Exploring Online Sexually Explicit Material: What is the Relationship to Sexual Coercion?

With the popularity of the Internet, it is easy to access sexually explicit material. Past research has demonstrated that exposure to sexually explicit material in traditional formats (i.e. magazines and videos) may have an influence on male attitudes and behaviors towards females, but these effects appear to be minimal and dissipate over the long term. Though the body of literature examining Internet sexually explicit material is smaller, researchers have found little to no effects on attitudes or aggressive behaviors immediately after exposure. However, research regarding exposure to online sexually explicit material has not included forensically relevant variables. Previous research has suggested that undergraduate males who report engaging in sexually coercive or aggressive behaviors differ in terms of personality, attitudinal, and behavioral variables from individuals who do not report this type of behavior. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the same personality and attitudinal variables that have been studied in previous research, but to extend this research by including behavioral variables related to the viewing of online sexually explicit material. Male undergraduate students were provided with a link to take an online survey examining personality (empathy, sensation-seeking, and psychopathy), attitudinal (rape myth belief, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and hostility towards women) and behavioral (online sexual compulsivity and online behaviors with regard to sexual material) variables. The relationship between these variables and sexually coercive behavior was examined. Results indicate there is a significant relationship between some scales related to empathy and viewing sexually explicit or degrading material. Further results indicated that individuals who identified as having engaged in sexually aggressive behavior endorsed more items related to online sexually compulsive behaviors. Exploratory analyses revealed that the amount, as opposed to the type, of sexually explicit material viewed appears to be more related to adverse outcomes.

A NEW “PAROTRAP” ADAPTED FROM THE MAC TRAP FOR CAPTURING LIVE PARAKEETS IN THE FIELD

The Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri [Scopdi]) has been reported (Roberts, 1974; Bashir, 1978; Beg, 1978; and DeGrazio, 1978) as a serious bird pest of maize, sunflower, rape seeds, and fruit crops, particularly citrus, mangoes, and guavas, in Pakistan. Estimated annual losses to maize grown for seed alone amount to about 97,000 tons, worth about Pak. Rs. 150 million or US $15 million (Roberts, 1978). Paradoxically, this handsome bright green parakeet is highly esteemed in the pet trade; and limited numbers are also marketed locally and sometimes exported to neighboring countries, particularly the Arab Gulf Emirates, as caged pets. Traditional control methods aimed at scaring or chasing birds from the crops, usually with noise-making devices, are costly; furthermore, they have largely been unsuccessful and time consuming because they require human patrolling before and after normal working hours. They provide at best only temporary relief. The aim of this study was to develop a new decoy trap based on the Modified Australian Crow Trap (MAC), which we propose to call the PAROTRAP, and to evaluate its effectiveness and potential in capturing live parakeets in the field as a possible solution to the parakeet problem, as well as promoting the economic exploitation of trapped parakeets for the pet trade. The study was undertaken during March and June 1979 as a part of the UNDP/FAO Project No. PAK/71/554, assisting Pakistan Vertebrate Pest Control Centre in developing and improving control techniques to prevent or reduce bird damage to important crops. Our earlier trials showed that parakeets could be induced to enter a conventionally designed MAC trap, and that after some time they learned how to escape from it. Therefore, a series of minor modifications were introduced and field tested.