Are Perceptions of Organizational Justice Universal? An Exploration of Measurement Invariance Across Thirteen Cultures

Previous research examined whether justice effects are comparable, focusing on quantitative differences in justice effects. This study examines whether justice perceptions are structured similarly or whether they are qualitatively different across working populations from 13 nations. Confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group analysis show that Colquitt??s (J Appl Psychol 86:386?C400, 2001) four-dimensional model of justice works well across these samples. However, factor intercorrelations and reliabilities are found to systematically vary between cultural samples. Perceptions of justice are more highly intercorrelated in power distant and collectivistic samples, in line with extensions of the relational model of authority. Score reliabilities were lower in collectivistic settings.     

Motivated reasoning and public opinion

Citizens, especially those who are knowledgeable and care the most about politics, are motivated to defend their beliefs and attitudes in the face of discrepant information. These motivated biases strongly influence the way people think about health care policies and the politicians and parties that propose or attack these contentious policies. Three cognitive mechanisms are identified: a prior belief effect, confirmation bias, and disconfirmation bias. Together, these information processes conspire to produce persistence and polarization of opinion on health care policies.     

Influencing expert judgment: Attributions of crime causality

Purpose. The present research aimed to investigate the effects of attribution on expert clinical judgment in comparison to semi‐experts and laypeople. Two research questions were addressed. First, would experts be less subject to attributional manipulations, in terms of their perceived ratings of dangerousness, than would semi‐experts or laypeople? Second, would experts be less subject to attributional manipulations, in terms of their assessments of offender responsibility, than would semi‐experts or laypeople? Method. A 3×3×2 mixed groups design was implemented. Participants read nine crime scenarios that had been internally or externally manipulated. For each scenario, participants were asked to rate offender dangerousness, offender responsibility, and the seriousness of the crime and to suggest a suitable sentence length. Targeted recruitment was employed, yielding 12 experts, 21 semi‐experts, and 22 laypeople. Results. Offenders were considered to be more responsible for their actions and more dangerous to others in the internal manipulations than in the external ones across all crime types and by all levels of expertise. Findings indicate that semi‐experts are less subject to the influence of attributional manipulations than both experts and laypeople. Marked similarities in the pattern of expert and lay person judgments can be observed from the present analyses. Conclusions. The current findings lend support to previous research in the area in that similarities between expert and lay person judgment were observed. However, through expanding and clarifying the levels of expertise investigated, the current findings highlight the need for greater research into the distinct ‘semi‐expert’ group.     

Detecting buried metallic weapons in a controlled setting using a conductivity meter

Forensic personnel may face a daunting task when searching for buried weapons at crime scenes or potential disposal sites. In particular, it is common to search for a small firearm that was discarded or buried by a perpetrator. When performing forensic searches, it is recommended to first use non-invasive methods such as geophysical instruments to minimize damage to evidence and to the crime scene. Geophysical tools are used to pinpoint small areas of interest across a scene for invasive testing, rather than digging large areas throughout the site. Prior to this project, there was no published research that tested the utility of the conductivity meter to search for metallic weapons such as firearms and blunt and sharp edged weapons. A sample comprised of 32 metallic weapons including firearms, blunt and sharp edged weapons, and scrap metals was buried in a controlled setting to test the applicability of a conductivity meter for forensic searches. Weapons were tested at multiple depths and after data collection was performed for one depth, the weapons were reburied 5 cm deeper until they were no longer detected. Variables such as weapon size, burial depth, transect interval spacing (25 and 50 cm), and metallic composition were tested. All of the controlled variables influenced maximum depth of detection. For example, size was a factor as larger weapons were detected at deeper depths compared to smaller weapons. Metal composition affected maximum depth of detection as the conductivity meter detected items comprised of ferrous metals at deeper depths than non-ferrous metals. Searches for large buried items may incorporate a transect interval spacing of 50 cm but small weapons may be undetected between transects and therefore a transect interval spacing of 25 cm is recommended. Overall, the conductivity meter is a geophysical tool to consider when searching for larger-sized metallic weapons or to use in conjunction with an all-metal detector, particularly when searching for buried metallic evidence in obstructed areas.     

A competence assessment framework for scientific support within policing in England and Wales

The Association of Chief Police Officers commissioned Skills for Justice to develop a competence assessment framework to support police forces' scientific support units evidence the competence of their staff against nationally agreed standards of competence. This will also help forces on their journey towards ISO 17025 and ISO 17020 accreditation. A six point framework has been developed and published and is now being implemented across many forces.     

Anthropological and Radiographic Comparison of Antemortem Surgical Records for Identification of Skeletal Remains*

Abstract: This case review illustrates the important contributions of forensic archeological methods and forensic anthropological analysis to the identification of found skeletal remains. After reassociation of skeletal remains found in two locations, anthropological analysis provided the basis for a presumptive identification and a request for antemortem medical records. Partial DNA profiles were supportive but not conclusive and antemortem dental records were not available. Comparison of antemortem traumas, skeletal morphology, and surgical artifacts with antemortem radiographs and surgical records led to positive identification of an individual missing for almost a decade.     

Medical Findings and Legal Outcomes in Sexually Abused Children*

Abstract: A previous study published in 2000 on a small group of children concluded that the medical examination in cases of sexual child abuse seldom provided legal proof of sexual abuse [J Forensic Sci 45(2000):115–7]. The present consecutive study included children referred to the police for a forensic medical examination. A colposcope was used to evaluate the anogenital findings which were classified as normal, nonspecific, and abnormal. Four hundred and eighty‐two children were included. Abnormal anogenital findings were found in 38% of the girls and 20% of the boys, but there was no relation between abnormal anogenital findings and the two legal outcomes: “appearing in court” and “being convicted.” However, the age of the child turned out to be a more important factor in relation to legal outcome than the physical findings. The results of this study suggest that the child’s statement and not the physical findings were important for legal outcome.     

Why Would Two-Level Consequentialists Punish Only the Guilty?

The most commonly encountered and most serious objection against consequentialist theories of punishment is that they could sometimes endorse punishing innocent people. Two-level consequentialists can resist this objection. Because of how deterrence works, a system of social protection would clearly need to be careful, most of the time, to pick out only the guilty for punishment. What about exceptional cases? Any institution empowered to secretly frame innocent people would pose a grave danger to democracy, a danger that could prove lethal under only moderately unusual conditions. Meanwhile, individual consequentialists working within the criminal justice system should fear that their own views could be distorted by confirmation bias and other cognitive errors. These officials should normally trust any moderately well-functioning adversarial trial process more than they trust their own judgment of who needs to be punished. They should use extra-legal discretion only in cases where both their confidence and the stakes are extremely high; and in cases where the stakes are extremely high, the consequentialist answer is no longer counter-intuitive.     

When Crime is not an Option: Inspecting the Moral Filtering of Criminal Action Alternatives

Many theories assume legal compliance stems from rational deliberations about consequences of disobedience. In contrast, morality theories such as Wikström’s Situational Action Theory contend personal morality and moral contexts provide a “filter” prohibiting some people from perceiving and contemplating criminal actions as realistic possibilities. We examine this moral filtering hypothesis using face-to-face household survey data from 573 adults in the Dhaka District of Bangladesh. Results suggest individuals with higher levels of personal morality (moral beliefs; guilt from contemplating violence; moral identity; emotional empathy) and exposure to strong moral settings are less likely to contemplate aggressive and violent actions in response to a provocation. Furthermore, these dimensions of personal and contextual morality appear to be indirectly linked to violent criminal actions through individuals’ tendencies to contemplate aggressive actions when provoked. Overall, our initial inspection of the moral filter hypothesis provides substantial support and highlights areas for theoretical clarification and additional research.