Credibility of the Emotional Witness: A Study of Ratings by Court Judges

Previous studies have shown that the emotional behavior displayed during testimony may affect the perceived credibility of the witness. The present study compares credibility ratings by Norwegian court judges with those made by lay people. The participants viewed one of three video-recorded versions of a rape victim's statement, role played by a professional actress. The statement was given in a free-recall manner with one of three kinds of emotions displayed, termed congruent, neutral, and incongruent emotional expression. The results show that, in contrast to lay people, the credibility ratings of court judges and their votes for a guilty verdict were not influenced by the emotions displayed by the witness. Results are discussed in terms of professional expertise.     

Chemical profiling of heroin recovered from the North Korean merchant vessel Pong Su

Heroin samples, seized from the North Korean merchant vessel Pong Su in Australian waters, were analyzed to determine geographic origin. Duplicate samples were analyzed by the National Measurement Institute's Australian Forensic Drug Laboratory and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration's Special Testing and Research Laboratory. Alkaloid ratios were determined by both liquid chromatography-diode array detection (LC-DAD) and capillary electrophoresis-diode array detection (CE-DAD) techniques. Acid/neutral manufacturing by-products were determined by solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Solvents, trapped in the heroin particles during manufacture, were detected by both static headspace GC-MS and purge and trap GC-MS. The alkaloid ratios obtained were consistent with heroin of a Southeast Asian (SEA) origin and principal component analysis of the alkaloid results demonstrated the presence of at least four subgroupings within the seizure. The solvent analysis detected diethyl ether and ethyl acetate, solvents typically seen in SEA heroin. However, the acid/neutral analysis revealed compounds not normally seen in heroin of a SEA origin. Furthermore, sterol-like molecules, always detected in the acid/neutral analysis of SEA heroin, were absent from the Pong Su samples. The Pong Su heroin, although similar to SEA heroin, has sufficient differences to classify it as having an unknown origin at the time of this writing.     

Considering the Tower of Babel: Correlates of Assimilation and Multiculturalism among Ethnic Minority and Majority Groups in the United States

Survey data collected from multiethnic samples of geographically dispersed college students and a national probability sample of US adults were utilized to examine the correlates of support for multiculturalism and assimilation—two competing interethnic ideologies, or ideals for how an ethnically diverse society should optimally function. Endorsement of multiculturalism and assimilation was related to perceived ethnic group differences, intergroup bias, and voting behavior on a number of public policies, but in opposite directions. Relative to white participants, ethnic minority participants endorsed multiculturalism to a greater extent, reported higher levels of group identification, and were more likely to support pro-diversity public policies. Discussion focuses on explanations for the variety of observed differences between ethnic minority and majority respondents, on the meaning of assimilation and multiculturalism, and on the argument that harmony between ethnic groups and dissimilarity between ethnic groups need not be thought of as mutually exclusive.

The Eisenhower Administration and Public Diplomacy in India: An Ambivalent Engagement, 1953–1960

The United States–India relationship was fraught with misapprehension and ideological disagreement during the 1950s. Public diplomacy provides a valuable context for examining these dynamics. This analysis assesses the planning, deployment, and reception of American public diplomacy to India under President Dwight Eisenhower, a period encompassing Washington’s 1954 alliance with Pakistan and economic aid to India in 1957–1958. Public diplomacy reflects the Administration’s difficulty in clarifying its interests in India. The rhetorical and moralising approach of India’s leadership, and their prominence in the global non-aligned movement, contributed greatly to this ambivalence. Public diplomacy planning highlights Washington’s difficulties in confronting India’s identity in world politics; it struggled to craft messages on racial attitudes, consumerism, and Communism, whilst Soviet public diplomacy gave strong competition throughout the period. At the same time, several aspects of American public diplomacy resonated with Indian audiences, indicating that there was the possibility of a closer American relationship with India had Washington taken a different high policy approach to the region.