<Emphasis Type="Italic">Commentary</Emphasis>: A Critical Review of Published Competency-to-Confess Measures

The development of standardized assessments for competency-to-confess evaluations has remained largely neglected for the last several decades. Groundbreaking research was conducted on Miranda waivers during the late 1970s, but researchers have failed to sustain programmatic research. This critical review focuses on four published Miranda measures (Comprehension of Miranda Rights, Comprehension of Miranda Rights-Recognition, Comprehension of Miranda Vocabulary, and Function of Rights in Interrogation). When evaluated by contemporary standards, the validation of these measures is very limited. Major improvements are needed for interrater reliability, test–retest reliability, content validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity.     

Taming mammon: corporate social responsibility and the global regulation of conflict trade

Unethical business practices, the conduct of corrupt rulers and conflict entrepreneurs in conflict-prone societies have provoked genuine humanitarian concern from NGOs and activists who constitute the main driving force behind calls for ethical markets. However, powerful players, such as western multinational corporations and OECD governments, have been able to undercut campaigns for compulsory legal regulatory codes by promoting industry self-regulation and voluntary codes of conduct. This article assesses a number of these initiatives to control the trade in conflict goods and promote good resource governance. It concludes that current mechanisms constitute a weak attempt to control the negative impacts of the market and, by failing to tackle the real causes of instability, are inadequate for building a political economy of peace.     

Judicial Monitoring of Compliance: Introducing 'Problem Solving' Approaches to Domestic Violence Courts in England and Wales

This article examines the development of specialist domesticviolence courts. It overviews the features of ‘problemsolving’ courts and considers the extent to which thefledgling domestic violence courts in England and Wales areadopting the problem solving approaches found in some specialistcourts in the United States of America. Whilst noting some ofthe successes of the first seven domestic violence courts inEngland and Wales, the article concludes that more effectiveinterventions in domestic violence cases can be achieved throughgreater involvement of the judiciary in ongoing monitoring ofthe defendant’s compliance with court ordered perpetratorprogrammes.     

Work-related psychological health and psychological type among lead elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom

Building on a series of recent studies concerned with assessing work-related psychological health and psychological type among various groups of church leaders, this study reports new data provided by 134 Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches in the United Kingdom who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTS) together with the two scales of the Francis Burnout Inventory (FBI) concerned with emotional exhaustion and satisfaction in ministry. Compared with other groups of church leaders, Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher levels of satisfaction in ministry. Compared with other groups of church leaders, there was a higher proportion of extraverts among Lead Elders within the Newfrontiers network of churches. There was only a weak association between psychological type and burnout.     

Killing the Zombie Peace and Building a New Movement

The prospects for a just and sustainable peace are dire. The Oslo framework and the two-state solution are no longer fit for purpose (if indeed they ever were). And yet it is entirely possible that the current situation could limp on for a while longer – like a zombie that refuses to die. This short opinion piece argues that, in this context, a new movement and a new strategy are urgently required.     

Street-level bureaucrats' emotional intelligence and its relation with their performance

This article analyses whether the emotional intelligence (EI) of street-level bureaucrats, in this case inspectors, predicts their individual performance. It explores whether EI predicts the aggression that inspectors face and whether this explains the relation between EI and performance. Our survey among 547 inspectors, measuring their (self) perceptions, shows that inspectors' ability to appraise others' emotions and use their emotions intelligently (i.e., motivating themselves and maintaining a positive attitude) is significantly associated with inspectors' performance. Ability to appraise others' emotions predicts increases encountered aggression (as perceived by inspectors), and capacity to regulate one's emotions correlates with decreased perceived encountered aggression. The paper contributes to street-level bureaucracy literature by identifying affective factors that help explain performance, and to EI literature by theorizing and testing succedents of various dimensions of EI rather than assuming that EI is unidimensional. Dit artikel verkent of de emotionele intelligentie (EI) van inspecteurs hun individuele prestaties voorspelt. Er wordt onderzocht of EI verklarend is voor de agressie waarmee inspecteurs te maken krijgen, en of deze ondervonden agressie vervolgens de prestaties verklaart. Uit dit onderzoek waarin we de (zelf)perceptie van 547 inspecteurs hebben gemeten, blijkt dat het vermogen van inspecteurs om emoties van anderen in te schatten en hun eigen emoties intelligent te gebruiken (d.w.z. zichzelf te motiveren en een positief te blijven) significant samenhangt met de prestaties van inspecteurs. Het vermogen om emoties van anderen in te schatten voorspelt een toename van agressie die inspecteurs ondervinden, en het vermogen om hun eigen te emoties te reguleren correleert met een afname van ondervonden agressie. Het artikel draagt bij aan de literatuur over contactambtenaren (street-level bureaucracy) door affectieve factoren te identificeren die prestaties helpen verklaren, en aan de EI-literatuur door verschillende dimensies van EI te theoretiseren en te testen in plaats van aan te nemen dat EI eendimensionaal is.     

The highest Dutch courts and the preliminary ruling procedure: Critically obedient interlocutors of the Court of Justice

Little is known about the motives of national courts to request a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) or their satisfaction with and implementation of answers. This article aims to fill this empirical gap on the basis of an analysis of judgments complemented with interviews with judges of the highest courts in the Netherlands. This article shows that judges extensively use the procedure and follow its outcome almost without exception, despite some dissatisfaction. This discontent has surprisingly not affected the courts' willingness to refer in future. The findings also downplay the bureaucratic politics and judicial empowerment theses emphasising strategic motives to refer. Instead, legal‐formalist considerations and the desire to contribute to the development of EU law explain most of the references of the Dutch Supreme Court. The decision (not) to refer of the three highest administrative courts is primarily based on practical and pragmatic considerations.