Radicalisation and Higher Education: Students’ Understanding and Experiences

ABSTRACT

Since 2015 universities have been placed under a legal duty of “due regard to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.”¹ This reflects the belief in UK counter-terrorism policy that radicalisation exists and can be countered. Advice to universities is largely silent on how this duty applies to teaching. Yet many degree programmes generate lectures and seminar discussions where views of an allegedly radicalised nature could be aired. This article presents focus group research which elicits students’ understanding of radicalisation, and provides insights into their experience of debating contentious issues such as identity, community cohesion, and the causes of terrorism. We argue that students’ understanding of radicalisation is conflated with extremism and we explore students’ anxiety about debating these issues and reliance on educators to create the right environment for such discussions. Finally, the data presented here challenges some of the assumptions underpinning contemporary counter-radicalisation policy in the domain of higher education, which are premised on ideas of active grooming. We argue that this does not accord with students’ own experiences, as they regard themselves as discerning, critical thinkers rather than inherently vulnerable to manipulation by those espousing violent extremist views.     

Smart growth: More than a ghost of urban policy past,less than a bold new horizon

Abstract

Proponents of smart growth tout its more compact, less automobile‐dependent development as a superior alternative to the prevailing pattern of sprawl. Admittedly, smart growth is characterized by the ghost of urban policy past, ranging from inner‐area revitalization to growth management. Yet smart growth incorporates leading‐edge, contemporary components (e.g., encouraging multimodal transportation, strategically locating public employment), and its timing is propitious—as aging baby boomers, rising immigration, and other forces support core‐area revitalization and other smart growth themes.

The future of smart growth is promising, but its success is far from assured. Multiple factors, such as the lack of adoption across governments, market support for sprawl, the automobile's clinging dominance, and a paucity of techniques, could impair broad implementation. However, smart growth is sensible, broadly recognized, and fortuitously timed, and its proponents have learned from the miscues of its historical antecedents.     

How Can African Governments Reach Poor Farmers with Fertiliser Subsidies? Exploring a Targeting Approach in Ghana

African governments have been pursuing reforms to improve the targeting of fertiliser subsidy programmes, but recent experience suggests that these reforms have not ensured that subsidies reach intended beneficiaries. Using a targeting approach based on proxy means tests with carefully selected indicators, this paper suggests that Ghana’s fertiliser subsidy programmes can be targeted to the country’s poor and smallholder farmers more efficiently and more cost-effectively. While a universal subsidy in 2012 is estimated to have reached 11 per cent of poor farmers, the proposed targeting approach would have reached 70 per cent of the poor farmers in northern Ghana and 50 per cent of poor farmers in southern Ghana. Targeting reduces the costs of leakages by about 72 per cent, thus justifying the costs of administering targeted programmes using the poverty proxies. Furthermore, we show that once the initial models are constructed, the targeting approach can be used for nearly 20 years without any significant losses in accuracy. We propose that policy-makers should consider implementing this targeting approach on a pilot scale involving a few communities and, if found successful in practice, in a larger-scale programme.     

Fatal Case of a 27‐Year‐Old Male After Taking Iboga in Withdrawal Treatment: GC‐MS/MS Determination of Ibogaine and Ibogamine in Iboga Roots and Postmortem Biological Material

We report the case of a man who died twelve hours after ingesting powdered iboga root, commonly taken for its stimulant and hallucinogenic properties. Ibogaine and ibogamine were quantified in the powder ingested and the victim's body fluids by GC‐MS/MS after liquid–liquid extraction (Toxi‐tubes A^®). The concentrations of ibogaine measured in the blood samples taken at the scene and in the peripheral blood, urine, and gastric fluid samples taken during the autopsy were 0.65, 1.27, 1.7, and 53.5 μg/mL, while the iboga content in the powder was 7.2%. Moreover, systematic toxicological analyses of biological samples showed the presence of diazepam and methadone in therapeutic concentrations. Death was attributed to the ingestion of a substantial quantity of iboga in the context of simultaneous methadone and diazepam consumption.     

The legal status of juveniles in Cameroon

This paper examines the legal status of juveniles in Cameroon. It defines a juvenile as a “human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier” (Article 1 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)). It treats the historical development of the rights of children and discusses their protection under the Cameroon Penal Code (CPC), the Civil Status Registration Ordinance (CSRO), Family Law (FL) and International Instruments (II) ratified by the country. Existing gaps in the protective measures are indicated and recommendations provided.     

Juvenile delinquency as reflected by offenders of the borstal institute of Cameroon

This paper will describe the governmental structure of Papua New Guinea and the justice system. It identifies justice policy in relation to devolution and the involvement of the community in the justice system. After pointing out that in colonial times judicial powers were exercised at the village level it notes that the introduction of a Village Court system in 1975 and the commencement of Probation in 1985 have both served as a means of introducing custom into the legal system and into the justice system. Probation and Village Courts are discussed and constraints in their operation and development are identified. Other functions of the Probation Service which assist in giving the community a voice in sentencing and in the supervision of offenders are described. The paper concludes that although there has been no formal devolution policy until recently, the desirability of involving the community in the maintenance of law and order has been recognised, primarily through Village Courts and Probation. The fact that Provincial Governments have no law and order powers is identified as a factor marginalising Provincial Governments from the justice system and to that extent, the community within the Province. The paper suggests that policy makers need to address the position of the Provincial Governments within the justice system. Institutional devolution has been limited and there is scope for more to be done but adequate resources must be made available. Gender bias in the Village Court and within Probation as well as the attitude of the lower courts towards Probation are noted as constraints generally.     

Mothers Facing Imprisonment: Arranging Care for Their Adolescent Children

Although the population of imprisoned mothers is increasing, little formal data have been gathered about their dependents. This article draws on data from a study that examined the impact of maternal incarceration on 20 adolescent children in Victoria, Australia, focusing specifically on how and what care arrangements were made for the children and the implications of this care. Findings show a number of supportive and hindering factors that influence the making of care arrangements, including the support of another adult who enabled the woman in her role as mother, mothers' realistic outlook, and subsequent behaviors. Even where there were chronic problems, such as substance use, with a balance of supportive factors, these women were able to make reasonable and stable care arrangements for their children.     

‘Coping with the job’: prison staff responding to self-harm in three English female prisons: a qualitative study

This study considers how those who work in prisons are affected by and respond to repetitive self-harm of imprisoned women in English prisons. This paper considers the perspectives of custodial staff working in this area on a day-to-day basis. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 14 prison staff and explored using techniques of thematic analysis. The interviews examined: the emotional impact of working with and witnessing self-harm incidents, coping strategies used, training and the support available to prison staff. Findings indicate the strategies used by staff to cope emotionally with such incidents and these include presenting a ‘façade of coping’, rejecting support and becoming desensitised. It is concluded that staff felt they must portray themselves as coping well with self-harm in prison even when they were troubled and emotionally affected by it. However, some did describe accepting help when outside of the prison and this has implications for how support can be offered in the future. It is recommended that more should be done to support and train staff in this area.     

Bruise Documentation,Race and Barriers to Seeking Legal Relief for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: a Retrospective Qualitative Study

Documentation of physical injuries from intimate partner violence (IPV) is critically important when a victim seeks legal help. Bruising, a common IPV injury, is often less visible on victims of color. This retrospective qualitative study is focused on IPV survivors’ and service providers’ experiences with the complex interrelationship between IPV injury, bruise documentation, race and legal assistance. Focus group results with a racially diverse group of female IPV survivors and legal service providers indicate that all victims struggle with documenting their bruises, but for women of color, even documentation of visible bruising underrepresents the severity of their IPV injuries. Further, there are a number of social, logistic, and systemic barriers to injury documentation that may make legal relief for IPV difficult for all women, but particularly more difficult for women of color. Proposed solutions to address the gap include, improved documentation techniques, and greater education for legal service providers. Implications for the field of family violence generally and potential future research directions are also discussed.