Identifying predictors of negative psychological reactions to stalking victimization

Victims of stalking often experience a number of negative psychological problems including such things as fear, symptoms of depression, and anger. However, research on factors that lead to these outcomes is limited. The goal of this study was to first identify distinct subgroups of stalking victims based on measures of psychological problems resulting from being stalked. Once identified, the next step was to examine the influence of demographic and stalking-related variables on the probability of subgroup membership. The results revealed that respondents who were female, had a prior relationship with the stalker, experienced a greater variety of stalking behaviors, were divorced/separated, and reported receiving government assistance were more likely to be classified into subgroups characterized by a high probability of experiencing multiple negative outcomes.     

Does Interrater (Dis)agreement on Psychopathy Checklist Scores in Sexually Violent Predator Trials Suggest Partisan Allegiance in Forensic Evaluations?

Many studies reveal strong interrater agreement for Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) when used by trained raters in research contexts. However, no systematic research has examined agreement between PCL-R scores from independent clinicians who are retained by opposing sides in adversarial legal proceedings. We reviewed all 43 sexual-offender civil-commitment trials in one state and identified 23 cases in which opposing evaluators reported PCL-R total scores for the same individual. Differences between scores from opposing evaluators were usually in a direction that supported the party who retained their services. These score differences were greater in size than would be expected based on the instrument's standard error of measurement or the rater agreement values reported in previous PCL-R research. The intraclass correlation for absolute agreement for the PCL-R Total score from a single rater (ICC 1,A = .39) was well below levels of agreement observed for the PCL-R in research contexts, and below published test-retest values for the PCL-R. Results raise concerns about the potential for a forensic evaluator's "partisan allegiance" to influence PCL-R scores in adversarial proceedings.     

Closing Off Opportunities for Crime: An Evaluation of Alley-Gating

A new situational crime prevention measure recently introduced into Great Britain involves the fitting of gates to alleyways running along the back of terraced properties to restrict access to local residents and reduce opportunities for offenders. A number of quantitative techniques were used to assess the success of the intervention in reducing burglary in the City of Liverpool. The results demonstrate that, relative to a suitable comparison area, burglary was reduced by approximately 37%, there was a diffusion of benefit to properties in the surrounding areas, and the scheme was cost beneficial with a saving of £1.86 for every pound spent. The analyses provide persuasive evidence that these reductions were attributable to the intervention. We argue that the methodological techniques demonstrated here can be applied more widely to crime prevention evaluations.     

"Promises and Pineapples": Post-First World War Soldier Settlement at Beerburrum, Queensland, 1916-1929

Queensland's post-First World War Soldier Settlement Scheme, begun with noble and optimistic intentions in 1916, officially terminated in 1929 after ignominious failure. There were a number of factors which contributed to the erosion and ultimate destruction of this phase of land settlement, but Commonwealth-State antagonism and the incompetence of many State agricultural advisers were certainly significant elements. Beerburrum, just north of Brisbane, was one of the largest groups of settlements which characterised Queensland's attempts to turn swords into ploughshares. Beerburrum soldier settlers and their families strove valiantly to extract a basic living in the face of overwhelming adversity, and an examination of their circumstances offers a valuable window into the trials and tribulations of the entire scheme.     

Unusual shotgun injury. Gas blowout of anterior head region

During a 6-month period, we encountered two examples of tight contact wounds of the temple region which were associated with ovoid, fairly regular, perforating wounds of the skull and overlying skin. These wounds were located between the eyes with the upper border near the glabella and the lower border near the level of the lower eyelids. There was no evidence that these wounds were entry wounds and in both cases the projectiles were still within the cranial cavity. Therefore, they were interpreted as gas blowout wounds. No similar cases have been found in the literature. Law enforcement personnel and pathologists should be aware of this rather rare blowout type of shotgun injury since it may be subject to various misinterpretations, including that of an entry wound.     

Why don't courts treat hospitals like tanks for liquefied gases? Some reflections on health care antitrust enforcement

In this article, I use the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice 2004 report Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition as an occasion to comment on two specific issues that have arisen in health care antitrust: the recent string of losses by the enforcement agencies in hospital merger cases and an antitrust exemption for physicians to bargain collectively with health insurers. One of the more salient facts about health care antitrust enforcement is the notable recent lack of success of the enforcement agencies in hospital merger cases. This may be due to judges and juries holding views of hospital markets as being different from markets for other goods and services. My conclusion is that hospitals are an industry with unique attributes, but nothing about the specifics of the health care industry suggests that the unregulated use of market power in this industry is socially beneficial. As a consequence, the antitrust laws should be enforced here as in any other industry. Countervailing power is an issue that has come to the fore in health care antitrust. Physicians have explicitly asked for legislative exemption from the antitrust laws in order to bargain collectively with insurance companies, as a means of counteracting insurers' monopsony power. It is not clear that health insurers possess significant monopsony power. Even if they do, bestowing monopoly power on physicians will not necessarily improve matters. Active antitrust enforcement in insurance markets is the correct response, not blanket exemptions for providers.     

Quantitation of atenolol, metoprolol, and propranolol in postmortem human fluid and tissue specimens via LC/APCI-MS

Hypertension is a growing medical concern in the United States. With the number of Americans suffering from hypertension increasing, the use of antihypertensives such as beta-blockers is increasing as well. In fact, three beta-blockers - atenolol, metoprolol and propranolol - were among the 200 most prescribed medications in the United States in 2003. Pilots that successfully manage their hypertension can remain certified to fly. The Federal Aviation Administration currently designates approximately 8% of active pilots as "hypertensive with medication". The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) performs toxicological evaluation on victims of fatal aviation accidents. At CAMI beta-blockers are analyzed using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. We have, however, recently developed a liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (LC/MS) method for the simultaneous quantitation of three commonly prescribed beta-blockers, atenolol, metoprolol and propranolol. One advantage of our LC/MS method is the specificity provided by an ion trap MS. Utilizing an ion trap MS, we were able to conduct MS/MS and MS/MS/MS on each analyte. This method also eliminates the time-consuming and costly derivitization step necessary during GC/MS analysis. Additionally, by utilizing this novel method, any concerns about beta-blocker metabolite and/or sample matrix interference are eliminated. The limits of detection for this method ranged from 0.39 to 0.78 ng/mL and the linear dynamic range was generally 1.6-3200 ng/mL. The extraction efficiencies for each analyte ranged from 58% to 82%. This method was successfully applied to postmortem fluid and tissue specimens obtained from victims of three separate aviation accidents.