Identity theft and related fraudulent activities affect approximately one in twenty-five adults each year across western societies. The Internet provides a new avenue for obtaining identity tokens and identifying information and increases the scale on which identity theft can be perpetrated. Recent research has suggested that fear of these types of crimes now matches or exceeds the fear of traditional place-based crimes, and has the potential to curtail online activities and hinder the further development of e-commerce applications. In this article, we conduct exploratory research identifying predictors of fear of cyber-identity theft and related fraudulent activities, based on the analysis of items included in the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (2007). Fear was predicted by a generalized fear of crime component and a specific Internet exposure component. Traditional predictors of fear of crime were insignificant or weak predictors, highlighting the need for further research.

A widespread public preference for harsher sentencing (punitiveness) has been documented in a range of national and international studies. The present study examines the relative predictive power of a set of factors most commonly linked with punitiveness. This study is based on the responses given in the largest Australian survey to date of public attitudes to punishment (N = 6005). A combined hierarchical multiple regression model comprising demographic variables, media usage variables, and crime salience variables accounted for a significant 30% of variance in scores for punitiveness. The three variables that emerged as the strongest predictors of punitive attitudes were: perceptions of crime levels; education; and reliance on tabloid/commercial media for news and information. The results have direct implications for how we understand the persistent public preference for punishment and what might be required to ameliorate or respond to that preference.

The idea of reducing public punitiveness through providing information and encouraging deliberation has attracted considerable interest. However, there remains no solid evidence of durable changes in attitude. The study presented here provides a test of the hypothesis that information combined with deliberation can affect general measures of punitiveness, confidence in the courts and acceptance of alternatives to imprisonment (the three dependent variables). The study involved a pre-test, post-test experimental design. Participants were randomly allocated to either an intervention group or a control condition. Statistically significant changes in the dependent variables were observed immediately following the intervention but these changes were not sustained when measured at follow-up nine months later. Further, at the time of the follow-up the differences between the control group scores and the intervention group scores were not significantly different. The observed changes immediately following the intervention are seen to be a function of the changed relationship of the respondent to the task. The implications of the results for integrating public perspectives into policy are discussed. It is argued that rather than a focus on public education, a more productive direction is to focus on the way the public is engaged on matters concerning punishment.

Aim/Purpose: The primary use of electronic health records (EHRs) is in the care of the individual patient. Secondary research uses employ information in EHRs for purposes beyond that of care of the individual. Secondary research uses may broadly be divided into studies which focus on improving care and treatment of individuals and those which aim to increase knowledge about disease causes, associations and prevalence at a population level. This paper provides a review of studies that have used EHRs to increase knowledge at a population level. It examines the methods used, types of research conducted, difficulties and challenges faced and implications for future research and mental health research in particular. Method: A review was undertaken based on a search for peer-reviewed and recently (i.e. since 2005) published articles with full-text available online. Findings/Results: The studies which have used EHRs to increase knowledge have predominantly involved; (1) data mining to identify biomarkers and gene–disease associations, (2) epidemiological research using linked/merged health records and (3) surveillance, prediction and alerts for diseases/illnesses. The principal methodological challenges identified were data quality, discrepancies/inconsistencies in data and interoperability of EHRs. Conclusions: Despite the challenges faced in secondary usage of EHRs, significant research has been undertaken and researchers have proposed and tested various approaches to address methodological issues. The study methods employed in other fields of medical research can be extrapolated to study issues of significance to mental health using EHRs.