A simplified procedure for simultaneous detection of salivary proteins and its application in paternity testing

An alternative simplified procedure for the genetic analysis of salivary protein complex (SPC) which eliminates the need for a specific concentrated parotid sample is proposed. After the technique is applied isoelectric focusing and protein detection is carried out by silver staining. The chance of exclusion of non-fathers for these systems in our population is 0.161711 for Pr, 0.07948 for Db, 0.07836 for Pa and 0.00995 for PIF. The total exclusion rate for these systems is 0.30042.     

Overprovision and the licensing (Scotland) act 1976

This paper examines Scottish licensing law, in particular the granting of licenses to supply alcoholic liquor. Any application for a license must be granted unless one or more of four conditions are fulfilled. One of these, that the award would lead to overprovision, is the central concern of this study. The paper does not investigate why the consumption and distribution of alcohol are regulated nor why regulatory control takes the form it does. ¹ The starting point is rather that regulation exists and takes a particular form. Attention is focused on the operation of this regulatory control and with how it might be improved.In the next section, some of the key features of the licensing law and its appeals are reviewed, establishing the importance of evidence of the presence or otherwise of overprovision. Section II discusses the use of density of licensed premises as a measure of provision, indicates the problems, and argues that a measure might be refined and validated by entering it in an equation explaining the retail price of alcoholic beverages. Section III examines empirically the relationship between price and licensing density.     

US police officers’ knowledge regarding behaviors indicative of deception: Implications for eradicating erroneous beliefs through training

Abstract

The current study surveyed a random sample of Texas law enforcement officers (n?=?109) about their knowledge regarding behaviors indicative of deception. The officers were not highly knowledgeable about this topic, overall performing at a chance level in assessing how various behavioral cues relate to deception. Confidence in one's skill was unrelated to accuracy, and officers who reported receiving the most training and utilizing these skills more often were more confident but no more accurate in their knowledge of the behaviors that typically betray deception. The authors compare these results to previous studies that have examined officers’ beliefs in other countries and discuss the implication of these results in terms of developing future training programs that may debunk the common misconceptions that officers possess.     

A Cultural Nod to‘Sparing the Rod'

<正>Everyone is probably familiar with stock cultural figures of the Tiger Mom,or the obnoxiously loud,pushy sports-obsessed dad.If you are a Westerner and have participated in Little League Baseball as player,fan,or coach,you will know the scene only too well:a parent publicly berating his or her youngster for a lackluster performance.Sympathetic onlookers know better than to intervene,preferring     

Present but not prevalent: identifying the organizational correlates of researcher-practitioner partnerships in U.S. Law Enforcement

ABSTRACT

Federal funding streams, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and policing executives and scholars alike have advocated for more researcher-practitioner partnerships in American law enforcement. While a few studies have explored the growth and prevalence of research partnerships in policing, less attention has been placed on the organizational correlates of such collaborative relationships. Using a nationally representative sample of US law enforcement agencies, the current study investigated participation in what we term ‘rigorous partnerships’ – more formal, long-term relationships between researchers and practitioners with increased opportunity for interactive knowledge exchange. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed, with a specific focus on the barriers and impediments that both parties face for successful collaborative efforts and research translation.     

Psychologists as ‘the quiet ones with the power’: understanding indeterminate sentenced prisoners’ experiences of psychological risk assessment in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences in the United Kingdom do not know when or if they will be released from prison. Release and progression decisions are determined by the risk the ISP presents of reoffending. This makes the assessment of risk a high stakes business for ISPs. Whilst there is a large body of literature focused on prisoners’ general experiences of prison, there is an absence of specific empirical exploration of prisoners’ experiences of risk assessment. This paper aims to address this gap by reporting the results of a qualitative exploration of ISPs’ experiences of psychological risk assessment. Interviews with 10 ISPs were conducted and analysed using Grounded Theory methods. Analysis indicated that prisoners experienced the prison environment as characterised by violence, volatility and suffering. Psychological risk assessment is embedded within this emotionally and physically challenging context but also contributes to the experience of suffering. Within this context, prisoners felt stuck, powerless and out of control in relation to risk assessment, and experienced psychologists as untrustworthy yet powerful. Understanding prisoners’ experiences is the first step in resolving some of the long-reported difficulties in working relationships between psychologists and prisoners as well as making the process more procedurally just.     

Seeking or controlling the truth? An examination of courtroom questioning practices by Canadian lawyers*

ABSTRACT

The questioning practices of Canadian lawyers were examined. Courtroom examinations (N?=?91) were coded for the type of utterance, the assumed purpose of the utterance, and the length of utterance. Results showed that approximately one-fifth of all utterances were classified as productive for gathering reliable information (i.e. open-ended, probing); less than one percent of all utterances were open-ended. Direct examinations contained more closed yes/no, probing, and open-ended questions. Cross-examinations contained more leading and clarification questions, and opinions. Moreover, cross- (vs. direct) examinations contained more questions with a ‘challenging the witness’ purpose. The longest utterances were opinions, followed by multiple and forced-choice questions. The longest answers were in response to open-ended questions, followed by multiple and probing questions. Implications for the truth-seeking function of the judiciary are discussed.