The intoxicated witness: Effects of alcohol on identification accuracy from showups.

The effect of alcohol on identification accuracy is potentially an important topic. This study examined the effects of alcohol consumption on identification accuracy from showups, the identification procedure most likely to be used by police with intoxicated witnesses. The blood alcohol level of people exposed to a target was measured. In the target-present showup condition, blood alcohol level was not significantly related to correct identification rate. In the target-absent showup condition, the higher the blood alcohol level, the more people were likely to make a false identification. Implications for law enforcement and future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postdictors of eyewitness errors: Can false identifications be diagnosed in the cross-race situation?

This research examined the relative ability of 3 postdictors of eyewitness accuracy (confidence, decision time, and relative vs. absolute judgment strategy) to postdict eyewitness accuracy in own-race versus other-race identifications. Participants (127 Asian, 121 White) were exposed to videotaped crimes and then asked to identify a White or Asian perpetrator from target-present or target-absent lineups. The postdictors correctly classified the accuracy of participants, who chose someone from the lineup in 67% of own-race cases (p?     

Multiple Independent Identification Decisions: A Method of Calibrating Eyewitness Identifications.

Two experiments (N = 147 and N = 90) explored the use of multiple independent lineups to identify a target seen live. In Experiment 1, simultaneous face, body, and sequential voice lineups were used. In Experiment 2, sequential face, body, voice, and clothing lineups were used. Both studies demonstrated that multiple identifications (by the same witness) from independent lineups of different features are highly diagnostic of suspect guilt (G. L. Wells & R. C. L. Lindsay, 1980). The number of suspect and foil selections from multiple independent lineups provides a powerful method of calibrating the accuracy of eyewitness identification. Implications for use of current methods are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NEWCLUST: An Algorithm for the Topological Design of Two-Level, Multidrop Teleprocessing Networks

A new heuristic algorithm for the design of multidrop teleprocessing networks with concentrators is presented. The algorithm selects a set of candidate concentrator locations by using a clustering procedure and then obtains the final concentrator locations by a "drop" routine. The use of the terminal clusters, called "super-nodes", instead of the terminals themselves, in the cost optimization procedure, yields designs having smaller costs and much smaller execution times compared to the ones obtained by two other well-known heuristics.     

Mug shot exposure prior to lineup identification: Interference, transference, and commitment effects.

The effects of viewing mug shots on subsequent identification performance are as yet unclear. Two experiments used a live staged-crime paradigm to determine if interpolated eyewitness exposure to mug shots caused interference, unconscious transference, or commitment effects influencing subsequent lineup accuracy. Experiment 1 (N =104) tested interference effects. Similar correct decision rates were obtained for the mug shot and no mug shot groups from both perpetrator-present and absent lineups. Experiment 2 (N =132) tested for commitment and transference effects. Results showed that the commitment group made significantly more incorrect identifications than either the control or the transference group, which had similar false-identification rates. Commitment effects present a serious threat to identification accuracy from lineups following mug shot searches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A risk-based approach to improve monitoring and performance of remote waste stabilisation ponds

A cost-effective risk-based system was developed for assessing the performance and potential environmental impact of a large number of geographically dispersed pond systems, where cost and logistical issues prevent direct monitoring. In the process, a range of risk functions were calculated for each site to take into account pond performance, receiving environment, influent quality, surrounding land use and system size. Pond performance was estimated using traditional design equations, including Monte Carlo analysis to account for uncertainty in boundary conditions. The calculation of combined risk functions for all systems enabled the quantitative ranking of systems, which can be used to prioritise limited sampling resources.     

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