Harassment and stalking of Members of the United Kingdom Parliament: associations and consequences

A survey concerning intrusive/aggressive behaviours towards MPs was administered at Westminster, and in Queensland, New Zealand and Norway. Follow-up interviews were conducted with a sample at Westminster. This paper examines the experiences and associations of the 239 Westminster responders, of whom 81% had experienced intrusive/aggressive behaviours, 18% been subject to attack/attempted attack, and 53% stalked or harassed. Being stalked and subject to certain types of intrusive/aggressive behaviour were associated with younger age and being in the Commons five years or less, but serious incidents were more common in those who had been MPs for longer. There were no associations with brief periods of harassment. Some differences with party and constituency type emerged. Mental illness was prominent amongst perpetrators. Motives predominantly concerned personal grievances. Significant proportions of MPs suffered psychological ill-effects, necessitating inconvenient behaviour changes. Internal consistencies in these results and similarities to other sites are explored, and their implications discussed.     

A Comparison of Methods for Analyzing Criminological Panel Data

We demonstrate that fixed- and random-effects models for pooled cross-sectional and time series data, and latent growth curve models for panel data are special cases of a more general model. We compare the estimates obtained from each type of model for a data set consisting of homicide rates and a vector of explanatory variables for 400 US counties over a 15-year period. Most, but not all, estimates are similar in the two models. We identify circumstances under which one approach may be advantageous to the other.

Policing Gender at Work: Intersections of Harassment Based on Sex and Sexuality

Theorists have suggested that oppressions based on gender and sexual orientation are inherently linked. The present study aims to operationalize and test this proposition, by modeling relationships between sexual harassment and heterosexist harassment. Based on prior research in organizational and feminist psychology, we hypothesized a three-factor model of workplace harassment, comprising sexualized harassment, gender harassment, and heterosexist harassment. We then factor-analyzed data from 629 employees (both female and male, sexual minority and heterosexual) in higher education, finding this hypothesized model to be superior to three competing alternatives. Next came multiple-group analyses, which suggested this model to be invariant by gender, but not sexual orientation. Implications of these findings for research, theory, and practice are discussed.

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Premilitary adult sexual assault victimization and perpetration in a Navy recruit sample

Female (n = 5,226) and male (n = 5,969) U.S. Navy recruits completed a survey assessing their premilitary histories of adult sexual assault (SA), defined as attempted or completed rape since the age of 14. The survey was completed under anonymous or identified conditions. Overall, 39% of women reported premilitary SA victimization and 13% of men admitted premilitary SA perpetration. As predicted, rates were significantly higher in the anonymous than in the identified condition. For the sample of women as a whole, marital status, ethnicity, and family income were associated with SA victimization; for men, only marital status was associated with SA perpetration. Compared to previous college samples, Navy recruits were more likely to have previous SA experience. Given the negative consequences associated with SA victimization and perpetration, the present study reinforces the desirability of developing additional treatment, education, and prevention programs to reduce the occurrence of SA among military recruits.     

Democratization from below: Civil society in Tajikistan

A decade ago an exploration of civil society in South Africa, Tajikistan and Argentina highlighted its role in supporting democratization. Despite continuing global autocratic trends since then, South Africa and Argentina have remained vibrant democracies with strong civil societies. Tajikistan, in contrast, remains autocratic, and civil society has apparently weakened in recent years. However, at the grassroots level a combination of traditional grassroots organizations and Internet organizing provides a more complex picture of the relationships between local participation, ties with other civil society organizations, democratization and development. The purpose of this paper is to highlight both these relationships and the contrast between local democratization and national autocracy.     

Do firms profit from involving academics when developing technology?

The Journal of Technology Transfer - In this study, we analyze the contribution of academics to corporate technology development. Firm patents that involve (Flemish) academic inventors are...     

Are We Being Served? Emotional Labour in Local Government in Victoria,Australia

This paper explores how front‐line street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs) cope with the expectations of citizens, clients, or ‘customers’ in daily work and how SLBs may be impacted by emotional labour. The study analyses data from 41 interviews with SLBs in local councils in Victoria, Australia. Although exploratory, it builds awareness and understanding of the emotional labour associated with public service. The situations that SLBs engage with on a daily basis are many and varied and take the form of increased expectations and intense encounters. Respondents experienced abuse, threats, violence, but also ‘sparkle moments’. Resources that helped SLBs cope are diverse and located both within and outside organisations. Implications are discussed and issues that merit additional investigation are raised concerning how SLBs can be supported to better meet the demands of the public. The research is of value to public managers and SLBs operating in a changing society with increased ‘customer’ expectations.     

How Do We Solve a Problem Like the Donald? The Democratic Challenge of Trump Supporters and the Politics of Presidential Removal

Political observers have debated whether and how to remove Donald J. Trump from the office of the presidency. This article explains the difficulties associated with both the Twenty-Fifth Amendment’s incapacity route and impeachment. These difficulties illuminate a larger underlying problem with American democracy that the Trump presidency both crystallizes and reinforces: the emergence of an energized core of political participants who unite around racialized identity and reject some core principles of democracy.     

Overlapping publics and the negotiation of legitimacy in South African and Namibian sexual politics

ABSTRACT

This article explores how and why social movement organizations negotiate their presence in, and demands on, multiple public spheres. We analyse the strategies of two social movement organizations, Free Gender in Cape Town, South Africa, and Sister Namibia in Windhoek, Namibia. Free Gender elected to withdraw participation from a governmental task team convened to address the issue of homophobic violence, despite the opportunity this offered the organization to participate in national politics. Sister Namibia, by contrast, decided to maintain its public presence despite experiencing political homophobia from the ruling party, the South West African People’s Organisation. We contribute to the literature on public spheres and social movements by demonstrating the need to consider the overlapping nature of public spheres in South Africa and Namibia at the local, national, and transnational levels to account for activists’ strategic decisions.