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PubMed1994

Plundered kitchens and empty wombs: fear of infertility in the Cameroonian grassfields.

In Bangangté, a Bamiléké kingdom in the Grassfields of Cameroon, local understandings of reproductive illness contrast with standard demographic indicators of high fertility in this region. Bangangté are preoccupied with threats to reproductive health. This article explores the culinary metaphors of building kitchens, choosing, measuring, and mixing ingredients, and slow and skillful cooking in Bangangté notions of procreation and infertility. The violent imagery of plundered kitchens, cannibalistic witchcraft, and theft permeates Bangangté women's accounts of infertility and child loss. The analysis suggests that infertility anxiety in Bangangté reflects women's feelings of vulnerability in the context of rural female poverty and the gender-specific consequences of political change in Cameroon.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1986

Relative abuse of diazepam and oxazepam: prescription forgeries and theft/loss reports in Sweden.

Results of previous laboratory studies in humans suggest that the benzodiazepine diazepam has greater abuse liability than the benzodiazepine oxazepam. The validity of these laboratory-based experimental data were examined by analyzing Swedish data on drug abuse. Sales and prescription data showed that use of diazepam was somewhat lower than oxazepam, but of the same general order of magnitude (0.8:1). Prescription data showed that the drugs were prescribed for the same diagnostic indications. After adjustment for differences in use, 'prescription forgeries' and 'mentions in theft and loss reports' were found to be more frequent for diazepam than for oxazepam (2.3:1 and 2.5:1 for forgeries and theft/loss reports, respectively). This effect was consistent for each year examined (1982, 1983, 1984) and occurred when the data were recalculated to exclude Valium, the original and most widely known brand of diazepam. Finally, this pattern with prescription forgeries occurred across different geographical regions in Sweden (1982, 1983).

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed2006

Finger pulse waveform length in the detection of concealed information.

An attempt was made to assess the efficiency of the finger pulse waveform length (FPWL), in detection of concealed information. For this purpose, two mock-theft experiments were designed. In the first, 40 guilty participants were examined while electrodermal, respiration and finger pulse volume were recorded. Results showed that detection accuracy with the FPWL was at least as good as the accuracy obtained with the other two measures (respiration changes and skin conductance responses). Detection efficiency was further improved when a combination of FPWL with the other two measures was used. In the second experiment, 39 guilty and 23 innocent participants were instructed to deny knowledge while the transducers were not attached to them. Then, the same questions were repeated while electrodermal, respiration and finger pulse volume were recorded. Results showed reduced rates of identification compared to the first experiment, which were explained by habituation. However, finger pulse was less affected by habituation than both respiration and skin conductance. Results suggested that the FPWL might be a useful addition to the existing measures in the detection of concealed information.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Assessment and reduction of food stealing in Prader-Willi children.

A common behavior problem among Prader-Willi children is inappropriate foraging for food. Theft and subsequent consumption often go undetected and contribute to morbid obesity in many of these individuals. In this study an observational methodology was developed to assess food stealing in two children with Prader-Willi syndrome. The children were observed to steal food at a high rates under baseline conditions in three hospital settings. Subsequent treatment, based on differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO), consisted of reinforcement of nonstealing at the end of progressively lengthening intervals, and was implemented in multiple baseline fashion across both subjects and settings. Results showed that both subjects' stealing rapidly ceased in treated settings, but failed to show generalization to untreated settings. Follow-up data collected in one setting after termination of active intervention reflected continued nonoccurrence of food stealing, although long-term weight data were not encouraging. Results are discussed in terms of their methodological contribution to the study and treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1997

Adolescent alcohol use development and young adult outcomes.

This study used latent growth modeling to examine the effects of level of alcohol use and development of alcohol use during adolescence, on young adult outcomes for males and females. Adolescents (N = 480; mean = 13.03 years, S.D. = 1.44; 264 female) were assessed annually over a 4-year period and then 5-6 years later in young adulthood (mean = 22.49 years, S.D. = 1.50). Chronicity of alcohol use in adolescence was related to higher alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, aggressive behavior, theft, and suicide ideation in young adulthood among both males and females. Development of alcohol use during adolescence was related to alcohol-related problems in young adulthood for males and females, and to higher levels of alcohol use and aggressive behavior for males only. The results indicate that development of alcohol use as well as level of alcohol use in adolescence is important for future adjustment outcomes, and that these relationships vary as a function of gender.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Property crime victims' decision to notify the police: social, cognitive, and affective determinants.

Previous research suggests that 3 general processes underlie the decision of property crime victims to notify the police: One that is cognitively driven by reward/cost considerations, one that is affectively driven, and another that is socially driven. This study is the first to employ a community sample of crime victims to compare the 3 processes within a single study. Computer-assisted interviews were conducted with 422 property crime victims (n = 129 burglary, n = 293 theft) located via a random digit dialing procedure. Logistic regression analyses showed that each process independently accounted for a significant amount of the variance in victim reporting, and that there were no interactions among the three processes in predicting reporting. Of the 3 processes, social influence was the best predictor of reporting. Analysis of the affect-driven process showed that reporting was primarily a function of the level of fear rather than anger or the level of generalized arousal upon discovering the crime.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Why people waive their Miranda rights: the power of innocence.

In a laboratory experiment, 72 participants who were guilty or innocent of a mock theft were apprehended for investigation. Motivated to avoid prosecution and trial, they were confronted by a neutral, sympathetic, or hostile male "detective" who sought a waiver of their Miranda rights. Later, 72 other participants watched videotapes of these sessions and answered questions about the detective and suspect. Strikingly, results showed that although the detective's demeanor had no effect, participants who were truly innocent were significantly more likely to sign a waiver than those who were guilty. Naively believing in the power of their innocence to set them free, most waived their rights even in the hostile detective condition, where the risk of interrogation was apparent. The conceptual and policy implications of these results are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The ability to detect deceit generalizes across different types of high-stake lies.

The authors investigated whether accuracy in identifying deception from demeanor in high-stake lies is specific to those lies or generalizes to other high-stake lies. In Experiment 1, 48 observers judged whether 2 different groups of men were telling lies about a mock theft (crime scenario) or about their opinion (opinion scenario). The authors found that observers' accuracy in judging deception in the crime scenario was positively correlated with their accuracy in judging deception in the opinion scenario. Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1, as well as P. Ekman and M. O'Sullivan's (1991) finding of a positive correlation between the ability to detect deceit and the ability to identify micromomentary facial expressions of emotion. These results show that the ability to detect high-stake lies generalizes across high-stake situations and is most likely due to the presence of emotional clues that betray deception in high-stake lies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Some effects of alcohol on eyewitness memory.

Male volunteers (N = 120) in small groups of 5 to 10 watched a staged theft involving live actors. Some (n = 47) were under the influence of alcohol (average blood alcohol level of .10) at the time. Some subjects (n = 58) were interviewed immediately after the event, and all were interviewed 1 week later. The delayed interview included the presentation of a photospread that either did or did not contain the picture of the "thief." Alcohol suppressed the amount recalled during the immediate interview and both the amount and accuracy of recall after the 1-week delay. Alcohol had no influence on the ability of witnesses to recognize the thief's picture. When the thief's picture was not present in the photospread, however, alcohol increased the rate of false identifications. An immediate interview substantially improved the amount of information subjects were able to recall 1 week later.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Eating rough: food sources and acquisition practices of homeless young people in Adelaide, South Australia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the food sources and acquisition practices used by homeless youth in Adelaide. This work is part of a larger study that aimed to examine the extent and nature of food insecurity among homeless youth. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design involving quantitative and qualitative methods. SETTING: Four health and welfare inner-city agencies serving homeless youth in Adelaide, South Australia. SUBJECTS: A sample of 150 homeless youth aged between 15 and 24 years recruited from these agencies. Fifteen were selected via snowball sampling for interview. RESULTS: Use of welfare food sources was high (63%). Food from welfare agencies was supplemented by unorthodox food acquisition methods such as theft (65%), begging for money for food (61%), begging for food items (44%) and asking for help from friends and relatives (34%). Reasons given for non-usage of welfare food services included affordability, access, being too busy, shame or embarrassment. CONCLUSIONS: Food insecurity is a salient issue for some homeless youth in Adelaide. Clarifying food acquisition practices of food-insecure homeless youth is essential for rational planning and improvement of food-related services to meet their needs. Such an understanding also underpins the development of broader public policy responses that improve individual and household skills and resources to acquire food and ensure food security. Nutrition professionals, welfare professionals and policy-makers need to work sensitively with welfare food agencies and others to improve food access and food security for homeless youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

The middle-class family and middle-class adolescents in a state of disarray: a social-psychiatric analysis.

Because mental health professionals tend to focus their attention on the complex of factors involved in the provision of psychotherapeutic and related services, they often do not give primary attention to the serious instabilities afflicting marriage and family among the middle class and are insufficiently aware of parents' deficiencies in rearing their children well. Moreover, they frequently underestimate the increasing prevalence of character defects and disorders and the acting-out problems they cause among middle-class adolescents and youths, who are widely involved in sexual activity, drug use, and theft and whose educational performance has sharply declined. Using a social-psychiatric perspective, this paper discusses the major sociocultural factors that greatly influence the problems straining and breaking up marriage and family among the middle class. It also examines the reasons for parental inadequacies that contribute heavily to their children's becoming impulse-dominated and involved in self-impairing and socially harmful problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed1995

Workplace deviance among nurses. The influence of work group norms on drug diversion and/or use.

This analysis attempts to integrate sociological and nursing perspectives regarding on-the-job drug theft and/or use by nurses. Specifically, it uses interview data, collected from 25 practicing nurses, to illustrate the link between work group norms and these forms of nursing deviance. These data suggest that informal work group norms often differ from formalized administrative guidelines. Under these circumstances, work group norms consistently take precedence and thus, serve to shape nurses' behaviors.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

EEG antecedents of thievery.

In Gothenburg studies using clinical and electroencephalographic techniques have been undertaken continuously since 1958 on a large number of individuals of all ages. All individuals studied were without impairment to the central nervous system, according to a number of well-defined defined clinical criteria, and were termed normal. The term "normal" is used primarily because it is short. As part of the continued investigation, information has been gathered from social bureaus in Gothenburg and from federal registers. It was observed that youths and children who were found guilty of theft showed EEG abnormalities of some kind (in the EEGs taken several years earlier) statistically significantly more often than other youths and children belonging to our normal material. Among the characteristics discovered by EEG can be noted paroxysmal activity during sleep, slow alpha activity and spectral-analytical measurements corresponding to lower EEG ages than the individuals' actual ages.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Regulation of firearm dealers in the United States: an analysis of state law and opportunities for improvement.

Firearms were associated with 30, 136 deaths in the United States in 2003. Most guns are initially sold to the public through a network of retail dealers. Licensed firearm dealers are an important source of guns for criminals and gun traffickers. Just one percent of licensed dealers were responsible for more than half of all guns traced to crime. Federal law makes it difficult for ATF to inspect and revoke the licenses of problem gun dealers. State licensing systems, however, are a greatly under-explored opportunity for firearm dealer oversight. We identify and categorize these state systems to identify opportunities for interventions to prevent problem dealers from supplying guns to criminals, juveniles, or gun traffickers. Just seventeen states license gun dealers. Twenty-three states permit routine inspections of dealers but only two mandate that those inspections occur on a regular basis. Twenty-six states impose record-keeping requirements for gun sales. Only thirteen states require some form of store security measures to minimize firearm theft. We conclude with recommendations for a comprehensive system of state licensing and oversight of gun dealers. Our findings can be useful for the coalition of more than fifty U.S. mayors that recently announced it would work together to combat illegal gun trafficking.

Commerce↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of CT in detection of internal damage and repair and determination of authenticity in high-quality bowed stringed instruments.

Computed tomography (CT) was used to evaluate 17 high-quality violins and cellos crafted between 1633 and 1872 by master craftsmen such as Guarneri, Amati, and Stradivari. Multiple high-resolution CT scans were obtained in each instrument, and additional scans were obtained when defects or repair was detected. Varying degrees of internal damage (eg, wormholes, air gaps, plastic deformities of wood) or repair (eg, glue lines, filler material, wooden cleats and patches) not seen at visual inspection were detected in all 17 instruments. In addition, CT allowed noninvasive identification of the internal wood grain pattern unique to each instrument, thereby facilitating verification of authenticity to help protect against loss, theft, or forgery. The information provided by CT analysis of valuable bowed stringed instruments may prove useful to prospective buyers or to insurance companies that specialize in insuring such instruments against accidental loss or damage.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed1981

A study of homicide: the validity of predictive test factors.

This study is a retrospective comparison of the psychological test findings within four groups, including 61 murderers, 42 assaulters, 71 perpetrators of theft, and 24 unemployed non-criminal controls. Psychological test findings did not discriminate very well among these groups. Some purported hostility scales, such as the Elizur Hostility Scale, the DeVos Hostility Scale, and Megargee's Overcontrolled-Hostility Scale, did not discriminate at all. The 16 Personality-Factor Questionnaire was particularly unhelpful, rating all four groups as having above-average emotional stability, One must conclude that individual psychological test factors are of little value in predicting violent behaviour. Further research is being undertaken to separate the murder group into motivational sub-categories.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Legal gambling and crime.

In the 48 contiguous continental states in 1990, the total number of gambling activities was associated with robbery and motor vehicle theft rates. Controls for other social variables eliminated these associations.

Gambling↗
PubMed1984

Trends in the commission of crime among narcotic addicts over successive periods of addiction and nonaddiction.

Although several studies have documented high levels of criminal activity among narcotic addicts, especially during periods of active addiction, few studies have delineated the types of criminal activities involved or have attempted to uncover trends in such activities over successive periods of addiction and nonaddiction in addicts' careers. In the present series of analyses, the criminal activities of 354 male narcotic addicts were categorized and traced individually over time using five, standardized, crime-days-per-year-at-risk measures in the areas of theft, violence, drug sales, deception/forgery, and other crimes. In addition, a sixth composite measure was also employed. Although large differences among addicts in patterns of criminal activity over time were much in evidence and may be useful as a basis for a criminal typology, this same heterogeneity tends to preclude definitive statements concerning addicts as a group. This caveat notwithstanding, there does appear to be a general tendency for criminal activity to diminish over successive periods of nonaddiction and to increase irregularly over successive periods of addiction. The agreement of these findings with those of earlier group analyses by the authors is discussed.

Adult↗