Ethics and Policy in Criminal Justice - Assignment 7


1.  Looking at Table 5.2, which category of victims had the highest rate of homicide victimization over the period from 1980-1995?    a.  black male  b. white male  c.  black female  c.  white female
We know the black males had the highest rate because the mean was higher.  The mean measures the average tendency.
2.  Which category had the largest variation in its homicide victimization rate from year to year?   a.  black male  b. white male  c.  black female  c.  white female
The standard deviation or SD is the measure of variation.  Checking the table we see that the black males had the largest SD also.
3.  Trends in homicide victimzation among which group went down the most sharply from 1980-1995?  a.  black male  b. white male  c.  black female  c.  white female
The beta or b coefficient is a measure of the shape of the trends, how much they go up or down.  In this case the beta for black males was -1.8, much higher than for any of the other groups.
4.   Which statistic is a measure of variation:    M   Sd    AdjR2   b
standard deviation is always a measure of variation.  The M or mean measures central tendency or average.  The Rsquare measures the extent to which the data points fit a straight line.   The b measures the slop of the line, up or down.
5.   Which statistic is a measure of the trend over time:   M  Sd  AdjR2 b
The Rsquare measures how consistent a trend there is over time.
The b measures how strongly the trend goes either up or down.
6.    Looking at Table 5.3, male homicide offenses went down most among which group:   a.  black   b.  white.
This is Table 5.3, not Figure 5.3, e.g., on page 141.  We could compare the b coefficients as the measure how how sharply the trend went down.  It is much stronger for blacks.

7.   Looking at Figure 9.1, which year had the highest "b" for the trend regression line:  a.  1955-1965   b.  1965-1975   c.  1975-1985    d.  1985-1995
b measures the slope of the line, the higher the steeper.  Looking at the graph, we see the trend is sharply up for the period from 1965 to 1975, so this would have the highest b coefficient.
8.   Looking at Figure 9.2, which period had the highest "b" for the regression line with year as the independent variable and %18-24 as the dependent variable:   a.  1965-1980   b.  1980-1988
The line is sharply up for this period, so it has the highest b.
CLOSED BOOK.  Once we have finished the open book questions, we will have some closed book multiple choice questions such as.

9.  Homicide in the last twenty years has declined steadily among:   a.  juveniles   b.  adults   c.  both   d.  neither

10.  Multiple regression studies of the effects of capital punishment on homicide rates showed that:  a.  capital punishment cuts homicide rates    b.  capital punishment does not cut homicide rates    c.  some showed one thing, some showed the other

11.  Dr. Goertzel argued that multiple regression has proved an effective tool for resolving causal controversies in criminal justice research.   a.  true  b.  false

12.   The N.Y. Times Magazine article on hate crime legislation argued that:   a.  such legislation is a good thing   b.  such legislation is well intended but not a good idea

13.  The argument that "drugs should be legalized because we have not been successful in suppressing them" is based on which kind of logic:   a.  deontological    b.  teleological
deontological arguments are abstract principles, not testable through any kind of empirical data
teleological arguments are statements about costs and benefits to society, and are testable with data.
This is a teleological argument, it does not say "drugs are wrong" or "drugs are a choice one should be able to make"  which would be deontological.  It asserts something testable, verifiable, a measureable outcome.

14.  The argument that "drugs should be legalized because people have a right to put whatever substances they want into their own bodies" is based on which kind of logic;   a.  deontological   b.  teleological

15.   Dr Goertzel argued that the most productive approach in criminal justice research is to:  a.  disaggregate trends   b.  aggregate the trends into one comprehensive equation

16.  The "Diminishing Returns" study argued that:  a.  the states that imprisoned more people had greater declines in crime rates   b.  the states that imprisoned more people had greater increases in crime rates    c.  there was no clear correlation between the rate of imprisonment in a state and the crime rate.

17.  The principle of "respect for persons" is based on which ethical principle:   a.  egoistic  b.  group loyalty  c.  deontological   d.  teleological
These terms come from the Belmont Report on the Ethics of Research.  Egoistic ethids might also lead to this, if you also respect the rights of other people.

18.  The principle of "beneficence" is based on which ethical principle:  a.  egoistic  b.  group loyalty  c.  deontological   d.  teleological