Adolescents' Intergroup Attributions: A Comparison of Two Social Identities

This study investigated the intergroup perceptions of 2 social groups. English adolescents aged 14–15 years were asked to make causal attributions for various positive and negative behaviors performed by members of an in-group and an out-group. In the first condition (n = 45), participants rated members of their own peer group and members of a peer group to which they did not belong. Participants in the second condition (n = 45) rated English adolescents and members of a national out-group (either France or Germany). Results showed that participants in both conditions reported perceptions that were biased towards the formation of a favorable in-group evaluation. However, the relationship between intergroup discrimination and identification with the in-group was in the expected direction for participants in the peer group condition only. This observation is explained in terms of the potential level of identity threat posed by the prevalent intergroup context.     

The Effect of “Thin Ideal” Television Commercials on Body Dissatisfaction and Schema Activation During Early Adolescence

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of viewing televised images of female attractiveness on the body dissatisfaction of young adolescent girls and boys. Adolescents (160 females and 197 males) aged 13–15 years viewed either 20 commercials containing idealized female thin images or 20 nonappearance television commercials. Body dissatisfaction was measured before (Time 1), immediately following (Time 2), and 15 min after (Time 3) commercial viewing. Appearance-schema activation was assessed using a word-stem completion task. Girls, but not boys, who viewed the appearance commercials reported significantly higher body dissatisfaction at both Times 2 and 3 compared with the nonappearance condition. Participant age had no effect. Both girls and boys in the appearance condition reported greater schema activation, but appearance schematicity did not moderate the commercial effect. The results support the general hypothesis that televised images of attractiveness lead to increased body dissatisfaction and schema activation for girls as young as 13 years old.     

PSJ & I and Integrated Justice

Information technology is changing the way we live and work. Government is not immune to this technology revolution. Emerging information technology now affords justice agencies the opportunity to work together in one integrated justice system. From dispatch and patrol, to arrest and booking, through the identification process and on into the courts, technology is allowing all segments of the justice community to work more efficiently and to work with both more information as well as more accurate information. IBM Corporation's Public Safety, Justice & Identification organization is playing an important role in assisting justice agencies in applying this new technology.In justice agencies around the world,computer aided dispatch and related systems allow more police officers to be where needed more rapidly. Mobile data systems for officers in the field allow them to gather and process information more quickly and accurately, and be back on patrol and available for another call more rapidly. Automated arrest and booking systems free up patrol officers more quickly so they can be back on patrol. These systemsalso allow the arrested person to be processed through the jail system more rapidly, by fewer people. In the courts, electronic case files, automatic document generation, automated scheduling and sophisticated programs for tracking court operations all mean more work can be accomplished faster, with greater accuracy and efficiency, without increased personnel. Most justice agencies today act as independent, yet interdependent entities. Their primary mode of communication is paper. Advances in information technology, together with the adoption of common technical standards and common business definitions, is now allowing justice agencies to integrate their operations by electronically sharing important information. It is through this integration process that justice agencies are making the term, 'justice system' a reality.     

The Consequences of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Stalking Victimisation

Stalking involves repeated unwanted communication, harassment, and intrusive behaviour. This brief report draws on a service evaluation undertaken immediately prior to and during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic creates a paradox when considering safety in the home, but it is important to recognise the dangers this presents to many victims of stalking. The information presented in this report is based on existing literature and early evidence from semi-structured interviews and discussions with 15 victims and six practitioners. Whilst lockdown measures might appear to be a time when victims are less accessible to their stalkers, early evidence from this study suggests that their vulnerability is increased. Technology has helped to facilitate stalking behaviours by providing stalkers with new approaches to control, humiliate, threaten and isolate their victims. Some lockdown restrictions have provided increased opportunities for stalkers to monitor their victims and the professional uncertainty and recognition around stalking has continued, coupled with delays in the criminal justice system. The COVID-19 crisis has reversed gains made by stalking victims and has imprisoned some victims in their homes making their whereabouts easier to monitor. Stalking behaviour has not ceased as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions and the risk of harm to victims remains significant. Effective practice, policy and legal responses are required for both the victims and perpetrators of stalking during the pandemic and afterwards.

     

The power of the ordinary subversive in Jackie Kay's <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trumpet</Emphasis>

In Jackie Kay's award-winning novel, Trumpet (1998), the main character Joss Moody, a celebrated jazz trumpet player, is discovered upon his death to be anatomically female. The essay traces both postmodern and humanist affirmations of constructions of self-hood. Situating Virginia Woolf's version of a metaphysical and escapist androgyny as one kind of aesthetic against the material politics of the transgendered subject, the essay argues that Kay's novel can be seen as part of a 20th century tradition of literature and film which satirizes, parodies and painfully exposes the discontinuities of dominant sex–gender systems. The essay ends by arguing that Kay also develops these systems by imbricating sex and gender within a series of dislocated familial, sexual and racial identities, beginning with the arrival of Joss's African father in Scotland at the beginning of the 20th century.     

Field-portable detection of fentanyl and its analogs: A review

The need to detect fentanyl and its analogs in the field is an important capability to help prevent unintentional exposure or overdose on these substances, which may result in death. Many portable methods historically used in the field by first responders and other field users to detect and identify other chemical substances, such as hazardous materials, have been applied to the detection and identification of these synthetic opioids. This paper describes field portable spectroscopic methods used for the detection and identification of fentanyl and its analogs. The methods described are automated colorimetric tests including lateral flow assays; vibrational spectroscopy (mid-infrared and Raman); gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; ion mobility spectrometry, and high-pressure mass spectrometry. In each case the background and key details of these technologies are outlined, followed by a discussion of the application of the technology in the field. Attention is paid to the analysis of complex mixtures and limits of detection, including the required spectral databases and algorithms used to interrogate these types of samples. There is also an emphasis on providing actionable information to the (likely) non-scientist operators of these instruments in the field.