Perceptual expertise is typically domain-specific and rarely generalises beyond an expert's domain of experience. Forensic feature-comparison examiners outperform the norm in domain-specific visual comparison, but emerging research suggests that they show advantages on other similar tasks outside their domain of expertise. For example, fingerprint…

We examined the effects of acute alcohol on eyewitness memory for a simulated armed robbery under laboratory conditions. Alcohol and placebo participants viewed a slide series showing a target male taking a laptop from a helpdesk assistant, either on loan or at gunpoint. Following a brief retention period, participants responded to…

Scholars theorize that the nature of school gun violence varies across school settings. Yet, there is a lack of statistical research testing this idea. This study investigates contextual factors associated with six forms of school gun incidents (N = 1,238) over a 40-year period (1980-2019) in the United States. To conduct the analyses, school,…

Due to the emotional and social burden on Americans stemming from firearm injury and death, school psychologists (SPs) must be equipped with an understanding of risk factors that could lead to students engaging in gun violence. SPs are ideally situated due to their training and expertise in promoting healthy development in children and youth, as…

In this article I discuss an approach to teaching about the Russian war in Ukraine that uses the war as a focal point for teaching about topics in comparative politics and international relations. I discuss the pedagogical advantages for political science teaching, including meeting the interests of students, introducing students to theories in…

This study examined differences in reported campus criminality on selected community college campuses in the years between 2005 and 2016 representing the years preceding and succeeding the implementation of Mississippi's 2011 concealed carry legislation. Each campus included in this study is a public-funded community college in Mississippi. Using…

In this quasi-experimental field study, bar drinkers (0.00-0.23% blood alcohol content) viewed a photographic sequence in which a male took a laptop from a helpdesk assistant, either on loan or at gunpoint. Following a brief retention period, participants answered 20 multiple-choice questions about the male, his actions, and details of the scene,…

School delinquency in public elementary, middle, and high schools has decreased in recent years, but is still a major issue that has negative mental health and academic implications for adolescents. Although research has focused on both individual-level and school-level explanations of school delinquency, it is not yet clear which macro-level…

We examined the role of exposure duration and scene complexity on the weapon focus effect (WFE). Memory for the mock crime was affected more by a weapon than an unusual but nonthreatening object. Threat reduced correct identifications when the event was short but not long; duration of the event did not interact with unusualness. Additionally, we…

Mental health services are frequently scrutinized following mass school shootings. Subsequently, national, federal, state, and local commissions convene to identify preventative measures including implications for mental health. In order to address the question of what recommendations were offered to mental health professionals, a systematic…

School safety is a key feature of the learning environment. Research suggests if students perceive their environment as unsafe they will face a myriad of possible detrimental consequences. Using qualitative interviews, we explore the factors most consistently identified by students as important in their feelings of safety. We examine whether the…

School violence plays a significant role in shaping a school's culture and climate, which can have an impact on the participation and performance of learners in secondary education. In many instances, school violence can hinder the educational aspirations of learners. This paper investigates the impact of school violence on learners through the…

Although school violence statistics indicate that schools are safe places, anxiety over school shootings continues to influence school safety reform to the extent that security measures in American public schools include the arming of schoolteachers. Furthermore, not only have youths' perceptions of school security been relatively unexplored,…

The 2020 Texas Educators' Needs Assessment Regarding School Safety and Victims Services included responses from educators across the state of Texas regarding school safety. This needs assessment generated data that provided researchers with the unique opportunity to analyze the school safety issues in Texas (Fuller et al, 2020). The purpose of the…

Compared to non-HBCU institutions, studies associated with student perceptions of campus crimes in HBCU settings are limited. Utilizing survey data from two HBCUs, nearly 200 students express their opinions in association with victimization, offender characteristics, and campus safety strategies. Descriptive results indicate high levels of support…