"Fairness" Lab Results

Students explored social justice issues arising in various settings. They brainstormed, then formulated hypotheses about proportions and means. Some questions raised include:

• Death penalty--hypothesis: mean income of death row inmates that are pardoned is greater than mean income of inmates that are not pardoned. If this were publicized, this might make some difference in public perception. If this becomes a topic of public debate (based on fact), public might demand changes to the laws.
• Pollution by factories (following of EPA guidelines)-- Hypothesis: less than half of all factories comply with pollution standards (null: p > 1/2) . Select factories at random for spot inspection. Notify "enforcement" agencies if null hypothesis is rejected.
• Drug abuse-- not clear on addictive properties of marijuana, questioned whether marijuana ought to be legalized (benefit for medical uses... ?). H0: If m/j were legal, medical treatments would NOT be more expensive/accessible. Ha: medical marijuana would make treatment more affordable (looking at proportion of population who can afford treatments). Let state legislatures know...