798 research outputs found
Remorse, Psychopathology, and Psychopathy among Adolescent Offenders
Remorse has long been important to the juvenile justice system. However, the nature of this construct has not yet been clearly articulated, and little research has examined its relationships with other theoretically and legally relevant variables. The present study was intended to address these issues by examining relationships among remorse, psychopathology, and psychopathy in a sample of adolescent offenders (N = 97) using the theoretically and empirically established framework of guilt and shame (Tangney & Dearing, 2002). Findings indicated that shame was positively related to behavioural features of psychopathy, whereas guilt was negatively related to psychopathic characteristics more broadly. In addition, shame was positively associated with numerous mental health problems whereas guilt was negatively associated with anger, depression, and anxiety. These results provide empirical support for theory that psychopathy is characterized by lack of remorse (e.g., Hare, 1991), and also underscore shame and guilt as potentially important treatment targets for adolescent offenders
Procedural Justice Versus Risk Factors for Offending: Predicting Recidivism in Youth
Theories of procedural justice suggest that individuals who experience respectful and fair legal decision-making procedures are more likely to believe in the legitimacy of the law, and, in turn, are less likely to reoffend. However, few studies have examined these relationships in youth. To begin to fill this gap in the literature, in the current study the authors studied 92 youth (67 male, 25 female) on probation regarding their perceptions of procedural justice and legitimacy, and then monitored their offending over the subsequent six months. Results indicated that perceptions of procedural justice predicted self-reported offending at three months but not at six months, and that youths’ beliefs about the legitimacy of the law did not mediate this relationship. Furthermore, procedural justice continued to account for unique variance in self-reported offending over and above the predictive power of well-established risk factors for offending (i.e., peer delinquency, substance abuse, psychopathy, and age at first contact with the law). Theoretically, the current study provides evidence that models of procedural justice developed for adults are only partially replicated in a sample of youth; practically, this research suggests that by treating adolescents in a fair and just manner, justice professionals may be able to reduce the likelihood that adolescents will reoffend, at least in the short term. 
Condensing Momentum Modes in 2-d 0A String Theory with Flux
We use a combination of conformal perturbation theory techniques and matrix
model results to study the effects of perturbing by momentum modes two
dimensional type 0A strings with non-vanishing Ramond-Ramond (RR) flux. In the
limit of large RR flux (equivalently, mu=0) we find an explicit analytic form
of the genus zero partition function in terms of the RR flux and the
momentum modes coupling constant alpha. The analyticity of the partition
function enables us to go beyond the perturbative regime and, for alpha>> q,
obtain the partition function in a background corresponding to the momentum
modes condensation. For momenta such that 0<p<2 we find no obstruction to
condensing the momentum modes in the phase diagram of the partition function.Comment: 22 page
The stringy nature of the 2d type-0A black hole
We investigate the thermodynamics of the RR charged two-dimensional type-0A
black hole background at finite temperature, and compare with known 0A matrix
model results. It has been claimed that there is a disagreement for the free
energy between the spacetime and the dual matrix model. Here we find that this
discrepancy is sensitive to how the cutoff is implemented on the spacetime
side. In particular, the disagreement is resolved once we put the cutoff at a
fixed distance away from the horizon, as opposed to a fixed position in space.
Furthermore, the mass and the entropy of the black hole itself add up to an
analytic contribution to the free energy, which is precisely reproduced by the
0A matrix model. We also use results from the 0A matrix model to predict the
next to leading order contribution to the entropy of the black hole. Finally,
we note that the black hole is characterized by a Hagedorn growth in its
density of states below the Hagedorn temperature. This, together with other
results, suggests there is a phase transition at this temperature.Comment: 1+21 pages; v2: Substantial changes in the body of the paper, main
results the same. Clarified discussion on the thermodynamics, added section
on a phase transition, references added. v3: Typos corrected. v4: Final
version, to appear in JHE
Conformal Field Theory and Hyperbolic Geometry
We examine the correspondence between the conformal field theory of boundary
operators and two-dimensional hyperbolic geometry. By consideration of domain
boundaries in two-dimensional critical systems, and the invariance of the
hyperbolic length, we motivate a reformulation of the basic equation of
conformal covariance. The scale factors gain a new, physical interpretation. We
exhibit a fully factored form for the three-point function. A doubly-infinite
discrete series of central charges with limit c=-2 is discovered. A
correspondence between the anomalous dimension and the angle of certain
hyperbolic figures emerges. Note: email after 12/19: [email protected]: 7 pages (PlainTeX
Noncommutative Scalar Field Coupled to Gravity
A model for a noncommutative scalar field coupled to gravity is proposed via
an extension of the Moyal product. It is shown that there are solutions
compatible with homogeneity and isotropy to first non-trivial order in the
perturbation of the star-product, with the gravity sector described by a flat
Robertson-Walker metric. We show that in the slow-roll regime of a typical
chaotic inflationary scenario, noncommutativity has negligible impact.Comment: Revtex4, 6 pages. Final version to appear at Phys. Rev.
On the Hardness of a New Boron Phase, Orthorhombic {\gamma}-B28
Measurements of the hardness of a new high-pressure boron phase, orthorhombic
{\gamma}-B28, are reported. According to the data obtained, {\gamma}-B28 has
the highest hardness (~50 GPa) of all known crystalline modifications of boron
Absence of singular superconducting fluctuation corrections to thermal conductivity
We evaluate the superconducting fluctuation corrections to thermal
conductivity in the normal state which diverge as T approaches T_c. We find
zero total contribution for one, two and three-dimensional superconductors for
arbitrary impurity concentration. The method used is diagrammatic many-body
theory, and all contributions -- Aslamazov-Larkin (AL), Maki-Thompson (MT), and
density-of-states (DOS) -- are considered. The AL contribution is convergent,
whilst the divergences of the DOS and MT diagrams exactly cancel.Comment: 4 pages text; 2 figure
Incremental and Predictive Validity of the Antisocial Process Screening Device in a Community Sample of Male and Female Ethnic Minority and Caucasian Youth
The Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) is a well-supported tool for assessing psychopathic features in youth. However, most research with the APSD has been derived from clinical and forensic samples comprised mainly of male Caucasian and African American adolescents. In this prospective study, the incremental and predictive validity of the self-report APSD for violent and non-violent offending was examined in an ethnically diverse community sample of male and female youth (N = 335) aged 12 to 14. High-school students from a moderate sized city in Western Canada completed the self-report APSD and then completed the Self-Report of Offending 6 months later. Receiver Operating Characteristics analysis indicated that APSD total and subscale scores were predictive of violent and non-violent offending at 6-month follow-up with moderate to large effect sizes. In addition, total scores on the APSD added incremental predictive utility above and beyond traditional criminogenic predictors of youth offending (i.e., prior offending, delinquent peer affiliation, poor school achievement, substance use, low parental monitoring). Although sex differences emerged in the predictive utility of the Impulsivity subscale of the APSD vis-Ă -vis violent offending, sex did not moderate the relationship between APSD total, Narcissism, or Callous/Unemotional scores and offending. In addition, the predictive utility of the APSD did not vary as a function of the youth’s ethnic background. These findings suggest that: (1) the self-report APSD may have utility for risk or threat assessment with normative school populations, (2) APSD findings from higher risk samples generalize to a lower risk sample of high-school youth, and (3) predictive utility of APSD total scores do not differ across male and female Caucasian and ethnic minority youth.  
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