MYANMAR'S ‘PIVOT’ TOWARD THE SHIBBOLETH OF ‘DEMOCRACY’

The recent reforms in Myanmar were not brought about by Western sanctions or some contingent event, but rather planned well in advance,. For there is more continuity than change in Myanmar's political system, which is dominated by the practitioners of national power-the army and the bureaucracy. Of course there are new actors, principally Aung San Suu Kyi and the party she leads, the NLD. Yet the reality remains: state security has to be maintained. Rebalancing with ASEAN, India and now the West is helpful in terms of independence vis a vis China. This is not an invitation to the West to attempt to subvert the existing order.     

City Management in the United States and Norway: A Comparative Analysis of Professional Orientations

This analysis examines the effects of political culture on the nature and practice of professional local government management by comparing the structures, responsibilities, and relationships of city administrative executives in the democratic countries of the United States and Norway. The findings suggest that, despite fundamental differences in societal institutions and settings, American and Norwegian city managers serve similar roles in their respective local government organizations. However, the notable variations in the processes of municipal management identified between the two nations appear to reflect the contextual influence of divergent political foundations on the operational environment of professional public administrators.     

Doing Business the Chinese Way

Nine years ago, the Amsterdam branch of my previous company asked me to come to China and develop the business here. So I got the chance to experience working and living in Beijing.     

My Professor is Hot! Correlates of RateMyProfessors.com Ratings for Criminal Justice and Criminology Faculty Members

“RateMyProfessors.com” ratings of the easiness, helpfulness, clarity, overall quality, and “hotness” of 407 criminal justice and criminology faculty members from across the United States were collected. Data were analyzed to determine what faculty characteristics determined these ratings. Experience working in the criminal justice field predicted higher ratings, while years of teaching experience was predictive of lower ratings. After controlling for instructors easiness and “hotness” ratings, the instructors’ ascribed characteristics (such as race and sex) explained the greatest proportion of variance in clarity, helpfulness, and overall quality scores. Professional characteristics, such as years of experience, publication rate, and possession of a doctorate were less influential on Ratemyprofessors.com scores.     

Measuring interrogative suggestibility in children: Reliability and validity of the bonn test of statement suggestibility

Abstract

The present paper describes three studies that examined false confessions in the laboratory. Studies 1 (N=56) and 2 (N=9) relied on the by now classic computer crash paradigm introduced by Kassin and Kiechel (Psychological Science, 7, 125–128, 1996). Study 3 (N=12) employed a novel paradigm in which undergraduate participants were falsely accused of exam fraud. Our data indicate that false confessions do occur, even when conditions become more ecologically valid. Furthermore, we explored whether individual differences in compliance, suggestibility, fantasy proneness, dissociation, and cognitive failures are related to false confessions. Of these, only fantasy proneness was associated with false confessions.     

A multidimensional scaling analysis of the Hare PCL-R: Unfolding the structure of psychopathy

Abstract

Recent studies examining the Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R) have argued for a range of factorial solutions to describe and explain the dimensions of psychopathy. This study details an empirical analysis of North American PCL-R data for 4630 male offenders, using multidimensional scaling (MDS) as a non-linear alternative to factor analysis. The emergent structure of Hare's psychopathy psychometric can be interpreted in more than one way and at different levels of specificity. The multidimensional scalograms reveal a set of facets consistent with the two- and four-factor solutions that emerge from the same data. Equally the structure of the PCL-R can be interpreted through personality theory as a set of core traits and behavioural manifestations, consistent with an evolutionary basis for psychopathic tendencies. These analyses provide support for a multidimensional structure within the PCL-R, and suggest that psychopathy can be viewed as an extreme variant of multiple dimensions of personality.     

Resettle: a significant new step in an emerging pathway that manages risk and addresses need in high-risk personality disordered offenders on their release into the community

Abstract

This paper will describe an innovative UK service development, Resettle, which is designed to address the needs and risks of personality disordered offenders who are released into the community from prison and whose high risks of harm and re-offending are linked to their personality disorder (PD). All the cases worked with are subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). This non-residential, intensive community-based service is nationally funded jointly by the Department of Health and Ministry of Justice, originally as part of the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) programme for high-risk offenders. Resettle became operational in 2008. It is currently being independently evaluated via a randomised control trial that is due to complete in March 2013. Formal outcome data are, therefore, not yet available, however, the developing model of intervention based on experience and learning to date is described alongside the policy and service context for this area of work.