A gendered analysis of goat ownership and marketing in Meru,Kenya

Studies show that women are more likely to own small, rather than, large livestock. This study sought to establish gendered preference for different livestock species while focusing on the gendered differences in ownership, management, and marketing of goats in Meru, Kenya. Men demonstrated a higher preference for cattle than women, who had a higher preference for poultry than men. Men and women preferred goats equally, but women derived and managed more income from goats than men. Development projects should apply a gender lens before introducing different livestock species as gender differences exist in the preference and the management of different livestock.     

Female inmates, family caregivers, and young children's adjustment: A research agenda and implications for corrections programming

Attendant to the exponential increase in rates of incarceration of mothers with young children in the United States, programming has been established to help mothers attend to parenting skills and other family concerns while incarcerated. Unfortunately, most programs overlook the important, ongoing relationship between incarcerated mothers and family members caring for their children—most often, the inmates' own mothers. Research reveals that children's behavior problems escalate when different co-caregivers fail to coordinate parenting efforts and interventions, work in opposition, or disparage or undermine one another. This article presents relevant research on co-caregiving and child adjustment, highlights major knowledge gaps in need of study to better understand incarcerated mothers and their families, and proposes that existing interventions with such mothers can be strengthened through targeting and cultivating functional coparenting alliances in families.     

Reasons why law students should have access to learning law through a skills-based approach

The Legal Education and Training Review identified gaps in law students’ key skills development and this paper considers how skills training in three key areas of mooting, negotiation and client interviewing can be maximised so that law students have a sense of themselves as lawyer as well as law student from the beginning of their legal education. The research identifies numerous benefits to learning law through skills-based activities, but also discovers some possible apprehensions about participating from a student perspective. This paper draws on data taken from students who engaged in short-term optional courses in client interviewing, negotiation and/or mooting and considers the responses to a survey conducted prior to participation, a reflective survey post-completion and a focus group exercise. In total 64 students responded to the questionnaire. The research explores the expected and actual benefits of participating in the courses, discusses how these impact on students’ perceptions of their employability and the types of activities considered most valuable. The article considers how, in light of the research, experiential learning can be put to best use within the law curriculum.     

Effects of victim's and defendant's physical attractiveness on the perception of responsibility in an ambiguous domestic violence case

A 2 × 4 × 4 factorial design was used to assess the effects of physical attractiveness in a domestic violence case. The attractiveness of both the defendant and victim were varied along four levels. Subjects were asked to read a domestic violence scenario where pictures of the defendant and victim were varied according their physical attractiveness. Results showed no significant effect of physical attractiveness in a juridic decision-making process in domestic violence. However, there were significant differences between male and female subjects in the sentencing of the defendant. This difference did not hold true for finding the defendant guilty or not guilty.     

The importance of appropriate allocation to offending behavior programs

This study examined the impact on reconviction of appropriate allocation to three general offending behavior programs involving adult male offenders in the English and Welsh Probation Service. Appropriate allocation was defined by level of risk for reconviction. There were three allocation groups: too low, appropriate, and too high. Using a quasi-experimental design, the reconviction rates of offenders who were allocated to and completed a program, offenders allocated to a program who failed to start, and a comparison group were compared. It was found that the appropriateness of allocation affected reconviction independently of treatment group. Furthermore, in line with the risk principle, there was an interaction between treatment group and the appropriateness of allocation.     

The party politics of legislative‒executive relations in security and defence policy

Abstract

The move from territorial defence to ‘wars of choice’ has influenced the domestic politics of military interventions. This paper examines the extent to which both the substance and the procedure of military interventions are contested among political parties. Regarding the substance, our analysis of Chapel Hill Expert Survey data demonstrates that across European states political parties on the right are more supportive of military missions than those on the left. On the decision-making procedures, our case studies of Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom show that political parties on the left tend to favour strong parliamentary control whereas those on the right tend to prefer an unconstrained executive, although with differences across countries. These findings challenge the view that ‘politics stops at the water’s edge’ and contribute to a better understanding of how political parties and parliaments influence military interventions.     

Torture: A Modicum of Recognition

Torture has reappeared in liberal democracies in the guise of anti-terrorism strategies. The acceptance of its use and the fascination with the images and documents that indicate the pain and suffering of the tortured point to more than a belief in the need for torture to counter terrorist threats. This fascination implies an enjoyment on the part of the liberal subject who is looking on while the other subject is being beaten. In this article I consider the liberal subject’s acceptance of and fascination with the scene of torture. I argue that the scene of torture, as imagined by the subject looking on, provides a formula for the relief of anxiety in the liberal subject who does not know if s/he will be subject to torture at any time. To consider this scene I analyze Donald Rumsfeld’s annotation to the ‘Action Memo’ which sanctioned torture and, through the work of Freud, Lacan and Santner, I explore the position of contemporary sovereigns in their function as providing transcendental signification for the subject seeking recognition and relief in the sovereign’s gaze.