The Tribes that Bind: Yemen and the Paradox of Political Violence

Beset by multiple security challenges, not least the emergence of a powerful Al Qaeda franchise, Yemen appears the antithesis of the “Weberian” state model. But while these challenges are acute, they should be seen as part of a wider “political field,” dominated by powerful tribes and conditioned by patrimonial networks that have long framed the modes of political exchange between the center and periphery. This remains crucial to understanding the wider eddies of tribal politics in Yemen, and in turn, the limits of a purely military response by Washington as it seeks to confront Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.     

Explaining Myanmar's regime transition: the periphery is central

In 2010, Myanmar (Burma) held its first elections after 22?years of direct military rule. Few compelling explanations for this regime transition have emerged. This article critiques popular accounts and potential explanations generated by theories of authoritarian “regime breakdown” and “regime maintenance”. It returns instead to the classical literature on military intervention and withdrawal. Military regimes, when not terminated by internal factionalism or external unrest, typically liberalize once they feel they have sufficiently addressed the crises that prompted their seizure of power. This was the case in Myanmar. The military intervened for fear that political unrest and ethnic-minority separatist insurgencies would destroy Myanmar's always-fragile territorial integrity and sovereignty. Far from suddenly liberalizing in 2010, the regime sought to create a “disciplined democracy” to safeguard its preferred social and political order twice before, but was thwarted by societal opposition. Its success in 2010 stemmed from a strategy of coercive state-building and economic incorporation via “ceasefire capitalism”, which weakened and co-opted much of the opposition. Having altered the balance of forces in its favour, the regime felt sufficiently confident to impose its preferred settlement. However, the transition neither reflected total “victory” for the military nor secured a genuine or lasting peace.     

Does Training and Documentation Improve Emergency Department Assessments of Domestic Violence Victims?

This study aimed to determine whether training and documentation led to improved assessment of female victims of assault due to domestic violence presenting to an emergency department. Eighty clinical records were audited using a valid and reliable audit tool over four time periods for variables including history, risk assessment, and examination. Documentation differed across the four groups (p?=?0.011). Between group analysis found there was a difference (p?=?0.055) between Groups 1 (before training) and 2 (after training), and Group 3 (with a specialist form in place), and there was a difference (p?=?0.009) between Groups 1 and 4 (8 years later). Training alone did not lead to change. Introducing specialist documentation with training was associated with an improvement in the standard of clinical assessment of female victims of assault due to domestic violence and this change increased over time.     

Recommendations for Correctional Leaders to Reduce Boundary Violations: Female Correctional Employees and Male Inmates

The correctional profession continues to report boundary-violating behavior by correctional employees with inmates, such as aiding an inmate in an escape and engaging in sexual contact with an inmate. These criminal behaviors obviously threaten the safety within the institutions and the community; however, these types of actions are normally preceded by minor boundary crossings within the institution. Therefore, all types of boundary violations and crossings between an inmate and an employee must be examined and eliminated. This article offers correctional leaders recommendations for organizational change that may reduce the number of boundary violations and crossings between female employees and male inmates. These recommendations are built on a larger qualitative study that used portraiture methodology, by interviewing 4 former female correctional employees who developed relationships with male inmates.     

A biomechanical reconstruction of a wound caused by a glass shard--a case report

During the course of a criminal trial, an investigating pathologist is commonly asked how much force was required to produce an injury. This subjective opinion is based on the pathologist's previous experience of dealing with wounds inflicted with similar weapons. However, in the case of stab wounds inflicted by broken glass, it is unlikely that two glass fragments would be physically similar. In the case studied, two theories were examined: that a wound resulted from a thrown glass fragment or that it had been caused as a stab injury by the glass held in the bare hand. The investigation involved quantifying the energy required for human tissue penetration, comparison of sharpness, a biomechanical analysis of throwing actions and testing of the hypothesis that if the glass shard were used as a stabbing implement it would result in a cut to the hand.The investigation utilised a scientific methodology that reduced the need for speculative (though informed) opinion from the pathologist by producing quantitative results.     

Betting shops in the public eye: A commentary

Betting shops are a familiar feature in towns and cities throughout the UK. However, in recent years, increasing social and political concerns have been expressed about the presence of betting shops in high streets and about the role of betting shops in encouraging gambling. Such concerns include the concentration of betting shops in areas of social deprivation, the impact of such shops on the vitality of and viability of town centres, the perceived links between betting shops and both anti‐social behaviour and criminal activity and the presence of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in betting shops. This commentary paper outlines the origin and characteristics of betting shops, explores some of the recent concerns betting shops have attracted and offers some brief concluding reflections on the impact of policy responses to these concerns.     

Cheap and Dirty: The Effect of Contracting Out Cleaning on Efficiency and Effectiveness

Contracting out of public services, especially ancillary services, has been a key feature of New Public Management since the 1980s. By 2014, more than £100 billion of U.K. public services were being contracted out annually to the private sector. A number of high‐profile cases have prompted a debate about the value for money that these contracts provide. Value for money comprises both the cost and the quality of the services. This article empirically tests the contestability and quality shading hypotheses of contracting out in the context of cleaning services in the English National Health Service. Additionally, a new hypothesis of coupling is presented and tested: the effect of contracting of ancillary services on patient health outcomes, using the hospital‐acquired infection rate as our measure. Using data from 2010–11 to 2013–14 for 130 National Health Service trusts, the study finds that private providers are cheaper but dirtier than their in‐house counterparts.