More of the Same? A Dual Case Study Approach to Examining Change Momentum in the Public Sector

Despite the significant amount of change experienced by the public sector, there has been relatively limited empirical examination of how change agendas affect public sector employees in Australia. This article presents a comparative analysis of two Australian public sector organisations that implemented the same positive work change agenda, but experienced very different outcomes. Using a critical realist approach, we draw on a mix of qualitative techniques to suggest that textbook notions of ‘successful change’, which are often derived from large private sector expectations, may fail to capture the complex nature of how public sector change initiatives may unfold. In particular, we demonstrate how political, temporal, contextual, and process factors interact to shift change momentum. Illustrative examples are provided throughout and the findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory building, for change facilitation, and for future research.     

Hobsbawm in Trinidad: understanding contemporary modalities of urban violence

Eric Hobsbawm’s milestone work Bandits is attentive to the rural poor and situates social banditry within the world of peasant resistance, but his concepts are surprisingly adaptable to contemporary urban settings. Drawing on Hobsbawm’s conceptualisation of social banditry and avengers, this article examines the perspective of gangs who perceive themselves as victims of inequality, poverty and capitalism; who serve as social actors and security providers for their communities; and who at the same time engage in cruelty and high levels of violence and terror. This qualitative study is based on fieldwork undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago. Findings show that Hobsbawm’s figure of the avenger contributes to a better understanding of the contemporary modalities of urban violence and helps unpacking and characterise the ambiguity of the relationship between gangs and local communities.     

交通肇事逃逸行为研究

交通肇事罪是常见、多发的一种犯罪。现行《刑法》对交通肇事罪的规定较为原则、概括,实际案件复杂多样,人们对交通肇事逃逸的认识、定性和处理不一。最高人民法院《关于审理交通肇事刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释》（以下简称《解释》）的出台,并未结束理论的纷争。交通肇事罪内容不尽合理,应进行相关的立法完善,交通肇事逃逸应成为独立的犯罪。     

Provider Perspectives on Sex Trafficking: Victim Pathways,Service Needs, & Blurred Boundaries

This study examines service providers’ perspectives on survivors of trafficking using a purposeful sample of professionals specializing in intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and child maltreatment. Entry points into trafficking included recruitment by Romeo pimps, survival sex, kidnapping, and deceptive offers of employment. Service needs of survivors were described as more extreme and enduring than those of other types of victims served, with particular needs in long-term housing, health and mental health, substance use treatment, legal aid, and employment assistance. An overarching issue involved survivors’ dual identities as both victims and offenders, including self-identification and understanding/treatment by human service providers and law enforcement officers.     

Experiences of engaging in psychotherapeutic interventions for sexual offending behaviours: A meta-synthesis

Abstract

This meta-synthesis explores individuals' experiences of engaging in psychotherapeutic interventions for sexual offending. The findings of ten qualitative studies were integrated and five over-arching concepts emerged: (1) incentives and inhibitions: to engage or not to engage?; (2) help or hindrance: the impact of others in therapy; (3) the abused and the abuser: perspectives for transformation; (4) struggling and striving: dealing with distress and difficulties and (5) what works: inside and outside. A line of argument derived from these concepts is proposed as a framework for understanding sex offenders' experiences of therapy and highlights aspects of treatment programmes that need further exploration or emphasis. Using qualitative accounts can improve the responsiveness of treatment programmes, but such research is currently limited. Future qualitative studies and reviews could help further improve the effectiveness of treatment programmes, and thereby reduce the rate of sexual reoffending.     

A Qualitative Study of Undergraduates’ Conceptualizations of Mental Illness

This qualitative study examined three stigma reduction interventions against mental illness stigma: education, video, and contact. Undergraduates (N = 69) in three introductory psychology classes from a small, Catholic, liberal arts university in the northeast United States participated. Responses to two open-ended questions revealed common negative and stereotypical themes associated with mental illness. The benefits of supplementing traditional social distance measures with a qualitative approach, as well as the importance of considering a social developmental approach to stigma education are discussed.     

Family Dynamics Associated with the Use of Psychologically Violent Parental Practices

The purpose of this study is to explore the family dynamics that are associated with parental psychological violence. A qualitative theorizing analysis has been performed upon the content of 26 interviews with parents and practitioners, in order to: (1) develop a typology of family dynamics conducive to psychologically violent parental practices, and (2) provide some support to this typology by confronting it with other data and real life cases. The results suggest four types of families in which psychological violence is likely to occur, characterized respectively by a scapegoat child, a domineering and intolerant father, a rigid and manipulative mother, and a chaotic and incompetent parent. Participants' explanations of the occurrence of psychological violence in a given family support the proposed typology: a different explanatory profile is associated with each type of psychologically violent family. Furthermore, the typology has been submitted to practitioners working in the fields of child protection and community family support, who applied the typology to real files in their caseloads in order to assess its usefulness in clinical settings. This procedure supported the relevance of the proposed typology for practice.     

盗窃罪“定性加定量”罪名立法模式的否定与反思

我国盗窃罪实行的"定性加定量"的罪名立法模式违背盗窃罪典型行为犯的认知和无罪推定原则,以盗窃数额、盗窃次数乃至盗窃方式(携带凶器盗窃、扒窃)作为能否进入刑罚调整的标准,实践中还可能把定罪提前到公安机关的立案程序中,也不符合裁判消极的特征,在现实中容易纵容"小恶",违背社会正义的要求,因此,应该明确刑罚权的界限,恢复盗窃罪行为犯之定位,采用单纯"定性"罪名立法模式。     

The Power of Smears in Two American Presidential Campaigns

This article compares the two main cases of deceitful negative campaigning that characterized the American presidential campaigns of 2004 and 2008. These are, respectively, the attacks led by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth against the military career and the subsequent pacifist turn of John Kerry and the smear, initially spread around the web, that claimed that Barack Obama was Muslim. This research describes the origins, developments, and outcomes of the two smear campaigns, focusing on the differences and similarities between them in terms of their content and their communication strategies. It then investigates the role played by the different media platforms employed by the negative campaigners, the importance of a prompt answer by the recipients of the accusations, and the response of public opinion. Finally, the comparison of the cases allows pointing out some conditions for the success or failure of mudslinging in contemporary American political communication.     

信用卡“养卡”、“套现”行为的刑法定性分析——兼与刘宪权教授商榷

信用卡养卡行为与套现行为,尽管在事实构造上存在不同,但是二者在刑法规范评价上应当做相同评价,只要行为人在养卡套现活动中收取手续费,均构成非法经营罪。类似借记卡性质的预付卡性质的预付费的储值卡、房贷卡等属于刑法意义上的＂信用卡＂,适用于《关于办理妨碍信用卡管理刑事案件具体应用法律若干问题的解释》第7条第一款关于信用卡＂套现＂中的＂信用卡＂。信用卡套现的司法解释是针对＂其他严重扰乱市场秩序的非法经营行为＂,而不是＂非法从事资金结算业务＂。持卡人以非法占有为目的,使用POS机为自己套现,恶意透支的构成非法经营罪和信用卡诈骗罪想象竞合。持卡人使用POS机为自己套现,随后产生非法占有目的恶意透支的,属于转化犯,构成信用卡诈骗罪,不再构成非法经营罪。