CRIMINAL DETERRENCE IN NEW YORK: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COURT ACTIVITIES AND CRIME

This study provides new evidence on the deterrent effects of criminal justice sanctions. The supply-of-crime function is tested using 1970 cross-sectional data for the 62 counties in New York State. Most studies consider only expected length of sentence when estimating the offender's cost of crime. The current analysis includes the length of time needed to dispose of a case and the severity of conviction charge as well as the expected prison sentence     

THE EFFECT OF WELFARE PROGRAMS ON CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR: A THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

A simple economic model of criminal behavior shows that welfare payments will reduce the time allocated to illegal activities under risk aversion and other reasonable assumptions. This theoretical prediction is confirmed by the empirical findings: using a set of cross-sectional U.S. state data for 1987, it is found that cash or in-kind welfare programs have a negative and often significant effect on property crime. More general programs such as public housing seem to have a larger effect than those aimed primarily at women (AFDC). Medicaid and school lunch programs apparently have little effect on property crime.     

浅谈文房收藏新亮点：古墨

近些年来,在各大拍卖会上,无论是国内的还是国外的,大型的小型的,中国古代文房用具专场异军突起,成交战果表现的非常抢眼。藏墨是文人的雅逸之举和情怀寄托。把玩收藏古墨将成为今后收藏拍卖市场上下一个“风向标”。墨,是文明的产物,它具有“落纸如漆,万载存真”的功效。历来备受文人雅士、书画名宿的青睐。在当代社会,收藏古墨被越来越多的收藏爱好者喜爱。在拍卖现场,只要有古墨出现,拍卖现场都会异常激烈,那么为何收藏古墨被越来越多的人所喜爱呢？     

A KLEINIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE DIVORCE PROCESS: FROM THE PARANOID-SCHIZOID TO THE DEPRESSIVE POSITION

This paper looks at the divorce process from the perspective of Kleinan theory. It argues that during the early stages of divorce, most persons are in Klein’s paranoid-schizoid position, characterized by splitting and persecutory anxiety, and that they move on to the depressive position, characterized by sadness and longing, only later. The movement occurs as the separated or divorced individual becomes able to tolerate ambivalence, and thus to integrate both the loved and hated aspects of the former spouse and marriage. The paper illustrates the claim in three case studies and recommendations are made for treatment and research.Nehami Baum Ph.D. is a lecturer of the School of Social Work at Bar Ilan University. She is a social worker with experience in both public and private practice. Her special interests include non-death related loss, divorce, men in therapy, treatment termination, social work students' professional identity formation, and guilt.     

LOCATING CULTURE IN THE US AND CENTRAL EUROPE - A TRANSATLANTIC PERSPECTIVE ON CULTURAL STUDIES

This article attempts a comparative critique of interdisciplinary cultural analysis in the US and Central Europe. It tries to sketch out the different points of departure and methodological approaches used in American and British cultural studies on the side, and in German Kulturwissenschaften (cultural sciences) on the other side. Furthermore it is asked in which ways the critical political impetus of cultural studies can be made productive for the further advancement of Kulturwissenschaften, and how they could perform an innovative role for the understanding of problems posed by the current political and social situation in Central Europe.     

RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN CRIMINAL PROCESSING: THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODEL SELECTION ON CONCLUSIONS ABOUT DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT*

This study examines the impact of model selection on substantive conclusions about racial differences in presentence and sentencing practices. Using a statewide sample of convicted felons, an additive model is estimated to assess the direct and indirect effects of race on various dispositional decisions. Then, separate models for blacks and whites are estimated to evaluate within- and between-race differences. A comparison of the results from each specification illustrates how the standard additive approach used in past studies can mask and suppress racial differences in criminal processing. The findings of race-specific models are then discussed in terms of their implications for further research on racial disparity in the application of criminal sanctions.     

REPRESENTING GANGS IN THE NEWS: MEDIA CONSTRUCTIONS OF CRIMINAL GANGS

This research, based on a content analysis of 4,445 newspaper articles, examines the images that emerge from stories of criminal gangs and societys responses to them. Eight recurrent themes were identifed. It was discovered that articles devoted to the coverage of gang crimes were outnumbered by stories dealing with various community responses. Articles reporting the results of scientifc research on gangs constituted the smallest category. The results are discussed in light of their importance in the construction of social problems discourse and the maintenance of symbolic power and social control.     

THE EXPERIMENTS OF REDUCED WORKING HOURS IN FINLAND

This paper examines experiments of shorter working hours in Finnish municipalities between 1996 and 1998 in terms of the effects of the experiments on work–family interaction and which of the ways of reducing working time had the most positive effect. We analyse the experiment in respect of the Finnish working time regime, and in addition, from the perspective of community time. The analysis combines questionnaire and interview data. The results indicated that the experiment had a positive effect on work–family interaction. Six-hour shifts, in comparison to other forms of working time reductions, had the strongest impact on the decrease in conflict arising from work and affecting family. The interviews demonstrated various effects of the working time experiment on family, including the negative effects caused by unsocial working hours and the loss of time autonomy at work among the highly educated. Furthermore, reduced working hours in a culture based on the principle of full-time work caused some negative effects, such as feelings of guilt. The impact of the experiment on community time depended on the way the experiment was implemented.     

ON CONGENIAL TRUTHS: A PERSPECTIVE ON WOMEN'S STUDIES*

L'article critique la recherche de la femme au niveau de la sociologie de la connaissance. L'auteur soutient que, par suite de l'engagement au mouvement feministe et à la recherche scientifique, on risque de prendre l'idéologie pour « la réalité>> sociale. Cependant, la neutralité n'est ni possible ni désirable; donc, on recommande « la triangulation >> idéologique, ou bien une pluralité des perspectives.
This paper is a critique of research in women's studies from the perspective of the sociology of knowledge. It argues that as a result of dual commitment to feminist social movement sympathies and research activities, the temptation is there to mistake our ideological preferences and pronouncements for social 'reality.' However, value neutrality on the part of individuals is neither possible nor desirable. Instead, 'triangulation' of ideologies, or conflict of perspectives, is advocated.     

A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON RACIAL RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION:

This article takes a first step to compare the residential segregation of blacks and Asians from whites in American and Canadian cities. The analysis is based on census data from 404 American and 41 Canadian cities. African Americans in the United States experience a higher level of residential segregation than Asians in U.S. cities. On the other hand, blacks in Canada experience the same low level of segregation as Asians. To explain the different experiences of blacks in the United States and Canada, a multivariate model is proposed and tested. The results reveal several patterns. First, African Americans are consistently obstructed much more than Asian Americans by their proportion in the city. In contrast blacks in Canada are not. Second, the residential segregation patterns of African Americans are affected strongly by the labor market and strucutral changes of the economy in the city. However, the structural change of the economy in the city has a very weak effect on the level of residential segregation of Asian Americans, black Canadians, and Asian Canadians.     

NEW TRENDS IN THE DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP: IMPACTS OF MANAGED CARE ON THE GROWTH OF A CONSUMER PROTECTIONS MODEL

Managed care is prompting a large revision not only in the ways doctors are employed and paid but also in the essence of the relationship between doctors and patients. In medical sociology, a discipline with a long-standing focus on scrutinizing the role of both the physician and the patient, there has already been discussion of a shift from the doctor as more all knowing to a less dominant position vis-a-vis both the patient and delivery of care. Patients are aware of shifts that place physicians in an environment characterized by new roles and responsibilities, such as acting as a gatekeeper. Limitations on health care coverage and the rethinking of roles have led to a depiction of the patient as the consumer of care and the managed care plan's becoming the commercial enterprise from which a service is obtained. The model of the patient as consumer of medically related goods and services appears to be growing, as does a model of the physician as one who contracts for a specified range of services for specific patients. In this article, trends in and problems with contemporary managed care are raised. Calls for patients' rights legislation may be among the health trends of the new millennium.     

BRAIN DRAIN IN GLOBALIZATION: A GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS FROM THE SENDING COUNTRIES' PERSPECTIVE

According to the economic literature, high‐skilled emigration may either harm or benefit developing economies. Recent research highlighted several positive and negative channels through which the brain drain operates. This paper aims at evaluating the relative magnitudes of various brain drain channels and quantifying their global impact on migrants' sending countries. For this purpose, we develop a 10‐region general equilibrium model of the world economy characterized by overlapping‐generations dynamics. Our findings suggest that the short‐run impact of brain drain on resident human capital is extremely crucial, as it affects not only the number of high‐skilled workers available to domestic production, but also the sending economy's capacity to innovate/adopt modern technologies. This latter effect is particularly important in globalization, where capital investments are made in places with high production efficiencies. Hence, despite positive feedback effects, those countries facing prevalent high‐skilled emigration are the most candid victims to brain drain. (JEL F22, J24, O57)     

NEW ON THE SHELF

Writer: WANG ANYI Publisher: Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House (1st edition of Chinese version, May, 1998). Wang Anyi is one of the women writers of China whose work receives close attention. Her novels have been translated into many languages. Approaching A New Century is a collection of her prose which includes works from the end of the 1980s and     

THE FEMINIST CRITIQUE IN EPISTEMOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: QUESTIONS OF CONTEXT IN FAMILY THERAPY

Family therapy's neglect of social context as a factor in its continuing distortion of women's issues has led feminist critics to wonder if systems-based psychotherapy truly serves women. Rather than heralding the demise of family therapy, however, the feminist critique is here taken to open up concerns central to the epistemological discussion underway in the field. At first, these have to do with the functions of "punctuation,""boundary" and "closure" in systemic epistemology. Later, the central question becomes that of the place given to context in systems epistemology generally, as well as family therapy in particular. Several implications of a more lively interest in context for family therapy's work are explored. These are discussed with respect to women's issues, clinical epistemology, and the challenge to raise novel questions in family therapy.     

CHILDREN WHO SUE PARENTS: A NEW FORM OF FAMILY HOMICIDE?

In the past two decades, the legal doctrines of intrapousal and interfamily immunity have been weakened or stricken in many states. Spouses may now testify against each other and children may now sue parents. This article was written ot begin to familiarize family therapists with the complex psycho-legal issues inmvolved in these cases. It is suggested that this is a cutting edge arena of grave concern, as intrafamily lawsuits exacerbate existing contention and cutoffs in families—something many family therapists seek to prevent or reverse. This paper is predicated on the belief that therapists should be knowledgeable about the legal traditions and decisions that impinge on our patients' lives. First, a brief history of the legal origins about intrafamilial lawsuits is provided. Next, six categories of lawsuits are delineated. What becomes evident is that when adult children sue parents, the conflicts an schisms in the family are already fairly extreme and that, often, the lawsuit makes the rift irreparable. Perhaps family lawsuits constitute a less violent and slower form of family destruction that homicide.     

LATINO HEALTH IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: THE NEED FOR A CULTURE-CENTERED APPROACH

Studies have consistently shown race and ethnicity to be important determinants of health. The specific nature of this influence, however, is still a mystery. In the new millennium, racial and ethnic differentials in health are bound to become a major focus in medical sociology not only because of their persistence but also because of the demographic changes taking place in the United States. It is estimated that racial and ethnic minorities are expected to increase from the current level of 25 % of all Americans to 40 % by 2030 and that minority groups will make up more than half of the U.S. population by 2050. Thus, overcoming health disparities attributable to race and ethnicity has become more urgent in ensuring good health for the nation. This article suggests that analyses of the health status of Latinos, the second largest minority group in the country, must attend to cultural factors. The need for a culture-specific approach to Latino health is indispensable to such discourses in medical sociology.     

OVEREXPANSION IN THE SOCIAL INSURANCE BUDGET AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Browning (1975) has recently reasoned that the social insurance budget is inevitably too large in a democracy. The purpose of this paper is to argue that there are different conceptual contexts within which the correct size of the social insurance budget can be analyzed. Within at least one relevant context it is not at all obvious that the social insurance budget must inevitably be too large in a democracy, The first part of this paper reviews Browning's argument. The second presents an alternative analysis which leads to the conclusion that the social insurance system may well have certain characteristics that work toward the maintenance of an efficient budget level.     

ON THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF ASYMMETRIC FOMC POLICY STATEMENTS: EVIDENCE FROM A TAYLOR-RULE PERSPECTIVE

For over two decades, the FOMC has included in its policy decisions a statement of bias toward subsequent tightening or easing of policy. This article examines the predictive content of these statements in a Taylor-rule setting, finding that they convey useful information for forecasting changes in the federal funds rate target, even after controlling for policy responses to inflation and the output gap. Moreover, the evidence suggests that this asymmetry can be represented in terms of shifts to the parameters of the Taylor-rule equation, indicating a greater or lesser degree of responsiveness to information about inflation and output. (JEL E52 , E58 )