An examination of police officers' beliefs about how children report abuse

The aim of this study was to examine police officers’ beliefs about how children report abuse. Fifty-two officers read transcripts of nine interviews, which were conducted with actual children or adults playing the role of the child witness. Officers indicated whether they thought the interviews were with an actual child and justified their decisions. In-depth interviews were conducted to determine the reasons behind their decisions. Overall, officers’ decisions were no better than chance. When making these decisions, officers focused on three areas: whether they considered the child's language to be age-appropriate, whether they thought that the content of the statement was plausible, and whether they thought that the child had acted in a manner consistent with recollecting a traumatic event. The findings suggest that the characteristics officers rely on when evaluating children's statements of abuse are not reliable indicators. They suggest that officers’ beliefs about these statements need to be challenged during training to reduce the effects of those beliefs on their later decisions.

Improving police officers' perceptions of sexual offending through intensive training

We examined whether specialist police training on the dynamics of sexual offending can modify officers’ victim-blaming attitudes and negative perceptions regarding likely case authorization. The sample included 77 Australian police officers specialising in sexual assault investigation. The training, delivered face to face over 4 weeks, included focus on identifying elements of grooming in offending relationships and how these elements can be elicited from victims and suspects within a narrative interviewing framework. Officers’ perceptions of cases were assessed immediately pre- and posttraining using a series of case scenarios. For each scenario, officers rated (on a 10-point Likert-type scale) their confidence that the case should be authorised to proceed to prosecution and the responsibility attributable to the victim. For each case, officers also listed up to 5 factors to justify their case authorization decision. Overall, confidence in case authorization increased from pre- to posttraining, whilst perception of victim “responsibility” decreased. The pattern of results, including the qualitative evidence to justify officers’ decisions, support that the attitude change was due to greater understanding of the dynamics of sexual offending. The implications for police trainers, and directions for future research, are discussed.

Measuring walking within and outside the neighborhood in Chinese elders : reliability and validity

Background : Walking is a preferred, prevalent and recommended activity for aging populations and is influenced by the neighborhood built environment. To study this influence it is necessary to differentiate whether walking occurs within or outside of the neighborhood. The Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire (NPAQ) collects information on setting-specific physical activity, including walking, inside and outside one's neighborhood. While the NPAQ has shown to be a reliable measure in adults, its reliability in older adults is unknown. Additionally its validity and the influence of type of neighborhood on reliability and validity have yet to be explored. Methods : The NPAQ walking component was adapted for Chinese speaking elders (NWQ-CS). Ninety-six Chinese elders, stratified by social economic status and neighborhood walkability, wore an accelerometer and completed a log of walks for 7 days. Following the collection of valid data the NWQ-CS was interviewer-administered. Fourteen to 20 days (average of 17 days) later the NWQ-CS was re-administered. Test-retest reliability and validity of the NWQ-CS were assessed. Results : Reliability and validity estimates did not differ with type of neighborhood. NWQ-CS measures of walking showed moderate to excellent reliability. Reliability was generally higher for estimates of weekly frequency than minutes of walking. Total weekly minutes of walking were moderately related to all accelerometry measures. Moderate-to-strong associations were found between the NWQ-CS and log-of-walks variables. The NWQ-CS yielded statistically significantly lower mean values of total walking, weekly minutes of walking for transportation and weekly frequency of walking for transportation outside the neighborhood than the log-of-walks. Conclusions : The NWQ-CS showed measurement invariance across types of neighborhoods. It is a valid measure of walking for recreation and frequency of walking for transport. However, it may systematically underestimate the duration of walking for transport in samples that engage in high levels of this type of walking.

Australian police officers' perceptions of sex offender registries

Sex offender registration schemes exist in most English speaking countries to assist police in the investigation of new crimes and to deter known offenders. To date, however, very little research has examined the efficacy of these registers. This study addresses this issue by providing the first qualitative analysis of police officers' perceptions of registration schemes. Twenty-four Australian police professionals (whose jobs were primarily associated with the operation of sex offender registration schemes) participated in focus groups in groups of 2–5 officers. Officers were recruited across three jurisdictions where quite distinct registration schemes operated. They were asked to reflect on how their register operates, how effective and efficient it is, the challenges faced in its administration and how the registry process might be improved. The key challenges addressed included; limitations in risk assessment expertise, restriction in legislative powers, and inadequate opportunity for specialisation. The implications for current practice are discussed.

Church service: service marketing

XCITE Church is having difficulties in managing its operations due to financial constraints. Although attendance is growing, the church could not afford to employ a full-time staff, and an over-reliance on volunteers has had adverse effects on the quality of its services and its ability to attract new members. The pastor is contemplating idea of re-positioning the church to attract more resources and improve the overall quality of the church services.

The role of brand orientation in church participation: an empirical examination

Although a large amount of research has been undertaken into the application of marketing techniques in church organizations, few studies have provided empirical evidence on the effects of brand orientation on church participation. This empirical study sought to contribute to the body of literature via a survey of 344 church attendees of a particular church denomination in Australia. The conceptual model hypothesizes brand orientation as performing direct and indirect effects on church participation through perceived benefits as the mediating variables. A person's perception of the extent to which a church engages in brand-oriented activities and behavior is significantly related with his or her perception of the benefits associated with church activities, which then leads to a higher level of church participation. The results reveal that brand orientation is significantly related with perceived benefits and church participation.

Perceived market orientation and church participation

Over the recent years, the concept of market orientation has become an attractive avenue for research in marketing. However, despite an array of theories, a systematic framework investigating the role of market orientation in non-profit organizations remains limited. Through the integration of concepts from church participation and marketing literature, the study put forth a comprehensive model that describes the role of market orientation in church participation phenomenon. The study found support for the positive association between ‘perceived market orientation’ and respondents’ extent of participation in church-related activities.

Ageing in an ultra-dense metropolis: perceived neighbourhood characteristics and utilitarian walking in Hong Kong elders

Objective
The neighbourhood built environment may affect walking behaviour of elders. However, such effects remain underexplored, especially in an Asian context. We examined associations of perceived environmental attributes with overall and neighbourhood-specific walking for transport in a sample of Chinese elders residing in Hong Kong, an ultra-dense Chinese metropolis.

Design
Cross-sectional observational study using a two-stage stratified sampling strategy.

Setting
Hong Kong, China.

Subjects
Chinese-speaking elders (n 484), with no cognitive impairment and able to walk without assistance, residing in thirty-two selected communities stratified by socio-economic status and walkability, were interviewer-administered validated measures of perceived neighbourhood environment and walking for transport.

Results
Much higher levels of transport-related walking (mean 569 (sd 452) min/week) than found in Western samples were reported. The degree of perceived access to shops, crowdedness, presence of sitting facilities and easy access of residential entrance were independently positively related to both frequency of overall and within-neighbourhood walking for transportation. Infrastructure for walking and access to public transport were predictive of higher frequency of transport-related walking irrespective of location, while the perceived degree of land-use mix was predictive of higher levels of within-neighbourhood walking.

Conclusions
The provision of easy access to shops, residential entrances and sitting facilities in the neighbourhood may promote overall transport-related walking, while a good public transport network and pedestrian infrastructure linking destination-poor with destination-rich locations may compensate for the detrimental effects of living in less walkable neighbourhoods. Governmental investment in these micro- and macro-environmental features would help the promotion of an active lifestyle in elders.