Investing in the Market of Violence: Toward a Micro-Theory of Terrorist Financing

Terrorist financing is the dedicated pursuit of adequate capitalization within a market of violence, wherein terrorist organizations seek to extract resources and funding from the social, political, and economic environment in which they operate. At the same time, the effectiveness of a terrorist group in this pursuit is highly dependent on their organizational type and design, its leadership capabilities, and its capacity for organizational learning—factors that shape the ability of terrorist groups to identify and exploit a limited set of investment and rent-seeking opportunities.     

The Tanzanian Villagisation Programme: Its Impract on Household Production in Dodoma

The survival of authoritarian regimes has for a long time been associated with the availability of rents derived from oil and gas. In particular, military oil regimes have been able to withstand the challenge of domestic opposition even at difficult times because these regimes could ultimately count on oil and gas revenues. As this article demonstrates, the Qadhafi regime had been particularly adept at surviving by using oil and gas rents. But there is a limit to what these rents can explain: in 2011 however the regime fell after a brief civil war, in which external forces played a central role. The role played by the European and NATO interventions points to the limits of the oil and gas rents. The changed distribution of international resources amongst domestic Libyan actors contributed to the rebels' victory, indicating that international factors should be better incorporated into studies of both authoritarian survival and democratisation.     

Comparable worth in the united states legal and administrative developments in the 1980's

During the 1980's, the concept of comparable worth has become closely identified with women's rights and sex discrimination concerns, and is now recognized by advocates and critics alike as one of the major affirmative action issues of the decade. Simply put, comparable worth refers to the idea of equal pay for dissimilar jobs of equal value to an organization.

According to comparable worth proponents, jobs traditionally associated with women have been systematically undervalued in the marketplace. The net result is a disparity in pay for women when compared with that for jobs largely held by men. It is also argued that this compensatory bias against women can be revealed and eliminated by assessing the economic value of disparate occupations through the use of objective standards of evaluation. For example, although secretarial and janitorial jobs are dissimilar in function, it is argued that pay equity can be achieved by assessing such factors as working conditions and the amount of training, responsibility and effort required for each job.

Critics of comparable worth take strong exception to these assertions. They argue that the wage differential between men and women is more the result of career choice and market forces than sex discrimination. Moreover, they contend that employers must often pay a higher wage for some occupations than others in order to remain competitive and to attract the best qualified personnel. Finally, critics of comparable worth maintain that job evaluation systems are inherently subjective. Therefore, any comparison of dissimilar jobs is at best arbitrary.

These conflicting points of view have formed the crux of the comparable worth debate during the past 10 years. The purpose of this review is to assess some of the outcomes and trends established by this debate as well as what those trends appear to indicate for the coming decade. To do so, we shall examine the comparable worth issue from legal, legislative and administrative perspectives.     

Sub-national Responses to Climate Change in England: Evidence from Local Area Agreements

Abstract

The machinery of governance to address climate change at the sub-national level in England continues to evolve. Drawing on documentary evidence and the views of civil servants and local authority officials from the English West Midlands, this article explores the process through an examination of the inclusion of climate change indicators in the recent round of Local Area Agreements (LAAs), negotiated between central government and local authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships. Considerable popularity has been accorded these indicators nationally, but there are important variations in the pattern of take up. Moreover, significant uncertainties surround the contribution of local measures to reduce CO₂ emissions and the targets attached to measures to adapt to climate change are seen as undemanding. Conversely, the impending Carbon Reduction Commitment will act as a powerful incentive for public bodies to cut CO₂ emissions from their estates. Although potentially contributing to greater coherence in tackling climate change, achieving collective action through LAAs will prove problematic.     

The impact of questioning style on the content of investigative interviews with suspected child sexual abuse victims

Abstract

This study explored the influence of question type and interviewer style on the quantity and quality of responses offered by children in interviews for suspected sexual abuse. The analysis covered 36 investigative interviews conducted by polia officers under the Memorandum of Good Practice with children aged 4–7, 8–11 and 12–14 years. The dependent measures were the temporel length of children's answers and the number of criteria derived from Criteria Based Cornent Analysis (CBCA) they contained. Only 2% of all questions were open-ended, but just 3% were judged leading. Open questions were most effective with 12–14 year olds but not with younger children who provided nose information in response to specific yet not leading or closed questions. Longer answers containing move CBCA criteria were associated with interviews containing many affirmative utterances and verbal affirmations and a brief rapport. The implications of these findings for interview theory and practice are briefly discussed.     

Incapacitation and imprisonment: prisoners' involvement in community-based crime

Abstract

The impact of incapacitation on prisoners' offending behaviour is a neglected area of research. The aim of this study was to examine the extent and nature of prisoners' involvement in community-based crime in the UK. Participants were selected from nine prisons in the UK and consisted of 360 prisoners, 81 females and 279 males. Offenders were interviewed to assess levels and forms of involvement in community-based crime and perceptions of other prisoners' involvement. Levels of prisonization and institutional and demographic characteristics were used to identify vulnerability to involvement in community-based crime. Twenty-five per cent of the sample admitted personal involvement and 63% reported other prisoners' involvement in a diverse range of crimes. Analyses revealed prisoners involved in community-based crime are likely to be young, male recidivists who hold prisonized attitudes. Prisoners who are white, prisonized and recidivist reported highest levels of other prisoners' involvement in community-based crime. No age or gender differences delineated prisoners' reports of others' involvement. The results show that incarcerating offenders may not prevent their involvement in community-based offending. Discussion centres on the characteristics of involved prisoners and considers the implications of the results for rehabilitation and penal policy.     

The effects of beliefs and information about hypnosis on the legal defence of automatism through hypnosis

Abstract

The aims of this study were to assess the impact of public conceptions about the nature and coercive powers of hypnosis, and information regarding different approaches to hypnosis, on the plea of automatism through hypnosis in a criminal trial. Subjects were assigned to three groups. Two were presented with criminal cases in which automatism through hypnosis was implicated, as well as duress; one of these groups received information about different approaches to hypnosis. The third received the same cases, but with duress alone. Results showed that, when automatism through hypnosis was implicated as well as duress, the defendant offering the plea was judged less responsible, however, he was not judged less guilty than when duress alone was the defence. Also, subjects presented with the plea of automatism tended to be more sceptical about the idea than those not presented with this plea. The provision of information on different approaches to hypnosis was largely ineffective in altering beliefs and judgments. Judgments of guilt and responsibility were, however, strongly influenced by beliefs about automatism through hypnosis.     

Crime,New housing,and housing incivilities in a first‐ring suburb: Multilevel relationships across time

Abstract

Concepts deriving from criminology, housing policy, and environmental psychology are integrated to test two ways that housing conditions could relate to crime in a declining first‐ring suburb of Salt Lake City. For existing housing, we use a model to test whether housing incivilities, such as litter and unkempt lawns, are associated with later crime. For new housing, we test whether a new subdivision on a former brownfield creates spillover reductions in nearby crime and incivilities.

Police‐reported crime rates were highest for residences near the brownfield and lowest for those farther away. After the subdivision was constructed, this linear decline disappeared, reflecting less crime adjacent to the new subdivision, but also more crime farther away. A multilevel analysis shows that incivilities, particularly litter and unkempt lawns on the block, predict unexpected increases in crime. Both brownfield redevelopment and reductions in incivilities may be important ways to improve declining suburban areas.