Automatic Gait Recognition and its Potential Role in Counterterrorism

ABSTRACT

Closed-circuit television footage can be used to assemble an often-complex picture of an incident and aid in the identification of suspects after a crime or terrorist attack has occurred. For example, such footage allowed the police to not only identify the 7/7 London bombers but also to piece together the details of the bombers' movements prior to the attack. In the case of the London bombers little attempt was made to disguise their identities but where such identities are concealed it is possible to identify suspects based on other unique biometric characteristics such as the style of walk, referred to as gait. Gait feature–based individual identification has received increased attention from biometrics researchers. In this article, we propose a novel gait biometric methodology that could contribute to the counterterrorism effort and the identification of individuals involved in crime.     

Ethics in Government: No Matter How Long and Dark the Night

This work examines attitudes about ethics in American government during the turbulent time from the end of the past century to the beginning of the new. Using data from a national survey, the authors explore views toward ethics in society and integrity in public agencies, with an emphasis on the code of ethics of the American Society for Public Administration. The results not only reveal considerable continuity over the years but also suggest that individual managers are increasingly empowered, that agencies are affecting positive change, and that the ASPA code may be influencing management practices. The implications of the findings for ASPA ethics initiatives are considered.     

Mandates As Both Hardship And Benefit: The Clean Water Program In Small Communities

No other intergovernmental policy has been so costly and difficultfor small local governments to implement as the 1972 versionof federal Clean Water legislation. This legislation has requiredthousands of localities to construct new or upgraded sewagetreatment systems. Rural governments have been hard pressedto cope with the demands of the anti-pollution standards, becauseof limited fiscal and managerial capacities and local valuesoften in conflict with national and state policy goals. Yet,as this study of eight rural California communities suggests,implementation can bring local benefits as well as hardship.As a result of their decade-long experiences with the CleanWater program, the small municipalities generally improved theirsewer system finances, acquired new organizational skills andresources, and increased their capacity to accommodate populationgrowth and stimulate economic development. These were long-runimpacts, occurring after initial problems and delays in theplanning, funding, and construction of the new plants.     

What is a good post-separation relationship? The perspectives of Australian parents

Socio-legal research has established the importance of a ‘good’ post-separation parental relationship; however there is little work addressing the definitions and experiences of parents themselves. Thus, we have few insights into how socio-legal expectations align with those of separated parents. This paper draws on interview data from 27 separated Australian parents to explore the question: how do parents define a good post-separation parental relationship? Our analysis indicated a typology of three relationships: allied, arm’s length and autonomous relationships. These were differentiated by parents’ emotional connection, practical interdependence and deliberate co-operation in caring for their children. They shared in common parents’ focus on the wellbeing of children, which both motivated parents’ on-going connection and informed their definition of a good post-separation relationship with their former partner. Our findings indicate an alignment between socio-legal expectations of good relationships and those of parents, albeit in sometimes unexpected forms.     

Perceptions and Predictors of Children's Credibility of a Unique Event and an Instance of a Repeated Event

Perceptions of children's credibility were studied in two experiments wherein participants watched a videotape of a 4- to 5- or a 6- to 7-year old child report details of a play session that had been experienced once (single-event) or was the last in a series of four similar play sessions (repeat-event). The child's report was classified as high or low accurate. In Experiments 1 and 2, reports of repeat-event children were judged to be less believable on several measures. In Experiment 1, younger children were viewed as less credible than older children. In both experiments, neither undergraduates nor community members correctly discriminated between high- and low-accurate reports. Content analysis in Study 3 revealed the relationship between age and event frequency and children's credibility ratings was mediated by the internal consistency of children's reports. Recent research on children's reports of instances of repeated events has identified several challenges facing children who report repeated abuse. These data bring to light another potential difficulty for these children.     

Motives for suicide--a study of Australian suicide notes

Analysis of a large sample of suicide notes from 262 suicides in Australia found that men less often had escape from pain as a motive for their suicides and more often had love/romantic problems. The suicides of older persons were more often motivated by escape from pain and less often had love/romantic problems.     

Peer Victimization,Social Support,and Psychosocial Adjustment of Sexual Minority Adolescents

The present study examined the link between sexual orientation and adjustment in a community sample of 97 sexual minority (gay male, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning) high school students, taking into account their experiences of peer victimization and social support within peer and family contexts. Adolescents were identified in a large-scale survey study conducted at 5 high schools. They were matched to a comparison sample of their heterosexual peers. Sexual minority adolescents reported more externalizing behaviors and depression symptoms than heterosexual youth. Compared to their heterosexual peers, sexual minority youth reported more sexual harassment, more bullying, less closeness with their mothers, and less companionship with their best friends. There were no significant differences between gay male, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning adolescents. Overall, both victimization and social support mediated the link between sexual orientation and psychosocial symptoms. Among sexual minority youth, the link between social support and externalizing was mediated by experiences of peer victimization. These findings highlight the contextual risk and protective factors associated with non-heterosexual sexual orientation in accounting for the emotional and behavioral problems in this population. Ms. Williams completed her M.A. in Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently working on her Ph.D. Her research interests include adolescent sexual orientation, adolescent romantic relationships, and dating violence. Dr. Connolly is a Professor of Psychology at York University. She received her Ph.D. from Concordia University and is a Registered Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. Her current research examines adolescent romantic relationships and the peer context. Dr. Pepler is a Professor of Psychology at York University and Psychologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo and is a Registered Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. Her current research examines aggression and victimization among adolescents with a concern to the processes related to these problems over the lifespan. Dr. Craig is a Professor of Psychology at Queen's University. She received her Ph.D. from York University and is a Registered Psychologist in the Province of Ontario. Her current research examines bullying, victimization, aggression, juvenile delinquency, peer relations, and the development of intervention programs.