No evidence of racial discrimination in criminal justice processing: Results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

One of the most consistent findings in the criminological literature is that African American males are arrested, convicted, and incarcerated at rates that far exceed those of any other racial or ethnic group. This racial disparity is frequently interpreted as evidence that the criminal justice system is racist and biased against African American males. Much of the existing literature purportedly supporting this interpretation, however, fails to estimate properly specified statistical models that control for a range of individual-level factors. The current study was designed to address this shortcoming by analyzing a sample of African American and White males drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Analysis of these data revealed that African American males are significantly more likely to be arrested and incarcerated when compared to White males. This racial disparity, however, was completely accounted for after including covariates for self-reported lifetime violence and IQ. Implications of this study are discussed and avenues for future research are offered.     

Creating a sustainable global society— the evolutionary path

Many indicators suggest that modern society is presently in a period of transition. The older order is showing obvious signs of decline, and elements of a new order appear to be forming. Growing numbers of people are coming to recognize that the worsening global dilemmas are best viewed as symptoms of an underlying disorder involving some of the most deeply underlying assumptions of modern society. The ultimate resolution of these dilemmas will come about, not through politically implemented “solutions,” but through our further evolution to a fundamentally different, “trans‐modern” society. The key challenge to individuals and organizations is to understand the necessary evolutionary change well enough to contribute toward its taking place with a minimum of attendant social disruption and human misery.     

Timescapes of Security: Clocks,Clouds, and the Complexity of Security Governance

This article pulls together the disjointed complexification of security studies. Such analytical overview suggests that the perspective of “timescapes” allows for exploring the complexity that shapes meanings and practices of security and its governance. In this respect, it is the imperative to change that suggests the significance of complexity thinking to security studies—that is, it is alone in taking the discontinuities of global life seriously. Security, in this regard, is not merely about the clockwork of survival, but is redefined through the cloudlike adaptive contingency of “security as resilience.” In this setting, the security governance of complexity is identified through its dancing to the timescaped rhythms of uncertainty, cognitive challenges, complex risks, and exaptation prompted by the heterogeneity of global life.     

Examining the Relationships Between the Justice Facets and Turnover Intent: The Mediating Roles of Overall Justice and Psychological Strain

We examined how interpersonal justice from coworkers, the traditional justice facets (i.e., distributive, procedural, interpersonal, informational), and overall justice perceptions relate to employee psychological strain and turnover intentions in Canadian Armed Forces personnel. Specifically, we hypothesized that overall justice would mediate the relationships between the justice facets (including coworker justice) and strain, and strain would mediate the relationship between overall justice and turnover intent. We used a cross-sectional correlational design with personnel from 2 military units (total N = 218) as our sample. A 2-step structural equation modeling technique was used to evaluate our hypotheses. Support for our hypotheses was obtained with 1 exception: informational justice did not predict overall justice judgments. Our results suggest that employees’ reactions to individual justice events and different sources of justice exert their effects on strain and turnover intent indirectly through their impact on a global evaluation of justice in their work environment.     

Justifying Desires

According to an influential conception of reasons for action, the presence of a desire or some other conative state in the agent is a necessary condition for the agent's having a reason for action. This is sometimes known as internalism. This article presents a case for the considerably stronger thesis, which we may call hyper‐internalism, that the presence of a desire is a sufficient condition for the agent's having a (prima facie) reason for action.     

The uninheritable state and the post-public sphere

In The Politics of Postsecular Religion (2008), Ananda Abeysekara contends that justice has to be predicated on the forgetting of systems of commensuration and calculation for an im-possibility – i.e., an ethical excess – that cannot be circumscribed by repeatable and calculable law. This ethical excess defines a space of politics that would similarly abandon the legacies of codified public memory. However, many of the elements that he identifies with uninheriting and active forgetting coincide with the ‘post-public’ sphere of Sri Lankan political culture, which undermines Habermasian assumptions of a rational and transparent public sphere. The structural forgetfulness that Abeysekara identifies with justice can be discerned in the artifacts and artifices of the Sri Lankan securitized state that is an unjust apparatus of extra-legal violence, moral indifference and orchestrated deniability.     

Social Justice and Religious Participation: A Qualitative Investigation of Christian Perspectives

This investigation examines how self-identified Christians in the Midwest U.S. understand and work for social justice, with a focus on their process of social justice development and the role of religious congregations in promoting social justice. Using a grounded theory analysis of 15 in-depth interviews, results indicated multiple understandings of social justice such as meeting basic needs, fixing social structures and systems to create equal distributions of resources, promoting human rights and dignity, and as a religious responsibility. Participants also described a process of social justice development facilitated by exposure to injustice, mentors, educating others, and the importance of finding a social justice community. Distinct personal barriers to social justice engagement were identified such as resources and negative emotions, whereas congregational leadership was important for congregational involvement. General frustration with congregations was expressed regarding low social justice engagement; however, participants balanced this frustration with hope for the positive potential of congregations to promote social justice. Together these findings show multifaceted understandings of social justice and a dynamic process of social justice development for these self-identified Christians. Implications for future research and partnership with religious individuals and congregations also are discussed.     

Fostering Feminist Principles in Our Community

SUMMARY

In a recent focus group discussion at the Feminist Therapy Institute conference participants outlined a vision for a future community based on feminist principles. It is built on five critical ideals, including more equitable distribution of resources, genuine respect for human diversity and varying world views, caring and compassionate members, increased connections and collaborations, and political/personal empowerment. While the challenges inherent to such vision must be acknowledged, greater attention will be placed on ways in which we can begin to foster environments and micro communities that are conducive to feminist practice and ideology.     

Psychoanalytic reflections on global warming and its relation to human omnipotence and ethical responsibility

Abstract

Global warming – reality or fantasy? Certainly, global warming is a dystopia linked to other catastrophes in human history, such as the Flood and Noah's Ark. Noah's belief in God saved his life and the life of his family. In our time, we need to sustain our belief in the human capacity to cooperate and survive. This is a necessary background when thinking of the future and analysing the border between fantasy and reality, between fear and paranoia, and in the process in which a new worldview takes form.     

An Exploratory Assessment of Sales Culture Variables: Strategic Implications Within the Banking Industry

Growing, or even simply sustaining, profitability in today's rapidly changing environment is a daunting task. Today's firm must contend with increasing competition, changing customer requirements, and unprecedented technological change. Further, changing government regulations, such as the recent wave of deregulation, have dramatically changed the way business has traditionally been done in certain industries. In such a turbulent environment many firms have discovered that a total organizational sales effort is necessary. For many firms, this means a paradigm shift that involves strengthening their sales culture.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the sales culture (SC) concept and discuss its importance in contemporary business strategy. First, we will discuss market orientation from a corporate culture perspective. Second, the sales culture component of a market orientation will be defined and examined. Third, an exploratory investigation of constructs associated with sales culture will be investigated using an example taken from an industry that is experiencing rapid change, the banking industry. Finally, strategic implications, limitations and suggestions for future research will be shared.