Serious about Change: A Gendered Examination of the Impact of Offense Type on Parole Success

Female offender populations are growing at an unprecedented rate. The present study examines gender differences among a large sample of male and female offenders as related to seriousness of their offense and success on parole. Data analyzed were originally collected from a random sample of parole case files in California. Results revealed that although gender does significantly impact parole success, seriousness of the offense does not. Other significant factors include age at release on parole, criminal history, and measures of stability upon release. The need for wrap-around services, comprehensive treatment models, and funding for gender-specific services are discussed.     

The role of power in shaming interactions: how social control is performed in a juvenile court

Shaming is a mechanism theorists have highlighted as an important means of social control. However, this concept and the ways in which officials use shame in the context of formal social control is not easily studied. Interviews with a Southern California juvenile court judge and observations of his interactions with youths on probation are used to illustrate the reflexive nature of social control interactions. This ethnographic study illustrates how the emotion of shame is used to manage delinquent and defiant young people in a justice setting. A nuanced analysis of the various strategies used by this juvenile court judge to evoke signs of remorse, accountability, and deference from young offenders is provided. Such an investigation informs theoretical perspectives on how social control is employed, highlights the important role of power in the interactions, and provides a better understanding of theoretical concepts, such as reintegration and stigmatization.     

Demographic and abuse characteristics in adolescent male sexual offenders with “special needs”

Adolescent sexual offenders with “special needs” are thought to pose different challenges for therapists working clinically. However, this population has received little attention in the literature, with the research in this area very limited. This study looked at the demographic and abuse characteristics of 24 adolescent sexual offenders with “special needs” who were compared with a group of 155 male adolescent sexual offenders with no special needs. Significant differences were found between the two groups. Those with special needs had higher levels of all forms of abuse, and differences were also found on some sub-scales of the Child Behaviour Checklist. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Using wilderness therapy in treating adolescent sexual offenders

Abstract

This article describes a follow-up study of 14 adolescent sexual offenders who had attended a community treatment programme. A core component of their treatment included outdoor wilderness group therapy. Interviews were conducted with adolescents and parents and tapped several areas including social skills and peer relationships, victim empathy, cognitive distortions, safety plans and coping with high risk situations, sexual offending cycle, perceived level of risk, intimacy and sexuality. The study also examined the child protection service records of the It adolescents. Data from child protection service computer records showed that none of the adolescents had reoffended. Interviews with adolescents and families focusing particularly on the wilderness component of the programme showed positive changes.     

Candidate gender and voting in the 1997 British general election: Did labour Quotas Matter?

The proportion of women MPs elected in the 1997 British general election reached an historic high of 18.2 per cent, the vast majority from the victorious Labour Party. The large increase in the proportion of women Labour MPs was partly due to the policy of establishing women‐only shortlists for winnable seats. This paper examines the distribution of women candidates in the election and analyses the factors that affected the votes they attracted. The results show that Labour women selected on the women‐only shortlists attracted significantly more votes than women nominated on open shortlists. This was mainly a consequence of their selection for marginal seats, but the greater organisational effort that was concentrated on those seats was also an important factor. Overall, there was no evidence that voters discriminated against women candidates in the election, regardless of party and regardless of how they were selected. The large number of women MPs raises issues concerning the formulation and articulation of a distinctive women's policy agenda at Westminster.     

Chinese interest in Nigeria's oil and the American context

Nigeria is an emerging strategic partner of China. This may at first glance appear to have some important implications for the United States, which has long seen Nigeria as a significant player in the region and has often cast Nigeria as an ally of some import on the continent. However, when examining Sino–Nigerian ties in the context of the United States, the hyperbole about China's role needs to be tamed. Washington, DC does not seem overly concerned by China's rising influence in the country. Though US ties with Abuja are robust, its economic interest in Nigeria is declining and is not threatened by Chinese activities.     

The Pacific Rim

Korea: Managing the Industrial Transition, Vol. 1: The Conduct of Industrial Policy. By D.M. Leipziger and others (World Bank Country Study). Washington: World Bank, 1987. Pp.xiv + 182. US$10. ISBN 0 8312 0887 4.

Public Intervention and Industrial Restructuring in China, India and the Republic of Korea. By Amiya Kumar Bagchi. New Delhi: International Labour Organization (Asian Employment Programme, ARTEP), 1987. Pp.xii + 162. US$8. ISBN 92 2 105774 7.

Policy Options for the Singapore Economy. By Lim Chong Wan and Associates. Singapore: McGraw Hill, 1988. Pp.xv + 499. US$29.95. ISBN 0 07 099133 2.

The Political Economy of the New Asian Industrialism. Edited by Frederic C. Deyo. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1987. Pp.252. US$32.95 + $14.25. ISBN 0 8014 9449 4.

Financing East Asia's Success: Comparative Financial Development in Eight East Asian Countries. By Michael T. Skully and George J. Viksnins. London: Macmillan Press in association with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1987. Pp.xii + 242. £29.50. ISBN 0 333 42655 X.     

Strategic Commissioning in the UK: Service Improvement Cycle or Just Going Round in Circles?

This article explores the drivers of the development of strategic commissioning over the last two decades, its limitations, and the implications of its rapid spread. It suggests that the differences between government departments have allowed scope for local variations, which have been exploited by local government, leaving room for more innovation than would have been possible under an entirely ‘joined-up’ government agenda. The forms taken by this new approach to strategic commissioning were consistent with continual pressure from central government to find ways of promoting externalisation of public services. Although this underlying drive was often resisted, particularly at local level, but always re-emerged. The article ends by exploring the implications of this analysis for public services in the era of fiscal austerity under the new UK Coalition government.     

Addressing Myanmar’s Citizenship Crisis

Among many problematic issues surfacing in reformist Myanmar is a citizenship crisis with four main dimensions. First, in a state with fragile civil liberties, skewed political rights and limited social rights, there is a broad curtailment of citizenship. Second, Rohingya Muslims living mainly in Rakhine State are denied citizenship, and other Muslims throughout the country are increasingly affected by this denial. Third, designated ethnic minorities clustered in peripheral areas face targeted restrictions of citizenship. Fourth, the dominant Bamar majority concentrated in the national heartland tends to arrogate or appropriate citizenship. The result is growing social tension that threatens to undermine the wider reform process. To examine this crisis, the article sets Myanmar in a comparative context. In particular, it considers how multicultural states in the developed world have sought to manage a political switch from racial or ethnic hierarchy to democratic citizenship. Drawing on global experience with multiculturalism and enabling civic integration, it advances a series of policy options focused on rights, duties and identity. It argues for domestic political leadership, backed by global political support, to address Myanmar’s citizenship crisis.     

Mega-events and the developing world: A look at the legacy of the 2010 Soccer World Cup

To consider the legacy of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, after a brief introduction covering the socio-economic and political background of South Africa, this paper defines mega-events, highlighting the additional challenges faced by developing countries competing for hosting privileges versus more developed countries. It focuses on a few examples of perceived tangible benefits to South Africa arising from hosting the World Cup, specifically the construction of several new stadiums, the increase in tourism, and the highspeed ‘Gautrain’, versus the opportunity costs of expenditures on large scale projects that do not directly meet the needs of the poor of South Africa. Finally, an examination of the value of the often over-looked intangible benefits of mega-events like the World Cup follows, including increased national unity in the face of several centrifugal forces and improved international perceptions, especially as the latter relate to South African and African potential. What is the true legacy of the 2010 Soccer World Cup? The discussion will attempt to answer this question.