Forgiveness in Psychology and Law: The Meeting of Moral Development and Restorative Justice

This article discusses the psychological meaning of forgiveness and its relation to the criminal justice system. Includes a discussion of the four phases of the development progression of forgiveness

Trends in Self-Employment Among White and Black Men: 1910-1990

We examine trends in self-employment among white and black men from 1910 to 1990 using Census and CPS microdata. Self-employment rates fell over most of the century and then started to rise after 1970. For white men, we find that the decline was due to declining rates within industries, but was counterbalanced somewhat by a shift in employment towards high self-employment industries. Recently, the increase in self-employment was caused by an end to the within industry decline and the continuing shift in employment towards high self-employment industries. We find that the trends in self-employment average returns do not easily explain the decline in self-employment from 1950 to 1970, nor the increase from 1970 to 1990. We also find that changes in tax rates, social security benefits, and immigration patterns do not explain the recent upturn in self-employment. For black men, we find that the self-employment rate remained at a level of roughly one-third the white rate from 1910 to 1990. The large and constant gap between the black and the white rates is not due to blacks being concentrated in low self-employment rate industries, but is consistent with job opportunities outside of self-employment increasing relative to those in self-employment. However, more recently the relative earnings of blacks in self-employment rose more than relative earnings for whites the near constancy of the relative self-employment rates more surprising. We also find that absent continuing forces holding down black self-employment, a simple inter-generational model of self-employment suggests that black and white rates would converge quickly.

Building a Robust Commercial Microgravity Economy in Earth's Orbit: Economic Readiness Considerations

The reduced gravity environment of space provides a unique opportunity to further our understanding of various materials phenomena involving the molten, fluidic and gaseous states as well as life science applications where, contrary to earlier beliefs, microgravity induces changes in single cells and simple organisms; not only in large organisms with a complex overall response to gravity (or lack thereof). The potential breadth of commercial opportunities in microgravity thus spans over many verticals of the private sector with applications ranging from fiber optics, high-resolution crystals, microencapsulation, 3D organs to perfume and color dyes. Overall, products manufactured in microgravity hold the promise to have key properties surpassing their best terrestrial counterparts. Commercialization, also known as taking a new technology to market, is a journey in itself where the business, economic, market and technological components must align to generate a successful outcome. A business perspective is very different than technology maturation. In order for a technology to be ready for commercialization, it must not only be mature, but it must also have a compelling business case, and the means to scale up production must be identified and practical. Creating a robust economy in Earths orbit (Fig 1) is especially challenging because of the complexity (high risks, lack of standardization) involved in predicting future growth. This complexity can easily overwhelm the fact that many of the products have an attractive touch of space which aids with branding and marketing.This paper reviews the types of added value that can be extracted from space, with an emphasis on the microgravity environment. In addition, lessons learned from past commercialization efforts will be reviewed. While past efforts have yielded some point successes, they have as a whole failed to precipitate a sustainable LEO based marke

Set in Stone: Building America's New Generation of Arts Facilities, 1994-2008

In 2007, just before the domestic economy experienced a major trauma, the Cultural Policy Center at the Harris School and NORC at the University of Chicago launched a national study of cultural building in the United States. It was motivated by multiple requests from leading consultants in the cultural sector who found themselves involved in a steadily growing number of major building projects -- museums, performing arts centers (PACs), and theaters -- and from foundation officers who were frequently asked to help fund these infrastructure projects. With the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, we were able to conduct systematic scientific research on cultural building in the United States between 1994 and 2008 and come to a number of conclusions that have important implications for the cultural sector

Ultra-portable explosives sensor based on a CMOS fluorescence lifetime analysis micro-system

The paper published in AIP Advances (a new journal from the American Institute of Physics) had 1100 article downloads in the first 5 months after publication, and was on the journal’s “most read” list for 4 months. The work was featured by AIP in a Physics News Highlight and press release which resulted in >50 international internet articles and an article in Laser Focus World.This work explores the use of a green-light-emitting copolymer as a chemosensor to detect nitroaromatic-based explosive vapors by recording photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL decay. We show successful detection of 10 ppb 1,4-dinitrobenzene (DNB) vapor. Both a conventional time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) device and CMOS time-resolved fluorescence lifetime microsystem are used in the DNB detection. An ultra-portable on-site explosive sensor based on the micro-system has also been demonstrated. This gives rise to the potential for real-time, reliable, inexpensive organic/inorganic hybrid explosives detection.Peer reviewe

Evaluating quality of life tools in North American patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria and X-linked protoporphyria.

BackgroundErythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked Protoporphyria (XLP) are rare photodermatoses presenting with severe phototoxicity. Although anecdotally, providers who treat EPP patients acknowledge their life-altering effects, tools that fully capture their impact on quality of life (QoL) are lacking.MethodsAdult patients with EPP/XLP were given four validated QoL tools: the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 57 (PROMIS-57), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised (IPQR), and an EPP-Specific tool. All patients received the PROMIS-57 while the HADS, IPQR, and EPP-Specific tools were introduced at a later date. Associations between responses and clinical phenotypes were explored.ResultsTwo hundred and two patients were included; 193 completed PROMIS-57, 104 completed IPQR, 103 completed HADS, and 107 completed the EPP-Specific tool. The IPQR showed that patients strongly believed EPP/XLP had a negative impact on their lives. Mean scores in anxiety and depression domains of both HADS and PROMIS-57 were normal; however, anxiety scores from HADS were borderline/abnormal in 20% of patients. The EPP-Specific tool revealed a decreased QoL in most patients. The PROMIS-57 showed that 21.8% of patients have clinically significant pain interference. Several tool domains correlated with measures of disease severity, most being from the PROMIS-57.ConclusionsImpaired QoL is an important consequence of EPP/XLP. PROMIS-57 was most sensitive in evaluating impaired QoL in EPP/XLP. Further research is needed to compare the effectiveness of it for assessing response to treatment

The Design and Operation of The Keck Observatory Archive

The Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) and the W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) operate an archive for the Keck Observatory. At the end of 2013, KOA completed the ingestion of data from all eight active observatory instruments. KOA will continue to ingest all newly obtained observations, at an anticipated volume of 4 TB per year. The data are transmitted electronically from WMKO to IPAC for storage and curation. Access to data is governed by a data use policy, and approximately two-thirds of the data in the archive are public.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figs, 4 tables. Presented at Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy III, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2014. June 2014, Montreal, Canad

Religious Attitudes and Charitable Donations

Forthcoming Journal of Applied Business and EconomicsNonprofit organizations play a vital role in the United States, often providing goods and services to populations where no alternative is available. We expand the understanding of nonprofit management by focusing on the influence of an individual’s religious attitude on their charitable donations. Using a survey of 1,530 households, we find that religiously conservative individuals contribute more than liberals both in terms of support to religiously affiliated nonprofits and total donations to nonprofit organizations. The findings of this study hold important implications for nonprofits in terms of the types of services they provide and the stipulations placed upon service recipients