Forensic child sexual abuse evaluations: assessing subjectivity and bias in professional judgements

Objectives

Evaluators examining the same evidence often arrive at substantially different conclusions in forensic assessments of child sexual abuse (CSA). This study attempts to identify and quantify subjective factors that contribute to such disagreements so that interventions can be devised to improve the reliability of case decisions.

Methods

Participants included 1106 professionals in the field of child maltreatment representing a range of professional positions or job titles and years of experience. Each completed the Child Forensic Attitude Scale (CFAS), a 28-item survey assessing 3 forensic attitudes believed to influence professional judgments about CSA allegations: emphasis-on-sensitivity (i.e., a focus on minimizing false negatives or errors of undercalling abuse); emphasis-on-specificity (i.e., a focus on minimizing false positives or errors of overcalling abuse); and skepticism toward child and adolescent reports of CSA. A subset of 605 professionals also participated in 1 of 3 diverse decision exercises to assess the influence of the 3 forensic attitudes on ratings of case credibility.

Results

Exploratory factor analysis identified 4 factors or attitude subscales that corresponded closely with the original CFAS scales: 2 subscales for emphasis-on-sensitivity and 1 each for emphasis-on-specificity and skepticism. Attitude subscale scores differed significantly by sample source (in-state trainings vs. national conferences), gender, years of experience, and professional position, with Child Protective Service workers unexpectedly more concerned about overcalling abuse and more skeptical of child disclosures than other professionals—a pattern of scores associated with an increased probability of disbelieving CSA allegations. The 3 decision exercises offered validation of the attitude subscales as predictors of professional ratings of case credibility, with adjusted R²s for the three exercises ranging from .06 to .24, suggesting highly variable effect sizes.

Conclusions

Evaluator disagreements about CSA allegations can be explained, in part, by individual differences in 3 attitudes related to forensic decision-making: emphasis-on-sensitivity, emphasis-on-specificity, and skepticism toward child reports of abuse. These attitudes operate as predispositions or biases toward viewing CSA allegations as likely true or likely false. Several strategies for curbing the influence of subjective factors are highlighted including self-awareness of personal biases and team approaches to assessment.     

基于二语教学的汉字构形理据量化研究

当前对外汉字教学大体可以分为"先语后文"、"语文并进"、"语文穿插"和"单独开设汉字课"四种模式。无论哪种模式,都可以利用汉字构形知识来强化教学效果。由于现阶段我们对现代汉字构形理据度缺乏总体认识,因而利用其进行汉字教学势必会受到局限。对外汉字教学现状要求我们对现代汉字的构形理据进行定性、定量研究。以《汉语水平词汇与汉字等级大纲》中2098个形声字为研究范围,选取可以统摄10字以上的51个部首及其下辖的1781个形声字为研究对象,进行汉字构形理据度分析,得到的理据度接近0.8。这样高的理据度若不在对外汉语字词教学中加以利用,是忽视了汉语、汉字的特色,也是一种教学资源的浪费。     

冀东经济区经济发展战略分析

冀东经济区是河北省新成立的一个经济区,河北省希望冀东新区成为本省经济增长的的另一个增长极。本文从冀东经济区成立的历史背景和战略意义出发,分析了冀东经济区发展的现状和存在的一些问题,试图寻找一条适合冀东经济区的区域经济发展战略,最后针对这一战略提出几点建议和措施。     

从翻译目的论角度重新思考严复“把翻译当创作”

在翻译目的论的观照下,翻译中的诸多因素,如译者的作用,接受者的角色以及原语文本的地位等都在这一新的理论视角中出现了新的意义,这些理论参数为我们重新思考、评价严复的"把翻译当创作"提供了一个新的视角,冰释我们心中诸多的疑团。     

多途径地渗透幼儿环保教育

幼儿园环保教育的目的是通过教育一个孩子,影响一个家庭,带动整个社会。     

新形势下的二外日语教学探索

在新形势下．为在有限的课时内高效开展二外日语教学,本文从课程设置、教材选编、学习意识、学习方法、教学形式、文化导入、网络利用等方面探讨了如何激发学生的学习积极性,强化学生的自学能力,提高教学效果,为学生的终身学习打下扎实的基础。     

对外汉语教学中传播中国文化的原则

我国对外汉语教学已经进入了一个新的时期,随着我国的国际地位提升,对外汉语教学任务日趋严重,传统的教学方式已经不能满足现有的需求,传播中国文化已经成为对外汉语教学中的重点。本文就在此基础上对对外汉语教学中传播中国文化的原则以及笔者本身的做法进行简单的叙述。     

The influence of informal social media practices on knowledge sharing and work processes within organizations

Contemporary information technologies such as social media have invigorated the way knowledge is shared within organizations to the extent that we have to rethink and reassess our understanding of the role and influence of technology in organizational processes and knowledge sharing. This paper uses the strategy as practice lens guided by the interpretivist philosophy to understand the influence of informal social media practices on knowledge sharing and work processes within an organization. The paper uses empirical evidence from the case study of a telecom organization in Tanzania to gain theoretical insight into informal social media practices and knowledge sharing. This research contributes to the Information Systems (IS) literature by asserting that organizational processes are achieved by mundane knowledge sharing mediated by informal social media use within the organization. Also, the study contributes to IS literature by highlighting how emerging informal practices are essential to daily processes within organizations.     

梁启超幼学教育思想的现代启示

梁启超是中国教育史上最早关注儿童教育的教育家之一,他在反思、批判中国传统儿童教育的同时,积极吸收西方先进的儿童教育理念,形成了自己的幼学教育思想。他重视幼学教育、严格教师质量,并且创新幼教方法,这些思想对于现代儿童启蒙教育具有深刻的启发意义。     

走向儿童主动建构的学习生活

儿童学习的本义在于主动建构,而非被动接受。主动建构,不仅反映了儿童积极主动参与学习的一种精神状态,而且也体现了儿童学习能力不断提升的一种渐进过程。无锡市洛社中心小学以课题研究为载体,以课堂教学、社团活动等为抓手,从理论与实践两个层面对儿童主动建构学习生活展开了研究与探索,有效促进了学生的成长、教师的发展以及学校办学品质的提升。