Transnational Radicalization,Diaspora Groups,and Within-group Sentiment Pools: Young Tamil and Somali Canadians on the LTTE and al Shabaab

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the Tamil and Somali diasporas have come under intense scrutiny by the media and national security agencies in Canada. This is due to concerns that members of both communities may hold political grievances associated with their respective homelands that could be acted upon by joining or supporting transnational terrorist groups. Drawing on 168 in-depth interviews with youth and young adults in Toronto’s Tamil and Somali diasporas, we provide a comparative analysis of the varying ways that existing sentiment pools can operate to mobilize broad-levels of support for, or vilification of, the framing strategies of the LTTE and al Shabaab, respectively. Our findings show that frames that portray the LTTE in a positive light resonate deeply with the young Tamil-Canadians we interviewed, characterizing a “narrative fidelity” between these frames and the existing sentiment pool. By contrast, there exists considerable disconnect between the framing strategies of al Shabaab, their supporters, and existing sentiment within the Somali diaspora – a divide that illustrates the notion of “framing failure”. We conclude with a discussion of the dynamic nature and inherent malleability of group-level sentiment pools, and highlight why this may be important from a national security standpoint.     

Risk,reconviction rates and pro-offending attitudes for child molesters in a complete geographical area of London

Abstract

The study reports on all convicted child molesters in an inner city area over seven years, half of whom received a community treatment package. The average time at risk in the community was three years. There were 17 ‘failures’: subjects who were either breached for non-compliance, or reconvicted for general, violent or sexual offences. Historical, rather than cognitive variables appeared to be associated with failure. Key factors were a history of being sexually victimised and previous sexual/violent convictions.     

Mandatory or Not Mandatory Reporting? Insights From Italian Bank Foundations

In the Italian nonprofit field, bank foundations face an increasing demand to account for their grant activity in forms that go beyond traditional financial statements. Consequently, bank foundations have developed specific reports in accordance with a 2001 Italian law that requires a mission report to be included within financial statements. This study investigates the peculiarities of social reporting documents in terms of standards used and formal characteristics, revealing different adoption levels. Contributing to an ongoing debate, the analysis of the reporting practices underlines how the due by law on social accounting could hamper the disclosure in nonprofit organizations.     

Gender Differences in Resistance to Schooling: The Role of Dynamic Peer-Influence and Selection Processes

Boys engage in notably higher levels of resistance to schooling than girls. While scholars argue that peer processes contribute to this gender gap, this claim has not been tested with longitudinal quantitative data. This study fills this lacuna by examining the role of dynamic peer-selection and influence processes in the gender gap in resistance to schooling (i.e., arguing with teachers, skipping class, not putting effort into school, receiving punishments at school, and coming late to class) with two-wave panel data. We expect that, compared to girls, boys are more exposed and more responsive to peers who exhibit resistant behavior. We estimate hybrid models on 5448 students from 251 school classes in Sweden (14–15 years, 49% boys), and stochastic actor-based models (SIENA) on a subsample of these data (2480 students in 98 classes; 49% boys). We find that boys are more exposed to resistant friends than girls, and that adolescents are influenced by the resistant behavior of friends. These peer processes do not contribute to a widening of the gender gap in resistance to schooling, yet they contribute somewhat to the persistence of the initial gender gap. Boys are not more responsive to the resistant behavior of friends than girls. Instead, girls are influenced more by the resistant behavior of lower status friends than boys. This explains to some extent why boys increase their resistance to schooling more over time. All in all, peer-influence and selection processes seem to play a minor role in gender differences in resistance to schooling. These findings nuance under investigated claims that have been made in the literature.     

Ethical treatment of youthful offenders: Issues for psychologists

The treatment of youthful offenders in correctional settings presents psychologists with a range of challenging ethical concerns. The inherent discord between psychologically based goals and correctional objectives yields a complicated ethical landscape for clinicians. These concerns can be partially addressed through the APA's revised Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2010) and field-specific practice guidelines but also require extensive further guidance to ensure competent and ethical practice. This article analyzes current information about youthful offenders, outlines disparities in stakeholder goals, provides an overview of ethical considerations of treating youthful offenders in correctional settings, and offers recommendations for education and practice.