Grassroots civil society at crossroads: staying on the path to independence or turning onto the UK Government's route to localism?

Within the context of acute public spending cuts and the increasing push towards localism, the UK government is increasingly looking outwards to community- and citizen-led action for solutions to long-term social problems and to take on public services. The extent to which these groups have the capacity and willingness to take on politicised roles beyond their purpose and function is, however, not well understood. By reflecting on findings primarily from a street-level mapping project, in this paper discussion focuses on the potential implications arising from grassroots' co-option.

La société civile au niveau de la base populaire à la croisée des chemins : rester sur le chemin de l'indépendance ou prendre la voie du gouvernement britannique vers le localisme ?

Dans le contexte des profondes coupes sombres opérées dans les dépenses publiques et de la poussée croissante vers le localisme, le gouvernement britannique se tourne de plus en plus vers l'extérieur, vers des actions menées par les communautés et les citoyens pour résoudre les problèmes sociaux à long terme et se charger des services publics. La mesure dans laquelle ces groupes ont les capacités et la volonté nécessaires pour assumer des rôles politisés qui dépassent leur finalité et leur fonction n'est pas, toutefois, bien comprise. En réfléchissant sur les constatations faites principalement dans le cadre d'un projet de cartographie au niveau des rues, la discussion de cet article porte sur les implications potentielles de la cooptation de la base populaire.

La sociedad civil de base en la disyuntiva: ¿mantener el camino de la independencia o tomar la ruta del gobierno del Reino Unido hacia el localismo?

En un contexto de severos recortes en el gasto público y de creciente impulso hacia el localismo, el gobierno del Reino Unido está fomentando cada vez más que las comunidades y los ciudadanos impulsen acciones tendientes a solucionar longevos problemas sociales y que se hagan cargo de los servicios públicos. Sin embargo, no se comprende bien hasta qué punto dichos grupos tienen la capacidad y la disposición de asumir roles politizados más allá de sus objetivos y de su función. A partir de reflexiones en torno a las conclusiones provenientes principalmente de un proyecto de mapeo a nivel de calle, el presente artículo se centra en analizar las posibles implicaciones que podrían surgir de la cooptación de los grupos de base.

Sociedade civil de base na encruzilhada: permanecendo no caminho para a independência ou voltando-se para a rota do governo do Reino Unido em direção ao localismo?

Dentro do contexto de significativos cortes nos gastos públicos e um empenho crescente em direção ao localismo, o governo do Reino Unido está cada vez mais olhando para fora para ações coordenadas pela comunidade – e cidadãos – para soluções de problemas sociais de longo prazo e contratação de serviços públicos. Porém, não se sabe muito bem até que ponto estes grupos têm capacidade e disposição de adotar funções politizadas além de seu propósito e função. Ao refletir sobre os resultados obtidos principalmente a partir de um projeto de mapeamento realizado nas ruas, a discussão deste artigo concentra-se nas implicações em potencial que surgem da opção conjunta de base.     

Interviews with Killers: Six Types of Combatants and Their Motivations for Joining Deadly Groups

Interviews conducted with leaders, combatants, witnesses, and victims in central Nigeria provide insight into the processes of volunteerism, recruitment, and indoctrination within armed groups. Identified are numerous avenues by which previously nonviolent citizens become willing perpetrators in deadly grass-roots conflict. Despite a commonly advertised motive for joining, narrative analyses reveal several diverse and underlying motivations. Six distinct combatant typologies are described: the Follower, the Pragmatist, the Criminal, the Soldier, the Basic Needs, and the Ideologue. The characteristics of each type, the timing of their entry into the conflict, and the implication for select intervention strategies are discussed.     

Using multiple choice questions to examine the content of the qualifying law degree accurately and reliably: the experience of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme

The Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) provides a route for lawyers from other jurisdictions and barristers from England and Wales to qualify as solicitors in England and Wales. One of the three tests in the QLTS, the Multiple Choice Test (MCT), uses multiple choice questions to examine the syllabus of the qualifying law degree together with some pervasive subjects from the Legal Practice Course. This paper examines the MCT in detail. Particular attention is paid to the format and structure of the questions. We describe the detailed editing which each question goes through before it is used, the statistical analysis and review which take place after an exam, and the rationale for these processes. An explanation is given of what reliability and accuracy mean and how they are measured statistically. There is also an explanation of the “Angoff method” by which pass marks are set. Finally, the paper reports on the first four sittings of the MCT and their statistical results including their reliability and accuracy. Use of the multiple choice test, though well established for examining applied knowledge in medicine and in law in other jurisdictions, is a radical departure for the assessment of law in England and Wales. The experience of QLTS has shown that a carefully constructed multiple choice test of a suitable length can assess the qualifying law degree content both reliably and accurately.     

Police Response to Intimate Partner Violence in Canada: Do Victim Characteristics Matter?

This study examines the role of sociodemographic factors and violence characteristics in influencing women's reporting behaviors and types of police intervention received in response to intimate partner violence (IPV) in Canada. A subset of female respondents to Canada's 1999 General Social Survey who experienced physical or sexual IPV by a male perpetrator and who had contact with the police as a result of the violence was used for this analysis (n = 383). Findings suggest significant racial, economic, and social variations in women's motivation for self-reporting violence to the police as well as in the types of law enforcement interventions administered by police in response to reports of IPV. Implications for policy development are examined.     

Policy Area as a Potential Moderator of Transparency Effects: An Experiment

Building on the counterintuitive findings of recent empirical studies that transparency in political decision making may have a negative effect on public legitimacy beliefs, this article suggests that transparency has different effects depending on the policy area. Specifically, it argues that transparency is less effective in policy decisions that involve trade‐offs related to questions of human life and death or well‐being. Using an experiment that involved 1,032 participants, the effect of transparency is tested in two policy areas that represent routine priority setting (culture and leisure) and policy decisions implicitly related to human life and well‐being (traffic security). Results indicate that transparency can increase public acceptance of political decisions, but this effect is moderated by the type of policy area. Furthermore, a limited type of transparency in which decision makers provide justifications for their decisions can result in benefits while avoiding potential costs.     

Free Trade: What is it Good For? Globalization,Deregulation, and ‘Public Opinion’

Deliberation is an essential element in legitimate and sound decision making. The deliberative ideal has much resonance with ideas of ‘localization’, employing the value of local and applied knowledge. Participation is also of particular value under globalization. We argue that the capacity of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to absorb and reflect participatory aspects of decision making is crucial to its future legitimacy and status. Should the WTO be seen as one of the darker forces of globalization? Or as an emerging institution of global accountability? The latter depends upon recognition that the potential deregulatory effect of the WTO is contingent, and that the liberalization of international trade should enhance welfare, rather than be a goal in its own right. Deliberative solutions require a strong public sphere, and we therefore consider whether solutions based on ‘empowered consumer choice’, rather than public deliberation, are unsatisfactory responses to the deregulatory impact of international trade disputes and their outcomes.     

Women who kill: a comparison of the psychosocial background of female and male perpetrators

The purpose of this study was to compare the psychosocial background of female and male perpetrators convicted of homicide in Sweden between 1995-2001. All women (n=43) who were convicted for lethal violence during the period and a corresponding number of randomly chosen men (n=43) were examined. In total, information about 86 individuals was collected retrospectively. Areas of interest were psychosocial variables during childhood and at the time of the current crime. Results showed that both female and male perpetrators were psychosocially encumbered already at an early age. Homicidal women had more severe childhood circumstances, but less aggressive childhood behaviour than did their male counterparts. At the time of the crime, women had a more ordered social situation, had more often been exposed to violence and searched for help than had the men. These gender differences suggest that specific actions are needed for preventing women's homicidal behaviour.     

Special Issue “The Reasonable Interpreter. Perspectives on Legal and Non-Legal Semiotics”. Introduction

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique -