influences was not supported. Only one direct status effect on charge reductions was obtained and no indirect influences appear to have been operating. Further, contrary to the dominant thesis, the direct effects of race/ethnicity on charge reductions and final dispositions point to less severe responses to minorities, responses that we suggest may have been the result of initial overcharging in cases of minority defendants.
Measures of Illegal Behavior in Individual-Level Deterrence Research
Authors: GREEN DONALD E.
Published: March 2007

In the last decade, individual-level deterrence research has employed several measures of self-reported illegal behavior to test deterrence theory hypotheses that perceived threat of sanctions is inversely related to involvement in illegal behavior. Early cross-sectional studies utilized self-reports of past involvement, while later research efforts focused on estimated future behavior or sometimes both. More recently, deterrence researchers have employed longitudinal designs that have allowed for measures of actual future illegal behavior. However, no perceptual deterrence research to date has employed a panel design to compare deterrence theory findings for future estimates of involvement in illegal behavior at Time 1 with actual future behavior measured at Time 2. The current research will employ a two-wave panel of adults from a large midwestern metropolitan area to compare tests of deterrence theory hypotheses for both of these measures of involvement in the offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol. Findings suggest that the substantive conclusions are similar regardless of the measure of the dependent variable employed: Informal threats of sanctions are more important predictors of involvement in drinking and driving behavior than are formal threats. Given the numerous problems facing longitudinal deterrence research (i.e., costs, sample attrition, and appropriate lag times), similar results from future panel studies might generate a renewed confidence in cross-sectional designs that employ future estimates of involvement in illegal behavior as proxies for actual future involvement in illegal behavior.
The Influence of Environmental and Organizational Factors on Police Style in Urban and Rural Environments
Authors: CRANK JOHN P.
Published: March 2007

While an extensive literature has examined factors influencing arrest statistics in large metropolitan areas, comparable research on smaller departments is scant. The present research, an examination of the influence of both environmental and organizational factors on arrest statistics among small and medium-sized police departments in Illinois, begins to fill this void. Community variation in arrest statistics is used as a measure of departmental styles of policing, in which higher arrest rates suggest a legalistic style of policing. Four offense categories which permit wide latitude in the use of police discretion were selected for this research. Both environmental and organizational factors influenced arrest rates for all offense categories among urban and rural departments. Frequently, however, not only did the magnitude of the impact of the predictors vary between urban and rural departments, but reversals were noted in the direction of the impact. The potency of most predictors was found to be greater in rural than in urban departments. We concluded that the organizational and environmental dynamics affecting police style vary, at times considerably, between urban and rural departments.
Criminal Justice Responses to Crack
Authors: BELENKO STEVEN , FAGAN JEFFREY , CHIN KO-LIN
Published: March 2007

The past few years have seen heightened concern about the spread of the use and sale of smokable cocaine (“crack”) and its effects on crime and public order. In particular, the criminal justice system has responded to these concerns with an unprecedented emphasis on apprehending street drug dealers and users in record numbers, overwhelming the courts and jails of many urban jurisdictions. The public perception that crack is a particularly dangerous and addictive drug, together with the growth of an unregulated street drug market, media accounts of crack-related violence, and the lack of treatment facilities, has placed pressure on the system to process crack arrests differently from other drug arrests. This study of the response of the New York City criminal justice system to the early stages of the crack “epidemic” is based on analyses of the 3,403 crack arrests that occurred between August and October 1986, including the characteristics of defendants, charges, case dispositions, and sentences. The comparison sample consisted of powdered cocaine arrests from 1983 to 1984. The results suggest that crack cases had a higher probability of pretrial detention, felony indictment, and jail sentence. Logit analyses of lower court disposition and the bail decision indicated that being charged with a crack-related offense was a relatively strong determinant of these case decisions compared to such traditional factors as prior criminal record.
An Aggregate-Level Study of Inmate Suicides and Deaths Due to Natural Causes in U.S. Jails
Authors: WOOLDREDGE JOHN D. , WINFREE L. THOMAS
Published: March 2007

This research note presents findings from cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of possible influences on the numbers of inmate suicides and natural deaths in 204 U.S. jails. Results revealed that both inmate suicides and natural deaths became less prevalent over time in larger facilities and in jails where medical tests of inmates on intake were added. Inmate suicides also became less prevalent in jails where the ratio of staff to inmates increased. Inmate deaths due to natural causes also declined in jails where standards of humane confinement are implemented, in facilities that experienced a decline in the degree of inmate crowding, and in jails where infirmaries designed for overnight stays were added. The implications of these results are discussed.
The Dialectics of Corporate Deterrence
Authors: MAKKAI TONI , BRAITHWAITE JOHN
Published: March 2007

Panel data fail to support a subjective expected utility model of corporate deterrence. There is partial confirmation, however, that chief executives of small organizations who perceive the certainty of detection as high have better regulatory compliance in their organizations. Perceived sanction threats do not work significantly more effectively for chief executives (a) of for-profit versus nonprofit organizations; (b) who are owners as well as managers; (c) who say they think about sanctions more (sanction salience); and (d) who have a weaker belief in the law. Nor does the effectiveness of corporate deterrents depend on compliance costs. There is, however, a significant deterrent effect for managers who are low on emotionality, but an opposite counter-deterrent effect for actors high on emotionality. This supports the critique of those who condemn rational actor models from a sociology of the emotions perspective. Emotions of guilt among managers predict the subsequent compliance of their organizations. The results are consistent with perceptual deterrent studies of individuals that find little effect of formal sanctions and social disapproval as deterrents, but stronger support for an effect of self-disapproval (guilt or shame) on law observance. Qualitative data are used to show why it would be folly to interpret these results as showing that business regulation can work without sanction threats and social disapproval. Rather, the data evince the need for a complete reconceptionalization of the way policy analysts think about the deterrence of law breaking.
An Examination of Environmental and Trait Influences on Adolescent Delinquency
Authors: ROWE DAVID C. , FLANNERY DANIEL J.
Published: March 2007

A single common factor underlies variation in delinquent acts; thus, by statistical criteria, they appear “unitary.” We extended the analysis of single-factoredness from delinquency itself to explanatory variables associated with delinquency (e.g., parental affection, personality traits, school involvement). Three factors were extracted from 15 explanatory variables. All three factors were statistically associated with delinquency, but the first factor extracted dominated in terms of variance explained (21.6% vs. 1.6% and 3.4%, respectively). This first factor had loadings from variables in conceptually diverse domains (e.g., family and peer relations, school success, and personality). A question for delinquency theory is why diverse explanatory variables load primarily on one factor, if theories postulate multiple and complex social and individual influences.
The Effect of Sexual Arousal on Expectations of Sexual Forcefulness
Authors: LOEWENSTEIN GEORGE , NAGIN DANIEL , PATERNOSTER RAYMOND
Published: March 2007

Decisions to commit crimes are often made under the influence of visceral feelings such as anger or sexual arousal. Rational choice models of offender decision-making assume that individuals can anticipate, in an unaroused state, their responses to such visceral feelings. This assumption is tested in an experiment in which sexually aroused and nonaroused males predict their own behavior in a date rape scenario. Aroused and nonaroused participants were asked a battery of questions designed to measure their perceptions of the costs and benefits of acting in a sexually aggressive manner, their level of arousal, and a probabilistic prediction as to how aggressively they would act in the conditions described in the scenario. The authors find that sexual arousal does increase subjects' expectations of their own sexual aggressiveness and that this impact is not mediated by perceptions of the costs or benefits of such aggression.
Defining Literacy
Authors: Luna Catherine , Solsken Judith , Kutz Eleanor
Published: March 2007

Teacher educators face a dilemma: How do we prepare preservice teachers to pass new high-stakes certification tests when these tests are often based on philosophical perspectives that run counter to our own beliefs about literacy, learning, and teaching. In this article, the authors offer an inquiry-oriented approach that uses the lens of the New Literacy Studies to help prospective teachers simultaneously prepare for and critique high-stakes standardized tests such as the Communication and Literacy Skills (CLS) portion of the Massachusetts Educator Certification Tests. The authors describe a specific activity, inviting preservice teachers to explore the social nature of literacies, investigate the characteristics of the CLS, and reflect on this type of high-stakes assessment. After providing a critique of the CLS test based on this type of activity, the authors offer recommendations for more extended activities to be used in teacher education courses.
National Political Community and the Politics of Income Taxation in Brazil and South Africa in the Twentieth Century
Authors: LIEBERMAN EVAN S.
Published: March 2007

Why was the South African state so much more successful than the Brazilian state in its attempts to collect income taxes during the twentieth century? Nationally distinctive tax policies and patterns of administration can be explained by examining the impact of contrasting definitions of National Political Community, specified in critical constitutions written around the turn of the century. The ways in which racial and spatial cleavages were addressed in the 1891 Brazilian constitution and the 1909 South Africa Act influenced the development of interclass and intraclass relations, which in turn affected the willingness of upper-income groups to accept state demands for income tax payments. Varied patterns of state development were largely predicated on contested notions of “us” and “them.”
Business Power and Social Policy: Employers and the Formation of the American Welfare State
Authors: HACKER JACOB S. , PIERSON PAUL
Published: March 2007

A number of scholars have highlighted the role of employers in shaping the development of the welfare state. Yet the results of this research have often been ambiguous or disputed because of insufficient attention to theoretical, conceptual, and methodological problems in the study of political influence. This article considers three of these problems in turn: the failure to distinguish and investigate multiple mechanisms of exercising influence, the misspecification of preferences, and the inference of influence from ex post correlation between actor preferences and outcomes. We demonstrate the importance of each through a reexamination of the early development of the American welfare state. The striking feature we suggest is neither business dominance nor weakness but marked variation in influence over time and across institutional settings.
A Vocabulary- Based Graded Dictation Test
Authors: Fountain R.L. , Nation I.S.P.
Published: March 2007

This article describes a dictation test which is graded according to vocabulary frequency. The article describes how the tests are made, used and marked. Four equivalent forms are included in the article. Statistical data on the tests is provided, showing that the tests have high reliability, and are valid tests of vocabulary knowledge. Evidence is provided to show that the four forms are equivalent.
The Delivery of Eap Courses Within the Changing Linguistic Landscape of Hong Kong: a Time for Reassessment
Authors: Dan Lu  , Julien Richard
Published: March 2007

Efforts to make EAP courses more effective and pedagogically enriched have a long pedigree. While there is much research concerning various aspects of this branch, there is little consensus on which kinds of programs can guarantee a high degree of language proficiency.

The twin purposes of this paper are to review some of the contemporary research findings in relation to the general linguistic expectations and outcomes of EAP courses in Hong Kong, as well as to examine the applicability of some of the field-tested experiences in the Hong Kong context. Concretely, the study reveals that EAP courses in Hong Kong are a hybrid of general ESL and EAP programs. Owing to the students, insufficient oracy skills, one training focus is to upgrade their listening and speaking competence. Hence, there is a cogent argument that the training of basic language skills should receive priority in general EAP courses. Although team-teaching between language instructors and subject teachers may be a desirable model for teaching, it is of limited use in Hong Kong for various reasons.

Flowing from the research, some teaching strategies are examined, which include the use of a variety of general sources rather than the use of subject-specific materials, integrating field observation with the analysis of student needs.
Concept Maps To Trace Conceptual Change in Pre Service English Teachers
Authors: Farrell Thomas S. C.
Published: March 2007

Teacher educators usually set the curriculum of the methods courses. However, it is now understood in general Education that preservice teachers come to the teacher education course with prior beliefs and values. Therefore, it is not clear what concepts/ideas the preservice teachers believe are useful as a result of taking the teacher education course. Hence, differences may exist between what teacher educators may think is important for their students to learn and what the students actually learn. How can teacher educators gauge what students have learned after taking a course? One method at the disposal of teacher educators to trace conceptual change in preservice teachers is the use of concept mapping. This paper examined the conceptual change(s) of twenty-four preservice teachers in Singapore as a result of taking a Reading Methods Module. Pre-module and post-module concept maps were elicited and participants were also asked to write short descriptions of changes they saw and to consider reasons for these changes in their thinking. Results show that the course had some impact on the trainees and that the concept map may be a useful research tool for gathering qualitative data to trace preservice English teachers' conceptual change.
The Communication Situation and the Production of Interference Forms by L2 Learners
Authors: Toury Gideon
Published: March 2007

Whether produced by L2 learners or by (more or less) "true" bilinguals, experienced or inexperienced in translating as such, translated utterances are imbued with interference forms at one level or another - whether the process occurs between L1 and L2 or vice versa. This universality, which is probably due to a series of back and forth code switchings, each one requiring its own "adjustment time," finds further verification in pseudo- translation, where the (this time) deliberate utilization of inter ference forms is among the most conspicuous strategies, a clear indication of the speakers' notions as to what distinguishes translations from non-translations within the system in question. Any translation thus represents its producer's competence in "communication in translated utterances," but cannot be taken as a direct evidence of his overall competence in the target language. Moreover, especially while assigning translating tasks to L2 learners (since they involve "restricted translation"), the communication situation includes not only the "task item," but also the "translate!" instruction given to the subject, so that different instructions may yield different types/rates of com munication in translated utterances, possibly resulting in different translations as well. This should be taken as an illustration of a general point, namely that the communication situation in which the learner finds himself, or in which he is put, during the produc tion of his L2 utterances, has a decisive role to play in the shaping of these utterances, and therefore should also be taken as a cru cial factor in any description, analysis and evaluation of the learner's performance, and at least as a substantial modifying factor for any generalization concerning his competence in L2.
An Analysis of Four Common Item Types used in Testing EFL Reading Comprehension
Authors: Perkins Kyle
Published: March 2007

Psychometric research has shown that different factors can affect the reliability and validity of a test. Reliability can be affected by fluctuations in the subject and in test administration and test characteristics. Invalid application of tests, inappropriate selection of content, sample truncation, and poor criterion selection can pose threats to a test's validity. The research reported in this paper suggests that the readability level of a passage on which reading comprehension questions are based can affect empirical considera tions of item analysis, reliability, and validity when the subject pool is a group of adult English as a Foreign Language students. Of the item types assessed, the true/false and multiple-choice items produc ed better test statistics than did the missing letters and grammar paraphrase items. Guidelines for a more tightly-controlled study are suggested.
Measuring the Vocabulary Knowledge of Second Langauge Learners
Authors: Read John
Published: March 2007

There is renewed recognition these days of the importance of vocabulary knoweldge for second language learners. This means that it is often necessary to find out, for diagnostic and for research pur poses, how many words are known by particular learners. In order to measure vocabulary size, we need to deal with three methodological problems: defining what a word is; selecting a suitable sample of words for testing; and determining the criterion for knowing a word. A first attempt to produce a diagnostic test of this kind for EAP learners is represented by the Vocabulary Levels Test, which uses a matching format to measure knowledge of words at five frequency levels. The development of the test is outlined, followed by an analysis of the results obtained from a group of learners at Victoria University. Another approach, the checklist, is proposed as an alter native testing format. The literature on the checklist is reviewed, with particular reference to methods of controlling for the tendency of learners to overrate their knowledge of the words.
First and Second Language Reading Comprehension
Authors: Perkins Kyle , Brutten Sheila R. , Pohlmann John T.
Published: March 2007

Random parallel reading comprehension tests in Japanese and English were administered to a sample of native Japanese students enrolled in intensive English instruction at three different levels of English language proficiency as assessed by an independent measure. Evidence for a threshold competence ceiling at which first language reading abilities transferred to second language reading abilities was found. At the highest proficiency level, those readers who scored high on the first language reading test also systematically scored high on the second language reading test. Pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.
Grammatical Change through Repetition
Authors: Arevart Supot
Published: March 2007

This article reports on the effect of repetition on grammatical change in an unrehearsed talk. It presents a case study based on a single learner. (The case study was part of a wider research project which is not reported here in full.) It was hypothesized that the repetition of the talk would result in improvement in accuracy of the language used in the talk. Contexts which occurred in two or more deliveries of the same talk were investigated. It was found that repetition allows for accuracy monitoring, in that errors committed in repeated contexts undergo correction. The article ends with a discussion of the findings with reference to (a) the possible implications for teaching and (b) the need for further research.