Psycho-social effects of a brain-training program among healthy older adults

Grounded in cognitive neuroscience and social exchange theory, this research evaluated the relationship between changes in cognitive functioning and two psycho-social dimensions of life among healthy adults over the age of 70 (N=12). Specific psycho-social dimensions examined were social interaction and depression. Six females and six males participated in the study. All were white, college-educated individuals residing in a life-care residential retirement community. The participants used the Posit Science® Brain Fitness Program™, an auditory-based computer training program that improves memory and speed of processing, for forty hours over an eight-week period. Pre- and post-tests related to social interaction and depressive symptoms indicated that improvement in cognitive functioning was related to improvement in psychosocial dimensions in later life

Regional dairy production: short-term projections and expected demand for inputs

Over the period 1991-2003, New Zealand’s milk production more than doubled. At the same time, dairy farming expanded its boundaries into non-traditional dairy production regions. The distribution of regional production is of particular interest because of effects on supply and demand balances for key inputs and outputs. Changes in the geographical distribution of dairy production alter local economic output and, consequently, income distribution and community viability. The aim of this paper is to present regional short-term estimates of demand for selected key production inputs and milk output. Short-term estimates for milk production and land use were derived based on past growth rates in stocking rate, cow numbers and productivity per cow for each region. Input demand forecasts were, in turn, derived using regional milk production and land use forecasts and baseline estimates of input and energy use reported in Wells (2001). Results indicate that by season 2006/07, the effective area devoted to dairy production will be at 1.56 million hectares, a 7% increase with respect to the 2003 baseline. However, contrary to what happened prior to 2003, almost all the gain in dairy area is explained by increases in the South Island. Over the same period, national milk production is expected to increase by 20% to 1,431 million kgs. MS. Similarly, the South Island accounted for much of the gain, increasing its share in total milk production to 34% up from 28% in 2003. It is expected that the use of inputs such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous and sulphur per unit of area will intensify for all dairy regions. However, the increase in the use of inputs per unit of area relative to the baseline is lower in long-established dairy regions, Northland, South Auckland and Taranaki, than in non-traditional dairy regions like, North and South Canterbury, Otago and Southland.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries,

Capital Punishment and Lethal Assaults Against Police

This investigation provides a multivariate analysis of the deterrent effect of the death penalty on the rate of lethal assaults against the police. Examining state level data for the period 1961 to 1971, we hypothesize a significant inverse relationship between the rate of police killings and (1) the statutory provision for capital punishment and (2) the execution rate of convicted murderers. Contrary to the deterrence hypotheses, no support is found for the argument that the provision and use of the death penalty provides an added measure of protection for the police. Rather, variation in police killings rates, like the general homicide rate, would appear to be largely a function of various sociodemographic factors

The Deterrent Effect of the Death Penalty for Murder in Ohio: A Time-Series Analysis

One thing is abundantly clear from the analysis reported in this article: if Ohio is to reinstate capital punishment, its justification will have to be based upon grounds other than the deterrent effect of the death penalty for murder. Notwithstanding the opinion of some members of the United States Supreme Court, and possibly a majority of the Ohio House and Senate, the present analysis of Ohio\u27s experience with capital punishment provides no justification for reinstating the death penalty as an effective means of dealing with the state\u27s murder problem

Disaggregation in Deterrence and Death Penalty Research: The Case of Murder in Chicago

This article examines the deterrent effect of executions on first-degree murders in Chicago, Illinois for the period 1915-1921. Chicago provides an ideal research setting since there is close geographic proximity between the place where first-degree murders are committed and the place where the convicted murderers are executed. The population density factor included in the model is very highly correlated with the nonwhite population, male population fifteen to thirty-four years of age, and the foreign born population variables. In examining monthly first-degree murders and total criminal homicides, two execution measures are utilized: the actual number of monthly executions, and a dummy execution variable, where execution months are assigned a weight of one and non-execution months a weight of zero. The two sociodemographic control variables considered in the analysis are population density and percent of the city budget expended on care for the homeless and other needy adults and children. These factors are included in the analysis to control for changes in the nature of the Chicago population and socioeconomic conditions during the seven-year period. In addition, the population density variable has the effect of controlling for changes in population size since the boundaries of Chicago did not change from 1915 through 1921

Inequality in the Legal Order: Some Further Analysis and Commentary

I challenge David Jacobs\u27 support for the conflict model of the legal order, finding serious limitations in his cross-sectional test of the model. To avoid these limitations and to extend the scope of Jacobs\u27 study, I (1) apply his model to four additional crimes against persons and property; (2 ) examine race as an additional dimension of social inequality; and (3) consider how levels of crime might influence imprisonment ratios, a factor Jacobs ignored. I find no support for the hypothesis that race is a significant determinant of state imprisonment practices. Nor do I find income inequality a significant factor in imprisonment for crimes against persons and property, except in the case of larceny

Deterrence, Brutalization, and the Death Penalty: Another Examination of Oklahoma\u27s Return to Capital Punishment

A replication and extension of a weekly ARIMA analysis (1989–1991) by Cochran et al. (1994), which appeared in Criminology, confirms that Oklahoma\u27s return to capital punishment in 1990, after a 25-year moratorium, was followed by a significant increase in killings involving strangers. Moreover, a multivariate autoregressive analysis, which includes measures of the frequency of executions, the level of print media attention devoted to executions, and selected sociodemographic variables, produced results consistent with the brutalization hypothesis for total homicides, as well as a variety of different types of killing involving both strangers and nonstrangers. No prior study has shown such strong support for the capital punishment and brutalization argument. However, there is also a suggestion of a possible lagged deterrent effect for the level of media coverage of executions for nonfelony murders involving strangers. The analysis indicates that the impact of capital punishment in Oklahoma during the 1989–1991 period was much more extensive than suggested by the earlier study. Recommendations are made for further research examining additional jurisdictions and time periods to determine the generalizability of the patterns found for Oklahoma

Use of Death Penalty v. Outrage at Murder: Some Additional Evidence and Considerations

In this paper we summarize and analyze Glaser and Zeigler\u27s attempt to empirically examine three explanations of why murder rates have generally been highest in states where capital punishment has been used the most. Examination shows their analysis to suffer from serious methodological shortcomings. Neither their data nor additional evidence presented here lends much support to their conclusion that (1) both frequent use of the death penalty and high murder rates are consequences of a low valuation of life and (2) homicide rates can be reduced by abolition of the death penalty