The profile of gender equality issue attention in Western Europe

This article investigates the factors that drive governments to pay attention to gender equality issues and place them upon executive agendas. In line with studies of the dynamics of issue attention, which demonstrate the importance of investigating variability in the attention policy makers give to issue demands across policy domains, this article argues that policy issues related to gender equality are multidimensional and patterns in executive attention vary across the different types of gender issues. Multidimensionality of gender equality issues reflects different dynamics in agenda‐setting as different issues invoke contrasting constellations of political representation, institutional friction and veto points. To investigate this variation, this article proposes a twofold distinction between class‐based and status‐based gender equality issues and assesses the validity of three sets of explanations for when gender issues succeed in reaching executive agendas: women in politics, party ideology and economic performance. Drawing on governmental attention datasets from the Comparative Agendas Project, a systematic comparative quantitative analysis of the determinants of gender equality issue attention in five Western European countries is conducted. The main findings confirm that the mechanisms through which different types of gender equality issues gain executive attention differ according to the kind of the gender equality demand. Costly class‐based gender equality issues are more likely to receive executive attention when the economy is performing well, when there is a strong presence of Social Democrats and when there is a high proportion of female MPs. In contrast, economic performance, party politics and women's parliamentary presence do not seem to exert any impact on status‐based issues. Instead, critical actors in the government seem to be the strongest driver for attention over this second type of gender equality issue. This study contributes a gendered dimension to the policy agendas scholarship, adding theoretical and empirical depth to the understanding of how non‐core issues secure their place on full governmental agendas. By focusing on how to secure governmental attention for gender equality issues, the article makes a major contribution to understanding the initial genesis of gender equality policies.     

Copycatting the smell of death: Deciphering the role of cadaveric scent components used by detection dogs to locate human remains

Human remains detection dogs (HRDD) are commonly used by law enforcement agencies to search for cadavers. Biological material is typically used as a training stimulus, also called aids, to train dogs to recognize the smell of cadavers. While HRDD training approaches have received extensive attention, information remains limited on the olfactory cues used to train them. Here, we aimed to decipher the chemical basis of detection dog olfaction. Five specific objectives were explored to precise whether the composition or the concentration of the training aids drives the HRDDs responses. We recorded the behavioral responses of four HRDDs exposed to different cadaveric-like smells. We found that HRDDs recognized a simplified synthetic aid composed of cadaveric compounds. The lowest concentration at which HRDDs continued to perceive the cadaveric smell was determined. HRDDs were not impacted by slight modifications to the chemical composition of a blend of odors that they have been trained with. HRDDs associated sulfur and nitrogen compounds as human cadaver. Our findings highlight a lack of specificity of HRDDs to cadaveric compounds, which could lead to error of detection. Moreover, all dogs did not positively respond to the same blends, despite being trained with the same aids and procedure. However, we confirmed that dogs could be trained with a simplified blend of molecules. The chemical composition of a training aid has, therefore, high consequences on the performance of the trained animal, and this conclusion opens additional questions regarding olfaction-based detection animals.     

People and Power: Democracy after Brexit

The result of the 2016 European Union (EU) referendum revealed a disconnect between policy makers and the public, particularly those who could be considered part of Britain’s contemporary working class. Whilst there has been significant attention paid to the parliamentary activity to agree the terms under which Britain will leave the EU, there has been comparatively less attention paid to the causes of the vote, and what can be done to improve public trust in democracy. This article proposes a new public attitudes‐led policy‐making model, using democratic innovations and design thinking, to reconnect policy making to the public and improve political equality.     

Epistemic Communities: A Reply to Toke

This article contests the understanding of Peter M. Haas's 'epistemic communities' approach, forwarded by David Toke in his article in Politics of May 1999. It is argued that while Toke diagnoses the approach's failing correctly, the cause he identifies is off the mark. This particularly concerns his assertion of a positivist dogma underscoring the thesis, which is rejected as a misinterpretation of Haas. Rather, it is contended that the framework's inability to engage with the real world of politics, and the other groups therein, is a product of its lack of theoretical refinement and rigorous empirical examination.     

Construing the Legality of Solitary Confinement: Analysis of United States Federal Court Jurisprudence

American Journal of Criminal Justice - This article analyzes the constitutional parameters of solitary confinement, administrative segregation, and/or punitive isolation within correctional...     

Building on the Greenbook: A Perpetrator Pattern‐Based Approach to Improve Child Welfare’s Response to Domestic Violence

The Greenbook Initiative has acted as a catalyst for change across the United States and globe. In this article, the authors discuss how the Greenbook has shaped the environment related to perpetrator accountability in child welfare, how a paradigm shift in work with fathers can advance domestic violence‐informed practice, and how a perpetrator pattern‐based approach, as exemplified by the Safe & Together Model, can help advance the vision of the Greenbook.