Easier Targets Research Articles

Investigating the Spatial Relation between Landuse and Property Crime in Kuching, Sarawak through Location Quotient Analysis

Urban areas are often associated with higher crime rates, which is a growing concern among communi-ties. This study aim to investigate the spatial relation between landuse and property crime in Kuching, Sarawak through location quotient analysis. There are three method were applied in this study inclu-ding multiple buffer analysis, Pearson’s correlation and location quotient. Based on initial findings, there is an observed increase in crime levels as the distance from the centroid extends from 150 to 750 meters and decrease beyond the 750-meter. The study findings reveal a strong and consistent positive correlation between property crime and land use areas across 2015-2017. Property crime is more pre-valent in urban and associated areas compared to other land use categories. Offenders in Kuching of-ten utilize various tools to break into houses and digs holes, break locks, climb gates, engage in snatch theft using motorcycles, and break car windows to steal handbags that are placed on the right seat. In certain locations, CCTV cameras are positioned far away from the target areas. All of these factors contribute to creating opportunities for offenders. Property crimes were more common during the day-time than at night as during the daytime may be attributed to more people being active outside their homes, providing criminals with easier targets. At night, people tend to stay home, the opportunity for property crimes decreases. The study provides crucial geographic crime information to the Commis-sion of Kuching North City Hall and the Council of the City of Kuching South to enhance urban safety.

THE GENDERED IMPACT OF CORRUPTION: WOMEN AS VICTIMS OF SEXTORTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Corruption affects people differently due to a range of factors, including gender, context, race, socio-economic status, power relations and vulnerability. Research suggests that corruption can affect women more adversely than it does men.1 This is because vulnerable groups are more susceptible to corruption, and women are often more vulnerable than men as they are viewed as easier targets. Furthermore, it follows that more vulnerable women are likely to be more adversely affected by corruption than those that are less vulnerable. The evidence generally shows that the gendered impact of corruption is related to societal gender roles, social inequality and discrimination. Thus, women's disadvantages in many areas of life result in greater vulnerability to corruption compared to men, who enjoy more power and protection, and better access to countervailing strategies. Corruption severely influences the extent to which women's rights are ensured and protected. In cases where women find themselves in a social, political, organisational or cultural context where they are more disempowered relative to men, and they are direct victims of corruption, their experiences of corruption can be more acute, and their avenues to respond to it more limited.2 In this article, the law pertaining to sextortion in South Africa is explored. The authors recommend that women must be brought into the public arena and information about public services be made widely available as this can be critical in reducing the differential impacts of corruption on them.

YORP Effect on Long-Term Rotational Dynamics of Debris in GEO

The Yarkovsky–O’Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack (YORP) effect describes the torque induced on space objects produced by solar radiation and thermal re-emission. Previous analyses have demonstrated its influence on long-term rotational dynamics of space debris objects in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), where YORP becomes predominant with respect to other external perturbations (e.g., atmospheric drag, gravity gradient, eddy current torque), leading to a wide variety of possible behaviors. The capability of forecasting time windows of slow uniform rotation, if any, would bring significant advantages in operations of Active Debris Removal and on-orbit servicing, especially in the detumbling phase. Also, a non-negligible impact of the End-of-Life configuration, in terms of movable surfaces orientation and center of mass location, could lead to guidelines for future satellites to be easier targets in the disposal phase. In this work, a previously derived semi-analytical tumbling-averaged YORP rotational dynamics model is leveraged. Exploiting an averaged model, computational time is strongly reduced while maintaining sufficient accuracy compared to propagation of Euler’s equations of motion. First, a satellite of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) family is analyzed and compared to previous studies to verify the correct implementation of the model. A wider analysis is performed on simple geometric models, such as a box-wing satellite, a 3U CubeSat, and a rocket body. The impact of object size, surface optical properties, and center of mass position on long-term rotational behavior is investigated, providing a general insight into these phenomena with a possible future application to existing objects in GEO.

Judgement of agency as a measure of efficacy prediction

In psychology, the idea has been repeatedly expressed that the perceptions of a possible outcome influence the actual outcome. According to this idea, the efficacy prediction simultaneously affects the results and is based on the results, which complicates the possibility of experimental research in this area. One problem is developing a method for measuring the efficacy prediction. This study proposes a retrospective method to measure the efficacy prediction based on the sense of agency. The method is based on the hypothesis that task outcomes that do not match the efficacy prediction will be accompanied by a low sense of agency. Two experiments were conducted in which participants had to perform a sensorimotor task related to the evaluation of time intervals. A screen showed two objects: a moon (the target) and a rocket located on a vertical line. The task was to “land the rocket on the moon” without vision control. In order to achieve the goal, the participants had to press the spacebar twice: the longer the participants waited before the second press, the further the rocket would go. The distance and size of the target were used as variables that determined the difficulty of the task. We hypothesized that the hits in the difficult tasks would be attributed to the computer more often than the hits in the simple tasks. The results agreed with our hypothesis. The participants were more likely to attribute to the computer the hits on more difficult targets and the misses on easier targets. We concluded that the judgement of agency can be used as a valid method for measuring efficacy control, although further research is planned to investigate an alternative explanation for the results.

Now you see me, now you don't: Adapting practice through target exclusion negatively impacts motor learning.

How to optimize practice through scheduling of different task components or skills is a question that has received a lot of attention in motor learning research. Consistently, schedules with high variability in the order that skills are practiced elicit better learning outcomes than schedules with low variability. Another idea is that learners should seek to reduce the uncertainty of practice outcomes, by avoiding well-learned, low error components in acquisition. To test this idea, we used a target exclusion method to prevent learners from returning to task components with low error and studied how individuals given choice over practice choose to allocate time to components of varying difficulty. In a multi-target adaptation paradigm, we compared exclusion with no exclusion methods in random-schedule, self-control and yoked, matched-schedule groups (6 groups total). To manipulate uncertainty, we excluded targets from practice once participants attained a criterion error score (mean<5o) from the last 5 trials to the same target. Contrary to our predictions, groups that practiced without target exclusion were more accurate in retention compared to exclusion groups; irrespective of practice schedule. Self-control groups adopted uncertainty-based practice, spending more time at difficult targets and less time at easier targets. However, there were no group differences in error, based on schedule-type (random, self-control and yoked). In conclusion, target exclusion was not an effective method for learning and did not support the efficacy of uncertainty-based practice for learning novel skills. There were benefits from keeping easier/low error skills in practice for later retention. These benefits did not appear to be related to the increased switching between skills, but could be related to increased task engagement and more optimal challenge associated with practice on a range of target difficulties, rather than the most difficult.

Narcissistic Leaders and Their Victims: Followers Low on Self-Esteem and Low on Core Self-Evaluations Suffer Most

Narcissistic leaders are self-absorbed and hold beliefs of entitlement and superiority. Their aggressive tendencies in the face of criticism and inclinations to validate their self-worth by derogating others may lead others to perceive them as being abusive. Here, we test the relationship between leader narcissism and followers’ perceptions of abusive supervision. Drawing upon research related to the behavioral plasticity hypothesis, we propose that followers with low self-esteem will perceive narcissistic leaders as more abusive than those with high self-esteem. Followers low on self-esteem are more insecure, more in need of approval from their supervisor and are more likely to interpret the haughty, derogatory attitude of narcissistic leaders as abusive. Such followers also make for ‘easier targets’ and thus may actually suffer more abusive behavior from their narcissistic leaders. In a first multi-source study of 85 leaders and 128 followers, we found support for the moderating role of follower self-esteem in the relationship between leader narcissism and perceived abusive supervision: Narcissistic leaders were rated as more abusive by followers who were low on self-esteem, but not those higher on self-esteem. In a second multi-source field study among 177 leader-follower dyads, we tested a moderated mediation model and showed that this finding also holds for the broader concept of follower core self-evaluations as a moderator. Abusive supervision, in turn, was related to lower follower performance and followers experiencing more burnout symptoms. Thus, followers low on self-esteem or low on core self-evaluations seem to suffer most from narcissistic leaders as they perceive them to be abusive and, in turn, these followers show reduced performance and more burnout symptoms when working for such leaders. This research thus identifies an important moderator that might help reconcile previous inconsistent findings regarding perceptions of narcissistic leaders.

Robbing rivals: interference foraging competition reflects female reproductive competition in a cooperative mammal

Intense intrasexual competition for breeding opportunities is a characteristic of cooperatively breeding species with high reproductive skew. In such ‘singular’ cooperative breeders, females suffer greater variability in direct reproductive success than do males, and this in turn leads to greater intrasexual competition in females. Under such circumstances, selection should favour traits that enhance female competitive ability, such as size, fighting skill or aggression. However, despite burgeoning interest in female intrasexual competition, there is limited evidence that female cooperative breeders exhibit more pronounced competitive traits than do males. We examined whether intrasexual competition has influenced the expression of a competitive behavioural trait (i.e. prey theft) in a ‘singular’, cooperatively breeding mammal, the dwarf mongoose, Helogale parvula. We used both observational and experimental data to assess whether wild dwarf mongooses exploit interference foraging competition to persecute their reproductive rivals, and whether the sexes differ with regard to this behaviour. We found that nonalpha female mongooses preferentially stole from other females rather than males, and that, under natural foraging conditions, they were more likely to steal prey from their closest rival (i.e. the female immediately below themselves in the dominance hierarchy) than from easier targets much lower in rank. In contrast, male dwarf mongooses (and alpha females) did not exhibit any sex bias, stealing prey indiscriminately from all lower ranking group members. We conclude that the acute intrasexual rivalry suffered by female dwarf mongooses has led to the differential development of this competitive behavioural trait.

Citizen Information, Electoral Incentives, and Provision of Counter-Terrorism: An Experimental Approach

How does incomplete information about counter-terror provisions influence the strategic interaction between a government, terrorist groups, and the citizenry? We investigate this research question using a laboratory experiment and present two key findings. (1) Public counter-terror spending leads citizens to overly frequent “protected” targets such that it makes them easier targets for terrorists. (2) Additionally, we show that citizens over-estimate government counter-terror spending when they are unable to observe it. These findings suggest that asymmetric information and the small probability of a successful terrorist attack may lead to the inefficient provision of counter-terror. We also connect the findings to the larger literature on the principal-agent relationship between citizens and elected officials.

Elastic Collisions with Two Moving Objects Made Simple

We are all familiar with head-on elastic collisions. They conserve energy and momentum according to the formulas: Conservation of Energy: ½ v12 + ½ v22 = ½ V12 + ½ V22 and Conservation of Momentum: m1v1 + m2v2 = m1V1 + m2V2. Many texts expect the student to solve these two formulas simultaneously to find the final velocity of the two objects after the collision. Other books give the students the formulas to find the velocity of each car after the collision. These formulas are derived from the laws of conservation of energy and momentum with the additional but very limiting parameter that v2 = 0 (i.e., you must hit a stationary object). The formulas are: V1 = (m1 − m2)v1m1 + m2 and V2 = (2m1)v1m1 + m2. The problem is that not every object that is struck is stationary. Stationary objects are just easier targets.

Nuclear localization signal peptides for the import of plasmid DNA in gene therapy (review)

Failure of cells to import specific proteins into nuclei can lead to carcinogenesis. Trafficking of nuclear proteins from the site of their synthesis in the cytoplasm to the sites of function in the nucleus through pore complexes is mediated by the presence of nuclear localization signals (NLSs) on proteins to be imported into nuclei. mRNA is exported through the same route as a complex with nuclear proteins. During gene therapy the foreign DNA needs to enter nuclei for its transcription in order to express the therapeutic protein; a pathway is proposed involving the complexation of plasmids and oligonucleotides with nascent nuclear proteins possessing NLSs as a prerequisite for their nuclear import. Covalent linkage of NLS peptides to oligonucleotides and plasmids or formation of complexes of plasmids with proteins possessing multiple NLS peptides is proposed to increase their import rates and the efficiency of gene expression. We suggest that cancer cells import more efficiently foreign DNA into nuclei compared with terminally differentiated cells because of their increased rates of proliferation and protein import and are easier targets for expression of foreign genes.

Opening Pandora's Box: Protecting Children Against Torture or Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment*

Children are rarely perceived as torture victims, although they may be easier targets. International inertia is compounded as not only torture, but also ‘other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ is prohibited. Some of these occur in the private sphere, which traditionalists erroneously assume outside of international human rights law. Children may also be unprotected because they suffer from trauma in different ways from adults. Jurisprudence of human rights fora based principally on adult victims, despite some dicta to the contrary, risks international standards being inappropriately applied to child victims. This promotes an analysis which fails to address the particular vulnerabilities of children and their role as social actors.