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Guardianship is a core tenet of routine activity theory and collective efficacy. At its outset, routine activity research assumed that the mere presence of a guardian was sufficient to disrupt many forms of crime. More recent research, however, has taken as a starting point that would‐be‐guardians must take on an active role for a reduction in crime to occur. Integrating research on bystander intervention and guardianship‐in‐action, the current study elaborates the individual‐level motivations and decision processes of guardianship to answer the following questions: Who serves as a reactive guardian? How do they do so? And why? We tasked young adults (N = 1,032) included in the recent waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z‐proso) to assess a 70‐second video depicting a sexual harassment event. We examined participants’ willingness to engage in a range of intervention options as a function of their prosocial attitudes, safety considerations, socioemotional motivations, and moral considerations. Results show a complex decision process leading to whether and how a would‐be guardian decides to intervene to disrupt sexual harassment, such that prosocial motivations and emotional reactions are weighed against perceptions of danger when deciding on a specific course of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In this study, we investigate extremists' appraisals of and sensitivity to perceived sanction risk during the commission of arson. We pay specific attention to the decision-making processes of extremists leading up to and during the offending opportunity. Methods: We examined data collected from self-reported communiqués (n = 275) describing acts of arson committed by radical environmental extremists. Results: We found that extremists, like other criminals, are sensitive to situational factors that affect the certainty of apprehension. Additionally, extremists work to reduce the risk of detection by engaging in crime-specific risk management techniques prior to and during the offending opportunity. Conclusions: Analysis of the communiqués is consistent with recent works on extremism, situational crime prevention, and restrictive deterrence. We discuss our findings in the context of rational choice and situational crime prevention theory and the advancement of preventative policies aimed at ideological and political crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report calculations of vibrational autoionization rates of CaF Rydberg states, based on the results of a global multi-channel quantum defect theory (MQDT) fit. Our goal is to use intuitive physical models to interpret and extend the results from the MQDT calculations and, in particular, to characterize the physical mechanisms for the interaction between the Rydberg electron and the ion-core. The calculations indicate that, among the six strongly l-mixed core-penetrating (CP) Rydberg series of CaF, the n.36 p ^ Π Rydberg series has the fastest Δ v = 1 vibrational autoionization rate, which is at least four times larger than that for the other CP Rydberg series, in agreement with experimental results. We first demonstrate that the rotational level dependence of the vibrational autoionization rate of the n.36 p ^ Π series is satisfactorily explained by l-uncoupling interactions, which differ for the positive and negative Kronig symmetry levels. Next, we interpret the relative vibrational autoionization rates of all six CP Rydberg series in the context of a valence-precursor (VP) model. The VP model is a consequence of Mulliken's rule, which states that the innermost lobe of the Rydberg wavefunction remains invariant in both the nodal position and shape for members of the same Rydberg series. The electronic properties of the six VP states, which are the terminus states (lowest-n) of each of the six CP Rydberg series, are further characterized in terms of a ligand-field model, providing insight into the intimate relationship between the Rydberg electron density in the ion-core region and the vibrational autoionization rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate coherent two-photon population transfer to Rydberg states of barium atoms using a combination of a pulsed dye laser and a chirped-pulse millimeter-wave spectrometer. Numerical calculations, using a density matrix formalism, reproduce our experimental results and explain the factors responsible for the observed fractional population transferred, optimal experimental conditions, and possibilities for future improvements. The long coherence times associated with the millimeter-wave radiation aid in creating coherence between the ground state and Rydberg states, but higher-coherence laser sources are required to achieve stimulated Raman adiabatic passage and for applications to molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research from environmental criminology, policing, and related literatures consistently finds that objective conditions related to risk of apprehension affect crime. The mechanism underlying this relationship is not explicitly tested; instead, perceptual deterrence is assumed. In this analysis we explicitly investigate that mechanism. This test is not straightforward, however, as some research shows that risk perceptions are susceptible to various cognitive biases and framing effects. Thus, we advance a framework of sanction risk perception that combines individual and contextual determinants. Specifically, we investigate whether contextual factors materially influence risk perceptions and in turn intentions to offend after accounting for the influence of individual‐specific determinants. Our data come from an experimental survey on speeding (N = 1,919). Respondents viewed videos from the driver's perspective of a sedan speeding on a highway and provided estimates of sanction risk, safety perceptions, and behavioral intentions. Although sanction risk and safety perceptions for speeding varied widely across respondents, they remained grounded in the objective conditions of the experimental videos. In turn, citizen perceptions of apprehension risk were comparable with risk estimates elicited from state troopers after viewing the same videos. The results suggest deterrence and safety considerations are important contributing factors that help shape intentions to transgress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research from environmental criminology, policing, and related literatures consistently finds that objective conditions related to risk of apprehension affect crime. The mechanism underlying this relationship is not explicitly tested; instead, perceptual deterrence is assumed. In this analysis we explicitly investigate that mechanism. This test is not straightforward, however, as some research shows that risk perceptions are susceptible to various cognitive biases and framing effects. Thus, we advance a framework of sanction risk perception that combines individual and contextual determinants. Specifically, we investigate whether contextual factors materially influence risk perceptions and in turn intentions to offend after accounting for the influence of individual‐specific determinants. Our data come from an experimental survey on speeding (N = 1,919). Respondents viewed videos from the driver's perspective of a sedan speeding on a highway and provided estimates of sanction risk, safety perceptions, and behavioral intentions. Although sanction risk and safety perceptions for speeding varied widely across respondents, they remained grounded in the objective conditions of the experimental videos. In turn, citizen perceptions of apprehension risk were comparable with risk estimates elicited from state troopers after viewing the same videos. The results suggest deterrence and safety considerations are important contributing factors that help shape intentions to transgress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]