Computer simulation of adult sentencing proposals

Several legislative proposals have been introduced in the State of Washington which would alter sentencing procedures for adults convicted of felonies. A major policy concern is the degree to which such new legislation would impact population levels in an already overcrowded prison system. The Sentencing Alternatives Impact Simulation Project developed a series of computer simulation programs to model the sentencing proposals. Results of the simulations were made available to the Legislature and to planners for Adult Corrections. This article describes the major model developed, the data required to run it, and the results obtained from it under a variety of hypothetical conditions. It includes a discussion of the level of utilization made of the results, and some comments on the requirements for maximizing utilization in future simulation projects.     

EXTENDED REVIEW

The Origins of English Individualism: the family, property and social transition by Alan Macfarlane.     

Effects of nonverbal examiner praise on selected WAIS subtest performance of Lebanese undergraduates

Forty Lebanese undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions. Students in the experimental group were tested by an examiner who leaned forward in an attentive posture throughout the course of the examination. The examiner also established and maintained eye contact as each question was presented while simultaneously smiling and nodding after every response. The subjects in the second treatment received neutral nonverbal examiner feedback. In this instance the examiner consistently leaned back in his seat and looked down at the protocol as he presented each item while assuming and maintaining a blank expression. Significant differences were noted between the Digit Span and Similarities scores of the treatment groups. The efficacy of the treatment as a means of reinforcing performance or reducing situational anxiety was noted and recommendations for Middle Eastern and Occidental psychologists were presented.     

Teaching Family Therapy: Ten Key Questions for Understanding the Family as Patient

This paper presents ten questions for understanding family functioning as a format for teaching one important aspect of family therapy. These self-asked questions are then illustrated with a large, overly-close family.     

An econometric study to evaluate proposal estimates

It is hypothesized that contract historical cost data can be used to provide a guide for evaluating proposal estimates generated by the organization. This hypothesis was tested for various input factors by examining multiple regressions of specific characteristics of fifty-five contracts. Of the various input factors examined, the multiple regression model explained from a high of over 94 per cent of the variation for engineering labor, to a low of 37 per cent of the variation for electronic development technical labor. The explanatory variables were highly significant with t values ranging from a low of 1·2 to a high of 26·6, with the vast majority greater than 2·0.