Creativity in local government: Definition and determinants

In current thinking about public service improvement, civil servant creativity plays an important role. Using the results of 43 semi‐structured interviews, we assessed the degree to which our theoretical knowledge about creativity—based primarily on business research—matches the insights of managers in local government. Respondents considered employee creativity to be important, but—in contrast to the literature—understood creativity as the act of trying out new things to better deal with specific problems at hand instead of developing new ideas potentially applicable to a wider context. As such, respondents did not see creativity as the main precondition for innovation. In line with the literature, there is little consistency across respondents about individual‐ and context‐level determinants of creativity. Lastly, respondents put forward several factors that have received little attention in the literature but are particularly relevant in understanding differences in work‐related creativity in the context of local government.     

A tribe and its states: Yemen’s 1972 Bayḥan massacre revisited

Across the Middle East, tribes and states have entered into different relationships. In many countries, tribes were confronted with massive attempts at interference by their respective states. The northern Yemeni Republic, in contrast, remained a weak state with little coercive instruments at its disposal. Its rule was rather based on indirect means: the politics of patronage, the politicization of development efforts, and the exploitation of tribal conflict. This article aims to look closer into state-tribe relations in Yemen by reviewing the power struggle between the Khawlan al-Tiyal tribe and the republican government. In 1972, the regional ramifications of this struggle culminated in the so-called ‘Bayhan massacre’ whose legacy continues to resonate across tribal Yemen today. The Khawlan case gives evidence of how power and legitimacy in republican Yemen remained, and still remain, largely contingent on the politics of co-optation and patronage, an endemic feature that comes at the expense of real institution building.     

Returnees for change? Afghan return migrants' identification with the conflict and their potential to be agents of change

This article interrogates the assumptions that returned migrants can be agents of change in development and peace-building in the country of origin. In current political and academic debates, it remains under-defined which category of returnees can contribute to what kind of change. This article identifies four ways in which voluntary and involuntary returnees relate to the conflict after return: physically, institutionally, psychologically and with regard to the future. It finds that the only returnees who could potentially live up to the expectations raised in the migration-development-peace-building debate, are voluntary returnees, while involuntary returnees were in no way potential contributors to Afghan peace-building and development. It concludes that, first, the human dimension of returnees' involvement is the most important potential contribution to change. Second, while the international community sees repatriation as the ultimate proof of peace that represents the restoring of normalcy, it is rather continued transnational mobility that could be the basis for Afghan migrants to contribute to change in Afghanistan.     

Governance, risk and dataveillance in the war on terror

This paper critically analyses the importance of risk management techniques in the war on terror. From the protection of borders to international financial flows, from airport security to daily financial transactions, risk assessment is emerging as the most important way in which terrorist danger is made measurable and manageable. However, we argue that the risk-based approach results in the displacement of risk onto marginal groups, while its effectiveness in the war on terror remains questionable.     

The Nature and Prevalence of Familicide in the United States, 2000–2009

Familicide refers to the killing of multiple family members, most commonly the homicide of an intimate partner and at least one child. This study examines the prevalence of familicide in the United States. Second, it explores the relationship between the prevalence of familicide and the prevalence of financial problems in the United States by making use of Supplementary Homicide Reports data and newspaper reports. In the period of 2000–2009, familicide involving an intimate partner and child(ren) occurred approximately 23 times per year. The majority of the perpetrators were male, who committed the offense with a firearm. Familicides involving an intimate partner and child(ren) with financial motives alone occurred 4 to 5 times per year. The results showed that the association between familicide and financial problems is not a straightforward one. Even though correlational analyses suggest a relationship between the two, the prevalence of familicide motivated by financial problems was unrelated to periods of financial downfall. Directions for future research are discussed.     

Young people,parents and radical right voting. The Case of the Swiss People’s Party

It is commonly found that young people tend to adopt the political party choice of their parents. However, far less is known about the applicability of this theory when investigating radical right support. Using the Swiss Household panel data (1999–2007), this study empirically identifies the relationship between parents’ preference for the Swiss radical right party SVP and their attitudes toward immigrants and the EU, and their offspring’s preference for the SVP. Disaggregating fathers’ and mothers’ influence reveals that in particular, mothers’ SVP support plays a role in SVP support among young people, even after controlling for educational similarities. We also demonstrate that girls are more likely to be influenced by their mothers than are boys. Furthermore, parents’ negative attitudes toward the EU exert a positive influence on their children’s radical right voting, independent of their voting pattern.     

Associations between Oxytocin Receptor (<Emphasis Type="Italic">OXTR</Emphasis>) Genotype and Elementary School Children’s Likability,Dis-likability and Friendship among Classroom Peers: A Longitudinal Study

The single nucleotide polymorphism rs53576 of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene is involved in forming and maintaining relationships in various social contexts. However, this has not been studied in the childhood peer context. The present study followed 359 children (51.6% girls) from age 9 to 12 to explore associations between OXTR rs53576 genotype (i.e., AA, AG or GG genotype) and three indicators of children’s relationships with peers: likability and dis-likability among, and friendship with, classroom peers. Our results showed that OXTR rs53576 was associated with likability among boys, but not with dis-likability and friendship or among girls. Boys with an A and a G allele (i.e., AG genotype) became increasingly more liked by their peers across the four-year studied period than those with two A alleles or two G alleles (i.e., AA and GG genotype). This study indicates that OXTR rs53576 genotype might influence children’s peer relationships, particularly their likeability among peers. Associations between OXTR rs53576 and peer relationships may differ depending on children’s sex and the specific type of peer-relationship under scrutiny.     

Psychotic versus non-psychotic firesetters: similarities and differences in characteristics

Firesetters with psychotic disorders constitute a distinct and important offender group. However, little is known about how psychotic firesetters differ from non-psychotic firesetters. More knowledge is required in order to treat this particular population effectively. Psychotic (n?=?30) and non-psychotic (n?=?94) firesetters of both sexes referred for pre-trial forensic mental health assessment in the Netherlands were compared on socio-demographic, pathological, judicial and event-related characteristics using binary and multivariate statistical tests. Results showed that psychotic firesetters were older, single and unemployed. They had a more extensive history of mental health problems, associated drug use and impaired self-reliance. Opposed to non-psychotic offenders, physical abuse in childhood and alcohol abuse were less prevalent. They had a more extensive history of prior convictions, committed the arsons more often alone and were less often intoxicated. Treatment implications are discussed as focusing treatment on these differences may contribute to treatment efficacy and prevention of recidivism.