More of the Same? A Dual Case Study Approach to Examining Change Momentum in the Public Sector

Despite the significant amount of change experienced by the public sector, there has been relatively limited empirical examination of how change agendas affect public sector employees in Australia. This article presents a comparative analysis of two Australian public sector organisations that implemented the same positive work change agenda, but experienced very different outcomes. Using a critical realist approach, we draw on a mix of qualitative techniques to suggest that textbook notions of ‘successful change’, which are often derived from large private sector expectations, may fail to capture the complex nature of how public sector change initiatives may unfold. In particular, we demonstrate how political, temporal, contextual, and process factors interact to shift change momentum. Illustrative examples are provided throughout and the findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory building, for change facilitation, and for future research.     

State of the world 2017: autocratization and exclusion?

This article presents evidence of a global trend of autocratization. The most visible feature of democracy – elections – remains strong and is even improving in some places. Autocratization mainly affects non-electoral aspects of democracy such as media freedom, freedom of expression, and the rule of law, yet these in turn threaten to undermine the meaningfulness of elections. While the majority of the world’s population lives under democratic rule, 2.5 billion people were subjected to autocratization in 2017. Last year, democratic qualities were in decline in 24 countries across the world, many of which are populous such as India and the United States. This article also presents evidence testifying that men and wealthy groups tend to have a strong hold on political power in countries where 86% of the world population reside. Further, we show that political exclusion based on socio-economic status in particular is becoming increasingly severe. For instance, the wealthy have gained significantly more power in countries home to 1.9 billion of the world’s population over the past decade.     

A Randomized Clinical Trial Exploring Gambling Attitudes,Barriers to Treatment,and Efficacy of a Brief Motivational Intervention Among Ex-Offenders with Disordered Gambling

Correctional populations are disproportionately burdened by disordered gambling; yet, problem awareness is minimal among both offenders and professionals within the criminal justice system. The aims of the current study were twofold: (i) to examine gambling attitudes and problem awareness among ex-offenders, and (ii) to determine the efficacy of a brief online gambling intervention for ex-offenders. Participants (N = 126) were ex-offenders on probation and parole. Gambling attitudes, attitudes toward treatment, and disorder gambling status were assessed. Disordered gamblers (n = 102) were randomly assigned to (i) a brief intervention plus referral to treatment or (ii) referral to treatment only, and these individuals were re-assessed at a 30-day follow-up. Lifetime disordered gambling was highly prevalent (86%) in the ex-offender sample, and providing information regarding disordered gambler status and referral to treatment was effective in decreasing gambling attitudes, as well as gambling severity and frequency. The current study has direct implications for treatment and intervention efforts among ex-offenders with disordered gambling and yields a greater understanding of attitudes toward gambling among ex-offenders.     

‘The streets have been watched regularly’: the York Penitentiary Society,young working-class women,and the regulation of behaviour in the public spaces of York,c. 1845–1919

The York Penitentiary Society, a charitable female reformatory in York, aimed to transform ‘fallen’ women in the city into useful citizens through institutionalisation, domestic training, and moral and religious instruction. The Penitentiary focused on isolating its ‘inmates’ from wider society, but its moral reach extended far beyond the high walls of the Refuge, and the young women confined within. This article examines the York Penitentiary Society, and considers how it acted to police the streets and public spaces of York, and the behaviour of young women who populated them. In addition to adding detail to our understanding of the operation of female reform institutions, this study also adds to our knowledge on the unofficial policing of women’s behaviour in public space, and has significant implications for histories of urban life.     

Ethnic Identity and Gender in Pluralist Perú

In 2011, Japanese-Peruvian Keiko Fujimori (1975- ), daughter of the former president, Alberto Fujimori, almost won presidential elections in Peru. Ollanta Humala (1962- ), who identifies himself as indigenous and as a youth studied in “La Unión,” a Japanese-Peruvian school, defeated her. He had been an army officer; Keiko Fujimori, a congresswoman. She now hopes to win in 2016. This would make her Perú's first elected female president. What is the importance of a candidate's ethnicity or gender? Have such identity factors become meaningless or unimportant in Perú -- despite the historical reality of racism and gender inequality? To answer these quite general questions, this article focuses on history, multiculturalism, and law. Key points are enhanced through conversations with present and former state officials, authors, professors, students, and with the coordinator of the Japanese Immigration Museum at the Peruvian Japanese Cultural Center. Peru is a multiethnic nation-state and being a woman is not an obstacle to power.

     

Observers’ Real-Time Sensitivity to Deception in Naturalistic Interviews

This study tested the ability of experienced interviewers and novice observers to detect deception while watching mock interviews featuring experimental or control questioning methods and different detainee languages. The protocol featured a complex, realistic critical event and naturalistic interviews in which mock detainees could report unconstrained. Experimenters recorded these interviews and presented them to observers who judged veracity in real time. In general, experienced interviewers were no more sensitive to deception than were novices and both groups set conservative response criteria. Observers were more sensitive to deception when viewing control versus experimental questioning methods. Observers were more sensitive to deception when viewing Arabic speakers interviewed through an interpreter. Results imply that not all trained interviewers exhibit a lie bias; additional research should examine how best to transition lab-tested interview methods into the field, and language and interpreter factors may impact the ability to assess veracity in multiple ways.     

Issues in Coverage for Preexisting Pollution Conditions under Pollution Liability Insurance Policies

Pollution liability insurance policies provide coverage for claims and costs associated with pollution conditions that develop and commence during the policy period. Coverage under such policies for claims arising from pollution conditions that existed before the policy incepted, however, varies significantly under different policy forms. This article addresses the two principal means that insurers have utilized to limit the risks associated with preexisting pollution conditions under pollution policies: the known conditions exclusion and retroactive date provisions. The article explains that these provisions have received mixed treatment in the courts and are likely to continue to be a focus of future coverage litigation involving environmental impairment liability and pollution legal liability policies.     

The Complexity of Public Attitudes Toward Sex Crimes

Previous research suggests that public opinion about crime is nuanced, as it has been found to vary greatly depending upon the type of questions asked and the amount of information provided. Few have similarly examined the complexity of public attitudes specifically about sex crimes. A survey was administered to a sample of U.S. residents utilizing the factorial survey method. The results suggest that specific details about the offense, offender, and victim had a significant effect on perceptions. The findings point to discrepancies between policy and public opinion, as well as to the importance of educating the public about the realities of sexual offending and victimization.