Attempts

Conclusion Whatever the outcome of any effort to codify the law of attempts, the overriding need is to recognize that this is a complex and unsettled area of doctrine. The drafters of proposed legislation should provide as much assistance as they can so as to ensure that whatever new law is finally enacted, it is clear and unambiguous and not conducive of multiple interpretations, which would only lead us back to our present state of confusion.This is a revised version of a paper presented at a seminar of the Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, Review of Commonwealth Criminal Law, Brisbane, Australia, April 2–5, 1991. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.LL.B., University of Sydney 1975; LL.M., University of Adelaide 1989; D.P.L., University of Adelaide 1991.     

Measurement of teen dating violence attitudes: an item response theory evaluation of differential item functioning according to gender

Accurate assessment of attitudes about intimate partner violence is important for evaluation of prevention and early intervention programs. Assessment of attitudes about cross-gender interactions is particularly susceptible to bias because it requires specifying the gender of the perpetrator and the victim. As it is likely that respondents will tend to identify with the same-gender actor, items and scales assessing attitudes about intimate partner violence may not have equivalent measurement properties for male and female respondents. This article examines data from 2,575 high school students who participated in a teen-dating violence intervention study. The majority of participants were Latino (91%), and the sample was nearly evenly split with respect to gender (51% female). Items from two scales (boy-on-girl violence, 4 items; girl-on-boy violence, 5 items) reflecting teens' attitudes about dating violence were calibrated with the graded item response theory (IRT) model and evaluated for differential item functioning (DIF) by gender. A total of three items, two from the girl-on-boy violence scale and one from the boy-on-girl violence scale, were identified as functioning differently for girls and boys. In all cases where DIF was detected, the item's attitudinal statement was easier to accept for the gender group that was portrayed as victim rather than perpetrator. For both scales, accounting for the identified DIF influenced inferences about the magnitude of mean differences in attitudes between boys and girls. These results support the use of IRT scores that account for DIF to minimize measurement error and improve inferences about gender differences in attitudes about dating violence.     

Data protection 1998–2008

This article reviews key developments in data protection legislation, case law and practice between 1998 and 2008. Over this time data protection has become a mainstream compliance topic for business and government alike. Having started in 1998 as a specialist area of limited general application, over the decade this area of law has been widely applied to access rights, international transfers of information and data losses. We are now seeing major changes in enforcement of data protection legislation (including the power to fine and increased use of audits) which will continue the focus on compliance.     

An Exploratory Study of Time Stress and Its Causes among Government Employees

This article elucidates the temporal dimension of time stress among employees in public organizations. Employees working at five agencies in Indiana were surveyed. Job characteristics and personal variables such as overtime, repetitiveness, gender, family obligation, and age group were found to be insignificant as time stressors. However, political factors such as level of government, goal awareness, political sensitivity, and time allotted for meetings were significant independent variables affecting time stress. To enhance performance in the public sector, especially when a merit pay system is not fully instituted, more attention needs to be paid to the time dimension.