Police Education Past and Present: Perceptions of Australian Police Managers and Academics

In an effort to modernise police organisations and professionalise policing, it is becoming increasingly common for police today to obtain formal university qualifications. Within the Australian context, the National Police Professionalism Implementation Advisory Committee (NPPIAC) recommended in 1990 that police pursue full professional status reflecting national education standards underpinned by university qualifications. This paper explores, from a national perspective, key stakeholders’ perceptions about police university education and professionalism. Forty in-depth interviews were carried out with police managers and academics occupying pivotal positions in police education from across Australia. Both police managers and academics had generally favourable views towards university education for police and working together in the delivery of policing courses. However, in contrast to the NPPIAC recommendations, perspectives about the professional status of police and the actual role of university education in police organisations, differed. In addition, there were a variety of views about imposing mandatory requirements on police to complete university courses. This paper is part of a larger study into university education for police managers and presents the preliminary findings of one phase of the study

Justification Mechanisms in the Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression and their Relation to Defense Mechanisms

The Conditional Reasoning Test for Aggression (CRT-A; James, 1998; James & McIntyre, 2000) is an inductive reasoning test designed to assess the extent to which individuals use implicit reasoning biases – known as justification mechanisms (JMs) – to justify engaging in behavioral aggression. James and colleagues (James, 1998; James & Mazerolle, 2002; James et al., 2005) have consistently described the CRT-A as an indirect measure of these implicit cognitions, or JMs, but they recently reframed their discussion of the test to emphasize its theoretical grounding in the concept of defense mechanisms (A. Freud, 1936/1966). In particular, they indicated that the JMs for aggression are influenced by the defense mechanism known as Rationalization (James et al., 2005). However, a close examination of the JMs for aggression reveals that they may also be influenced by a number of additional defense mechanisms. The main purposes of this paper are: 1) To demonstrate the theoretical consistency between defense mechanisms and the CRT-A, and 2) to empirically evaluate the extent to which the CRT-A and its JMs for aggression are related to specific, theoretically relevant defense mechanisms. The theory of ego defense is reviewed, the CRT-A is integrated into the framework of that theory, the JMs for aggression are aligned with specific defense mechanisms that appear similar in function and form, and hypotheses are developed to guide empirical tests of the proposed relations between the JMs for aggression (as assessed with the CRT-A) and those specific defense mechanisms (as assessed with both the Defense-Q [Davidson & MacGregor, 1996] and the MacORDS [MacGregor, Olson, Langford, Meterson, & Lahti, 2003]). Results were largely non-supportive of the hypotheses. In particular, none of the defense mechanisms under investigation (Rationalization, Projection, Grandiosity, Turning Against Others, Identification with the Aggressor, Devaluation, and Neurotic Denial) showed any relation to the CRT-A at the item level. Furthermore, only Grandiosity showed a somewhat consistent relationship with CRT-A scale scores, and even this was exceptionally small. Implications include the possibility that JMs for aggression are not as implicit/unconscious as once believed, and that the CRT-A’s predictive ability may be cogently explained in terms of the theory of threatened egotism (Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996)

Legislated Landscape: A Comparison of New Deal Farm Communities in Hattiesburg, McComb, and Tupelo, Mississippi

Government New Deal farm policies of the 1930s changed the realities of farming and the landscape in Mississippi. This research endeavors to compare three farm communities created by New Deal legislation in the state: Hattiesburg, McComb, and Tupelo. The economic crisis that was the Great Depression created a highly politicized environment as citizens looked to the government for economic relief. A crisis this severe would require an exceptional effort to mitigate the economic hardships it created, in varying degrees, for millions of Americans. The actions of the federal government during the Great Depression were an interesting mix of paternalism, desperation, and experimentation. The paternalism of the New Deal demonstrates, to a degree, the lack of economic and political leverage of the subjects of this study, tenant farmers and sharecroppers. Herein lies one of the significant implications of this research. How did these underrepresented constituents fare with regard to government policy? The federal government purchased land and chose people to inhabit subsistence farm communities. This interaction, dictated by factors such as location, government requirements, individual knowledge, and economic conditions, reshaped the landscape. The government\u27s creation of these communities and the individual homesteaders who participated left imprints on the landscape. My intent is to examine each of the three communities in the study area on the basis of variables which helped define them historically and to evaluate, to the extent possible, the changes wrought by this action on the contemporary landscape

An exploration of some factors which inhibit females from entering engineering and science vocational areas in East Yorkshire

The following thesis examines why many engineering and physical science vocational areas remain dominated by male candidates, and whether this trend is reversible. National figures support the fact that female school students currently out perform male students in almost all academic areas. It could therefore be anticipated that female students would have the pick of university, college, and training opportunities. However, female candidates remain reluctant to enter many science and engineering vocations, despite efforts to attract them. Figures provided by the Engineering Council (1995) show current female participation at around 15%, a figure confirmed by one of Britain's largest employers with a site in East Yorkshire.As females occupy about half the places at all educational establishments, the question must be asked, why is there a great reluctance for females to enter engineering and physical science professions. If one assumes that these chosen fields of study are not chosen at random, then whatever the reason for the decision, it is likely to be made during, or even before school years. To try to find the reason for these choices, this research thesis examines the decisions made by females at various stages of their time at school. Examination of ideas, beliefs, pressures, and selections in the 9 to 16 age group have been covered. The results of a literature review were then compared to the research findings.Are females aware of the opportunities that exist, or are they aware and have decided better opportunities lie elsewhere? The research reveals some of the reasons why there appears little motivation for female students to enter engineering and physical science vocational areas. The research also generates some conclusions which may provide a framework for producing future equality in these vocational fields

Accompagnement du changement en bibliothèques : une approche managériale (L\u27)

Mémoire de fin d\u27étude du diplôme de conservateur, promotion 22 portant sur les pratiques d\u27accompagnement au changement dans les bibliothèques dans un contexte de changement technologique, institutionnel et sociétal

Photoelastic investigation of the stresses in a capless connecting rod

For a great many years the primary method used to solve engineering problems was by the use of mathematics. However, rigorous and simple mathematical solutions are only possible if the geometry of the member and its loadings are relatively simple. When irregular shapes with complex loadings are encountered, rigorous mathematical solutions for stresses induced are either impossible or very cumbersome. In such cases, the engineer must resort to other methods which are available today. This paper attempts to show the application of the photoelastic method to such a problem. Moreover, it will show the comparative ease with which the designer can take a basic machine part, vary the dimensions, and in a short time arrive at some shape that will do the work, and do it well, by the use of the photoelastic method --Preface, page iii

The Caribbean Imaginary in Southern Women\u27s Literature

“The Caribbean Imaginary in Southern Women’s Literature” examines the U.S. South’s often contradictory approaches to viewing the Caribbean. While the image of the U.S. South has long been constructed by imagined fantasies, the southern authors in this project often thrust their own images onto the Caribbean imaginary. Throughout this project, I argue that over the past seventy years, the imperialist bent towards the Caribbean manifests in a variety of forms: media manipulation, patronage, fantasies, and nostalgia. At times, the Caribbean is seen as an imagined utopia full of potential, however this construction often erases the historical renderings of economic and political revolutions

A study of biometric authentication adoption in the credit union industry

Society has become more dependent on technology for identification purposes because the intimacy of a simple face to face acknowledgment of a person\u27s identity has become a thing of the past. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that influence the intent to adopt biometric authentication in organizations using the theory of adoption and diffusion of innovations. Using external pressure, readiness and perceived benefits, the research model measures the level of contribution that these factors make to the adoption of biometric authentication in the credit union financial services. Within the three main factors, the sub-factors that contribute to the model are competitive pressure, consumer pressure, regulatory pressure, innovativeness, top management support, consumer readiness, financial resources, and perceived benefits. Based on the sub-factors, the results indicate that the intent to adopt is driven by competitiveness and finances and not by the perceived benefits within the credit union industry