Do religious programs in prison work? A quasi-experimental evaluation in the Israeli prison service

Journal of Experimental Criminology - Despite the prevalence of religious-oriented rehabilitation programs, few studies have assessed the effects of these programs on recidivism. Prior studies have...     

The Israeli–Egyptian talks at kilometer 101

This article deals with the Israeli–Egyptian talks after the October 1973 War, which are known as the Kilometer 101 talks since most of them took place at this spot on the Suez–Cairo road. After 17 years of indirect Israeli–Egyptian discussions, representatives from both sides met for direct talks that led to an agreement that allowed solving the exigent problems, like prisoners of war exchange and supplies for the encircled Egyptian Third Army. After about a month the talks ended, allegedly due to disagreement on disengagement and separation of forces.     

The spread of famine in Africa: Avoiding the worst

The aim of this article is to provide an evaluation of Uganda's current strategy to fight corruption. Like many countries on the African continent, Uganda has deemed it necessary to make attempts to reduce and control corruption within the public sector. As awareness of the deleterious and debilitating effects of corruption has grown, so too have both internal political factors and external pressures from aid donors increased in order to push for fundamental change in this respect. In terms of the donors, many have stipulated specific conditions relating to a good governance agenda based upon adherence to public integrity and minimum standards of public conduct. Sensitivity to pressure also stems in part, from a wish by government to be seen to be actively responding to donor concerns. Internal pressures stem from a growing desire by the public to demand accountability from those in government.     

Reformierung der Vergütungssysteme für die Finanzbranche – Eine rechtsökonomische Analyse

Die Vergütungspraktiken bei Spitzenmanagern gelten als Mitverursacher der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise und stehen in der ?ffentlichen Kritik. Oft werden Spitzenmanager für kurzfristige Unternehmenserfolge mit gro?zügigen Bonuszahlungen ausgestattet, w?hrend Fehlverhalten nicht sanktioniert wird. Eine solche Vergütungspraxis setzt falsche Anreizmechanismen und f?rdert die Risikobereitschaft von Spitzenmanagern. In diesem Aufsatz werden zun?chst die derzeitigen Regulierungslücken im Lichte der Prinzipal-Agenten-Beziehung diskutiert. Anschlie?end wird anhand eines theoretischen Modells gezeigt, wie die kurzfristige Gewinnorientierung eines Managers zu einem Moral-Hazard-Verhalten führen kann. Des Weiteren werden m?gliche Reformma?nahmen diskutiert sowie die bisherigen Reformbemühungen beleuchtet. Mit der Verankerung der neuen Instituts-Vergütungsverordnung im deutschen Recht ist ein erster Schritt zu einer langfristigen und nachhaltigen Unternehmenspolitik erfolgt. Es kommt in naher Zukunft darauf an, dass alle Industrie- und Schwellenl?nder die internationalen Richtlinien in nationale Gesetzgebung umsetzen, damit keine Regulierungsarbitrage zwischen den einzelnen Staaten entsteht.     

Self‐Provision of Public Services: Its Evolution and Impact

This article establishes a framework for explaining the ways in which citizens, as clients of public services, attempt to deal with situations of combined market and government failures. Under certain conditions, citizens are driven to create self‐production mechanisms that often are extralegal or illegal. When faced with such social initiatives, politicians often support them, either passively or actively, by institutionalizing the new mechanisms. The article explains the evolution of the self‐provision model and its implications. The analysis includes a theoretical framework and a practical intervention scheme.     

Conflict Media Strategies and the Politics of Counter-terrorism

This article argues that the events of 11 September 2001, and the subsequent 'war on terror', have highlighted the role of the media in both the coverage and conduct of modern conflict. The article concentrates on the 'conflict media strategies' pursued by belligerents and examines the development and refinement of such strategies over time, from the Second World War through to the conflict in Afghanistan. Using data from Vietnam, the Falklands, the Gulf, Kosovo and other conflicts, I argue that an effective conflict media strategy is an essential tool of warfare that is used by states and terrorist groups alike.     

The “care package,” prison domestic violence programs and recidivism: a quasi-experimental study

Objectives

Although there are many evaluations of domestic violence rehabilitation programs, it is still unclear “what works” in this field, especially when it comes to programs within prison walls. Today, most studies indicate that domestic violence programs based on cognitive behavioral treatment, or psycho-educational models show small positive results. Yet, there is still insufficient empirical literature providing adequate evidence for the impact of integrative treatment, where different methods and approaches toward domestic violence prisoners are employed within the same rehabilitation-program framework while incarcerated. Our study examined the effects of an integrative domestic violence program with a therapeutic “package” implemented in Israel with the goal of reducing recidivism rates among prisoners in general, and especially with regard to violent offenses.

Methods

Using propensity score matching methods, we compared treated offenders to a matched sample drawn from all convicted prisoners who were released from prison between 2004 and 2012.

Results

The findings indicate that the percentages of reincarceration and rearrests of inmates, who participated in integrative domestic violence program, were significantly lower during a period of up to 4 years after release.

Conclusions

Our conclusion is that the integrative effect of different treatments along with a supportive prison climate increased the success of inmates who participated in the domestic violence program.