Research and Media
The knowledge behind CESI Learning is not new. It is the product of over 14 years of academic research, published work, and direct professional experience. This page brings together some of that work — a lecture, a podcast, and the book that forms the intellectual foundation of everything CESI teaches.
Watch — Rose West on the Stand: Judgements of Credibility in Criminal Trials
In this university lecture, Dr Caroline Gorden examines the trial of Rose West — and specifically how her credibility, or lack of it, contributed to her conviction at a point when the physical evidence alone may not have been sufficient. This lecture demonstrates the central argument that runs through all of CESI’s work: that in formal processes, what people see shapes outcomes as much as what actually happened. The same mechanisms that operated in that courtroom operate in workplace investigations, grievances, and disciplinaries every day.
Listen — Guilt, Innocence and the Illusion of Truth
In this podcast, published by Bristol University Press’s Transforming Society platform, Caroline Gorden and co-author Christopher Birkbeck discuss the social construction of guilt and innocence — why a single explanation of a trial verdict is always insufficient, and what this means for how we judge people in formal processes. Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Read — Case Studies of Famous Trials and the Construction of Guilt and Innocence
Case Studies of Famous Trials and the Construction of Guilt and Innocence (Bristol Policy Press, 2022), co-authored with Christopher Birkbeck, examines high-profile criminal cases to argue that formal verdicts are shaped by far more than evidence alone. It is the published research foundation of CESI Learning’s courses and qualifications.