Constructing “The Same Rights With the Same Names”: The Impact of Spanish Norm Diffusion on Marriage Equality in Argentina

This article argues that Spain has been the driving external force in the advancement of LGBT rights in Latin America, from marriage in Argentina to the regional recognition of “sexual diversity rights” as human rights. Acting as “norm entrepreneurs,” Spanish activists and organizations, relying on development aid, have promoted their perspectives through two approaches: strategic consulting and resource transfer. Their diffusion is illustrated primarily by the Argentine case. There, activists underwritten by Spanish resources have borrowed Spanish strategies to achieve “the same rights with the same names.” Besides broadening our understanding of the struggle for LGBT equality in Latin America, this article deepens the explanation of norm diffusion, focusing on emergence. In this stage, specific individuals and organizations deliberately select appropriate “targets” for and moments of intervention. But norm “receptors” must also be ready for action.     

Producing more persuasive antiviolence messages for college students: testing the effects of framing, information sources, and positive/negative fact appeal

College students, between the ages of about 18 and 24, are the group of people who are most often exposed to situations involving diverse types of violence. They have greater access to alcohol and drugs and are under far less parental supervision than younger age groups; reports have shown that frequent involvement in several types of violent behaviors can seriously damage college students physically and psychologically. However, despite the high rate of violence among college students, there has not been enough discussion about how we can produce more effective antiviolence messages targeting college students. This research provides some useful insights into this issue by testing the possible effects of three antiviolence message conditions: gain/loss framing, different information sources, and negative/positive fact appeal. The results reveal that college students in this study find more appeal in antiviolence messages conveyed by a traditional public service announcement (PSA) than in a TV news report. The results also reveal that people pay more attention to messages that use negative fact appeal (e.g., "There are many people losing a lot of precious things because of their violent behaviors") than to those that use positive fact appeal (e.g., "There are many people gaining a lot of precious things by avoiding violent behaviors"). An interaction effect between information sources and positive/negative fact appeal was also detected.     

Hierarchical Cluster Analysis of Ignitable Liquids Based on the Total Ion Spectrum

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) data of ignitable liquids in the Ignitable Liquids Reference Collection (ILRC) database were processed to obtain 445 total ion spectra (TIS), that is, average mass spectra across the chromatographic profile. Hierarchical cluster analysis, an unsupervised learning technique, was applied to find features useful for classification of ignitable liquids. A combination of the correlation distance and average linkage was utilized for grouping ignitable liquids with similar chemical composition. This study evaluated whether hierarchical cluster analysis of the TIS would cluster together ignitable liquids of the same ASTM class assignment, as designated in the ILRC database. The ignitable liquids clustered based on their chemical composition, and the ignitable liquids within each cluster were predominantly from one ASTM E1618‐11 class. These results reinforce use of the TIS as a tool to aid in forensic fire debris analysis.     

Treating alcohol-related violence: a feasibility study of a randomized controlled trial in prisons

Purpose: There is a lack of good-quality outcome evaluations of interventions for offenders whose crimes are alcohol-related. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered gold standard in treatment evaluations. Here, we report on a feasibility study for an RCT of an alcohol-related violence intervention, Control of Violence for Angry, Impulsive Drinkers (COVAID). Method: 115 adult male prisoners were randomly allocated to COVAID plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU only. Results: Most participants (84%) found COVAID useful. Reconviction data at six months were accessed for 109 (95%) participants. There were no differences between the two groups on violent reconvictions or all reconvictions at the six-month period, but at 17?months the COVAID group had 13% fewer people reconvicted for violence, and 20% fewer had reconvictions for any offence. Conclusion: The results indicate that an RCT is feasible and provides parameters for designing a full RCT. Differences in reconviction between groups favoured COVAID and were clinically important.     

Evaluation of Police Training on LGBTQ Issues: Knowledge,Interpersonal Apprehension,and Self-Efficacy

The present study evaluates outcomes of a five-hour training session to prepare law enforcement personnel (LEP) to work effectively with LGBTQ individuals and communities. The training was developed collaboratively with the local police department, an LGBTQ community organization, a group of diversity trainers, and the researchers. Approximately 120 LEP participated in the training, and 81 completed pre- and post-test assessments of knowledge, self-efficacy, and interpersonal comfort with LGBTQ people. Paired-sample t-tests demonstrated significant increases in knowledge and confidence in using LGBTQ-affirming tactics on the job. No significant differences were found in participants’ comfort in working with LGBTQ community members. Implications for LEP training on LGBTQ issues and research in assessing LEP for behavioral and affective change are discussed.     

Studying North Korea through North Korean migrants: lessons from the field

This article examines the use of North Korean defectors’ accounts as a source of information for studying the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Information from defectors fills a vital knowledge gap and improves our understanding of North Korean politics, economics, and society. Witness accounts and interview data collected from people who were born in North Korea but have since left have been widely used by journalists, government agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and academics. There are, however, serious methodological issues in collecting, organizing, and interpreting information derived from defectors’ accounts. Selection and demographic biases, power relations between researchers and interviewees, monetary incentives, and language barriers are among those issues. We propose focus group discussions and participatory observation as complementary methods of data collection to mitigate the shortfalls of relying on individual interviews.     

Regional Public Sector Organizations: A broader taxonomic classification to cross-pollinate empirical research

The present scholarship on cross-boundary organizations of local governments often splinters its focus and investigates narrow species of organizations with specific powers or unique policy domains. However, many organizations share common governance structures and mechanisms. Investigating these commonalities from a broader perspective permits stronger cross-pollination of knowledge and sharpens generalizable theories of governance and administration. In this article, I first provide easily and unambiguously measurable criteria capturing a genus I term Regional Public Sector Organizations (RPSOs). These criteria rely on a rescaled common definition of International Governmental Organizations (IGOs). In the United States, this broad genus includes many species of public authorities, regional councils, and policy-specific organizations. Terminology may differ in other nations, but the underlying idea sustains. The second contribution is five research questions largely inspired by IGO scholarship. Considering the parallels of RPSOs to IGOs can chart a rigorous, empirical path toward more coherent theoretical conversations on regional governance.     

Taking Responsibility for Negligence and Non-negligence

Negligence reminds us that we often do and cause things unawares, occasionally with grave results. Given the lack of foresight and intention, some authors argue that people should not be judged culpable for negligence. This paper offers a contrasting view. It argues that gaining control (over our agency, over a risky world) is itself a fundamental responsibility, with both collective and individual elements. The paper underlines both sides, focussing on how they relate as we ascribe responsibility or culpability. Following the introduction, Section 2 (“Culpability and Control: The Negligence Sceptics”) argues that conscious awareness is neither necessary nor sufficient for control. Control is not a property of deliberate choice, so much as a practical achievement. Section 3 (“Non-negligence as a Shared Task”) stresses the collective aspects of non-negligence: creating knowledge about risks, structuring environments to guard against them, and developing standards of care. Failings in the collective task, rather than lack of individual control, mean it can often be unfair to pin culpability on a single individual. Section 4 (“Culpability for Negligence Revisited”) suggests that a basic duty of a responsible person is to acknowledge the ways in which we may do more or less than we mean to, often in ways that create risks. It then sketches an approach to culpability as part of a collective exercise: as we take responsibility for standards of care, and for our own and others’ agency.