Behavioural linking of stranger rapes

A sample of serial stranger rape cases ( n = 43) that had occurred in Finland during the years 1983–2001 were studied with the objectives being to: (a) describe the characteristics of the offenders; (b) explore the structure of serial rape; and (c) demonstrate behavioural linkage through an analysis of the offenders' crime scene behaviour using both multidimensional scaling (MDS) and discriminant function analysis (DFA). The material was content analysed with regard to the occurrence of a number of dichotomous variables. The inter‐relationships of the variables was studied using MDS. The analysis revealed two previously identified major modes of interaction with the victim: involvement and hostility. Employing MDS and DFA, it was shown that the offences of different offenders were distinguishable in terms of variation between the offences of different offenders and consistency within the offences of a single offender. Using DFA, the classification accuracy clearly exceeds that expected by chance, and 25.6% of the cases were classified without any error. The results are discussed in relation to their practical utility and previous studies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Job characteristics and burnout among aging professionals in information and communications technology

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between job characteristics and burnout, i.e., exhaustion, cynicism and lack of professional efficacy, in a sample of 115 (49- to 61-yr.-old) information and communications technology professionals. Questionnaire survey data were collected at two time points. In 1995 (Time 1), higher quantitative overload and lower job control were associated with higher exhaustion. Job control was negatively associated with lack of professional efficacy. In 2001 (Time 2), quantitative overload and information overload were positively associated with exhaustion, but with job control negatively. Use of new information was negatively associated with cynicism. In addition, job control and use of new information were negatively associated with lack of professional efficacy. Job characteristics at Time 1 were not significantly associated with burnout at Time 2 when job characteristics at Time 2 were controlled.     

Classifying homicide offenders and predicting their characteristics from crime scene behavior

A theoretical distinction between instrumental and expressive aggression was used in analyzing offender characteristics and their associations with crime scene actions in Finnish homicides. Twenty-one variables reflecting the offenders' criminal activity, previous relationships with intimates and victims, and general social and psychological adjustment were derived from files of single-offender/single-victim homicides occurring between 1980 and 1994 (n = 502). Additionally, three variables describing post-offense actions and police interview behavior were included. A multidimensional scaling procedure was used to investigate the interrelationships between the variables. A distinction between expressive and instrumental characteristics was observable in the empirical structure, which was divided into three subthemes of Instrumental, Expressive: Blood, and Expressive: Intimate. Associations between the characteristics with five previously identified subthemes of crime scene actions were computed. In addition, the subthemes of crime scene actions were related to post-offense actions and police interview behavior, with Expressive themes being associated with less denial as well as a greater likelihood of surrendering and confession. The practical usefulness for police investigations and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.     

Assessing the Truthfulness of Witness Statements Made by Children (Aged 7--8, 10--11, and 13--14) Employing Scales Derived from Johnson and Raye's Model of Reality Monitoring

The goal of this study was to determine whether children's true and false witness statements could be differentiated using the model of reality monitoring. The effects of age and verbal ability on scales based on the model were also investigated. Children (N = 68) from three different age-groups (7--8, 10--11, and 13--14 years) made both a true and a false statement concerning a mildly traumatic event. The statements were analysed using the Revised Memory Characteristics Questionnaire. The vocabulary sub-scale of the WISC-R was also administered. True statements were found to contain more sensory information and expressions of time, and less affective information. Overall, 64% of the statements were correctly classified on the basis of the scales. Older children received higher scores on most of the reality monitoring scales compared to the youngest children regardless of the truthfulness of their statements. Furthermore, the verbal ability of the children was positively associated with scores on several of the scales. The classification accuracy suggests that the model should not be applied to individual cases of child testimony. Although the final decision concerning the usefulness of the scales should be based on ecologically valid field studies.     

Before and after entering school: The development of attention and executive functions from 6 to 8 years in Finnish children

In this 2‐year prospective follow‐up study we examined typical and atypical development of attention and executive function (AEF) across the transition to school. The NEPSY‐battery was used to evaluate the AEFs of the children before school at 6 years of age. Two subgroups, typical AEF (n = 25) and atypical AEF (n = 25), were formed according to the performance in AEF tasks. Children were assessed again at 8 years, when they were at the 2nd grade. The same subtests of the NEPSY‐battery and the ATTEX behavioral rating completed by a teacher were used. The effects of AEF deficits were compared with and without controlling for IQ. The group effect was significant in four out of the six NEPSY subtests used. The atypical AEF group had problems especially on subtests measuring motor inhibition both at the age of 6 and 8. The group‐time interaction effect was found in the subtest measuring attentional shifting. A catch‐up effect on shifting skills was observed in the atypical AEF group by the age of 8 years. In school at the 2nd grade, the early AEF problems were still observable, and related especially to inattention problems. Our results support the interpretation that inhibitory problems are at the core of executive dysfunction, that the problems are stable from preschool to 2nd grade, and that the effects of early AEF problems go over and beyond intellectual deficits. Our results also support the use of performance based measures of inhibition as an important part of the neuropsychological evaluation for school readiness.     

SOME GOOD AND BAD NEWS FOR ETHICAL INTUITIONISM

The core doctrine of ethical intuitionism is that some of our ethical knowledge is non-inferential. Against this, Sturgeon has recently objected that if ethical intuitionists accept a certain plausible rationale for the autonomy of ethics, then their foundationalism commits them to an implausible epistemology outside ethics. I show that irrespective of whether ethical intuitionists take non-inferential ethical knowledge to be a priori or a posteriori , their commitment to the autonomy of ethics and foundationalism does not entail any implausible non-inferential knowledge in areas outside ethics (such as the past, the future, or the unobservable). However, each form of intuitionism does require a controversial stand on certain unresolved issues outside ethics.     

Development of the letter identity span in reading: evidence from the eye movement moving window paradigm

By means of the moving window paradigm, we examined how many letters can be identified during a single eye fixation and whether this letter identity span changes as a function of reading skill. The results revealed that 8-year-old Finnish readers identify approximately 5 characters, 10-year-old readers identify approximately 7 characters, and 12-year-old and adult readers identify approximately 9 characters to the right of fixation. Comparison with earlier studies revealed that the letter identity span is smaller than the span for identifying letter features and that it is as wide in Finnish as in English. Furthermore, the letter identity span of faster readers of each age group was larger than that of slower readers, indicating that slower readers, unlike faster readers, allocate most of their processing resources to foveally fixated words. Finally, slower second graders were largely not disrupted by smaller windows, suggesting that their word decoding skill is not yet fully automatized.     

Computer-assisted intervention for children with low numeracy skills

We present results of a computer-assisted intervention (CAI) study on number skills in kindergarten children. Children with low numeracy skill (n = 30) were randomly allocated to two treatment groups. The first group played a computer game (The Number Race) which emphasized numerical comparison and was designed to train number sense, while the other group played a game (Graphogame-Math) which emphasized small sets of exact numerosities by training matching of verbal labels to visual patterns and number symbols. Both groups participated in a daily intervention session for three weeks. Children's performance in verbal counting, number comparison, object counting, arithmetic, and a control task (rapid serial naming) were measured before and after the intervention. Both interventions improved children's skills in number comparison, compared to a group of typically performing children (n = 30), but not in other areas of number skills. These findings, together with a review of earlier computer-assisted intervention studies, provide guidance for future work on CAI aiming to boost numeracy development of low performing children.     

Using aspiration levels in an interior primal-dual multiobjective linear programming algorithm

We introduce in this paper a new multiple-objective linear programming (MOLP) algorithm. The algorithm is based on the single-objective path-following primal—dual linear programming algorithm and combines it with aspiration levels and the use of achievement scalarizing functions. The resulting algorithm falls in the class of interactive MOLP algorithms, as it requires interaction with the decision maker (DM) during the iterative process to obtain statements of aspirations for levels of objectives of the MOLP problem. The interior point algorithm is then used to trace a path of interates from a current (interior) solution and approach as closely as desired a non-dominated solution corresponding to the optimum of the achievement scalarizing function. The timing of the interaction with the DM is dependent on the progress of the interior algorithm. It can take place every few, pre-specified, iterations or after the duality gap achieved for the stated aspirations has fallen below a certain threshold. It is expected that an interior algorithm will speed up the overall process of searching and finding the most preferred MOLP solution—especially in large-scale problems—by avoiding the need for numerous pivot operations and their corresponding interactive sessions inherent in simplex-based algorithms.