Responsible Brains: Neuroscience, Law, and Human Culpability

[This download includes the table of contents and chapter 1.] When we praise, blame, punish, or reward people for their actions, we are holding them responsible for what they have done. Common sense tells us that what makes human beings responsible has to do with their minds and, in particular, the relationship between their minds and their actions. Yet the empirical connection is not necessarily obvious. The “guilty mind” is a core concept of criminal law, but if a defendant on trial for murder were found to have serious brain damage, which brain parts or processes would have to be damaged for him to be considered not responsible, or less responsible, for the crime? The authors argue that evidence from neuroscience and the other cognitive sciences can illuminate the nature of responsibility and agency. They go on to offer a novel and comprehensive neuroscientific theory of human responsibility

EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL FOR PASSIVE GREYWATER IRRIGATION IN NORTHERN GHANA

Water scarcity, malaria, and malnutrition are all concerns facing the people of Chirifoyili and the Northern Region of Ghana. Greywater pooling outside of homes increases human exposure to pathogens and provides breeding grounds for disease carrying insects, especially malaria spreading mosquitoes. This project looks at draining this water away from the home and using it to irrigate vegetables, fruit trees and other beneficial plants. The purpose of this study is to estimate the effects of greywater irrigation on the growth of plants commonly found in village home gardens. The field project consisted of constructing and managing household greywater irrigation systems for valuable trees. These greywater pools were modeled in a campus laboratory to determine the effect greywater would have on the growth of tomato plants. The results of the study showed the tomato plants’ health and growth rate were improved by the extra water and nutrients. This system will benefit those who implement it in northern Ghana by decreasing the available mosquito breeding grounds and providing additional sources of nutrients from fruits and vegetables, which are often absent from the local diet

The Role of Firearms in Violence Scripts : The Dynamics of Gun Events among Adolescent Males

In recent years, the use and deadly consequences of gun violence among adolescents has reached epidemic proportions. At a time when national homicide rates are declining, the increasing rates of firearm deaths among teenagers is especially alarming. Deaths of adolescents due to firearm injuries are disproportionately concentrated among nonwhites, and especially among African-American teenagers and young adults. Only in times of civil war have there been higher within-group homicide rates in the United States. There appears to be a process of self-annihilation among male African-American teens in inner cities that is unprecedented in American history. Unfortunately, few studies have examined these sharp increases in gun fatalities among young males. This article attempts to contribute to the scant literature by examining the role of firearms in violent events among adolescent males. First, using an event-based approach, it suggests a framework for explaining interactions that involve adolescents and firearms. Events are analyzed as situated transactions, including rules that develop within specific contexts, the situations where weapons are used, the motivations for carrying and using weapons, and the personality sets of groups where weapons are used. There are rules that govern how disputes are settled, when and where firearms are used, and the significance of firearms within a broader adolescent culture. This approach does not deny the importance of the individual attributes that bring people to situations, but it recognizes that once in the situation, other processes shape the outcomes of these events

PREDATOR PLAYBACK, FORAGING HEIGHT, AND PHYLOGENY AFFECT GAP CROSSING BEHAVIOR IN TROPICAL FOREST BIRDS

Abstract ∙ The effects of fragmented landscapes on tropical bird movements remain poorly understood, partly due to a dearth of experimental tests of gap crossing behavior. To learn more about the factors involved in gap crossing behavior, we used predator‐playback experiments on four species of understory‐insectivore birds (Chestnut‐backed Antbird Poliocrania exsul, Black‐crowned Antshrike Thamnophilus atrinucha, White‐breasted Wood‐wren Henicorhina leucosticta, Stripe‐breasted Wren Cantorchilus thoracicus) at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. We sought to understand species‐ and family‐level differences in gap crossing behavior, specifically: (1) the effect of forest‐opening (gap) width, and (2) the effect of perceived risk of predation. A total of 39 treatment (predator playback) and 39 control (silent playback) trials were conducted at gap sites ranging in width from 2.8 to 12.6 m. Predator playback decreased the number of times that birds crossed study gaps, increased latency time in all but one species, and increased the closest distance that birds approached the playback speaker. Gap width affected only latency time: as gap width increased, latency time increased. We observed strong differences in behavioral response between families and species of different foraging heights. In the statistical models, family (Thamnophilidae and Troglodytidae), foraging height (low or mid‐story), and trial type (silent control or predator treatment) consistently emerged as strongest predictors of bird behavior. Our results indicate that small linear gaps (< 12.6 m) do not impede movement for these four focal species, but that risk of predation may hinder bird movement even at small gaps. Resumen ∙ Playback de aves de presa, altura de forrajeo y filogenia afectan el comportamiento de aves insectívoras al cruzar claros de bosque en Costa Rica Se conoce poco sobre los efectos de los paisajes fragmentados sobre el movimiento de las aves tropicales, debido en parte a la escasez de experimentos sobre la renuencia de diferentes especies a cruzar los claros de bosque. Para aprender más sobre los factores involucrados en el comportamiento de aves al cruzar los claros de bosque, se utiliza‐ ron llamadas grabadas de un Gavilán Común (Leucopternis semiplumbeus) en experimentos de ‘playback’ sobre cuatro especies de aves insectívoras (Hormiguero Dorsicastaño Poliocrania exsul, Batará Pizarroso Occidental Thamnophilus atrinucha, Cucarachero Pechiblanco Henicorhina leucosticta, Cucarachero Pechirrayado Cantorchilus thoracicus) en la Estación Biológica La Selva, Costa Rica. Se trató de entender las diferencias en el comportamiento de cruzar claros de bosque a nivel de especie, específicamente: (1) el efecto de la anchura del claro y (2) el efecto del riesgo percibido de depredación. Se realizaron 39 experimentos con playback de gavilán (tratamiento) y 39 experimentos con playback de silencio (control) en sitios de claros de bosque con una anchura de 2,8 a 12,6 m. El playback del gavilán disminuyó el número de veces que las aves cruzaron los claros de bosque, aumentó el tiempo que tardaron en iniciar el cruce en tres de las cuatro especies estudiadas y aumentó la distancia más cercana que acercaron el altavoz. La anchura del claro de bosque afectó sólo el tiempo que las aves tardaron en iniciar el cruce: el tiempo que tardaron en iniciar el cruce aumentó con el aumento de la anchura del claro de bosque. Observamos diferencias fuertes en respuestas entre familias y especies de diferentes alturas de forrajeo. En los modelos, familia (Thamnophilidae y Troglodytidae), la altura de forrajeo (bajo o medio del dosel) y el tipo de playback (control de silencio o playback de gavilán) constantemente emergieron como predictores fuertes. Nuestros resultados indican que los claros de bosque pequeños y lineales (< 12,6 m) no impiden el movimiento de las cuatro especies estudiadas, pero que el riesgo de depredación tal vez dificulte el movimiento de aves aun en claros de bosque pequeños.

Guns, Youth Violence, and Social Identity in Inner Cities

While youth violence has always been a critical part of delinquency, the modern epidemic is marked by high rates of gun violence. Adolescents in cities possess and carry guns on a large scale, guns are often at the scene of youth violence, and guns often are used. Guns play a central role in initiating, sustaining, and elevating the epidemic of youth violence. The demand for guns among youth was fueled by an "ecology of danger," comprising street gangs, expanding drug markets with high intrinsic levels of violence, high rates of adult violence and fatalities, and cultural styles of gun possession and carrying. Guns became symbols of respect, power, identity, and manhood to a generation of youth, in addition to having strategic value for survival. The relationship between guns and youth violence is complex. The effects of guns are mediated by structural factors that increase the youth demand for guns, the available supply, and culture and scripts which teach kids lethal ways to use guns

Comparison of rapid laboratory tests for failure of passive transfer in the bovine

peer-reviewedBackground Failure of passive transfer of maternal immunity via colostrum can occur in the bovine, and a number of blood tests have been developed to test calves for this failure. It is not clear which test is most suitable for this purpose. The objective was to examine the most commonly used tests for failure of passive transfer and to decide which is most suitable for routine laboratory use. 126 serum samples were taken from calves of dairy cows after birth but prior to colostrum feeding, and at 48 h of age. Five different tests were compared against radial immunodiffusion which is considered the appropriate reference method. These tests were serum gamma-glutamyltransferase levels, serum protein levels, serum globulin levels, an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and the zinc sulphate turbidity test. Results The tests examined displayed high sensitivity but widely varying specificity. Examination of the use of different cut-off points allowed some improvement in specificity at the expense of sensitivity, but the tests which had performed best at the original cut-off points still displayed the best performance. Gamma-glutamyltransferase levels as a measure of colostrum absorption returned, in this study, the best balance between sensitivity and specificity. The ELISA used in this study and serum globulin levels displayed performance similar to the gamma-glutamyltransferase levels. Serum total protein was less successful than others examined at providing both sensitivity and specificity but may, when performed via refractometer, be useful for on-farm testing. As currently performed the poor sensitivity for which the zinc sulphate turbidity test is most often criticized is evident. Modification of the cut-off point to increase specificity is less successful at balancing these parameters than the ELISA, gamma-glutamyltransferase levels, and globulin levels. Conclusions Gamma-glutamyltransferase levels, ELISA testing and circulating globulin levels performed best in detecting failure of passive transfer in serum samples, although all three had some practical considerations

Social Contagion of Violence

Since 1968, violence and other crimes in New York City have followed a pattern of recurring epidemics. There have been three consecutive and contiguous cycles characterized by sharp increases in homicides and assaults to an elevated rate followed by equally steep declines to levels near the previous starting point. The most recent epidemic, from 1985-96, had the sharpest rise and steepest decline of the three epidemics. Popular explanations of the current epidemic fail to account for both the rise and fall of the decline, or for the repetitive pattern of these epidemics. In this article, we use public health data to identify factors associated with the cyclical rise and fall of homicides and non-lethal injury violence in this most recent of the three epidemics. Homicides in this period were concentrated among minority males, ages 15-24, while victimization rates for females of all ages remained stable. Gun homicides and non-lethal gun assaults accounted for all the increase and decline in interpersonal violence from 1985-95; intentional injuries caused by other means also were stable or declining over this period. Next, we use hierarchical linear regression models, with a rich set of time-varying covariates and controls for both temporal and spatial autocorrelation, to identify whether the rise and fall of homicide are explained by processes of diffusion across adjacent neighborhoods. We estimate the probabilities of homicides and assaults in a neighborhood controlling for rates of homicide or assault in the surrounding neighborhoods in the preceding year, and find that gun violence diffuses across neighborhoods over time. Epidemic patterns of violence disproportionately affected African Americans as victims of gun violence, both homicides and non-lethal gun assaults. Diffusion was strongest in neighborhoods where social control was compromised by extreme poverty and concentrated racial segregation. Concentrations of immigrant households in neighborhoods were a protective factor in suppressing the violence epidemic. We then use social contagion theories to link contagion of violence across neighborhoods to individual data on social interactions that may animate the transmission and diffusion of violence. Analyses of the social contexts and interpersonal dynamics of violent events reveals how street interactions in interpersonal disputes link individuals within and across social networks in a competition for status that is skewed by the presence of firearms. Decisions to carry, show and use weapons are based on perceptions of threat and danger, which are shaped by the presence of firearms and the potential stigma associated with non-action. These events occur across multiple contexts - bars, streetcorners, drug markets - to reinforce perceptions of risk and expectations of the threat or reality of lethal violence