Nicholas Blagden and Christian Perrin
Masculinity in young men can be considered a dynamic risk factor. However, there is a lack of interventions designed to support men and young men to explore the ways in which the…
Abstract
Purpose
Masculinity in young men can be considered a dynamic risk factor. However, there is a lack of interventions designed to support men and young men to explore the ways in which the concept of masculinity contributes to shaping their individual identity. The purpose of this paper is to explore young offenders’ perceptions of a programme designed to address masculinity and criminogenic attitudes and evaluate whether the programme contributed to any personal change/development and what core learning they took from the course.
Design/methodology/approach
The research utilised a mixed-methods approach to address aims and objectives.
Findings
The quantitative results found that there was a pre-/post-course reduction in toughness and increase in self-esteem and risk-taking perceptions. The qualitative results identified four superordinate themes reconstruing masculine self-realisation awareness and reflection group dynamics and course relationships and unintended consequences. The course-assisted participants in helping to reconstrue aspects of being a man made them think about the future and allowed for participants to consider their possible and desired selves.
Research limitations/implications
The research has policy and practice implications for brief interventions targeted at young offenders.
Originality/value
The research evaluates a novel intervention aimed at addressing young offenders masculine beliefs and identities. The research has implications for working with this client group.
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Nicholas Blagden, Belinda Winder, Mick Gregson and Karen Thorne
The aim of this paper is to highlight the practical utility of using repertory grids with sexual offenders in denial and to demonstrate through a case study how they can be used…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to highlight the practical utility of using repertory grids with sexual offenders in denial and to demonstrate through a case study how they can be used to bolster both initial assessment and psychological formulation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a single case study design and applies a repertory grid methodology, which is underpinned by personal construct psychology, to make sense of the case study. The analysis predominately focuses on the structure of the repertory grid.
Findings
The case study appeared to elicit factors that were of clinical utility and which could be used as tentative hypotheses for problem formulation and also seemed to point to an adequate starting point for intervention.
Research limitations/implications
The use of the case study makes generalisation difficult and future research may benefit from more large‐scale research.
Practical implications
Rather than subscribing to fatalist notions of deniers as untreatable, the paper argues that constructive work can be done with this population and that repertory grids can be one way to initially facilitate this process.
Originality/value
Currently “total deniers” are excluded from treatment and are seen as untreatable. It is argued here that this need not be the case and it is demonstrated how repertory grids can inform initial formulation with such offenders. Repertory grids have not been used with deniers before and this is an original feature of this research.
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Laura Willets, Paul Mooney and Nicholas Blagden
The social climate of psychiatric institutions correlates with multiple outcomes related to staff and patients. Research into social climate in Learning Disability services is…
Abstract
Purpose
The social climate of psychiatric institutions correlates with multiple outcomes related to staff and patients. Research into social climate in Learning Disability services is limited. Staff and patients in Learning Disability services have documented both positive and negative experiences. No research has directly compared the social climate of Learning Disability and non-Learning Disability psychiatric services. The purpose of this paper is to understand how these compare. The study will also compare staff and patient views of social climate and the impact of security on social climate in Learning Disability services.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 64 patients and 73 staff, from Learning Disability and non-Learning Disability psychiatric hospitals completed the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES) measure of social climate.
Findings
Patients in Learning Disability and non-Learning Disability services did not differ in their perceptions of social climate. Staff in non-Learning Disability services had a more positive perception of social climate than staff in Learning Disability services. Patients and staff did not differ in their views on climate. Security was negatively related to patients’ Experienced Safety.
Originality/value
The findings suggest that staff perceive that the deficits associated with Learning Disabilities may limit patients’ therapeutic experience and relationships with their peers. Despite this, patients with Learning Disabilities feel supported by their peers, have positive views of the treatment process and feel as safe as non-Learning Disabled psychiatric patients.
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Rachael Wheatley, Belinda Winder and Daria J. Kuss
This paper aims to provide instructions on how to implement an adapted version of the standard repertory grid technique (VARGT). The purpose of which is to provide practitioners…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide instructions on how to implement an adapted version of the standard repertory grid technique (VARGT). The purpose of which is to provide practitioners with a tool, which enables active engagement by participants in research and clinical practice. This tool has been used effectively with people convicted of stalking offences.
Design/methodology/approach
Repertory grids, developed from Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory (1955), had never been used with those who stalk, either clinically or in a research context. Visual and kinaesthetic adaptations were made to standard RGT procedures (Grice, 2002; Tan and Hunter, 2002), for use in a mixed methods research study (Wheatley, 2019, p. 77) due to expected challenges in engaging with this group. This manuscript presents theoretical underpinnings and step-by-step instructions for practical application.
Findings
The VARGT is easy to administer and produces rich data, in both qualitative and quantitative formats. This adapted approach encourages active participation and an interpreted therapeutic collaboration (Wheatley et al., 2020).
Practical implications
This novel technique has engaged men convicted of stalking offences collaboratively in research activities and showed potential for its use as a clinical tool. This instructional technical paper allows the technique to be replicated.
Originality/value
This novel technique has engaged men convicted of stalking offences collaboratively in research activities and showed potential for its use as a clinical tool. This instructional technical paper allows the technique to be replicated.
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Tammy Dalldorf and Sylvia Tloti
A strange phenomenon among women writers of the late eighteenth century, both conservative and liberal minded, was the predominance of female villains in their novels. While this…
Abstract
A strange phenomenon among women writers of the late eighteenth century, both conservative and liberal minded, was the predominance of female villains in their novels. While this can be seen as an after-effect of masculine patriarchal discourse, particularly for those women writers who possessed a more religious-based ideology, why was it prevalent among feminist writers of the time who should have been aware of misogynistic stereotypes? Two such writers who emulated this strange paradox were Mary Robinson and Charlotte Smith. Both these women had been vilified by the Anti-Jacobin British 18th press as notorious and corrupt ‘female philosophers’ who followed in the footsteps of Mary Wollstonecraft. This chapter will conduct a historical feminist close comparative reading of Robinson's novel, Walsingham, and Smith's novel, The Young Philosopher, based on feminist scholarship on eighteenth-century female writers. It will examine how the female villains in the novels overpowered even the male antagonists and were often the cause behind the misfortunes, directly or indirectly, of the heroines/heroes. While these villains did serve as warnings against inappropriate behaviour, they illustrated the disaster for women when there is a lack of female community. Specifically, in the case of Robinson, her Sadean villains illustrated that no one is spared from the corruption of power and that the saintly female figure is nothing but an illusion of the male imagination. They were fallen Lucifers, rebels who relished in their freedom and power despite their damnation and punishment. The patriarchal system was temporarily demolished by them.
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Powder coating in the car industry. “The future for powder coatings in the car industry is bright”, Chrysler Corporation's Ernie McLaughlin said in the keynote address at the…
Abstract
Powder coating in the car industry. “The future for powder coatings in the car industry is bright”, Chrysler Corporation's Ernie McLaughlin said in the keynote address at the recent Powder Coating '94 in Cincinnati.
The aim of producing Bah Luj Production, four folk tales books accompanied by a compact disc of its narration, dialogs and music is to revitalize the folk tales, music and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of producing Bah Luj Production, four folk tales books accompanied by a compact disc of its narration, dialogs and music is to revitalize the folk tales, music and cultural heritage of the indigenous Semai by condensing them into an innovative resource package, tailored to appeal to the current generation’s consumer interests and lifestyles. The targeted audiences for the product are Malaysians, in particular the Semai community, as well as other local and international consumers. The purpose of this paper is to examine a practice-led approach toward considering the empowerment of selected culture bearers assisted by the intervention of researchers from the academia in facilitating the sustainability of indigenous cultural traditions in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
This approach is practice-led – Bah Luj Production was developed based on action, reflection, review and revision. This paper provides visibility to the research process, enabling readers to understand the issues, challenges and decision-making processes. The practice-led approach that was used for this project provides a realistic practical guide, bridging the gap between theory and practice. In the conclusion, the authors also bring forth ideas for improvement through reflection, on suggested approaches in ways this research did not manage to pursue.
Findings
This paper proposes three approaches in advocating for cultural sustainability through innovation: collaboration between selected culture bearers and researchers in the academia; indigeneity of cultural expressions and illustrations; and adaptability and relevance to current interests of indigenous people and consumers of indigenous music and literature. This paper argues that it is important for the researcher to navigate research with relevance to the context and situation.
Research limitations/implications
While many articles focus on presenting the outcomes of a research project, this paper guides the reader toward understanding the limitations, constraints and negotiations made by the research team during the research and production stages. Transparency in the process of decision making will enlighten readers on realistic, practical approaches as opposed to idealistic theoretical methods.
Practical implications
This paper argues for sustainability through innovation and posits that cultural heritage practices that continue to be performed are those that are adaptable, flexible to change and open to innovation – therefore maintaining relevance to time, context and consumers. This paper posits that researchers should be flexible and practical in their research actions and avoid generalizations that come out of recent and popular critical theories as the most, or only suitable, approaches for diverse communities.
Originality/value
The development of an alternate approach, theory/concept and guidelines toward sustainability through innovation make this study the first of its kind. This approach integrates tradition with creation.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze socio-cultural and political forces which have shaped anti-violent attitudes and strategies of the Batek and Batek Tanum of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze socio-cultural and political forces which have shaped anti-violent attitudes and strategies of the Batek and Batek Tanum of Peninsular Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collection during the authors’ long-term, multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork among the Batek and Batek Tanum in Peninsular Malaysia. Methodology included participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a literature review of texts on the Orang Asli and anthropological theories on violence.
Findings
Traumatic experiences of past violence and atrocities greatly influence the Batek's and Batek Tanum's present attitudes toward direct and structural forms of violence. A variety of anti-violent strategies are adopted, including the choice to escape when physically threatened. Rather than demonstrating “weakness,” this course of action represents a smart survival strategy. External violence reinforces values of internal cooperation and mutual-aid that foraging societies, even sedentary groups, typically privilege. In recent years, the Batek's increasing political awareness has opened new forms of resistance against the structural violence embedded within Malaysian society.
Originality/value
The study proposes that societies cannot simply be labelled as violent or non-violent on the basis of socio-biological theories. Research into hunter-gatherer social organization and violence needs to be reframed within larger debates about structural violence. The “anti-violence” of certain foraging groups can be understood as a powerful form of resilience to outside pressures and foraging groups’ best possible strategy for survival.
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Leona Mydlowski, Rhys Turner-Moore and Stephanie Kewley
In England and Wales, adult male registered sex offenders (RSOs) are risk assessed and managed using a tool known as the Active Risk Management System; a risk assessment designed…
Abstract
Purpose
In England and Wales, adult male registered sex offenders (RSOs) are risk assessed and managed using a tool known as the Active Risk Management System; a risk assessment designed specifically for police management of RSOs and carried out by a specialist group of police officers known as Management of Violent or Sexual Offenders (MOSOVO) at the RSO’s home, known as “the home visit”. The purpose of this paper is to explore RSOs views of the home visit and risk assessment and to make recommendations to MOSOVO to improve future home visit & risk assessment practice.
Design/methodology/approach
This study aimed to examine a sample of adult male RSOs’ views of the risk assessment and home visit process. Three police forces in England and Wales agreed to facilitate the sampling of 10 RSOs who varied in their level of risk, namely, low, medium, high and very high.
Findings
Three themes were developed from the analysis: anxiety and shame; perceptions of the first home visit; and the property search and observations. This paper discusses these experiences in light of the growing call for MOSOVOs to both manage risk and assist desistance and present recommendations for improving both the home visit and risk assessment practice.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to understand and explore RSOs views of the home visit and risk assessment process.