Three studies addressed tunnel vision in industrial incident investigation. Study 1 surveyed professional investigators regarding how prior knowledge affects their investigative conclusions. Studies 2 and 3 experimentally explored the true impact of a priori information on investigative behaviour as well as the effectiveness of a debiasing intervention. Findings from Study 1 demonstrate that investigators typically know the people, position and equipment involved in the industrial event and they perceive this information as largely beneficial in their investigations. Study 2 (undergraduates) and Study 3 (professional investigators) employed a mock industrial investigation and found that prior knowledge about worker or equipment safety biased undergraduate- and professional-investigators’ responses. However, bias was effectively reduced with “tunnel vision education.” Professional investigators demonstrated a greater sophistication in their investigative decision making compared to undergraduates. The similarities and differences between undergraduate and professional responding are discussed. / Graduate / 0451 / 0633 / 0624

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Virgil Suarez, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 12, 2005).

Medicolegal death investigators (MDIs) are a crucial part of the death investigation process but the profession remains unregulated and lacks a required accreditation or licensing process that many other professions use. Research shows the current medicolegal death investigations system, though a crucial government function, has existing deficits in its functionality that affect service delivery. The current study was based on an educational theory and utilized open ended survey questions. Data from 16 investigators was collected through surveys where relevant information was asked in the context of their situation and questions were specific to the phenomenon being studied. The data was analyzed by identifying individual and group descriptions of the experience to understand the overall meaning of their experience. The investigators interviewed had different experiences and varying beliefs in the importance of their role as an investigator. They were confident in their roles and provided detailed descriptions of their responsibilities. Additionally, investigators do not appear to have any direct issues due to educational differences but did embrace their roles as death investigators with a desire toward ensuring both their personal safety and that of society. Although many have acquired training as a result of their employment, they did not feel that the lack of prior training was a hindrance. This study contributes to the literature by providing data for consideration when developing regulations promoting standards within the system. This includes the health and safety of medicolegal death investigators and filling the gap of recognizing the need for standardized regulations by identifying the need for uniform training and safety practices.

The purpose of this study was to explore the practices, perceptions, and operations of agricultural crime units. To date, there has been little research conducted on policing agricultural crimes and no known research on units specializing in investigating them. The study utilizes data gathered from qualitative interviews with agricultural crime investigators across several states to fill this gap in the literature. The results allow for an examination of the fundamental practices of agricultural units, their perceptions and their experiences. In addition, they point to several implications for both policy and practice that may serve to guide our efforts to combat the problem.

This work examines the significance of drugs in Victorian stories of detection through a selection of detective fiction published between the years 1860 and 1890. The main purpose of the work is to show how these texts make a specific link between drugs and detection, and use this link to engage themselves in questions concerning reading and the consumption of fiction. I wish to argue, first, that drugs play a significant role in Victorian detective stories as a device to produce a sense of mystery and excitement in these texts. Secondly, I shall hope to show how this is achieved especially by presenting detection as having the drug-like qualities of intoxication and addiction. And thirdly, I shall examine how this particular characterisation of detection evokes a conception of detective fiction as a drug and invites the reader to consider her experience of reading in terms of an experience of drugs. In short, drugs, in these narratives, do not appear as a mere theme or a plot element, but can be seen to affect the very narrative form and structure of the fiction.

Barnperspektiv är ett begrepp vilkets innebörd och mening har utvecklats genom åren. Vår studie syftade till att undersöka några familjerättssekreterares upplevelser och erfarenheter av hur barnperspektivet tillvaratas inom det familjerättsliga arbetet. Detta genom halvstrukturerade intervjuer med fyra familjerättssekreterare från en mellanstor kommun i Sverige. Familjerättssekreterarna menade att barnperspektivet har stärkts genom åren, men att det fortfarande finns delar att utveckla, exempelvis vad gäller barns röst och delaktighet. Familjerättssekreterarna beskrev svårigheter med tillvaratagandet av barnperspektivet i deras arbete så som föräldrarnas makt, en rädsla för att förvärra barnets situation och tidspress. De upplevde även möjligheter i form av samverkan och lagstiftning. Frågan om den sociala konstruktionen av barns position i samhället behöver förändras för att barnperspektivet ska kunna fortsätta stärkas och utvecklas diskuteras. / Through the years the child perspective is a word that has developed in its meaning and significance. The aim of this study was to investigate how family law investigators experience that the child perspective is being used in family law work. Four family law investigators in a middle-sized municipality in Sweden were interviewed in semi-structured interviews. The most significant results was that the child perspective, according to the family law investigators, has grown stronger but that there is’ still a need for development, for example listening to the voice of children and letting them participate more. The family law investigators experienced a challenge in the reinforcement of the child perspective in their work because of the parents’ power and a fear of making the child’s situation worse and that it also was time pressuring. They saw possibilities in the development of collaboration and in the legislation. The question if the social construction of children’s position in society needs to change in order for the child perspective to continue to be further strengthened and developed is discussed.

The perfectnes of crime and the forms of crime difficult their investigation. In order to protect humans and citizens rights and freedoms the state is obligated to apply even such methods, that restrict criminals rights. The subject of this work is ambiguously considered application one of these forms, to be exactly, the form of application secret agents during the investigation in criminal procedure. The participation of secret agents investigating crimes, the results of this investigation are looked over the prism how these results could be used in criminal procedure as the poof of quilt. Considering this question is settled that legal application of secret agents and the conception of proof allow to use this form of investigation and their results as the proof in criminal procedure. It has to be noted, that secret agents as the form of investigation is restricted and allowed in very particular cases, if secret agents don’t go beyond law and settled sanction by court. In conclusion it can be also mentioned, that in this work were identified the problems of regulation of applying this criminal – procedural investigation method, that can cause the slip of efficiency of the investigation and its results.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-122). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

My research centers upon designing transformative learning environments and supporting technologies. Kitchen Science Investigators (KSI) is an out-of-school transformative learning environment we designed to help young people learn science through cooking. My dissertation considers the question, 'How can we design a learning environment in which children discover the utility of science in their lives and their own scientific capabilities?' I have explored this question in the context of designing and enacting KSI. We designed the environment (i.e., activities, facilitation, and technology support) so that in the midst of cooking, participants generate personal goals that they need science to achieve. Our design integrates software to promote scientific practices in a real world context. In my thesis research I analyze how learners are developing identity as scientific reasoners in this environment. I also make recommendations about the design of learning environments and technologies to help with scientific development. My dissertation study is a longitudinal study of individuals in our most recent implementation of KSI. My current analysis of KSI shows significant development of disposition and identity development among focal learners, as well as a set of causal factors. I found that as learners connected cooking and science, and as they participated in science socially with their friends, they began to increase their scientific participation in and outside of KSI. My findings suggest guidelines for software support, facilitation, and activities for getting learners engaged in scientific inquiry in ways that promote the development of scientific identities.

Genom analys av ungdomsutredares narrativ om villkoren för yrket, syn på yrkesroll, de unga lagöverträdarna och falska erkännanden undersöker denna studie hur ungdomsutredare uppfattar sin yrkesroll samt hur de uppfattar förutsättningarna för att hantera misstänkta unga lagöverträdare i förhörssituationen. Semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem ungdomsutredare i Stockholmsregionen visar en dualistisk bild av polisyrket som dels fantastiskt men med usla villkor. Utredarnas narrativ förtäljer om en uppfattning av falska erkännanden som ovanligt i svensk kontext då utredarens uppgift är att utreda vad som hänt oavsett om någon erkänner sig skyldig till brottet. Dock framställs en problematik kring hur de dåliga villkoren påverkar utredaren i sin yrkesroll. Personalpolitik och kunskapsutveckling lyfts fram som något som organisationen behöver förbättra för att stärka utredarens förutsättningar och säkerställa ett rättssäkert förfarande i utredningen. / This study examines how juvenile investigators perceive the preparation for their professional role and how they perceive the requirements and conditions for handling suspected juvenile offenders in the interrogation room. This study is conducted by analyzing the juvenile investigators' narratives about the working conditions of their profession and their approach and attitude toward their professional role, the juvenile offenders, and false confessions. Semi-structured interviews with five juvenile investigators in the Stockholm region reflect a conflicting and dualistic picture of the police profession as being simultaneously both fantastic and yet one of poor working conditions. The narratives of the investigators attest to a perception of false confessions as an unusual phenomenon in the Swedish context due to their professional duty and responsibility to investigate what happened, regardless of whether someone confesses or not. However, poor working conditions seems to have an effect on the investigator: the informants highlight the need for organizational improvement concerning the staff policies, and the investigators’ knowledge development to ensure legal rights in the investigation process.