Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Linkage analysis is a crucial part of the investigative process when faced with a possible series of related offences. Key to linking offenses is establishing behavioral consistency (i.e. how consistently an offender displays the same or similar behaviors across their series). Recent empirical studies (e.g., Bateman & Salfati, in press; Salfati and Bateman, 2005) have found little evidence of behavioral consistency looking at either individual or groups of behaviors in serial homicide. Several factors have been proposed to account for offending behavior variability. One explanation stipulated within the clinical and investigative literature is that these changes are due to an escalation in violence across series (Ressler & Shachtman, 1992). While escalation regarding the increase in the amount and the degree of injury inflicted has been observed in other serial crimes, such as rape (Hazelwood et al., 1989), no empirical studies have examined escalation in serial homicide. Looking at patterns of change, such as escalation, rather than idiosyncratic behaviors may provide a more valid way of examining consistency across homicide series. The present study looks at escalation in the quantity and quality of violence exhibited across homicide series using Multidimensional Scaling. This study is a first step towards understanding the patterns of change in crime scene behaviors of serial murderers, which may have significant implications for linkage analysis.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Patient Care Experiences I – VI are a series of required courses in the P1 through P3 year that were originally designed for the purposes of offering introductory pharmacy practice experiences and opportunities for practicing pharmacy care skills. The series of courses was developed using the satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) grading system and offered several oral examinations or presentations as the means of summative assessment. During the five years that this series of courses has been offered, the content has changed to include regulatory accountability, current topical lectures, case study and journal article discussions, service-learning activities, writing assignments, on-line calculations quizzes, and quizzes on most commonly used drugs, non-prescription products and dietary supplements. The purpose of these added assessments is to reinforce concepts taught in the disease state modules and the foundational courses of the P1 year (biostatistics, patient counseling, areas of pharmacy practice, quality-of-life measures, and pharmacoeconomics). Based on course evaluations, student-focus group input, faculty input, and the evolution of the course content, the course series will change in name to The Practice of Pharmacy I – VI and convert to a traditional grading format (A – F) for the academic year 2006 – 2007. A description of the evolution of the course content, course assessment data, and the rationale for the change in the title of the series of courses and grading system will be presented.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In a recent article, Wood (2000) exhorts researchers to "take time varying relationships seriously," yet stops short of adopting a Bayesian approach that has the necessary flexibility to do so. While the Bayesian analysis of time-serial data using tools such as the dynamic linear model (DLM) has a fairly long history in econometrics and applied statistics, there have as yet been no applications in political science. In this paper I briefly introduce the DLM and illustrate its use with some simple examples. I then turn to an examination of the influence of ideological think-tanks on public mood, using data from Smith's (2000) study.
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Publication Type: Proceeding