Up the slippery slope: Groupwork with sex offenders with a learning disability

Abstract

Techniques developed for work with sex offenders are not always applicable to or appropriate for sex offenders with a learning disability due to the cognitive and social difficulties which such individuals may have. This paper describes an attempt to adapt and combine a number of psychological and art therapy techniques in group work with sex offenders with a learning disability. The aim was to identify areas relevant in sexual offending behaviour and to adapt treatment approaches for the above client group.     

The right-wing populism of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (and why comparativists should care)

Despite the vast amount of comparative research on right-wing populist parties over the past decade, there has been little work on non-European parties (as opposed to leaders). In this article, we argue that the international literature on populist parties has largely overlooked a significant non-European case: India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP – Indian People’s Party). Following the ideational approach to understanding populism, we examine whether the three distinguishing features of right-wing populism – its conceptions of “the people”, “elites” and “others” – are reflected in the views from interviews we conducted with BJP officials and representatives. We find that they are and so then consider whether they have been manifest in actions and statements while in power or whether, as some scholars claim, governing parties like the BJP moderate their populism. We conclude that the BJP can be very fruitfully included in comparative research on right-wing populist parties and propose a series of concrete ways in which this could be pursued.     

THE CHANGING POLITICS OF THAILAND'S BUDDHIST ORDER

Thailand's monastic politics are in turmoil. No longer can the sangha be written off as a political force and viewed simply as a fount of legitimacy for the nation and the monarchy. The role played by a few hundred pro-Thaksin “redshirt” monks in the March to May 2010 mass demonstrations testified to growing unease within the rank-and-file monkhood, which is drawn from the same regions and segments of society as the redshirt movement more generally. But beyond these overt displays of dissatisfaction, the sangha faces a range of serious challenges. While long-standing tensions between the rival Thammayut and Mahanikai orders have apparently declined, a dearth of moral and administrative leadership has paralyzed the Thai monkhood and rendered it seemingly incapable of reforming itself. Competing power groups linked to secular politics are vying for influence within the Supreme Sangha Council, while there is no widely supported successor ready to replace the current supreme patriarch, himself nearly a hundred years old. In many respects, the political paralysis of the monkhood mirrors the wider crisis confronting the body politic of the Thai nation itself.     

International assistance to democratic reform in Ukraine: an opportunity missed or an opportunity squandered?

The article examines the impact of international expert advice on efforts to introduce democratizing reforms in Ukraine’s system of public administration following independence in 1991. The focus of the analysis is on an area which has particular resonance in the light of recent events in Ukraine, the relationship between Kyiv and the regions. The article argues that the effectiveness of external assistance has been compromised as much by institutional factors affecting the behaviour of international donors as by corresponding factors on the Ukrainian side, and that an opportunity to contribute to the democratic transformation of Ukraine has been needlessly wasted.     

The EU and China: policy perceptions of economic cooperation and competition

Asia Europe Journal - Both the EU and China agree on the importance of their bilateral economic relationship, but there are differences in how the relationship is perceived. The gap is reflected in...     

A review of the evolution and state of transboundary freshwater treaties

Internationally shared basins supply 60 % of global freshwater supply, are home to about 1/3 of the world’s population, and are focal points for interstate conflict and, as importantly, cooperation. To manage these waters, states have developed a large set of formal treaties, but until now these treaties have been difficult to access and systematically assess. This paper presents and makes publicly available the assembly and organization of the largest known collection of transboundary water agreements in existence. We apply for the first time a “lineage” concept to differentiate between independent agreements and groups of legally related texts, spatially reference the texts to a global basin database, and identify agreement purposes, goals and a variety of content areas. The 688 agreements identified were signed between 1820 and 2007 and constitute 250 independent treaties which apply to 113 basins. While the scope and content varies widely, these treaties nominally govern almost 70 % of the world’s transboundary basin area. In terms of content, treaties have shifted from an earlier focus on regulation and development of water resources to the management of resources and the setting of frameworks for that management. While “traditional” issues such as hydropower, water allocation and irrigation are still important, the environment is now the most commonly mentioned issue in treaty texts. Treaties are also increasingly likely to include data and information sharing provisions, have conflict resolution mechanisms, and include mechanisms for participation beyond traditional nation-state actors. Generalizing, treaties have become more comprehensive over time, both in the issues they address and the tools they use to manage those issues cooperatively.     

An Investigation of PCR Inhibition Using Plexor®‐Based Quantitative PCR and Short Tandem Repeat Amplification

A common problem in forensic DNA typing is PCR inhibition resulting in allele dropout and peak imbalance. In this paper, we have utilized the Plexor^® real‐time PCR quantification kit to evaluate PCR inhibition. This is performed by adding increasing concentrations of various inhibitors and evaluating changes in melt curves and PCR amplification efficiencies. Inhibitors examined included calcium, humic acid, collagen, phenol, tannic acid, hematin, melanin, urea, bile salts, EDTA, and guanidinium thiocyanate. Results were plotted and modeled using mathematical simulations. In general, we found that PCR inhibitors that bind DNA affect melt curves and C_T takeoff points while those that affect the Taq polymerase tend to affect the slope of the amplification curve. Mixed mode effects were also visible. Quantitative PCR results were then compared with subsequent STR amplification using the PowerPlex^® 16 HS System. The overall results demonstrate that real‐time PCR can be an effective method to evaluate PCR inhibition and predict its effects on subsequent STR amplifications.     

Direct PCR Improves the Recovery of DNA from Various Substrates

This study reports on the comparison of a standard extraction process with the direct PCR approach of processing low-level DNA swabs typical in forensic investigations. Varying concentrations of control DNA were deposited onto three commonly encountered substrates, brass, plastic, and glass, left to dry, and swabbed using premoistened DNA-free nylon FLOQswabs^™. Swabs (n = 90) were either processed using the DNA IQ^™ kit or, for direct PCR, swab fibers (~2 mm²) were added directly to the PCR with no prior extraction. A significant increase in the height of the alleles (p < 0.005) was observed when using the direct PCR approach over the extraction methodology when controlling for surface type and mass of DNA deposited. The findings indicate the potential use of direct PCR for increasing the PCR product obtained from low-template DNA samples in addition to minimizing contamination and saving resources.