The Relationship between Job Quality and Crime: Examining Heterogeneity in Treatment and Treatment Effect

Objectives: This study evaluates the relationship between employment and crime through a holistic evaluation of both treatment and treatment effect heterogeneity. Methods: This study implements a perceptual measure of job quality (job satisfaction) and hybrid fixed effects models among a sample of high-risk adults. Analyses also consider the robustness of findings across alternative operationalizations of job quality and various sample subgroups. Results: Transitioning from not working to working in the lowest quality job can be criminogenic. Among those who are working, an improvement in job quality is not generally associated with offending. However, model and crime-specific effects are observed. Evidence of treatment effect heterogeneity is also found, suggesting the effect of job quality is moderated by race/ethnicity and location. Conclusions: These findings caution criminologists against making an assumption that employment is inversely related to offending and call into question our understanding of job quality as a general disincentive for crime. Rather, evidence suggests that improvements in job quality may result in modest reductions in offending, but only for certain types of crime and certain individuals within specific labor market contexts.

Effect of Chin-Down Position on Vocal Mean Pitch and Intensity

Background Voice, a unique characteristic of each individual, is an outcome of the configuration and function of various components of the vocal tract. Pitch and loudness, being integral parts of voice, vary with changes in factors such as muscle tension, subglottal pressure, and position. Chin down is often the recommended voice therapy for lowering pitch. But there is no literature available as to by how much does it actually change the mean pitch and intensity. The present study was undertaken to understand the effect on the vocal mean pitch and intensity when head position is changed to chin-down position. Methods Thirty women aged 18 to 25 years were included in this preliminary study. Individuals having any history of voice disorder were excluded. Voice samples were collected using clinical microphone and acoustically analyzed using the Praat software. The participants were instructed to phonate and count numbers in neutral position and chin down position. Results It was observed that there was no change in the acoustic or perceptual measure of pitch with change in the head position. However, there was a significant reduction in the intensity for phonation task in the chin-down position. Conclusion Speech language pathologists need to provide chin down as a facilitative technique for lowering larynx along with other voice therapies which are proved to effectively lower pitch.