Do pre‐admonition suggestions moderate the effect of unbiased lineup instructions?

We examined the additive and interactive effects of pre‐admonition suggestion and lineup instructions (biased or unbiased) on eyewitness identification rates. Participants watched a mock crime video, completed a target‐absent lineup identification, and completed a retrospective memory questionnaire. Prior to attempting an identification, participants were either exposed or not exposed to pre‐admonition suggestions and received biased or unbiased lineup instructions. The pre‐admonition suggestion indicated that it was likely that the perpetrator was in the lineup (surely, you can pick the perpetrator). The pre‐admonition suggestion increased false identification in the unbiased lineup condition. Furthermore, those who received the pre‐admonition suggestion were more certain in their identifications as well as other testimony‐relevant judgments than were those who did not receive the pre‐admonition suggestion. These results suggest that pre‐lineup suggestion can mitigate the beneficial effects of unbiased lineup instructions.     

Brownfield redevelopment and affordable housing: A case study of New Jersey

Abstract

A total of 779 New Jersey residents were surveyed to determine the number of people who during the next five years would be willing to move to housing built on brownfield sites that have been remediated to the extent that they pose no plausible brownfield‐related health risk to residents.

Fourteen percent of the respondents said they would be willing to move to and live in housing built on cleaned‐up brownfields. These respondents were disproportionately relatively poor and young and resided in apartments and cities, especially cities where the city government was actively promoting brownfields. These respondents also did not like their current neighborhoods, did not feel threatened by the idea of living on a cleaned‐up brownfield site, and trusted experts to advise them on the health risks involved.     

Non-Response Bias with a Web-Based Survey of College Students: Differences from a Classroom Survey About Carrying Concealed Handguns

Internet-based and e-mail surveys represent viable administrative methods for efficiently collecting data. These methods appear to be particularly well-suited for studying college student populations, a group that has gained attention from criminologists interested in testing theories. An important concern with administering surveys with the Internet and via e-mail is that of non-response bias. Despite the appeal of online surveys, nonresponse bias associated with these methods has not been sufficiently investigated. The study described here estimates nonresponse bias associated with a web-administered survey that measured opinions about changing concealed handgun carrying laws on college campuses, items likely to elicit polarizing opinions. Results show important substantive differences between web-administered and in-class versions of the survey. Students who responded to the web survey expressed more extreme opinions and behavioral responses to a proposed policy that would allow concealed handgun carrying on campus. Survey researchers who utilize web-based administrative methods should consider using multiple sources of leverage when soliciting participation and must carefully evaluate sample representativeness.     

How many more guns?: Estimating the effect of allowing licensed concealed handguns on a college campus

Among other arguments, advocates for lifting bans on carrying concealed handguns on campus propose that this would increase the prevalence of legitimately carried handguns, which might then deter crimes or be used to intervene in campus shooting incidents like the one that took place at Virginia Tech in 2007. Opponents suggest that increased prevalence of concealed handguns would lead to increases in other negative consequences, such as accidental shootings. Little empirical research has examined the potential outcomes of such a policy change, nor has existing research examined the prerequisite issue of whether lifting these bans would result in substantial increases in the prevalence of concealed handguns among students. Using a sample of undergraduate classrooms selected from five academic buildings at a public university in Texas, this study examines the potential impact of lifting the concealed handgun ban on the likelihood that a given classroom would contain at least one legally carried handgun. Results reveal that the impact of potential policy changes in this area vary based on the building under consideration and the measure of potential handgun prevalence. Limitations of the study and implications for future research on the issue of concealed handgun carrying on college campuses are discussed.     

New models of negotiation,dispute resolution,and joint problem solving

The revolutionary changes sweeping the workplace, union-management relationships, and the world economy have contributed to a sharply redefined role for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), the primary provider of mediation services to labor and management in the United States. In this article's three main sections, the authors trace the history and provide background information about FMCS; consider the changing role of mediation, driven by societal forces of change from the late 1970s to the present; and speculate on the agency's future and the expected expansion in the use of mediation. John Calhoun Wells has served as Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service since November, 1993, when he was appointed to that position by President Bill Clinton.Wilma B. Liebman is Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.     

Guidelines for empirically assessing the fairness of a lineup

Issues regarding the fairness of lineups used for criminal identification are discussed in the context of a distinction between nominal size and functional size. Nominal size (the number of persons in the lineup) is less important for determining the fairness of a lineup than is functional size (the number of lineup members resembling the criminal). Functional size decreases to the extent that the nonsuspect members of the lineup are easily ruled out as not being suspected by the police. The extent to which the identification of the suspect can be considered an independently derived piece of incriminating evidence is positively related to functional size. Empirical estimates of functional size can be obtained through pictures of the corporal lineup from which mock witnesses make guesses of whom they believe the police suspect. A distinction is made between a functional size approach and hypothesis testing approaches. Uses of functional size notions in the court, by police, and in research are discussed.     

Effects of expert psychological advice on human performance in judging the validity of eyewitness testimony

A review is made of recent experimental research regarding how well human observers can judge the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. It is concluded that people: (a) may be overwilling to believe in the accuracy of eyewitnesses' memory; (b) rely too heavily on the confidence of eyewitnesses in judging the validity of testimony; (c) fail to adequately account for witnessing conditions across crimes; and (d) cannot discriminate between accurate and inaccurate witnesses within crimes. New data are reported from an experiment designed to test the effects that expert psychological advice has on subject-jurors' performance with regard to these four deficiencies. The results showed that expert advice served to eliminate the overbelief bias and greatly reduced subject-jurors' reliance on the confidence of the witnesses. Expert, advice did not improve the extent to which subject-jurors took account of the witnessing conditions across crimes nor their ability to discriminate between accurate and inaccurate witnesses within crimes.     

Corporate manslaughter: A cultural and legal form

This article is a revised version of a paper originally presented at the eighth international conference of the Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, Hong Kong, December 4–8, 1994, It draws on research I undertook while writingNegotiating Tragedy: Law and Disasters (1995).