Ethnic profiling is a topic that is challenging to address in policing communities. Many police officers doubt its existence or find it too trivial and irrelevant to worry about. Others may find it important, but do not feel psychologically safe to discuss it with their colleagues. Many police officers, therefore, ignore training and conversations on ethnic profiling, which hinders combating it. We describe the foundations of a Virtual Reality based training prototype that seeks to encourage active participation in ethnic profiling dialogue. We describe the iterative process between the various steps in the design process of the Virtual Reality tool and the design features including experiential learning and perspective-taking on the individual level, and constructive controversy dialogue on the group level. Our observations during its testing phase indicate that the current prototype contributes to officers’ awareness of ineffective and biased police practices. While this testifies to the potential of the prototype design to shape meaningful police reform activities on a larger scale, we also speculate that our immersive design may offer solutions for other urgent socio-political controversies.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with decreased executive functioning due to an imbalance in the frontal-amygdala circuit. Researchers theorize that an overactive amygdala increases the demand for regulating stress-related responses, thus depleting the prefrontal cortex of the limited resources needed for executive functions such as working memory. We hypothesized that working memory performance in people with PTSD could be partially restored by the presence of their dog, potentially working as a stress buffer. This study investigated the effect of the presence of a dog on working memory performance in police officers (n = 49) either with PTSD (n = 25) or without PTSD (n = 24), using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. Working memory performance was assessed on a 1-back task, both in the presence and absence of the participants' companion or service dog. We measured event-related potentials (ERPs), with a focus on the N2 and P3 components. The results show that police officers with PTSD exhibited improved working memory performance in the presence of their dog, as evidenced by enhanced task performance and a larger N2 component amplitude to target stimuli compared with when the dog was absent. In contrast, the police officers without PTSD showed, in the absence of the dog, a better task performance and a larger N2. The findings suggest that the presence of a dog enhances working memory performance in police officers with PTSD.
Public authorities try to lead individuals to undertake actions and decisions in the interest of both themselves and society through public policies they create by nudging. Although this method is anticipated to yield favorable results due to individuals’ limited rationality, the related literature often discusses possible adverse effects due to the paternalist quality of nudge. It is likely that the implications in the literature and individuals’ perceptions and attitudes regarding nudge policies are influenced by a number of individual and societal factors such as the individuals’ demographic features, the culture of the surrounding society. It is necessary to disclose these factors in order to take nudge theory forward. Departing from this, the present study aims at exposing the perceptions regarding pro-self and pro-social nudge policies among professor of Public Administration department in the context of Türkiye. For this purpose, a survey was conducted with 91 faculty members employed at Turkish state universities. Of the 8 different nudge policies mentioned in the survey, the respondents were seen to find all acceptable except for the one targeted at expanding organ donation. The respondents think that such policies do not have a considerable restrictive effect on individuals’ freedom to choice.
Consistent findings exist regarding the work-related issues and negative psychological outcomes that occupational health and safety (OHS) experts experience. These findings may be interpreted as OHS experts being prone to certain psychosocial risks at work. This study aims to explore the demographic and work-related determinants of psychosocial risks faced by OHS experts and their quality of life. Data were collected from 101 experts working in the field of occupational health and safety. The sample was composed of 65 male and 36 female experts aged between 21 and 65. The survey battery was composed of 3three groups of measurements: demographic questions, quality of life items, and NHUMAN PSR-Q items. According to the findings, experts in the least experienced group reported higher psychosocial risks about equipment and work environment. B-class experts were found to have tighter work schedules. Those experts who worked in joint health and safety units were at a disadvantaged position concerning psychosocial risks associated with heavy work schedules and quality of life. All 17 domains of psychosocial risks were found to be negatively associated with quality of life. Interpersonal relations subscale was the single most powerful predictor of quality of life. This study contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive approach to psychosocial risks experienced by OHS experts.
Latin Amerika ülkeleri içerisinde yerleşik, kırılgan olmayan ve dengeli bir demokratik anayasal düzeni bulunmasına rağmen Şili’de anayasa değişiklikleri ve yeni bir anayasa yapma konusu, 1980 tarihinden beri önemli bir akademik, siyasi ve toplumsal tartışma olarak sürmeye devam etmektedir. Dikta rejimini sonlandıran 1980 Şili Anayasası, bugüne kadar çok fazla değişikliğe uğramış olsa da hala dikta rejimi ile bağlantılı görüldüğü için, halk tarafından yeni bir anayasa talep edilmektedir. Mevcut anayasa ile ilgili eleştiriler, sosyal hakların yetersiz olması üzerinde birleşmektedir. Anayasal düzen ile iktisadi yapı arasında bağ kurularak sosyal hakların daha fazla güvenceye kavuşturulması temel istektir. Esasen toplum yapısının içinde bulunduğu olumsuz koşullardan anayasal düzen marifeti ile kurtulacağı fikri hakimdir. Ekim 2019 yılında yapılan gösteriler ile birlikte bahse konu toplumsal dönüşüm talepleri tekrar gündeme gelmiş ve yeni bir anayasa yapımının itici gücü olmuştur. Yeni bir anayasa yapılmasına ilişkin yapılan referandumda %80’e yakın bir oy oranı ile yeni anayasa yapımını isteyen halk iki farklı anayasa taslağını da %80’e yakın oy oranı ile reddetmiştir. Yeni anayasa yapımı, toplumu dönüştürmek ve 1980 Anayasası’nın öngördüğü düzenden kaçınmak üzere kurulmuştur. Fakat 2022 taslağı oldukça radikal bulunmuş ve toplumu ürkütmüş iken 2023 taslağı ise toplumun dönüşüm talebine göre muhafazakâr ve yetersiz bulunmuştur. Halk yeni bir anayasayı hala talep etmektedir, sadece önerileri kabul etmek zorunda hissetmemişlerdir. Yeni anayasa yapımı konusunda ise dönüşümcülük ve kaçınmacılık yaklaşımları hala geçerliliğini korumaktadır. Zira Pinochet diktasının temsil ettiği anayasal düzenden kaçınmak ve toplumda gerçekleşmesi beklenen dönüşümün tamamlanması hala bir anayasal hedeftir. Ayrıca toplumsal dönüşümün Bolivaryan usullerle yapılmaması da ikinci bir kaçınma noktasını oluşturmaktadır.
