Sex Offender Treatment And Legal Policy Perception In Relation To Information Presentation Style

Sex offender treatment, policy, and perception are greatly intertwined in the numerous policies in place. Current policies tend to reflect negative perceptions toward both sex offenders and treatment and an inaccurate view of the effectiveness of current sex offender policies. The source of these inaccurate views, however, is not entirely clear, with some researchers linking it to a simple lack of exposure to accurate information. Additionally, the broadly negative perceptions, emotions, and beliefs may be leading individuals to utilize more superficial routes of processing, as explained by the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Given the potential for the public’s opinion to make a significant impact on the direction of future policies and treatment support, understanding what influences these perceptions could offer valuable information for the future. Three hundred twenty-three UND students were randomly assigned to six groups receiving information on either sex offender treatment or policies using difference presentation styles to examine how presentation style and accurate information may influence their understanding and support of sex offender treatment and policies. Scales were created or used from existing measures that reflected attitudes toward sex offenders, sex offender treatment, knowledge or support of sex offender policies, and need for cognition. These scales were completed prior to and following the information sections to determine if the provided information influenced their understanding, perceptions, and support. A series or ANOVAs were conducted and significant main effects found such that policy information led to greater policy support, those who were presented with information in a non-narrative, statistics based presentation style had a significant increase in policy awareness, support, and belief in policy effectiveness, and those that were high in need for cognition exhibiting a decrease in negative attitudes toward sex offenders. The findings indicate that providing accurate information about sex offenders, even in persuasive ways, may not change their beliefs, and that further research on those more intrinsically invested in research or this particular topic or with those more notably different in their route of processing may provide more conclusive information on how to persuade the public to believe the research instead of their long-standing inaccurate perceptions

Why Not a Regional Approach to State Renewable Power Mandates?

There is much to be said in favor of a regional approach with respect to renewable energy mandates. First, uniformity in the particulars of state RPS laws would assist the growing interstate renewable energy market. Second, allowing renewable power that is generated anywhere but delivered locally to satisfy the RPS of any of the states within the region, should enhance the reliability of the market for renewable power, increase the amount of intermittent power accommodated by the grid, and lower the price of renewable power. Each of these effects will strengthen the regional market for renewable power to the overall benefit of each state within the region. Finally, while facial prohibitions upon the eligibility of power generated outside the region to satisfy a state RPS are likely to be considered just as repugnant to the dormant Commerce Clause as prohibitions upon electricity generated out-of-state, the same is likely not true with respect to non-facially discriminatory provisions designed to protect a regional, as opposed to a state, market. This is primarily because many of the benefits of such a provision, especially the air quality benefits?would be sustained by the entire region, as opposed to any particular state

Perceptions Of Legal Policy And Sex Offender Treatment

Sex offender policy, treatment, and public perception are greatly intertwined in the numerous policies in place regarding sex offenders. These policies tend to reflect the underlying perceptions and myths about sex offenders than the reality of sexual offenses and treatment. These perceptions have also had a role in shaping psychological treatment of sex offenders through enacted policies and public support, or dissent, for community treatment centers, half-way houses, or residency restriction laws. With the sizeable potential impact of the public\u27s perceptions of these issues, examination of their perceptions of sex offenders, sex offender policies, and sex offender treatment, and whether accurate information can change these perceptions, will offer valuable information for the future. Two hundred sixty UND students were randomly assigned to 8 different groups receiving varying amounts of information on sex offender information, policies, and treatment to examine how receiving accurate information may influence their perceptions and understand of sex offenders and agreement with sex offender policies. Scales were created that reflected understanding of policies, policy effectiveness, treatment support, and support of punitive policies. There were significant main effects for policy information on understanding of policies and treatment support. Significant interactions were also found on the understanding of policies scale and support of punitive policies. There were also significant findings on the Positive and Negative Affect Scale for statistics information indicating that providing statistics information to individuals may decrease positive affect. The findings indicate that providing individuals with information about current policies in place may be effective way to increase their understanding and support for policies and treatment methods, but the inclusion of other types of information (such as treatment information or statistics information) may lead to a more realistic assessment of their understanding

Adaptation and the Courtroom: Judging Climate Science

Climate science is increasingly showing up in courtroom disputes over the duty to adapt to climate change. While judges play a critical role in evaluating scientific evidence, they are not apt to be familiar with the basic methods of climate science nor with the role played by peer review, publication, and training of climate scientists. This Article is an attempt to educate the bench and the bar on the basics of the discipline of climate science, which we contend is a distinct scientific discipline. We propose a series of principles to guide a judge’s evaluation of the reliability and weight to be accorded a given climate scientists’ claim or opinion. The principles are designed to aid a judge in evaluating whether the expert’s testimony complies with the Daubert test for the admissibility of scientific evidence but are broadly applicable to a judge’s evaluation of agency science-based decisions

Adaptation and the Courtroom: Judging Climate Science

Climate science is increasingly showing up in courtroom disputes over the duty to adapt to climate change. While judges play a critical role in evaluating scientific evidence, they are not apt to be familiar with the basic methods of climate science nor with the role played by peer review, publication, and training of climate scientists. This Article is an attempt to educate the bench and the bar on the basics of the discipline of climate science, which we contend is a distinct scientific discipline. We propose a series of principles to guide a judge’s evaluation of the reliability and weight to be accorded a given climate scientists’ claim or opinion. The principles are designed to aid a judge in evaluating whether the expert’s testimony complies with the Daubert test for the admissibility of scientific evidence but are broadly applicable to a judge’s evaluation of agency science-based decisions

State Responsibility for The Exportation Of Nuclear Power Technology

Should nations that export nuclear power plants to developing countries be potentially liable to the people of those countries for catastrophic accidents? Risk of accident can be reduced if international law compels upgrading of safety design and construction of nuclear plants. Both the international law of state responsibility and an international regulatory agency have roles to play