The legal aspects of corporate computer usage policies

In this paper we examine the legal aspects of corporate computer usage policies including their creation, management, and their relevance to corporate computer forensic investigations. Misuse of corporate computing facilities cannot only lead to a reduction in employee productivity and network bandwidth, but can also increase the risk of infection of such facilities by computer viruses and other malicious code. Moreover, it may lead to the risk of liability and legal action.     

Politics, culture, and political crime: Covariates of abortion clinic attacks in the United States

This study examined crime and violence against abortion clinics, testing elements of several theories that may help explain the variation of such attacks. The study theoretically and methodologically improved upon the prior research on abortion-related crime and violence. Theoretically, it investigated previously unexamined hypotheses from the social movement literature that may be relevant to this type of behavior. Methodologically, it used more careful measures for several variables, employed unique and heretofore ignored data bases, and examined hundreds of criminal acts across several types of crime (e.g., violence, vandalism, and harassment) directed at abortion clinics. Employing robust logistic regression and correcting for clustering of clinics by state, the study investigated the cross-sectional effects of state-level cultural and structural characteristics on anti-abortion crimes against clinics and staff. Results indicated that some crimes against clinics are more likely in areas where female empowerment is weaker, female victimization is more tolerated, and the anti-abortion movement has failed to reduce abortions.     

Type of contact and evaluations of police officers: The effects of procedural justice across three types of police–citizen contacts

The public's perception of the police is important because it is linked to several important outcomes, including compliance and cooperation with police. Long recognized as being important, research has investigated the factors associated with citizens' evaluations of the police. The way police do their jobs, in addition to what they accomplish, has recently emerged as being a significant determinant of citizens' evaluations of police. What remains largely unexamined is whether this relationship varies across distinct types of contacts between the police and citizens. The current study estimated the effects of citizens' perceptions of procedural justice on overall ratings of officer performance across three types of police–citizen encounters. Results showed that procedurally fair treatment is the most important predictor of citizens' evaluations.     

Crime,time, youth and punishment

This paper examines current developments in the social control of youth crime and delinquency in England and Wales. It argues that the usual critical explanations of these developments, in the form of the dispersal of discipline or the social authoritarianism thesis are inadequate. Instead, it is suggested that the punishment has taken on a more effective and efficient format in the management of this problem group than either of the above would have made possible.     

Scales for perceived risk of student-on-student victimization in grades 7 through 10: A psychometric analysis of the adolescent index on school safety

Although past research has developed scales for the incidence, prevalence, and fear of student-on-student victimization (SSV), little is known about the scaling of perceived risk (i.e., the cognitive appraisal of the chances of experiencing SSV). Hence, this study examined self-report survey data for the perceived risk of SSV as measured in the Adolescent Index for School Safety (AISS). Children in grades 7 through 10 (n=337) in a single Florida public school completed the AISS. Factor analyses using Maximum Likelihood Estimation with Oblimin Rotation identified nine unique factors for perceived risk. Reliability analyses found standardized Cronbach Alphas that ranged from .64 to .91, and seven out of the nine identified scales were above .80, which suggested good to excellent internal consistency. Future research should examine the content validity, construct validity, and predictive validity for the AISS and other self-report surveys of SSV dynamics. This publication was made possible by a grant [#97-MU-FX-KO12 (S-l)] from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (O.J.J.D.P.), United States Department of Justice (U.S.D.O.J.). This grant is administered through the Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence at George Washington University. This specific study was developed and implemented by staff at: 1) East Carolina University’s Department of Criminal Justice; and 2) Florida State University’s Center for Educational Research and Policy Studies. All points of view and opinions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of East Carolina University, Florida State University, the Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence, the O.J.J.D.P., or the U.S.D.OJ. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Bill Doerner and Jennifer Jolley for their support, editorial feedback, and insightful comments regarding earlier drafts of this paper.