Imposition of Restitution

Chapter 4 describes seven multimethod studies that look at the imposition of restitution from the state, multi-county, and single-county perspectives and that examine both legally relevant factors (e.g., offense type, prior record) and demographic factors (race, age, gender) in judges’ decisions. Across studies, restitution was more likely to be imposed when damages could be easily estimated and proved (e.g., property crimes) and when the victim was a business. A statewide analysis of sentencing decisions indicated that a law mandating restitution significantly increased the imposition of restitution. A subsequent survey study of judges, prosecutors, and probation officers indicated general support for restitution, and an analysis of statewide county-level sentencing data indicated that contextual factors relating to crime victims were also related to the imposition of restitution. Comparisons of counties with and without specialized collection units suggested that specialized collections units were less effective at collecting economic sanctions.

The Effects of Race and Ethnicity on Admission, Graduation, and Recidivism in the Milwaukee County Adult Drug Treatment Court

Drug courts play a key role in the criminal justice system by diverting individuals from incarceration and providing them with resources to address substance use issues and reduce criminal recidivism. However, it is unclear whether drug courts reflect—or even exacerbate—preexisting racial/ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. While prior literature has offered some insight into the influence of race and ethnicity on drug court success, much of the focus has been on outcomes (i.e., program completion and recidivism) rather than disparities at earlier stages (i.e., referral to admittance). The current study adds to this body of research by evaluating the Milwaukee County Adult Drug Treatment Court to examine whether racial/ethnic disparities exist at several stages of the drug court process: (1) referral to admittance, (2) likelihood of graduation, and (3) likelihood of recidivism. Results of the analyses determined racial/ethnic disparities in the likelihood of admission to the drug court, as well as the likelihood of graduation. There were no racial/ethnic disparities found in the likelihood of recidivism. The analyses also identified several additional variables that were influential in the likelihood of admission (risk score, prior record), likelihood of graduation (age, prior record, custody sanctions), and recidivism (drug court outcome).

Punishing for the Past (Sometimes): Judicial Perspectives on Criminal History Enhancements

Prior criminal record is routinely cited as one of the primary determinants of sentencing, and the common view is that prior record was a leading factor in non-guidelines jurisdictions going back decades. Yet, recent findings from a non-guidelines state failed to conform to this account. This study uses interviews with judges from a non-guidelines state to understand the role of prior record in sentencing in an unstructured sentencing state. This study also reexamines some of the early sentencing guidelines formation literature and finds some indications that pre-guidelines, prior record was not universally an instrumental predictor of sentence length.

DIGITAL INJECTION OF UNCERTAINTY: THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON VACCINATION HESITANCY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

The influence of social media on vaccine hesitant users is concerning, as it most often negatively affects the decision about vaccination of oneself and their children, encourages the spread of misinformation and leads to the endangerment of the population. Giving all the potential that the online sphere obtains, this work is meant to bring awareness of the issues caused by social media regarding anti-vaccination and encourage closer monitoring of such content in order to battle hesitancy. The territory of interest for this research is European Union, as despite its unsullied prior record, the most recent data has been showing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases due to insufficient vaccination coverage rates. (European Commission, 2016) Analyzing European vaccination data and patterns, EU-focused academic researches and literature and social media presence of the “anti-vax” campaigns, the work brings up the prospects and suggestions for the possible solutions to the problem.

Going Off the Grid: Assessing Sentencing Departures for Individuals Convicted of Sexual Offenses

This research examines factors associated with departures from sentencing guidelines for a sample of individuals convicted of sexual offenses in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2015 ( N = 26,093). We contribute to the literature on the sentencing of these cases by considering whether the impact of individual and contextual factors is conditioned by the type of sexual offense being sentenced (e.g., assaultive, child pornography, failure to comply with registration). Bayesian multilevel multinomial logit models suggested a number of legal, extralegal, and contextual correlates of departure likelihood, and indicated that the effects of offense severity, prior record, a previous sex offense conviction, multiple concurrent convictions, and court size vary across different subsets of sexual convictions.

Identifying candidate Culicoides spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) for the study of interactions with Candidatus Cardinium hertigii (Bacteroidetes)

Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are disease vectors responsible for the transmission of several viruses of economic and animal health importance. The recent deployment of Wolbachia with pathogen-blocking capacity to control viral disease transmission by mosquitoes has led to a focus on the potential use of endosymbionts to control arboviruses transmitted by other vector species. Previous screens of Culicoides have described the presence of Candidatus Cardinium hertigii (Bacteroidetes). However, the biological impact of this symbiont is yet to be uncovered and awaits a suitable system to study Cardinium-midge interactions. To identify candidate species to investigate these interactions, accurate knowledge of the distribution of the symbiont within Culicoides populations is needed. We used a sensitive nested PCR assay to screen Cardinium infection in 337 individuals of 25 Culicoides species from both Palearctic and Afrotropical regions. Infections were observed in several vector species including C. imicola and the pulicaris complex (C. pulicaris, C. bysta, C. newsteadi and C. punctatus) with prevalence ranging from low and intermediate, to fixation. Infection in C. pulicaris was very rare in comparison to a previous study, and there is evidence the prior record of high prevalence represents a laboratory contamination error. Phylogenetic analysis based on the Gyrase B gene sequence grouped all new isolates within “group C” of the genus, a clade which has to date been exclusively described in Culicoides. Through a comparison of our results with previous screens, we evaluate the suitability of Cardinium-infected species for future work pertaining to the symbiont.

Corporate Social (Ir)responsibility and Corporate Hypocrisy: Warmth, Motive and the Protective Value of Corporate Social Responsibility

ABSTRACTThis article examines how a firm’s prior record on corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences individual stakeholders’ perceptions of corporate hypocrisy in the wake of a corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) event. Our research extends extant corporate hypocrisy literature by highlighting the role of individual stakeholders’ inferences about a genuine CSR motive in their judgments of corporate hypocrisy. This can serve to differentiate perceived corporate hypocrisy from inconsistency that arises because of a lack of ability and/or resources. Our research further identifies a source for such perceptions: individual stakeholders’ perceptions of firm warmth generated by a firm’s prior record of CSR. In addition, we find that when CSR and CSI are in the same (vs. different) domains, it can strengthen perceptions of hypocrisy. This provides direct evidence to explain why markets react differently when CSR and CSI events occur in the same domain (vs. different ones).

The Importation of Violent “Codes” of South Korean Inmates

Despite the popularity of the importation model, the majority of previous institutional misconduct research has used individual characteristics, such as race, prior record, education, and sex as proxies to test this theory. This study examines particular oppositional beliefs and values found in Anderson’s “code of the street” through an analysis of self-report data from 951 adult male prison inmates in South Korea. This study fills a void in previous research by examining direct impacts of imported belief systems on inmate interpersonal aggression toward fellow inmates and correctional officers.

The Liberation Hypothesis Perspective and Juvenile Court Outcomes: Implications for an Understanding of the Interplay Between Offender and Offense Characteristics

Extensive empirical support demonstrates the importance of legal (e.g., crime severity, prior record) and extralegal factors (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender) in predicting juvenile court outcomes. An understudied area is inquiry into how certain extralegal factors interact with legal determinants to impact the social control of juveniles. This study uses a sample of delinquent referrals from a Northeast state over 10 years to examine the impact of race/ethnicity, gender, crime severity, and prior record, individually and in combination, on juvenile court outcomes. Although the liberation hypothesis predicts that extralegal factors have a diminishing effect on case outcomes as the severity of the case increases, overall, we fail to find support for this expectation.