Social Science Statistics Blog

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4 April 2007

Trial-Level Criminal Outcomes

With a coauthor, I am involved in a project which in part attempts to assess the effect of assigning judge A versus judge B to outcomes at the trial level in criminal cases. I've begun a literature search on this, and it seems like most attention thus far has focused on the sentencing stage (particularly relating to the controversy over the federal sentencing guidelines), and that few authors have used what one might call modern or cutting edge causal inference thinking. Can anyone out there help here? I'm I missing important studies?

(Feel free to email me off-blog if you'd prefer.)

Posted by James Greiner at 3:24 PM

CCCSN - Devon Brewer

The Cambridge Colloquium on Complexity and Social Networks is sponsoring a talk tomorrow that may be of some interest to readers of this blog. Details below:

"Taking Person, Place, and Time Seriously in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and
Diffusion Research"

Devon D. Brewer, University of Washington

Thursday, April 5, 2007
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
CGIS North, 1737 Cambridge Street, Room N262

Abstract: Social scientists and field epidemiologists have long appreciated the role of social networks in diffusion processes. The cardinal goal of descriptive epidemiology is to examine "person, place, and time" in relation to the occurrence of disease or other health events. In the last 20 years, most infectious disease epidemiologist have moved away from the field epidemiologistÿÿs understanding of transmission as embedded in contact structures and shaped by temporal and locational factors. Instead, infectious disease epidemiologists have employed research designs that are best suited to studying non-infectious chronic diseases but unable to provide meaningful insight on transmission processes. A comprehensive and contextualized infectious disease epidemiology requires assessment of person (contact structure and individual characteristics), place, and time, together with measurement of specific behaviors, physical settings/fomites, and the molecular biology of pathogens, infected persons, and susceptible persons. In this presentation, I highlight examples of research that include multiple elements of this standard. From this overview, I show in particular how the main routes of HIV transmission in poor countries remain unknown as a consequence of inappropriate design in epidemiologic research. In addition, these examples highlight how diffusion research in the social sciences might be improved with greater attention to temporal and locational factors.

Devon D. Brewer, Ph.D., Director, has broad training and experience in thesocial and health sciences. Much of his past research has focused onsocial networks, research methods and design, memory and cognition, drug abuse, violence, crime, sexual behavior, and infectious disease (including sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and hepatitis C). He earned his
bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Washington and his doctorate in social science from the University of California, Irvine. Prior to founding Interdisciplinary Scientific Research, Dr. Brewer held research positions at the University of Washington, an administrative position with Public Health-Seattle and King County, and teaching positions at the University of Washington, Pacific Lutheran University, and Tulane University. He has been a principal investigator on federal research grants and authored/co-authored more than 60 scientific publications.

Posted by Mike Kellermann at 11:31 AM