Mediated Agency,Blame Avoidance and Institutional Responsibility: Government Communication in a Personalised Media Landscape

This article explores how personalisation, blame avoidance and institutional constraints collide in contemporary government communication practices. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a Norwegian ministry, it analyses how a central government agency manages the media during critical news campaigns featuring individuals suffering from inadequate public health services. To provide a comprehensive analysis of the particular limits and aims of government communication, the article combines perspectives from public agency studies with media research on personalisation. It finds that the need to be visible and demonstrate agency in the media drive personalisation strategies towards a strong focus on government leaders, while simplifying the representation of complex government organisation and processes. At the same time, institutional constraints and the formal delegation of responsibility limit the communication repertoire available for public agencies when critical human interest stories dominate in the media. This results in a standard type of unconvincing media performance, where incumbents appear to evade direct personal responsibility. The case study provides new knowledge on dilemmas, negotiations and strategies behind government communication, illuminating how competing interests play out in a rapidly changing media landscape.     

Analyses of Beverage Remains in Drug Rape Cases Revealing Drug Residues ‐ The Possibility of Contamination from Drug Concentrated Oral Fluid or Oral Cavity Contained Tablets

In drug‐facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases, drug residues may be detected in beverage remains found in cups or glasses known to have been used by the victims. In this small naturalistic study, the possibility of beverages being contaminated, either by drug concentrated oral fluid or by oral cavity contained tablets, was investigated. Analysis of residues from cups containing soft drinks was performed by immunoassay and ultra‐performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS). Beverage with both added tablets and spiked oral fluid was investigated, as well as simulation of swallowing tablets. Only the residues from added tablets were positive with immunoassay, while drugs were detectable in all cups using more sensitive UPLC‐MS/MS. In conclusion, the possibility of detecting drug residues in beverages due to a contamination, from either drug concentrated oral fluid or oral cavity contained tablets at a time of consumption, should be kept in mind when performing sensitive analysis.     

Drugged drivers in Norway with benzodiazepine detections

Norwegian drugged drivers with benzodiazepine (BZD) detections have been studied with regard to drug use pattern and rearrest rate. During 1995, 3343 drivers were apprehended by the police in Norway due to the suspicion of influence by drugs. Blood samples from all drivers were sent to the National Institute of Forensic Toxicology (NIFT). The samples were analysed using a standard program covering the most commonly abused drugs on the marked in Norway. BZDs, representing some of the most frequently detected drugs, were found in approximately 30% (n = 1051) of the cases, represented by 14% (n = 150) female and 86% (n = 901) male drivers. In 8% of the cases, one BZD only was detected, half of these cases with one BZD could reflect therapeutic use. One or more BZDs were combined with illegal drug(s) (73%), other prescribed drugs (10%), and/or alcohol (24%). 62% of the drivers with BZD detections, had earlier been arrested for the same offence, or six cases per rearrested driver. The frequency of earlier arrests were lower for female (34%) than for male (67%) drivers. Alcohol was most frequently found for those arrested for the first time before 1992, while BZD or illegal drugs were most frequently found for those with their first arrest during 1992-1995. Our study shows that apprehended drivers using BZD are mainly represented by drug abusers due to frequent multi-drug use, blood concentrations representing doses above therapeutic levels and high rearrest rate for the same offence. A treatment program or other reactions, are thus necessary in addition to fines, prison penalty and suspension of driving licence.     

Citizenship identity among Norwegian Sami in core Sami areas

This analysis of citizenship identity among Sami living in core Sami areas in Norway clearly shows that the Sami population feel more closely connected to their local communities than is the case for non-Sami living in the same areas and for the Norwegian populace as a whole. Some significant differences also emerge as regards citizenship identity between Sami who have chosen to be registered in the Sami electoral roster and those who are not registered – in terms of identification with different identity groups, affiliation with different territorially defined areas and the intensity of their Sami identity. However, none of our findings suggest that the total Norwegian citizenry is an unimportant identity group for the Sami population, or that the Sami do not feel affiliated with Norway as a whole. The fact that the perceived content of Norwegian-ness does not seem to include elements that are incompatible with the perceived content of Sami-ness also indicates that it may not be particularly difficult for individuals to combine Sami and Norwegian identity.     

Motivated Reasoning and Political Parties: Evidence for Increased Processing in the Face of Party Cues

Extant research in political science has demonstrated that citizens’ opinions on policies are influenced by their attachment to the party sponsoring them. At the same time, little evidence exists illuminating the psychological processes through which such party cues are filtered. From the psychological literature on source cues, we derive two possible hypotheses: (1) party cues activate heuristic processing aimed at minimizing the processing effort during opinion formation, and (2) party cues activate group motivational processes that compel citizens to support the position of their party. As part of the latter processes, the presence of party cues would make individuals engage in effortful motivated reasoning to produce arguments for the correctness of their party’s position. Following psychological research, we use response latency to measure processing effort and, in support of the motivated reasoning hypothesis, demonstrate that across student and nationally representative samples, the presence of party cues increases processing effort.     

CONFLICT RESOLUTION OF TERRORISTS CONFLICTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

This article addresses the issue of transnational terrorism in Southeast Asia. The objective of the article is to investigate the structure of the transnational element of terrorism to determine their impact on conflict resolution attempts in the region. The transnational terrorist organization Jemaah Islamyiah will be used as a single case for the analysis. From this analysis, obstacles toward conflict resolution originating from the structure of transnational terrorism are identified, and the article provides suggestions on how to circumvent these impediments.