Two Cheers for Richards and Smith: Beyond Anti‐Politics?

In a recent issue of The Political Quarterly, Richards and Smith critiqued Flinders’ work on anti‐politics, suggesting that there needs to be much more focus on supply‐side explanations and recognising that much of the problem lies with politicians, contra Flinders. Here, we argue instead that it is crucial to recognise how supply‐side and demand side explanations interact. For us, politicians need to be more responsive to citizens, but, at the same time, citizens need to recognise problems of contemporary governing. Overall, much is changing in the way in which citizens engage and it is crucial that these changes are understood.     

Pigeons and people: mortal enemies or lifelong companions? A case study on staff perceptions of the pigeons on the University of South Africa,Muckleneuk campus

Pigeons have been a part of our lives for as long as we can remember. Some people view them with joy, others disdain. Regardless of the perception, control measures are often implemented against the birds in a bid to reduce their presence in urban environments without considering the views of members of the public in the process. Complaints about pigeon activity are, typically, given more attention than praise for these birds. However, people who are pro‐pigeons are often not provided with the forum to express their views of the birds. This study explored the perceptions of staff with regard to the pigeons inhabiting the University of South Africa's Muckleneuk campus. Two hundred and forty‐six participants provided their opinions on the pigeons, their related activities and the perceived impact on staff on the campus. Recognising that both people and urban wildlife play a role of cause‐and‐effect in human–wildlife conflicts can contribute to understanding peoples' relationships and perceptions of animals which transgress the boundaries between urbanisation and nature. By considering peoples' perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards urban wildlife, management strategies can be significantly informed in the process of mitigating conflict. The study has shown that the negative perception of pigeons, which was assumed to be the position of all the people affected by the pigeons at the University of South Arica's Muckleneuk campus, is in fact incorrect. Participants would rather encourage the nesting and breeding activities of the pigeons on campus, as they felt that the human–pigeon interactions and the viewing of squabs in nests contributed positively to their work environment. Pigeon control strategies should therefore not solely be on the biological aspect of a perceived pigeon problem, but should also include the human association. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Irregular immigrants in Australia and the United States — Rights,realities, and political mobilization

This article considers the gap between the universal promise of human rights and the reality of the rights enjoyed by irregular immigrants in liberal democracies such as Australia and the United States. Against the idea that stronger international rights enforcement mechanisms will automatically improve the position of irregular immigrants, it argues that international law currently provides a warrant for the way in which countries like Australia and the United States treat irregular immigrants. After developing this argument, the article explores how irregular immigrants might employ the language of rights more effectively in their political mobilizations.     

Developmental Relations Between Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation in Middle Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Do Internalizing Problems and Substance Use Mediate Their Links?

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Previous research has suggested that bullying victimization is associated with higher suicidal risk among young people; however, the mechanisms underlying this...     

The Victim as Policy Agent? Exploring a Single Case from Denmark

European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research - Criminal policy processes often appear abstract and illusive, but sometimes a single criminal incident causes traceable policy impact. This...     

Traversing the Fantasy: Why Leftist Academics Must Abandon the Myth of Organic Resistance and Think Again About the Problems We Face

Critical Criminology - The concept of organic resistance has stood as a cornerstone of critical social science for decades. Countless authors have claimed that minor acts of...     

The development of the comprehensive health assessment tool for young offenders within the secure estate

Health inequalities are high among offending groups. The comprehensive health assessment tool (CHAT) is a semi-structured assessment developed to provide a standardised approach to health screening for all young offenders admitted to the secure estate. The four sections of the CHAT (physical health, mental health, substance misuse and neurodisability) were evaluated within a two-phased study of male adolescents (aged 15–18?years) within a young offenders institution in the north-west of England. Within Phase 1, a consecutive sample of 127 new receptions was assessed using the physical health, mental health and substance misuse sections of the CHAT against a range of reference standard assessments. Phase 2 of the study evaluated the neurodisability section on 93 male adolescents against reference standard tools. The four sections of the CHAT demonstrated fair to good convergent validity when compared against reference standard tools in male offenders. The diagnostic accuracy rate was 76% for mental health, 63% for physical health, 83% for substance misuse and 53% for neurodisability when compared against reference standard assessment tools. The introduction of the CHAT offers the opportunity to enhance existing reception screening practices and create an integrated approach to the assessment of health needs across the secure estate.     

Adolescent Refusal of MMR Inoculation: F (Mother) v F (Father)

F (Mother) v F (Father) concerned a dispute between parents as to whether or not their 15 and 11 year old children should receive the MMR inoculation. Mrs Justice Theis took into consideration the wishes of both parents and the two ‘intelligent, articulate and thoughtful’ minors and held that inoculation was in their best interests. The troubled history of the MMR vaccine and its importance to public health provided the backdrop. Whilst the court's efforts to establish the views of the minors are to be commended, the decision is problematic in its assessment of the minors' individual medical interests and capacities, and in the significance placed on their views when determining whether inoculation would be in their best interests.     

Virtual casting of stab wounds in cartilage using micro-computed tomography

In homicidal stabbings using a serrated knife, stab wounds involving costal cartilage leave striations on the cut surface of the cartilage from the serration points on the blade edge. Class characteristics of the serrated blade can be determined from the striation marks, and individualizing characteristics may be seen also. The traditional method for recording the striation marks involves the pernickety technique of casting with dental impression material. We assessed the potential utility of micro-computed tomography scanning of the stab track as a technique for nondestructive recording of striation patterns and virtual casting of them. Stab tracks in porcine cartilage, produced with a coarsely serrated blade, were scanned with a bench-top micro-computed tomography scanner. The typical irregularly regular striation pattern could be demonstrated, and the images manipulated, using proprietary software to produce a virtual cast. Whether the technology will have sufficient resolution to image not only class characteristic tool marks but also the much finer individualizing tool marks remains to be evaluated, but the technology shows considerable promise.