Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on forensic risk assessment.

Risk assessment instruments are used to estimate risk of recidivism and aid in decision-making and treatment planning. However, many of these instruments, including the Level of Service/Risk, Need, Responsivity (LS/RNR), are validated on predominantly Western populations, and research has questioned whether the factors included in the LS/RNR adequately capture the experiences and needs of non-Western communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The current study aimed to canvas the opinions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community justice workers as to the suitability of the LS/RNR for use with this population. A general qualitative methodology was adopted to gain in-depth information through the facilitation of a focus group, and data were analysed thematically. Whilst participants agreed that the LS/RNR risk factors are relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders, they reported that the instrument did not adequately capture relevant culturally specific considerations and made suggestions to improve the LS/RNR.

Occupational violence and aggression in urgent and critical care in rural health service settings: A systematic review of mixed studies.

Rural/remote health services are vulnerable to occupational violence and aggression due to factors such as weapon accessibility, poor network coverage and distance to backup. This systematic review investigated (1) the nature of occupational violence and aggression perpetrated in rural/remote health service urgent care settings and (2) the availability and effectiveness of policies/interventions/recommendations that address occupational violence and aggression in this context. We searched Business Source Complete, CINAHL Complete, Health & Society, APAIS Health, Health Collection, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, SocIndex and Web of Science. Included articles (peer-reviewed, no grey literature and English language) addressed occupational violence and aggression in rural health service urgent care settings. Fifteen articles matched these criteria (total [rural/remote only, where specified] N ~ 2555) and were included in the final analysis. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was applied to assess the risk of bias. A data extraction table and narrative synthesis are presented. The most common occupational violence and aggression type was verbal aggression. The primary perpetrator was patients. Risk factors reflected practitioner age, remoteness, sector, staffing, shift type and area of practice. Precipitating factors were alcohol/drugs, dissatisfaction and mental health conditions. Policy content and limitations and education/training programme effectiveness were not addressed. Community collaboration supported occupational violence and aggression prevention/management. Organisational culture should promote reporting, debriefing and post-incident care for staff well-being. Work environment and job/task design are priorities for safety, but with possible limitations for traumatised clients. Occupational violence and aggression policies/interventions in rural health settings must be systematically evaluated to inform best practices. Co-funded by Swinburne Social Innovation Research Institute Interdisciplinary Seed Funding Scheme and SMART Rural Health Network.

International perspectives on procedural justice: Trust and respect matter even when body-worn cameras are present.

OBJECTIVE(S): We assessed the impact of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in two countries on perceptions of everyday encounters with police, independent of officer respectfulness and participants' preexisting trust in police. HYPOTHESES: We expected BWC presence, officer respectfulness, and preexisting trust in police to all significantly improve individuals' perceptions of a police encounter. We also expected interactions indicating that BWC presence and preexisting trust in police reduce the effect of officer respectfulness on perceptions of the encounter. METHOD: In each of three experimental studies, we measured participants' preexisting trust in police, and then presented participants with a vignette describing an encounter with a police officer in which officer respectfulness (respectful, disrespectful) and the presence/disclosure of a BWC (absent, present and disclosed by officer, present but undisclosed by officer) were independently manipulated. In Studies 1 (N = 422, Mage = 29 years, 73% women, 68% Australian) and 2 (N = 210, Mage = 19 years, 64% women, 59% Hispanic) in Australia and the United States, respectively, participants assumed the role of the driver in a traffic stop as they read the vignette. In study 3 (N = 504, Mage = 29 years, 72% women, 34% English), participants in Australia assumed the role of a citizen interacting with a police officer enforcing COVID-related restrictions. Participants then recorded their perceptions of procedural justice of and satisfaction with the encounter, legitimacy of the police, and willingness to co-operate with police. RESULTS: Across three studies and two countries, we found no support for the notion that BWC presence influenced people's perceptions of police-citizen interactions independent of officer respectfulness and preexisting trust. CONCLUSION: The effect of BWC presence, established in prior research, might operate via its effect on officer respectfulness. These findings underscore the importance of preexisting trust in police and respectful behavior by police officers, even in BWC-recorded encounters. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Jury decision-making: the impact of engagement and perceived threat on verdict decisions.

The present study examined the role of political orientation and task engagement in juror decision-making. The study was conducted as a 2 (mode: laboratory versus online) × 2 (role: juror, observer) × 3 (evidence: admissible, inadmissible, control) between-subjects experiment, with participants (N = 157) recruited from a mid-sized Australian university. Findings supported our predictions that political conservatism is associated with convictions, and that university students endorse a wide range of political orientations. Participants who were more engaged in the study perceived more threat in the defendant, and threat, in turn, led to higher conviction rates; furthermore, the effect of participation mode on verdict decisions was completely mediated by perceptions of the threat posed by the defendant. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for jury decision-making research and its relevance to actual juror decisions.

The challenge of cultural competence in the workplace: perspectives of healthcare providers.

BACKGROUND: Cross-cultural educational initiatives for professionals are now commonplace across a variety of sectors including health care. A growing number of studies have attempted to explore the utility of such initiatives on workplace behaviors and client outcomes. Yet few studies have explored how professionals perceive cross-cultural educational models (e.g., cultural awareness, cultural competence) and the extent to which they (and their organizations) execute the principles in practice. In response, this study aimed to explore the general perspectives of health care professionals on culturally competent care, their experiences working with multi-cultural patients, their own levels of cultural competence and the extent to which they believe their workplaces address cross-cultural challenges. METHODS: The perspectives and experiences of a sample of 56 health care professionals across several health care systems from a Mid-Western state in the United States were sourced via a 19-item questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised both open-ended questions and multiple choice items. Percentages across participant responses were calculated for multiple choice items. A thematic analysis of open-ended responses was undertaken to identify dominant themes. RESULTS: Participants largely expressed confidence in their ability to meet the needs of multi-cultural clientele despite almost half the sample not having undergone formal cross-cultural training. The majority of the sample appeared to view cross-cultural education from a 'cultural awareness' perspective - effective cross-cultural care was often defined in terms of possessing useful cultural knowledge (e.g., norms and customs) and facilitating communication (the use of interpreters); in other words, from an immediate practical standpoint. The principles of systemic cross-cultural approaches (e.g., cultural competence, cultural safety) such as a recognition of racism, power imbalances, entrenched majority culture biases and the need for self-reflexivity (awareness of one's own prejudices) were scarcely acknowledged by study participants. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate a need for interventions that acknowledge the value of cultural awareness-based approaches, while also exploring the utility of more comprehensive cultural competence and safety approaches.

Racial and cultural minority experiences and perceptions of health care provision in a mid-western region.

BACKGROUND: Disparities across a number of health indicators between the general population and particular racial and cultural minority groups including African Americans, Native Americans and Latino/a Americans have been well documented. Some evidence suggests that particular groups may receive poorer standards of care due to biased beliefs or attitudes held by health professionals. Less research has been conducted in specifically non-urban areas with smaller minority populations. METHODS: This study explored the self-reported health care experiences for 117 racial and cultural minority Americans residing in a Mid-Western jurisdiction. Prior health care experiences (including perceived discrimination), attitudes towards cultural competence and satisfaction with health care interactions were ascertained and compared across for four sub-groups (African-American, Native American, Latino/a American, Asian American). A series of multiple regression models then explored relationships between a concert of independent variables (cultural strength, prior experiences of discrimination, education level) and health care service preferences and outcomes. RESULTS: Overall, racial/cultural minority groups (African Americans, Native Americans, Latino/a Americans, and Asian Americans) reported general satisfaction with current healthcare providers, low levels of both health care provider racism and poor treatment, high levels of cultural strength and good access to health care services. Native American participants however, reported more frequent episodes of poor treatment compared to other groups. Incidentally, poor treatment predicted lower levels of treatment satisfaction and racist experiences predicted being afraid of attending conventional health care services. Cultural strength predicted a preference for consulting a health care professional from the same cultural background. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a rare insight into minority health care expectations and experiences in a region with comparatively lower proportions of racial and cultural minorities. Additionally, the study explored the impact of cultural strength on health care interactions and outcomes. While the bulk of the sample reported satisfaction with treatment, the notable minority of participants reporting poor treatment is still of some concern. Cultural strength did not appear to impact health care behaviours although it predicted a desire for cultural matching. Implications for culturally competent health care provision are discussed within.

Bioengineering microbial communities: Their potential to help, hinder and disgust.

The bioengineering of individual microbial organisms or microbial communities has great potential in agriculture, bioremediation and industry. Understanding community level drivers can improve community level functions to enhance desired outcomes in complex environments, whereas individual microbes can be reduced to a programmable biological unit for specific output goals. While understanding the bioengineering potential of both approaches leads to a wide range of potential uses, public acceptance of such technology may be the greatest hindrance to its application. Public perceptions and expectations of "naturalness," as well as notions of disgust and dread, may delay the development of such technologies to their full benefit. We discuss these bioengineering approaches and draw on the psychological literature to suggest strategies that scientists can use to allay public concerns over the implementation of this technology.

Effects of victim presence and coercion in restorative justice: An experimental paradigm.

There is little experimental work examining the ways in which particular procedural features of restorative justice impact offenders. This research describes a new experimental paradigm designed to advance knowledge about causal relationships in restorative justice settings. Apologizing is a core component of restorative procedures, and can result in beneficial outcomes, but previous research suggests that coercion to apologize and the absence of victims in restorative procedures may negatively impact these outcomes. The experimental procedure elicited confessions and apologies for a transgression from participants (N = 101) in a deceptive paradigm. We manipulated coercion (coerced, not coerced) and victim presence (direct, surrogate, ambiguous) to test their effects on offenders' subjective experiences of offering an apology, as well as their effects on the quality of offenders' apologies. Findings indicated that the victim presence and coercion manipulations significantly impacted some of the subjective perceptions of apologizers, including perceptions of accountability and transgression finality. In addition, independent raters evaluated the degree to which the transgressor's apologies conveyed remorse, acceptance of guilt, and potential for dispute resolution. Victim presence and coercion consistently affected the ability of transgressors to convey high quality apologies. Implications for future research and restorative procedures are discussed.