Test purchasing of same day and rapid online alcohol home delivery in two Australian jurisdictions.

OBJECTIVE: With same day online alcohol sales increasing, there is a need to study their regulation. Test purchasing of alcohol home delivery was conducted to measure compliance with regulations for identification checks and unattended deliveries in two Australian jurisdictions (Perth, Western Australia and Geelong, Victoria), which have differing regulations. METHOD: Alcohol orders for same day or rapid (<2 hours) delivery on Friday and Saturday nights were made by research assistants aged 18-24 years in Perth (n=34) and Geelong (n=29). An observation checklist was used to record the delivery interaction, with a specific focus on checking of photo identification at time of delivery and whether deliveries were left unattended. RESULTS: Average time from order to delivery for rapid deliveries was less than one hour in both sites (Perth = 50 minutes; Geelong = 36 minutes). More than 20% of deliveries were made without an identification check in both sites (Perth = 24%; Geelong = 21%). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study showed alcohol can be delivered to the home within one hour, and not all deliveries include an identification check at point of delivery. These findings indicate a need for policies that empower regulators and police to undertake 'mystery shopper' monitoring to reduce potential harms and improve compliance with alcohol delivery policy.

Examining Cyberstalking Perpetration and Victimization: A Scoping Review.

In recent years the body of literature on cyberstalking has expanded rapidly. The present work aimed to summarize the current state of the literature on cyberstalking perpetration and victimization in a scoping review. Forty-one quantitative and qualitative studies that examined variables relating to cyberstalking victimization and perpetration were collated. Following the methodology of Arksey and O'Malley (2005), an in-depth thematic analysis of the articles was undertaken. Prevalence of victimization and perpetration rates were compared and key themes synthesized. Despite examining similar young adult populations, the prevalence of victimization was found to range considerably from 0.7% (Reyns & Engelbrecht, 2010) to 85.2% (Strawhun et al., 2013) across studies. Themes were divided into two overarching classifications, factors relating to victimization and factors relating to perpetration. Deviant peer association, low self-control, previous harassment experiences and personality traits were some of the factors most frequently examined in relation to perpetration; whilst online exposure, online disclosure and guardianship were some of the factors most frequently examined in relation to victimization. Within these themes, deviant peer association and low self-control were found to consistently correlate with an increase in both cyberstalking victimization and perpetration. Guardianship and confidence online demonstrated inconsistent results. This review has summarized what is currently known and has been validated within cyberstalking research pertaining to victimization and perpetration, and has identified gaps and potential areas of future development.

What is Cyberstalking? A Review of Measurements.

The absence of a widely accepted definition of cyberstalking has resulted in studies operationalizing it in various ways, reducing the comparability and generalizability of findings. The present work examined the most common behaviors and criteria used to operationalize cyberstalking within the quantitative literature. The definitions employed by the studies were evaluated in respect of (a) whether they included a minimum requirement for the number of times the behaviors needed to be repeated in order to be considered "cyberstalking"; (b) whether victim fear was required for the behaviors to be considered "cyberstalking"; (c) the timeframe within which the cyberstalking behavior needed to have occurred; and (d) the behaviors identified as indicating cyberstalking. The results demonstrated considerable variation in the specificity of criteria used. Of the 33 studies examined, 45% specifically defined a minimum number of behavioral repetitions required to classify the behaviors as "cyberstalking," although there were some discrepancies in the number of behaviors specified across studies. Only 30% of studies included victim fear as a criterion and 70% of studies did not include specific timeframe requirements in which the behaviors needed to have occurred within. The number and description of behaviors included within scales used to measure "cyberstalking" varied widely. Some instruments utilized as many as 24 different items, whilst others identified cyberstalking through the use of two items. A series of recommendations are advanced aimed at providing criteria for defining and operationalizing cyberstalking that can be employed by future studies, with the ultimate aim of allowing greater comparability between results. From this a consistent knowledge base can be developed, and with it a deeper understanding of cyberstalking and how to counter it.