Regional Economic Governance: A Technology of Government or Regional Autonomy in New South Wales?

The focus of this paper is on the extent to which emerging forms of regional economic governance may be read as the burgeoning formation of regionally constituted, self-governing communities, and yet, somewhat ambiguously, as a new technology of central government. It begins by considering the distinction between ‘governance’ and ‘government’ and the extent to which current regional economic governance practices in the state of New South Wales, Australia, hold the promise of regional autonomy. With reference to the French philosopher and historian, Michel Foucault, a brief history is sketched of government rationality, indicating how the historically changing aims of government implicate various concomitant technologies. With this in mind, it is argued that contemporary regional economic governance practices in NSW do not so much reveal a new-found regional autonomy but rather a new technology of government.     

Ensnared in a gay health controversy: a comparative study in responding to issue activism

This case study describes competing activist campaigns triggered by a provocative poster promoting safe gay sex, which became one of the most complained‐about outdoor advertisements in Australia. Drawing on issue management theory and personal interviews, the study analyses the contrasting strategies followed by two outdoor advertising companies caught up in the controversy, where family value advocates failed to consistently present their objections, whereas supporters of the same‐sex equality effectively mobilised traditional and social media to frame the case as advertising free speech. One company held firm against issue activism, whereas the other wavered in its response and suffered reputational damage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Capacity Development for Good Governance in Developing Countries: Some Lessons from the Field

Good governance is essential for sustaining economic transformation in developing countries. However, many developing countries currently lack the capacity, as opposed to the will, to both achieve and sustain a climate of good governance. This article addresses, from a practitioner's field perspective, the fundamental objectives, principles, and key areas that need to be addressed for developing capacity for good governance. These frameworks are now beginning to be recognized as both governments and donor institutions attempt to take advantage of the current demand and opportunities for addressing governance deficits. In pursuing capacity development for good governance, developing countries must ensure that such initiatives are comprehensively designed to be simultaneously related to change and transformation at the individual, institutional, and societal levels and be owned and controlled locally.     

Desistance and Attitudes Towards Sex Offenders: Facilitation or Hindrance?

In an ideal world, there would be a seamless relationship between interventions that focus on risk factors causally associated with sexual reoffending and the subsequent release of, and ongoing support for, offenders into the community. However, emotionally fueled and uninformed public responses to news of released sex offenders, and the legislation such responses have inspired, severely hinder this process. Our aims in this paper are to review findings of research on community attitudes about sex offenders within a desistance framework. More specifically, we provide a synthesis of the current research literature on attitudes towards sex offenders. Second, we consider in more detail those studies that include community member samples. Third, we review interventions aimed at promoting attitude change amongst professionals working with sex offenders and finally formulate some recommendations for promoting positive attitude change amongst the general public.     

Changing institutional culture in the wake of clerical abuse – the essentials of restorative and legal regulation

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse completed its final report in December 2017 after five years of hearings. The Royal Commission was the culmination of pressure from a series of public inquiries about institutional sexual abuse and sustained advocacy from victims and survivor support groups. The Commission made recommendations designed to change institutional leadership, governance and culture. The challenge is to have that change embedded in institutional culture. This paper considers how this might be done in a specific institution, the Catholic Church given that more than two-thirds of reported abuse in faith-based institutions occurred within its ranks. Regulatory theory suggests effective regulation must be responsive to past institutional behaviour. In the case of the Church, the task is profound given its strong self-protective culture which has long shielded abusers. The form of regulation must provide a balance where criminal sanctions loom large in the background while redress processes proceed in the foreground to repair both the harm suffered by survivors and renew Church culture.     

Female student athletes’ perceptions of acceptability and the occurrence of sexual-related behaviour by their coaches in India

The current study assessed the perceptions of acceptable sexual behaviour of coaches and the occurrence of sexual harassment among female student in India. A sample of 180 Indian female student-athletes at intercollegiate and inter-university levels with male coaches participated in this study. A questionnaire on sport-specific Touch and Behaviour versus Unwanted Intimacy from coaches (Vanden Auweele et al., 2008), consisting of 41 items on a 5-point rating scale was used. The participants were asked to indicate the acceptability of specific coaching behaviour as well as the occurrence of the behaviour represented in each item. The acceptability of the behaviour was determined by means and standard deviations, while the occurrence was determined by frequencies. Factor analysis was performed to determine the structure of the coaches’ behaviour and athletes’ acceptability thereof, which yielded four factors. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the extracted items on each factor. Two factors, namely, unwanted sexual behaviour and inappropriate verbal and physical sexual behaviour, were regarded by athletes as very serious and unacceptable coach behaviour, while a third factor represented context-dependent suspicious behaviour (a grey area in which athletes differ in their opinion) and was perceived to be serious and unacceptable. A fourth factor represented acceptable behaviour. The occurrence of very serious and unacceptable behaviour was reported by 31% of the female athletes.     

Are We Getting Value for Money from Behavioral Interventions for Offenders? A Research Note Reviewing the Economic Evaluation Literature

Public expenditure on the criminal justice system represents a significant fiscal burden to government worldwide, making the economic evaluation of interventions aimed at improving justice outcomes critical to informing resource allocation. This study systematically reviews and assesses the scope and quality of economic evaluations of behavioral interventions aimed at reducing reoffending. Only seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, with wide variation in methodological approaches, including differences in costing perspectives, study design, and the definition of cost and outcome measures. The majority of behavioral interventions for offenders remain unevaluated from an economic perspective, representing a significant evidence gap for informing cost-effective and efficient allocation decision. Based on the studies reviewed, economic benefit can be derived from investing in offender behavioral programs. However, whether this investment represents ‘value for money’ remains unclear. What is clear is that economic evaluations in the justice health sector lag behind research in other areas of public policy.     

Finkelhor's precondition model of child sexual abuse: A critique

Abstract

This paper critically discusses an extremely influential multi-factorial theory of child molestation, Finkelhor's Precondition Model. This model was one of the first comprehensive theories of the sexual abuse of children and represents a significant achievement. It provides a clear framework for approaching the study of men who have sexually abused children and has lead to both clear treatment goals and clinical innovations. It has rarely, however, been systematically critically examined and the cogency of its core constructs evaluated. Our analysis suggests that alongside its strengths, Finkelhor's Precondition Model has some conceptual problems. It suffers from vagueness; contains overlapping constructs; and a rich array of vulnerability factors that require teasing out and clarification. The model's attempts to provide a taxonomy highlight the diversity inherent in child sexual abuse, but it has not yet provided a structure to adequately inform treatment.