Measuring motivation to change in offenders

Abstract

Measuring motivation to change in offender populations is important both for selection into treatment programmes and for assessing progress in therapy. Two studies are reported in this paper, both looking at the psychometric properties of questionnaires designed to measure stage of change in therapy. The samples used were patients detained in special hospitals under the Mental Health Act (1983) classification of psychopathic disorder. The first study provides norms for this group on the stages of change in psychotherapy questionnaire, plus some additional information on its relationship with self-esteem and self-efficacy measures. The second study looked at a brief version of the stages of change questionnaire, concluding that its psychometric properties were such that further use was contra-indicated.     

Who Gives Evidence to Parliamentary Committees? A Comparative Investigation of Parliamentary Committees and their Constituencies

This article focuses on the interaction between parliamentary committees and external actors. How is the interaction organised, and how does it influence which interests are voiced? The authors show that institutional variation in procedures for calling witnesses and variation in committee agendas influence both the composition of actors and the concentration of evidence. By composition of actors, they refer to the set of different actor types involved. By evidence concentration, they refer to the extent to which evidence is provided by a relatively small share of active actors. The study is based on a new data set of all contacts between parliamentary committees and external actors in one year across three countries: the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands. Interestingly, the findings show that procedures of invitation rather than open calls increase the diversity of actor composition and decrease the concentration of actor evidence. This, however, comes at a cost, since the overall volume of contacts is reduced.     

Gay fathers,gay citizenship: on the power of reproductive futurism and assimilation

Edelman's new ethics of queer theory is focussed on the all-pervasive image of the child, which he argues provides the foundation for the hegemonic politics of ‘reproductive futurism’ (L. Edelman, 2004. No future: queer theory and the death drive. Durham, NC: Duke University Press). His searing criticism raises important questions for sexual citizenship, and particularly for the gay parent as citizen. Edelman's argument that queers should abandon accommodation and instead embrace their position as the figure of negativity offers a challenge to all those gay men that seek to be fathers. In this article, I critically engage with Edelman's arguments and explore the implications of a queer rejection of reproductive futurism and parental privilege through an empirical investigation of young gay men's stories about the possibility of becoming fathers. I argue that whilst Edelman's uncompromising stance serves to open a space for gay men embracing the jouissance that is increasingly being abandoned through an assimilationist desire for citizenship, it also, more problematically, closes down possibilities for gay men and thus further reinforces present inequalities in citizenship. Is negativity the only option in the face of the onslaught of reproductive futurism or might there be a dialectical solution that is at once radically queer but also reflective of the variety of claims for sexual citizenship?     

Protecting the Space Network and the Future of Self-Defense

The inherent right of self-defense is critical in protecting the United States (U.S.) space network from growing threats. The scope of this right is frequently questioned, and as applied to the space network, raises several questions. To what extent does the right of self-defense extend outside U.S. territory? Is it permissible under this right to defend non-U.S. registered space assets? What is the standard for establishing an “armed attack” in space? Is the intent of the attackers or the scope of the attack relevant in exercising this right in space? In a 2003 case from the International Court of Justice, the Case Concerning Oil Platforms, many of these questions were addressed, not in the context of a space war, but in the context of a factually analogous conflict, the Tanker War of the 1980s. The Oil Platforms case may be a harbinger for an international shift in the interpretation of the inherent right of self-defense in such a manner as to severely limit U.S. military options in response to an attack on it space systems. This is a shift the U.S. must be prepared to counter.     

Sony continues campaign against PlayStation grey market

A parallel importer infringes UK intellectual property rightsin electronic products by offering to sell those products inthe UK and Europe via a Hong Kong-based website, where the rights-holderintends such products for sale and distribution in Japan only;no defence of exhaustion of rights, or that the website hadnot targeted the UK or European customers, is available in thecircumstances.     

Decoding Deficits of Different Types of Batterers During Presentation of Facial Affect Slides

The ability to decode emotional cues is associated with both personality disorders and violence. This study investigated whether subtypes of intimate partner abusers differ in their ability to label facial affect displays. Intimate partner violent (IPV; n = 69) and nonviolent (NV; n = 32) men were asked to label slides of facial affect. Cluster analyses classified the IPV men into three different types as per the Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994; Typologies of male batterers: three subtypes and the differences among them. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 476–497) typology: family-only (FO), borderline or dysphoric (BD), and generally violent or antisocial (GVA). Overall, IPV men did not make more errors decoding facial affect slides than did NV men. However, GVA batterers showed deficits while BD batterers were particularly accurate in identifying emotions. Clinical implications are that emotional recognition skills training techniques may be useful for GVA batterers only.