The Impact of Psychological Consequences of Rape on Rape Case Attrition: The Police Perspective

This paper examines whether the psychological sequelae of rape relate to rape case attrition by leading police to see the victim as less reliable. A mixed methods approach with two linked studies, one qualitative and one quantitative, was used. In Study 1, the qualitative study, interviews with 12 specialist police officers were analysed using Framework Analysis. In Study 2, the quantitative study, 76 specialist officers completed an online questionnaire to assess the generalisability of Study 1’s findings. In Study 1, officers’ perceptions of victims clustered into three stereotypes, which we label “the real victim”, “the mad discloser”, and “the bad discloser”. Victims who exhibited signs of shame, self-blame, and post-traumatic stress reactions which impeded their ability to give a coherent account of the rape were perceived as less reliable “mad” or “bad” victims. The findings of Study 2 supported these results. Although police interview strategies have improved in recent years, there is evidence that signs of trauma and shame in the victim are sometimes misinterpreted as signs of lying. This may affect attrition by impacting on victim-officer relationships. Further training on recognising trauma and understanding its consequences is recommended both for specialist officers and front-line staff.     

Friends Have All Things in Common: Utopian Property Relations

Utopian theory has long challenged the conventions of private property. Drawing on two case studies, this article explores utopian practices that challenge dominant property narratives. These practices range from the mundane to the profound and occur inside the domestic, economic, interpersonal and ideological structures of the cases in question. These cases are Riverside and Centrepoint Communities: two intentional communities, comprised of people who have chosen to live and work together for a common purpose, are critical of current socioeconomic (and ideological, spiritual and interpersonal) norms and who intend to create a better life for their members.     

Reviews

Messages and Meanings: An Introduction to Semiotics Marcel Danesi, Canadian Scholars' Press Toronto 1994

Australian Popular Culture Ian Craven (ed), Cambridge University Press Cambridge 1994

Identifying Australia in Postmodern Times Livio Dobrez (ed), Bibliotech Canberra 1994

Text and Context Bev Derewianka & Louise Ravelli (EDGA 976) PAGE SBS University of Wollongong 1995     

Enhancing Witness Memory with Focused Meditation and Eye-Closure: Assessing the Effects of Misinformation

Despite the decline in popularity of hypnosis as an investigative interviewing technique, this paper builds on previous research showing that some of the techniques employed in traditional hypnotic interviewing may still be useful in the development of simple, brief memory facilitation procedures for use by the police. Three experiments are described that investigate the effects of a short Focused Meditation with eye-closure technique in situations where participants are presented with misleading information. In the first study, which utilized a standard misinformation paradigm, a significant memory facilitation effect was shown with Focused Meditation, though the effect was not significant for eye-closure alone. There were no increases in errors when the Meditation and eye-closure procedures were used alone or in combination. The second experiment showed that a combined Focused Meditation with eye-closure technique reduced misinformation effects associated with fictitious events, and a third showed that the same technique reduced interrogative suggestibility effects as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale, whilst facilitating free recall memory. It is concluded that a Focused Meditation with eye-closure technique may potentially have applications in the field where brief alternatives to the Cognitive Interview are required.     

Barriers to services for rural and urban survivors of rape

A significant proportion of survivors of rape do not utilize formal services to cope with the aftermath of rape. Understanding victimization experiences in environments that differ on resources, such as rural versus urban areas, may be an important dimension to consider in understanding barriers. Thirty women (18 rural and 12 urban) were recruited from rape crisis centers to participate in focus groups. Study results suggest that (a) survivors of rape experience many barriers to service utilization, (b) there were some differences in barriers to service utilization that were mentioned only in rural areas and some that were mentioned only in urban areas that may suggest that community context is important to consider in understanding barriers to service use, and (c) barriers to health and mental health services overlap with barriers to criminal justice system services.     

Technical communication: rationale and technique for examination of nervous system in suspected infant victims of abuse

Most victims of fatal child abuse are under the age of 2 years and have a fairly typical pattern of injuries that involve the brain and spinal cord. Documenting these injuries in a systematic fashion is of paramount importance in establishing the cause and manner of death. Although the importance of recognizing these injuries is widely understood, there are few guidelines for the optimal examination of the central nervous system to document these changes. A standard procedure for postmortem dissection of the brain and spinal cord that preserves the anatomy of the cervicomedullary junction is outlined. Changes in the cervicomedullary junction and spinal cord are an underappreciated marker for shaking injury in children. This technique, along with examination of the eyes and optic nerves, will optimally identify the injuries associated with shaking injuries. A standard series of histologic sections are also outlined to document the corresponding microscopic changes.     

Will the Truth Come Out? The Effect of Deception,Age, Status,Coaching, and Social Skills on CBCA Scores

The impact of Veracity, Age, Status (witness or suspect), Coaching (informed or uninformed regarding CBCA), and Social Skills (social anxiety, social adroitness, and self-monitoring) on Criteria-Based Content Analysis scores was examined. Participants (aged 5–6, 10–11, 14–15, and undergraduates) participated in a rubbing the blackboard event. In a subsequent interview they told the truth or lied about the event. They were accused of having rubbed the blackboard themselves (suspect condition) or were thought to have witnessed the event (witness condition), and were or were not taught some CBCA criteria prior to the interview. CBCA scores discriminated between liars and truth tellers in children, adults, witnesses, and suspects. However, truth tellers obtained higher CBCA scores than liars only when the liars were uninformed about CBCA. CBCA scores were correlated with social skills. It is argued that these findings should caution those who believe that the validity of CBCA has been conclusively demonstrated.     

AmpFlSTR profiler Plus short tandem repeat DNA analysis of casework samples, mixture samples, and nonhuman DNA samples amplified under reduced PCR volume conditions (25 microL)

As part of the validation of the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus short tandem repeat (STR) system, under reduced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) volume conditions (i.e., 25 microL), a total of 275 casework samples were processed. Examples of profiles are presented along with amplification conditions to improve the odds of obtaining balanced and complete profiles for samples showing partial results or profiles with a descending slope. Data collected and used to develop our interpretation guidelines are included. From the mixture studies, full profiles were obtained for minor contributors, using 2 ng of DNA, with ratios of 10:1 or 1:20 and using 1 ng of DNA, with ratios of 10:1 and 1:8. The specificity of the Profiler Plus amplification reaction performed in 25 microL was examined and confirmed using a large spectrum of nonhuman DNAs. This report supports the use of the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus STR system for casework DNA typing under reduced PCR volume conditions.     

Eyewitness Memory,Suggestibility, and Repeated Recall Sessions in Children with Mild and Moderate Intellectual Disabilities

This study of eyewitness memory questioned children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) about a live staged event 1 day later and, again, 2 weeks later. Children with mild ID performed as well as typically-developing children of the same age in response to free recall instructions, and they were just as able as same age peers to resist misleading questions. However, they performed more poorly on general questions, probing for further information after free recall. The children with mild ID also changed their responses to specific questions more often in the repeated interview. The group of children with moderate ID showed markedly lower performance than peers of the same age on nearly every type of eyewitness memory question. Comparisons of the children with ID to mental age-matched peers indicated that performance was similar, although children with ID gave more information in response to free recall instructions and changed their answers in the repeated interview more often. Standardized measures of verbal memory (TOMAL) and suggestibility (Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale) were modest to moderate predictors of eyewitness memory performance.     

Growing inequality in black wages in the 1980s and the emergence of an African-American middle class

Much recent scholarship and popular discussion posits a substantial movement of African-American households into the “middle class.” Yet over the course of the 1980s, the proportion of individual black wage-earners receiving “annualized” (work experience-adjusted) wages and salaries in excess of about $35,000—three times the poverty line—fell by 22 percent, even as the share of African-Americans earning below the poverty line increased by a fifth. This was true for all age groups, and even for persons within the black community who had completed four or more years of college. The growth of low wage employment was most pronounced for black men between the ages of 25 and 34, among whom the incidence of below-poverty-level employment doubled. Black women aged 35–54 experienced relatively greater progress than any other part of the African-American community, but their gains lagged far behind those of comparable white women. We speculate on possible explanations for these developments, on the basis of which a potential public policy agenda is examined.