Issue management: process versus progress

• Of all the tools and techniques applied within the field of public affairs and corporate communication, Issue Management is undoubtedly the one which most often attracts excessive process at the expense of real progress. Understanding the causes and sources of this over‐emphasis on process is important to the long‐term success of issue management as an effective tool.
• That understanding is also important to the development of Issue Management models which promote an optimal balance between following a disciplined approach and formulating creative and original solutions.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The identification of sexual and violent motivations in men who assault women: implication for treatment

A qualitative analysis of interview data with 41 rapists determined that five implicit theories (ITs) underlie rapists' offense supportive beliefs/feelings/motives: (a) dangerous world (DW)-where men have feelings of generalized anger and/or resentment toward others; (b) women are dangerous-where men hold a set of attitudes that are hostile toward women; (c) women as sexual objects (WSO)-where women are seen as primarily sexual objects; (d) male sex drive is uncontrollable-where sexual urges are seen all consuming; (e) entitlement-where men feel that they can do exactly what they want. Consideration of whether DW or WSO ITs were present or absent indicated that three main groups could be identified: Group 1: violently motivated-presence of DW and/or absence of WSO; Group 2: sexually motivated-presence of WSO and/or absence of DW; Group 3: sadistically motivated-presence of DW and WSO. These results are discussed in terms of treatment needs of rapists.     

Systematic objective setting for effective issue management

• While a great deal of academic and practitioner effort has been devoted to understanding and formalizing objective setting in corporate strategic planning and in strategic communication, far less effort has been committed to objective setting for issue management. Within this context, setting a proper objective is sometimes swept aside in the ‘rush for results’ and, as a consequence, issue management efforts can be misdirected, misapplied and poorly evaluated. Objective setting for issue management has unique requirements which distinguish it from broader corporate planning processes, and this paper develops a rationale and proposes specific guidelines to help to establish strategic objectives for effective issue management.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

English Law's Epistemology of Expert Testimony

The decision whether to believe an expert witness raises difficult epistemological and ethical questions for a lay juror or judge. This article examines the English courts' approach to these questions in the light of a series of cases which endorse the test of admissibility formulated in the Australian case o/R v. Bonython . It argues that, if interpreted more rigorously than it generally has been to date, Bonython could provide the framework for an approach which avoids the pitfalls of either a 'scientistic' or a 'constructivist' epistemology of expert testimony. Such an approach needs to distinguish between different types of expertise and the differing degrees of deference that they call for on the part of a lay fact-finder.     

Culture and Consumerism: Citizenship, Public Service Broadcasting and the BBC's Fair Trading Obligations

The authors examine the future of public service broadcasting in the context of current debates about, and commercial pressures on, the BBC. They describe the European Community constraints on public service broadcasting and the need for a clearer definition of such broadcasting, noting that such a definition is not currently provided in UK law. The BBC is also under increasing pressure from fair trading rules derived from competition law, some of which may weaken its ability to deliver its public service mission. Original research undertaken within the BBC suggests that external and internal pressures have undermined the conditions for a distinctive public service output, although there remains the basis for such an output within the culture of programme-making. The authors develop theoretical bases for a redefinition of public service broadcasting centred on the principles of citizenship, universality and quality in relation to services and output, and examine the implications for the structure of channels in the digital era. Finally, the authors discuss the legal and regulatory implications of their analysis in the context of the Government's Communications White Paper, arguing that the social and cultural purposes of public service broadcasting must not be made subordinate to competition-based concerns.     

An Unravelling Development Strategy? Garment Assembly in the Caribbean Basin after the Multifibre Arrangement

The purpose of this article is to assess the likely impact of the ending of the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) on garment assembly in the Caribbean Basin. Over the last fifteen years or so garment assembly has come to represent one of the region's few economic ‘success stories’ and has accordingly helped to offset the loss of export revenue from traditional commodities such as coffee and sugar. With the ending of the MFA on 1 January 2005, however, the long‐term viability of this trade has been thrown into doubt. This article thus seeks to assess the prospects for continued garment assembly in the Caribbean Basin against the backdrop of these developments.