Of guns and geese: a meta-analytic review of the ‘weapon focus’ literature

Abstract

Weapon focus is frequently cited as a factor in eyewitness testimony, and is broadly defined as a weapon-related decrease in performance on subsequent tests of memory for those elements of an event or visual scene concurrent to the weapon. This effect has been attributed to either (a) physiological or emotional arousal that narrows the attentional beam (arousal/threat hypothesis), or (b) the cognitive demands inherent in processing an unusual object (e.g. weapon) that is incongruent with the schema representing the visual scene (unusual item hypothesis). Meta-analytical techniques were applied to test these theories as well as to evaluate the prospect of weapon focus in real-world criminal investigations. Our findings indicated an effect of weapon presence overall (g= 0.53) that was significantly influenced by retention interval, exposure duration, and threat but unaffected by whether the event occurred in a laboratory, simulation, or real-world environment.     

Plaintiff Identification in the “Persona Torts”: What Defamation Law Can Offer the Right of Publicity and Related Claims

Courts applying the persona torts – right of publicity, appropriation and false endorsement claims under the Lanham Act – often lack a precise methodology for determining whether a plaintiff has been depicted or identified. A number of courts have accepted the ambiguous notion that a defendant need only appropriate a plaintiff’s “identity.” Moreover, these courts apply an essentially impressionistic approach to whether that appropriation has occurred. This article, drawing from defamation doctrine, synthesizes a more nuanced and rigorous approach to the depiction question – an approach that also better safeguards important First Amendment values.     

Size doesn't matter: emotional content does not determine the size of objects in children's drawings

Abstract

In Experiment 1 we examined whether children spontaneously alter the size of objects in their drawings of emotionally-laden events. To do this, we evaluated children's drawings of their own personal, past experiences. Children were asked to draw a picture of an event that had made them happy and an event that had made them sad. We found no differences in the size of object that children drew in their positive and negative emotional events. In Experiment 2, we asked adults with and without clinical training to discriminate children's drawings of happy events from their drawings of sad events. There was no difference in the accuracy of raters as a function of clinical expertise. Moreover, performance for both groups was at chance when we removed drawings with specific emotional indicators from the set (e.g. smiles or tears). We conclude that the emotional interpretation of drawings on the basis of the size of objects in that drawing is fraught with difficulty. We question the projective use of drawings in forensic and clinical practice.     

Participant gender,stalking myth acceptance,and gender role stereotyping in perceptions of intimate partner stalking: a structural equation modeling approach

The present research used a mock juror experiment (N = 360) to assess two primary goals: (1) to examine the direct and indirect effects of participant gender, stalking myth acceptance, and gender role stereotyping on guilt ratings in a stalking trial; and (2) to examine the role of perceived victim fear and distress, and defendant intended danger on perceptions of a stalking trial. Using structural equation modeling, we found an indirect effect of participant gender, and both direct and indirect effects of stalking myth acceptance and gender role stereotyping on guilt ratings. Men and participants who endorsed more traditional gender role stereotypes were associated with adherence to stalking myth acceptance beliefs. Endorsement of particular stalking myth acceptance beliefs offers a partial explanation for why women and men differed on perceptions of the defendant's intent to cause danger and the victim's perceived fear and distress. Results provide insight into the efficacy of current anti-stalking legislation that relies on a juror's capacity to evaluate an ‘objective’ interpretation (i.e., ‘reasonable person’) standard of fear for intimate partner stalking.     

The Legally Disruptive Nature of Climate Change

Climate change gives rise to disputes and problems not easily addressed by existing legal doctrines and frameworks. This is because it is a polycentric problem; the assessment of future climate impacts must deal with uncertainty; climate change is socio‐politically controversial; and addressing climate change requires recognising a dynamic physical environment. As such, climate change can be thought of as legally disruptive in that it requires lawyers and legal scholars to reconcile the legal issues raised by climate change with existing legal orders. The legal disruption catalysed by climate change has not only led to the creation of new legal regimes but also given rise to a multitude of legal disputes that require adjudication. A study of some of these cases highlights the need for active and deliberate reflection about the nature of adjudication and the legal reasoning embedded in it when confronted by a disruptive phenomenon like climate change.     

The Impact of Children on Intimate Partner Abuse Victims’ Service-Seeking

Intimate partner abuse is a major problem. This is especially true when there are children present. In attempt to stop the cycle of abuse, it is of critical importance to understand the impact children have on the relationships and the decision-making process of those involved. This research is part of a larger project examining the help-seeking behaviors of victims of intimate partner abuse. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 26 victims of intimate partner abuse who eventually sought services. This paper reports on how children affect the decision of their parent to either seek services while in an abusive situation or to postpone seeking services. This study focuses on 19 of those respondents with children. Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses were conducted. This paper utilizes part of the qualitative data relating to the import of children in the decision-making process. Analysis reveals that for all respondents, children were important to their decision-making process. Several themes related to children were identified, including those who identified leaving the situation and seeking services because of their children and those who postponed seeking services because of their children. Implications for prevention and intervention in cases of intimate partner abuse will be discussed.     

Individuals’ experiences of sexual offending therapy in a forensic psychiatric setting

There is a paucity of research exploring individuals’ experiences of sexual offending therapy, particularly in forensic psychiatric settings. This study qualitatively explored the perspectives of six male medium-secure patients regarding the treatment programme they completed to address their sexual offending behaviour. Thematic analysis of interviews generated two themes: the experience of transition through the programme and the experience of engagement. The importance of gaining service-user feedback and the implications for programme design and delivery are discussed.     

Fatal intoxication with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, lorazepam, and codeine

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were introduced in 1987 as an alternative treatment option for patients with depression or certain anxiety disorders. Unfortunately, this greater use has prompted a corresponding increase in reports of more severe side effects and fatalities, with a majority of fatalities occurring due to coingestion of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors with other substances or serotonergic drugs. We report a case which exemplifies one such fatality related to sertraline, lorazepam, and codeine coingestion. A brief discussion of the presumed mechanism by which death occurred will be offered.     

Oil, Rape and State Crime in Nigeria

This case study seeks first to explore the culpability of the state of Nigeria in regards to recent allegations of rape and sexual torture by security forces and, secondly, to question why these rapes continue to occur despite Nigeria’s responsibility to address them. Though exact rates of violence are impossible to ascertain, reports by the media and various non-governmental organizations describe the widespread abuse of women, specifically at the hands of military officials. Evidence suggests that, by failing to respond appropriately to these acts of violence, the state of Nigeria is in direct violation of international law. Moreover, the decentralized nature of the Nigerian legal system creates an environment in which those Nigerian laws that do address rape and/or torture are rendered ineffective. This paper argues that what is happening in Nigeria does in fact constitute a state crime and, thus far, has not received appropriate attention from the International Criminal Court, to which Nigeria is a party, or the international community at large. As no action has yet been taken, we consider the factors that create an environment in which international and national punitive measures, as they are currently practiced, are ineffective.

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THE NEW BEGINNINGS PROGRAM FOR DIVORCING AND SEPARATING FAMILIES: MOVING FROM EFFICACY TO EFFECTIVENESS

This article describes a program of research on effectively transporting the New Beginnings Program (NBP), a university-tested prevention program for divorced families, to community settings. The four steps in this research are described: (1) selecting a community partner, (2) developing effective methods of engaging parents, (3) redesigning the NBP to be easily delivered with high quality and fidelity in community agencies, and (4) adapting the NBP to meet the needs of the full population of divorcing families. The article concludes with a discussion of plans for an effectiveness trial to evaluate the NBP when delivered in community settings.