Eyewitness Memory of a Supermarket Robbery: A Case Study of Accuracy and Confidence After 3 Months

In this case study, 14 witnesses of an armed robbery were interviewed after 3 months. Security camera recordings were used to assess memory accuracy. Of all information that could be remembered about 84% was correct. Although accurately recalled information had a higher confidence level on average than inaccurately recalled information, the mean accuracy–confidence correlation was rather modest (0.38). These findings indicate that confidence is not a reliable predictor of accuracy. A higher level of self-reported, post-event thinking about the incident was associated with higher confidence levels, while a higher level of self-reported emotional impact was associated with greater accuracy. A potential source of (mis)information, a reconstruction of the robbery broadcasted on TV, did not alter the original memories of the witnesses.     

Problem Drinking, Unemployment, and Intimate Partner Violence among a Sample of Construction Industry Workers and their Partners

The purpose of this study is to determine the contribution of male unemployment and each partner’s problem drinking to risk for male-to-female partner violence (MFPV) and female-to-male partner violence (FMPV) among a sample of construction industry workers and their spouses/partners. Participants in the sample (n = 848 couples) completed cross-sectional health behavior surveys. Multivariate logistic regression models of MFPV and FMPV, with adjustment for demographic and psychosocial variables, were developed. Approximately 20% of couples reported MFPV, and 24% reported FMPV. Results indicated that couples in which the male was a problem drinker, and in which the male worker reported being currently unemployed, were at risk for MFPV. Number of months unemployed by the male worker was significantly associated with FMPV, but problem drinking was not associated with this outcome. Male and female impulsivity were significantly associated with risk for MFPV and FMPV, and the male’s report of adverse childhood events was associated with increased likelihood of MFPV. There was no evidence for the effects of unemployment being moderated (exacerbated) by problem drinking. Workplace-based prevention efforts may be a feasible and important strategy to reduce problem drinking and partner violence among high-risk occupational groups.     

美国管制革新的方法

美国<行政程序法>,总的来说是一件相当不错的法律,很好地经受住了时间的考验.当然,我们也承认它存在一些缺陷,并需要更新,但是反对商业团体和他们在国会中的支持者们所提出的这样巨大的、有时甚至是激进的改变.     

恢复性司法的功效

恢复性司法不仅成为处理犯罪问题的较好方式,还成为帮助村落社会成为更加尊重权利、学习如何成为民主社会的一种方式.恢复性司法最大的前景不在于它比法院审理或者辩诉交易更有直接效果,而在于较之传统的刑事司法,是对犯罪有效干预的承载工具.有越来越充分的证据表明,恢复性司法本身对于减少重新犯罪有直接效果.有关恢复性司法的文献越来越有力地说明,还能够通过更多的正义和当地社区更多地参与决策来减少犯罪.     

强国的“支柱”：俄罗斯政党制度的选择

“统一俄罗斯”党奉行“保守主义的现代化”战略,其要旨就在于把自由和公正价值有机统一,构建独立自主的民主制度,使俄罗斯成为现代世界强国。作者以亨廷顿、托克威尔等人的理论为根据,认为任何民主都有自己的特色,多党制并非民主必须的条件,处于现代化进程中的俄罗斯,既不适合实行多党制,也不能实行一党制,而应该实行两党制或一党居优制,这是俄罗斯成为现代世界强国的基础和“支柱”。     

非营利部门市场化:公民社会处在风险当中?

公共部门越来越多地采用市场的途径与理念来指导政策制定与管理.一些美国的公共管理学者已经指出了这个问题,其中特别强调其对民主与公民权利的影响.     

Unusual suicide with a chainsaw

Described here is a case of suicide with the use of a chainsaw. A female suffering from schizophrenia committed suicide by an ingenious use of a chainsaw that resulted in the transection of her cervical spine and spinal cord. The findings of the resulting investigation are described and the mechanism of suicides with the use of a chainsaw is reviewed. A dry bone study was realized to determine the bone sections, the correlation between anatomic lesions and characteristics of chainsaw. The damage of organs and soft tissues is compared according to the kinds of chainsaw used.     

Age estimation from the human os coxa: a test on a documented Italian collection*

Current standards for age at death estimation from the pelvis are based on Americans of European and African ancestry. Our limited understanding of population variability hampers our efforts to apply these techniques to the various skeletal populations around the world, especially in global forensic contexts. However, documented skeletal samples are rare, limiting our ability to test our techniques. This study tested the Suchey-Brooks pubic symphysis aging method and the auricular surface method originally developed by Lovejoy et al. on a large sample (n = 404) of known sex and age from the Sassari Collection, housed at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Bologna, Italy. The results indicate that for both methods, bias and inaccuracy increased with age and actual age tended to be underestimated over the age of 40. The auricular surface method performed slightly better, exhibiting slightly lower levels of bias and inaccuracy, especially for males.     

Identification of acepromazine in hair: an illustration of the difficulties encountered in investigating drug-facilitated crimes

After a drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), a woman was found in a drowsy state at home. She remembered having drunk an unknown beverage by the accused. Blood samples (collected 8 hours after the DFSA), two glasses, and a teaspoon seized by the police were analyzed. Acepromazine, a phenothiazine tranquilizer used in human and veterinary medicine, was detected in the residue of one of the glasses. In spite of acepromazine absence in the victim's blood, the possible use of acepromazine in the DFSA was reported to the police. Two weeks later, a suspect admitted having orally administered acepromazine to the victim. Using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method, this compound was subsequently detected (31 pg/mg) in a sample of the victim's hair collected a month and a half after the DFSA. A potential short elimination half-life in humans and/or the well-known in vitro degradation of acepromazine could explain the negative blood result. DFSA toxicological investigations are challenging and can be complicated when a rather unusual substance is concerned. In particular, special care should be taken when interpreting the results, taking into account elimination and/or instability data, when available.     

Throat-cutting of accidental origin

Abstract:  Incised wounds of the neck can be accidental, homicidal, or suicidal. In this paper, a death case has been presented where a spinning circular saw of a cutting machine in a workshop came off its place and cut the throat of a 30-year-old male who was operating the machine. There was an incision (15 cm × 5 cm) that began in the middle of the neck down the thyroid cartilage, extended horizontally to the left of the neck and ended on the outer part of the neck in the outer left side of m. trapezius. Death occurred because of exsanguination caused by the cutting of carotis artery and jugular vein. In the case we presented, although the cut in the neck initially suggested homicide, it was found to have occurred as a result of an accident after the autopsy and death scene investigation.