‘To Recognise,or not to Recognise’: Macmillan’s Yemen Arab Republic question

The Macmillan government's dilemma over whether to grant diplomatic recognition to the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) following a coup in 1962 was finely balanced. Hitherto, though, the literature on this specific issue has neither reflected the complexity of issues with which the British government was confronted nor offered a satisfactory explanation of its ultimate non-recognition of the YAR. Some scholars suggest that London was immediately and consistently opposed to granting recognition; others attribute the decision to fear of Nasserism and a determination to maintain Britain's colonial interests in the Persian Gulf. This article contends differently. Drawing upon newly declassified information it first reveals in fuller detail the array of issues and interests that the Macmillan government was confronted by and sought to balance. It then proceeds to demonstrate that the Macmillan government was not unwaveringly against according recognition to the YAR and that whilst important, the influence of the Aden Group and its sympathisers in government was not decisive. Instead, irresolution within the government resulted in an event-driven policy that arrived ultimately at non-recognition of the YAR by default rather than by design.     

Validation of an Abbreviated Version of the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms in Outpatient Psychiatric and Community Settings

This study examined the effectiveness of an abbreviated version of the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS-A) in identifying malingered mental illness. The SIRS-A is comprised of 69 items drawn from the SIRS (R. Rogers et al. 1992, SIRS: Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms: Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.), substantially reducing the administration time. A simulation design was used with three samples; 87 psychiatric outpatients who responded honestly were compared to 29 community-dwelling adults and 24 psychiatric patients instructed to malinger psychopathology. The SIRS-A generated sensitivity comparable to or exceeding that of the SIRS normative data, but specificity was poorer; many genuinely impaired patients were misclassified as malingering. Although these findings suggest the SIRS-A may be an effective means to assess malingering in psychiatric populations, further research assessing the reasons for the elevated false positive rates is necessary.     

A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of Schoolwide Violence Prevention Programs

Violence prevention programs are commonplace in today’s schools, though reviews of the literature reveal mixed empirical findings on their effectiveness. Often, these programs include a variety of components such as social skills training, student mentoring, and activities designed to build a sense of school community that have not been tested for individual effectiveness. To fill this gap, we wanted to determine the relationships between specific violence prevention program components and aggression and violence outcomes. Using the U.S. Department of Education’s School Survey on Crime and Safety, we estimated the effects of components of violence prevention programs through analyses with proportional odds logistic regression and Poisson regression models. We found significant relationships between three violence prevention program components (individual attention, mentoring, tutoring, and/or coaching; recreational, enrichment, or leisure activities; and involving students in resolving student conduct problems) and aggression and violence outcomes.     

Social support and one-year outcomes for women participating in prison-based substance abuse treatment programming

In recent decades, the number of women under criminal justice supervision has increased considerably, many of whom are serving time for drug offenses. Furthermore, women in prison are more likely than their non-institutionalized counterparts to suffer from a substance abuse disorder. While there is a growing body of research concerning women offenders’ drug abuse and treatment needs, few studies have examined the substance abuse treatment outcomes of women in the criminal justice system. Using data from Outcome Evaluation of the Forever Free Substance Abuse Treatment Program, this study compared women’s self-reported drug use twelve months after participation in high-intensity (n = 101) and low-intensity (n = 81) prison-based substance abuse treatment programming (N = 182). Women who perceived high levels of emotional social support were less likely to report substance use at 12-month follow-up. Furthermore, perceptions of emotional social support and treatment intensity interacted in their association with relapse, such that the protective effect of social support was strongest for women who participated in high-intensity programming. The results of the analyses highlight the importance of perceived social support for women with substance abuse disorders who are transitioning from prison-based substance abuse treatment programming to the community.     

Exploring the Impact of Child Sex Offender Suicide

This paper explores the issues and widespread impact surrounding child sex offenders (CSO) who commit suicide after learning they are under criminal investigation. This phenomenon, which has received scant attention in the literature, affects family, friends, and victims of offenders who may experience a range of conflicting emotions including anger, guilt, confusion, betrayal, and loss. Involved law enforcement may, likewise, experience a range of complex reactions. Law enforcement personnel are neither trained nor required to assess offenders’ suicidality. However, awareness of how CSOs are impacted by an investigation may mitigate the risk of suicide and enhance operational strategies, including officer safety.     

Social Vulnerability and Equity: The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19

As the architect of racial disparity, racism shapes the vulnerability of communities. Socially vulnerable communities are less resilient in their ability to respond to and recover from natural and human-made disasters compared with resourced communities. This essay argues that racism exposes practices and structures in public administration that, along with the effects of COVID-19, have led to disproportionate infection and death rates of Black people. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index, the authors analyze the ways Black bodies occupy the most vulnerable communities, making them bear the brunt of COVID-19's impact. The findings suggest that existing disparities exacerbate COVID-19 outcomes for Black people. Targeted universalism is offered as an administrative framework to meet the needs of all people impacted by COVID-19.     

Face Transplant: Real and Imagined Ethical Challenges

Ethical lapses associated with the first facial transplant included breaches of confidentiality, bending of research rules, and film deals. However, discussions of the risk-benefit ratio for face transplantation are often deficient in that they ignore the needs, experience, and decision-making capability of potential recipients.