Homegrown Violent Extremism in Trinidad and Tobago: Local Patterns,Global Trends

The article examines the subject of homegrown violent extremism related to militant Islamism in the dual-Island Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago (T & T). It employs original research drawn from a series of semi-structured interviews and focus groups conducted between November 2015 and January 2016. Tracing the evolution of endogenous forms of radicalism and extremism the article considers how globalized-exogenous forms of militant Islamism associated with Al Qaeda and its offshoots, such as the so-called Islamic State, have impacted local patterns of violent extremism. The case study draws attention to a state and a region that have received scant attention in terrorism studies. As demonstrated by the article, this oversight is imprudent. There are a number of noteworthy findings from this case study for terrorism studies scholars: the unique historical legacy of radicalism, extremism and insurrection among T & T's Islamists; the country's markedly high levels of extremist travelers on a per capita basis and the high rate of religious converts among those travelers; the inter-linkages between criminality and political violence; and the potential threat posed by Trinidadian and Tobagonian militancy regionally.     

The Effect of Jury Deliberations on Jurors' Reasoning Skills

The effect of jury deliberation on jurors' reasoning skill in a murder trial was examined. Specifically, the effect of deliberating on reasoning competence (as defined by Kuhn, Weinstock and Flaton, 1994) was explored. One hundred and four participants viewed a videotaped murder trial and either deliberated in 12-person juries or ruminated on the case individually. Among those assigned to juries, half had their reasoning skill assessed prior to deliberations, while the others were tested after deliberating. Jurors in the individual rumination condition were assessed after they had the opportunity to reflect on the case alone. As hypothesized, post-group-deliberation jurors were more likely to discount both the selected verdict and alternative theories and incorporate judgmental supporting statements than were the other mock jurors. However, the mock jurors did not differ with regard to making statements that supported alternative verdicts or including judgmental statements that discounted their chosen verdict. In terms of Kuhn's reasoning continuum from satisficing (low level) to theory–evidence coordination (high level), there is some evidence that post-group-deliberation jurors may be closer to the high end than predeliberation jurors or post-individual-rumination jurors in some aspects of the task, but not in others.     

NEW FEDERALISM, OLD REMEDIES, AND CORRECTIONS POLICYMAKING

Corrections litigation is changing, but new case law does not authorize a wholesale cutback of prisoner constitutional rights. Supreme Court cases urge a return to traditional compensatory damages as the remedy for unconstitutional acts and conditions. Monitoring of state correctional performance by federal courts is disfavored. The author believes that basic rights of prisoners will remain protected, but that systematic planning and exemplary programs will erode. Under the money damages model, legal reform should thus urge waiver of the state sovereign immunity provided by the Eleventh Amendment.     

Food grain marketing in Northern Nigeria: Spatial and temporal performance

This paper examines spatial and temporal aspects of marketing efficiency for the traditional marketing system for millet and sorghum in part of northern Nigeria. Analysis of these price relationships in many cases indicate excessive intermarket and seasonal price increases. Some reasons are given for these excessive intermarket and seasonal price increases. The evidence suggests these cases of excessive increases are not a result of planned manipulation under monopolistic or monopsonistic conditions, but result from imperfections inherent in the system: Some suggestions are made for improving marketing performance.     

Vicious Dogs: The Antisocial Behaviors and Psychological Characteristics of Owners

Abstract:  Each year, 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs. Of those bitten each year, 386,000 are seriously injured and some killed. Consequently, many insurance companies refuse to issue homeowners insurance to owners of specific breeds of dogs considered "vicious" or high risk of causing injury. This study examined whether vicious dog owners were different on antisocial behaviors and personality dimensions. A total of 869 college students completed an anonymous online questionnaire assessing type of dog owned, criminal behaviors, attitudes towards animal abuse, psychopathy, and personality. The sample was divided into four groups: vicious dog owners, large dog owners, small dog owners, and controls. Findings revealed vicious dog owners reported significantly more criminal behaviors than other dog owners. Vicious dog owners were higher in sensation seeking and primary psychopathy. Study results suggest that vicious dog ownership may be a simple marker of broader social deviance.     

THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC PROVISION

Abstract: This work addresses the special character of public management by positing some important distinctions under-represented in current academic literature. In exploring the primary distinction between public administration and public management, the analysis proceeds from a treatment of public management as control of a production process uniquely configured as a combination of policy brokerage and resource management, to a demonstration of the economic agency (value addition) of public managers. The paper also presents a contextual analysis of the scope and scale of the public sector as this pertains to a model of "public provision", and introduces some new ideas regarding the temporal characteristics of public management as it responds to a discrete set of three cycles: the budget cycle, the product cycle and the policy cycle.
This work aims to provide tools for analysis which both distinguish public administration from public management and distinguish the economic agency of private managers from that of public managers. The general argument is that the "public provision process", while similar to a conventional production process, contains unique and important responsibilities which need to be understood and defended. By the same token, public managers ought to be empowered by a knowledge and identity which express their importance as economic agents who contribute both to the commonweal and to the wealth of the nation.     

Homegrown Terrorism in Canada: Local Patterns,Global Trends

The article examines how global trends related to militant Islamism have influenced patterns of homegrown terrorism in Canada. It seeks to understand how an evolving movement has shaped three case studies, two cases of homegrown terrorism, the case of Momin Khawaja, the “Toronto 18” plot, and the emerging trend of extremist travelers. Recognizing the notable gap in the literature, a growing number of cases of homegrown terrorism and extremism in Canada suggest that further study is required. The article asks why Canadians choose to participate in this movement and why militant Islamist movements are actively recruiting them.     

Psychological screening of police recruits: A Texas perspective

For approximately 50 years, police agencies have been attempting to improve police officer selection, especially through psychological testing. Regarding this effort the availability of various standardized tests has made it rather confusing. This study was undertaken to better understand what tests are being utilized and whether there is any consistency among agencies as to what is being used in the State of Texas. Seventeen major municipal police agencies and the Department of Public Safety were surveyed as to the psychological protocols used for recruit screening. The results suggest a multitude of tests are being used with only minor commonality. Suggestions for future use and research are offered.     

Exploiting the post-attendee URL feature in Zoom webinar to distribute malware

The post-attendee Uniform Resource Locator (URL) feature within the video conferencing application known as Zoom is often overlooked by digital forensic experts as a potential risk for malware transmission. However, with the ability to redirect webinar participants to any URL set by the host for the webinar, the post-attendee URL can be abused by bad actors to expose webinar participants to malicious websites or, in the worst-case scenario, force participants to download a file through the use of a direct download link URL. This study aims to showcase how this exploit can be replicated by creating an experimental environment involving four Windows 10 desktops running Zoom version 5.7.5 and creating a webinar with four user accounts acting as webinar participants and setting the post-attendee URL value to the URL of a website that contained a keylogger. In another trial, the same experimental environment was utilized, with the only difference being the post-attendee URL that was set to redirect webinar participants to a download link for a .jpg file. In both instances, every user account that joined the webinar via clicking on the invitation link that was emailed to each user account after registering for the webinar was redirected to the post-attendee URL regardless of their user account role. These results not only prove that the post-attendee URL can be exploited, but also provide insight as to how this type of attack can be prevented.