The Facets of Place

This chapter will outline one theory aimed at integrating aspects of environmental psychology with issues in architectural design. The theory to be reviewed is broad in those characteristics of theory that Moore (1987) called their 'form and scope'. This broad brush, top down approach is intended as a contrast with bottom up attempts to specify the behavioural effects of specific aspects of design, such as lighting levels or size of spaces. It also contrasts with models that seek to answer immediate design problems. However, in Moore's (1987) vocabulary, the theory to be outlined is more than an 'orientation', or 'framework'. It is an 'explanatory theory' that has been found to have considerable scope, open to direct empirical test

How Do We Know It Works? Approaches to the Evaluation of Complementary Medicine

Complementary medicine is a term used to cover a vast array of treatment procedures as wide ranging as aroma therapy, iridology, acupuncture, homeopathy and osteopathy. It is sometimes known as alternative or even folk medicine. These complementary therapies exist because people find them helpful. Research must, therefore, be directed at asking 'Who?' ,. 'What?', and 'How?'. In the following chapter ways of answering these questions are examined. Emphasis is given to the need for a variety of different research strategies and tactics. A preliminary outline of an overall approach which would hold together the strands in a fruitful way is proposed, based on facet Meta-Theory. In considering the emerging research prospect for the study of complementary medical practice it is important to clarify some initial premises. These provide a framework within which to consider a great variety of research possibilities. They also point towards areas of study that might not otherwise be apparent

A narrative approach to composition

Progress in utilising ideas from the study of narratives as an approach to composing is explored. The initial objective was to develop the technical skills for composing music drawing on different narrative forms. This investigated narrative as an innovative way of thinking about musical structure. As the compositions developed it became apparent how naïve that objective was. This thesis therefore explores the emergence of an understanding of the sequential structure that I find satisfying in my compositions. Six pieces, for various instrumentation, are presented as stages in the development of these explorations. The successes and failures of each of these pieces elucidate the strengths and weaknesses of different aspects of this narrative approach to contemporary music. In the early stages of these explorations the requirements of content (‘character’ in story telling) and form or structure (‘plot’ in narratives) emerge as fundamental challenges to the process of composing. These challenges are revealed in an early piece that attempts to reflect fundamental narrative themes. The extra-musical framework limits the success of the piece. Subsequent compositions start from more clearly musical origins with increasing success. They include explorations of how the form of a composition can encompass variations in texture as well as development of thematic material. The Stravinsky paradox that the abstract nature of instrumental music means it cannot refer to anything outside of the music itself, whilst the power of much music often comes from such external references, emerges as the central dilemma that my composing processes seek to resolve

Cognitive Bias in Line-Up Identifications: The Impact of Administrator Knowledge

Prior knowledge of the likely or expected outcome of a forensic investigation has been shown to produce biases in the results obtained, reducing objectivity. The wide prevalence of such cognitive biases in many judgments has long been recognised by social psychologists, but its importance is only now gaining appreciation within forensic science communities. It is therefore timely to draw attention to the power of cognitive biases found in a study of the influence of administrator expectations on photographic identifications. Data are presented to show that when a line-up administrator knows the identity and position of a target within a line-up choice, in which the ‘witness’ is ignorant of the actual target, that target is more than twice as likely to be selected compared with when the administrator is kept ‘blind’. These findings, taken together with related studies, support the recommendation that all forensic analyses are made ‘double-blind’—a method that has proven to be effective in reducing such effects within the social sciences

Levels and Variations of Violation in Rape.

This chapter investigates the variations in crime scene behaviour revealed in a sample of victim statements in cases of stranger sexual assault. Building on previous findings by Canter and Heritage (1990), and Canter (1994), it was hypothesised that there existed a scale of differing levels of violation by the offender. This scale, based upon actions in the offence, ranged from personal violation, through to physical violation and finally, at the most extreme level, sexual violation. Offences could also be differentiated at the personal and physical levels in terms of hostile, controlling, stealing or involving thematic emphases to the criminal’s actions. To test these hypotheses, crime scene data from the first detected offences of 112 British rapists were analysed using a multi-dimensional scaling procedure to explore the relationships amongst crime scene actions. The results provided empirical support for the four action themes as different expressions of various intensities of violation. The implications that these findings have for the investigation of stranger sexual assault and treatment of victims are discussed

Person Perception Aspects of Judgments of Truthfulness in Public Appeals

Although detection of deception accuracy rate has been researched extensively, the person perception components that are the basis for these judgments remain unclear. To explore this, 30 academics' person perceptions, as well as truthfulness judgment, of the individual presenting a televised appeal were measured using a 14-item scale. Twelve appeals (6 genuine and 6 false) for information regarding the whereabouts of a missing relative, or for information to apprehend the person who murdered their relative, were used. The person perception scale consisted of (1) global, abstract judgments (open, deceptive, genuine, trustworthy, and emotional) and (2) behavioural indices (facial pleasantness, facial animation, arousal, tension, involvement, verbal; consistency, plausibility and directness, and vocal certainty). Multiple regression identified person perceptions of openness, (non)deceptiveness, genuineness, trustworthiness, and verbal plausibility as significant predictors of truthfulness judgments. Future research should now explore the relationship of these person perception components of truth judgments to the accuracy