Empirical Evidence,Community Standards,and the Boundaries of Obscenity: A Test Case

This article examines the issue of community standards and the role such standards play in demarcating the boundaries of obscenity. A brief discussion of the landmark Miller decision, its impact on obscenity statutes, and a consideration of the criticisms of the Miller decision, particularly those pertaining to the test of obscenity, are discussed. The potential of social science research and empirical evidence to aid in the determination of community standards regarding obscenity is considered. Results are presented from an empirical investigation of community standards on obscenity in a particular local community in the state of Louisiana.     

For HE tells me so: Techniques of neutralization applied to Christian domestic discipline

ABSTRACT

Christian Domestic Discipline (CDD) advocates wifely submission and male dominance through religiously justified punishment. Using publicly available anonymous testimonials and websites devoted to CDD this research examines how male heads of household, their female partners and the CDD community use techniques of neutralization to rationalize this practice. Our research shows how techniques of neutralization draw upon larger cultural norms, disseminated through organizations, and used in relationships to maintain hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity. In so doing we emphasize how the recreation of gender inequality is accomplished in relations of domination and subordination at the macro, meso, and micro levels of analysis. We find that hegemonic masculinity and emphasized femininity as a cultural ideal is embedded in institutions, in this case religion, promulgated by religious organizations (CDD and churches) and used as a resource in interaction in the formation of an identity as Christian that centers on the idea that men are in power and have control over women.     

Sex Rules: The Edicts of Income in Exotic Dancing

This research examines how dancers view the rules that are intended to control/regulate the interaction between customer and dancer. Rules from a variety of clubs are examined. Data were gleaned from interviews with 133 female dancers in several cities and level of clubs. Data from dancers indicate these rules, in practice, allow dancers to control their sexuality and activities and thereby benefit in the form of income.     

“Rare,ole, dirty snacks”: Some research notes on dirt eating

This paper investigates the topic of dirt‐eating. Using a review of the literature and intensive interviews conducted with twelve dirt eaters the study investigates dirt eaters from four focal points: 1) how each individual “got started” eating dirt; 2) where they get the dirt from; 3) when do they eat dirt and 4) why do they eat dirt. A discussion is offered on the future of the phenomenon and the implications of our findings.     

gendered pathways into and experiences within crack cultures outside of the inner city

This study examines the life histories of male and female crack addicts outside of the inner city context, focusing on gendered variation in experiences related to childhood background, pathways into crack cocaine use, income generation strategies, and violence. We offer insight into the nature of crack use and culture outside of the inner city and question the generalizability of previous studies to communities outside of the inner city. Furthermore, the question of women's emancipation and the subsequent impact this has had on their roles and experiences within crack cultures is addressed through comparison of male and female experiences within crack cultures. Lastly, the issue of how race, class, and gender interact to shape the experiences of crack addicts is tentatively explored.     

societal reaction to sex offenders: a review of the origins and results of the myths surrounding their crimes and treatment amenability

Examination of societal reaction to sexual offenders reveals a history of harshness exemplified by the sexual psychopath laws of the 1930s. The latest round of legal attempts to control sex offenders uses Severe sentencing laws, civil commitment procedures and community notification statutes to confine and shame sex offenders. This paper shows these laws to be based on popular beliefs about the predatory nature of these men, the probability of their re-offense and their amenability to treatment rather than the facts about the sex offenses and offenders. The severe reaction to sexual offenders is a vindictive one based on myth and misunderstanding that serves many interests. The paper exposes the contradictory myths and skewed emotions that guide our view of sex crimes and compares these with the facts about re-offense rates and the effects of treatment.     

Allocating time to future tasks: The effect of task segmentation on planning fallacy bias

The scheduling component of the time management process was used as a "paradigm" to investigate the allocation of time to future tasks. In three experiments, we compared task time allocation for a single task with the summed time allocations given for each subtask that made up the single task. In all three, we found that allocated time for a single task was significantly smaller than the summed time allocated to the individual subtasks. We refer to this as the segmentation effect. In Experiment 3, we asked participants to give estimates by placing a mark on a time line, and found that giving time allocations in the form of rounded close approximations probably does not account for the segmentation effect. We discuss the results in relation to the basic processes used to allocate time to future tasks and the means by which planning fallacy bias might be reduced.     

Temporal discounting of rewards in patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia

Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ) often show decision-making deficits in everyday circumstances. A failure to appropriately weigh immediate versus future consequences of choices may contribute to these deficits. We used the delay discounting task in individuals with BD or SZ to investigate their temporal decision making. Twenty-two individuals with BD, 21 individuals with SZ, and 30 healthy individuals completed the delay discounting task along with neuropsychological measures of working memory and cognitive function. Both BD and SZ groups discounted delayed rewards more steeply than did the healthy group even after controlling for current substance use, age, gender, and employment. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that discounting rate was associated with both diagnostic group and working memory or intelligence scores. In each group, working memory or intelligence scores negatively correlated with discounting rate. The results suggest that (a) both BD and SZ groups value smaller, immediate rewards more than larger, delayed rewards compared with the healthy group and (b) working memory or intelligence is related to temporal decision making in individuals with BD or SZ as well as in healthy individuals.