Research from Belgium shows that partisan, rather than policy goals lead to MPs’ media responsiveness

Media coverage influences the parliamentary agenda. Research in many different European countries has shown that MPs ask parliamentary questions or initiate debate about the news of the day. Julie Sevenans, Stefaan Walgrave and Debby Vos examine why they do so, by investigating whether Belgian politicians’ media responsiveness is influenced by their political goals. They find that media responsiveness is mainly a function of partisan goals. Politicians use the typically negative and conflict-rich media coverage to attack their opponents rather than to nurture substantial policy-making

Restorative Justice-Informed Moral Acquaintance: Resolving the Dual Role Problem in Correctional and Forensic Practice

The issue of dual roles within forensic and correctional fields has typically been conceptualized as dissonance—experienced by practitioners— when attempting to adhere to the conflicting ethical requirements associated with client well-being and community protection. In this paper, we argue that the dual role problem should be conceptualized more broadly; to incorporate the relationship between the offender and their victim. We also propose that Restorative Justice (RJ) is able to provide a preliminary ethical framework to deal with this common ethical oversight. Furthermore, we unite the RJ framework with that of Ward’s (2013) moral acquaintance model to provide a more powerful approach—RJ informed moral acquaintance—aimed at addressing the ethical challenges faced by practitioners within forensic and correctional roles

Investigating the Potentials of Restorative Justice Practice

The Article focuses on restorative justice programs. Topics include the efficiency of restorative justice programs compared to traditional criminal justice interventions, the effectiveness of punitive justice measures, and the variety of different restorative justice programs such as youth offender programs, communitarianism, and victims\u27 reconciliation movements

Le Projet Agendas Comparés : objectifs et contenu

Le Projet Agendas Comparés rassemble des chercheurs qui développent des indicateurs systématiques de l’attention portée aux problèmes politiques dans chacun de leur système politique national. L’objectif central du projet est de construire une taxinomie standardisée, afin de comparer à travers le temps et l’espace les activités liées à ces problèmes. La construction et l’application d’un système fiable de classification des thèmes, qui englobe les agendas politiques de nombreux pays, est une tâche complexe ardue, mais elle possède un potentiel considérable pour l’étude de la politique comparée. Dans cet article, nous faisons le point sur les objectifs, les défis et l’avenir de cette nouvelle approche.The Comparative Agendas Project brings together researchers who are developing systematic indicators of the attention given to political problems in their own national political systems. The main objective of the project is to build up a standardized taxonomy in order to compare activities linked to these problems over time and space. The construction and application of a reliable thematic classification, which covers the political agendas of many countries, is an arduous and complex task. However, it has considerable potential for the comparative study of policy. In this paper, we focus on the objectives, the challenges and the future of this new approach

Politieke kennis en effecten van nieuws

Welk nieuws doet ertoe en hoeveel nieuws doet ertoe, en in welke mate hangt dit af van de politieke kennis van de ontvanger? Dit artikel beschrijft een longitudinale studie naar de verkiezingsstrijd voor het Nederlandse parlement in 2006

Normative Evaluation of a Letter Cancellation Instrument for the Assessment of Sustained Attention: A Construct Validation Study

Cancellation tests are simple instruments that have traditionally been used to study sustained attention. Common formats follow a test pattern in which rows of letters symbols or numbers are randomly interspersed with designated targets. Test participants are generally asked to identify targets while ignoring similar non-target distracter items. In the current study we present normative data on a new cancellation instrument developed at SDSU. We present guidelines for administration, as well as normative data on omission errors, commission errors, mean target hit rates, processing speed performance, and test-retest reliability for 102 undergraduate participants in the 18-25 year old age range. Statistical analysis suggests that the NIMH-SDSU Letter Cancellation Protocol has high test-retest reliability, but is also susceptible to practice effects when subsequent administrations occur within 5 weeks