Fear Of Reprisal Research Articles

Setting up a youth violence prevention project in a London hospital emergency department

PurposeYouth violence victimisation impacts on health, mental health and future risk trajectories. A London hospital emergency department (ED) outreach youth service provides a unique intervention opportunity to support adolescents involved in violence. The purpose of this paper is to describe the set‐up of the service.Design/methodology/approachYoung people (YP) targeted were aged 12‐18, from two London boroughs and attended ED with injuries from a violent incident. They were referred to Oasis youth workers for a mentoring/youth work intervention. Lifestyle and symptom scales were used to assess risk profile. Hospital staff questionnaires determined service awareness in the first six months, and interviews/focus group identified potential barriers to service uptake.FindingsBy 12 months, the service was operating smoothly. Of the first 505 YP attending ED, a third were referred, a third ineligible and a third non‐contactable/refused. Detailed analysis of the first 30 attending found most were male (87 per cent), equal White or Black ethnicity (40 per cent) with 20 per cent “Other” ethnicities, with only a third living with both biological parents. This was similar to the full population attending. Nearly half (49 per cent) had been assaulted, 30 per cent had injuries self‐generated through poor anger management, the remainder injured in fighting. Over half (57 per cent) had disorder, mostly behavioural, correlated with lifestyle risk scores. Barriers to service use/implementation included YP mistrust and fear of reprisals, problems with service visibility in the busy hospital environment and ineffective staff communication with YP, all countered during the running of the service. Gauging outcome at follow‐up is the second evaluation stage.Originality/valueThe youth violence project is an important initiative for intervention in youth violence.

Do Perceptions of Ballot Secrecy Influence Turnout? Results from a Field Experiment

Although the secret ballot has been secured as a legal matter in the United States, formal secrecy protections are not equivalent to convincing citizens that they may vote privately and without fear of reprisal. We present survey evidence that those who have not previously voted are particularly likely to voice doubts about the secrecy of the voting process. We then report results from a field experiment where we mailed information about protections of ballot secrecy to registered voters prior to the 2010 general election. Consistent with our survey data, we find that these letters increased turnout for registered citizens without records of previous turnout, but they did not appear to influence the behavior of citizens who had previously voted. The increase in turnout of more than three percentage points (20%) for those without previous records of voting is notably larger than the effect of a standard get‐out‐the‐vote mailing for this group. Overall, these results suggest that although the secret ballot is a long‐standing institution in the United States, beliefs about this institution may not match the legal reality.

Capital and Opposition in Africa: Coalition Building in Multiethnic Societies

Under what conditions can opposition politicians with ethnic constituencies form electoral coalitions? In Africa's patronage-based political systems, incumbents form coalitions by using state resources to secure the endorsement of politicians from other ethnic groups. Opposition politicians, however, must rely on private resources to do the same. This article presents a political economy theory to explain how the relative autonomy of business from state-controlled capital influences the formation of multiethnic opposition coalitions. It shows that the opposition is unlikely to coalesce across ethnic cleavages where incumbents use their influence over banking and credit to command the political allegiance of business—the largest potential funder of opposition in poor countries. Liberalizing financial reforms, in freeing business to diversify political contributions without fear of reprisal, enable opposition politicians to access the resources needed to mimic the incumbent's pecuniary coalition-building strategy. A binomial logistic regression analysis of executive elections held across Africa between 1990 and 2005 corroborates the theoretical claim: greater financial autonomy for business—as proxied by the number of commercial banks and the provision of credit to the private sector—significantly increases the likelihood of multiethnic opposition coalitions being formed.

Victims and witnesses protection: a Commonwealth perspective

Any witness who is not able to testify due to lack of support or protection is a loss to the proper functioning of a criminal justice system. In this context it is generally accepted that creating a climate for witnesses to testify truthfully and without fear of reprisals is essential to fulfilling the goals of truth and justice. Accordingly, addressing the issues of witness protection and support is a central aspect of a well-functioning criminal justice system; one that contributes not only to the rule of law through more effective investigations and trials, but also ensures that witnesses are treated with the recognition and care they deserve for their contribution to finding the truth. The principle that victims in the criminal justice system must be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect for their personal dignity entails a responsibility on the part of national authorities to realise this basic principle through the development of appropriate mechanisms designed to provide assistance to the victims. However, building effective national victims/witness support and protection is challenging for any state, and especially so for small Commonwealth jurisdictions due to capacity and other constraints. The Commonwealth seeks to provide technical assistance and capacity building to support its members in promoting the rule of law and has developed and disseminated a best practice guide for the protection of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system. This article seeks to highlight the valuable findings of the Commonwealth guide and to provide guidance to policy-makers, legislators, police, prosecutors and other stakeholders in criminal justice practice.

The Interactional Nature of the Closet, Coming OUT, and Same‐Sex Desire

In Narrating the Closet, Tony E. Adams draws upon a lifetime of experience and research into non-heterosexual identities to craft a comprehensive autoethnographic analysis of the interactional and ideological foundations of the metaphorical ‘‘closet.’’ Specifically, Adams employs his own experiences with lovers, friends, religious officials, students, colleagues, and family members as data from which to enunciate the complex dynamics surrounding claiming a non-heterosexual identity in contemporary American society. Further, his analysis builds on countless informal discussions with people he came across during his daily activities, nine open-ended interactive interviews with lesbian women and gay men, four life history interviews with gay men, life writings composed by others that have dealt with these issues, and media representations of the closet and coming out from television, film, and audio productions. Although Adams is quick to point out that his work should not be used to generalize to the experiences of sexual minorities on a large scale, the collection of data presented alongside his own story presents a tapestry—albeit a partial—of possible issues that any non-heterosexual could face in the course of their daily lives. As Adams (2011, p. 36) explains, he assembled these resources in order to ‘‘document my journey through, and processes of, the closet and coming out with the purpose of making experiences of same-sex attraction more humane, tolerable, and meaningful for others.’’ Stated another way, Adams attempts to demonstrate that we—as social beings sharing a world—are ALL implicated in the issues faced by non-heterosexuals. As such, it is our job as social citizens to take ownership and responsibility for creating safe spaces wherein ALL people may express who, how, and what they love without fear of reprisal. Discussing conversational interactions regarding intimate behavior, for example, Adams argues that the culture of silence

Do You Know…: How to Move High Stakes Writing Projects Past Paralysis? Dare to Share.

“High stakes writing needs to float on a deep sea of low stakes writing.” (Elbow 2012) What makes a writing project high stakes for you? In 25 years of turning nurses into authors, I've noticed that everyone has their own definition. For some, high stakes writing is going public with an idea that colleagues can criticize. Others say deadlines scare them word-less. For still others, it's finding language to describe something they care deeply about. This column, the third in a series on moving writing projects past stuck, shares a simple way to measure the stakes; explains the import of writing stakes being high; and shows how to lower the writing stakes enough to take projects public. When your writing progress gets paralyzed, it's time to tune into that inner voice that's wheedling and whining you into believing you don't have what it takes to succeed. This nag of a voice is a sure sign you're suffering from the Impostor Syndrome: that troubling combination of feeling like an intellectual fraud coupled with the fear of being found out (Heinrich 2008). The more insistent the voice of this inner critic, the greater your fear, the higher the writing stakes. The best way to measure the stakes on a writing project is to assign your impostor fears a number. Take my situation as a for instance. Every time I try translating a recent conference presentation into a ready-to-submit manuscript, my best attempts go no-where. This to and fro has been happening for a year. When I plotted my impostor fears on the Stakes Scale below, they registered a 10/10 ~ the highest stakes possible for a writing project. Keeping your paralyzed project in mind, what's your score? The higher your score on the Stakes Scale, the more likely it is that impostor fears are whittling away at your self-confidence. Peternj-Taylor (2010), the editor of the Journal of Forensic Nursing, writes that fears of being exposed as an impostor can so “debilitate” nurses that they don't act on opportunities (p 58). A new ~ or a next ~ writing challenge, whether it's completing a first academic paper after returning to school or giving memoir writing a spin, can call up impostor fears. My next challenge is writing a second book. Seeing that 10/10 score on the Stakes Scale made me get real. Until I face my impostor fears about writing that high-stakes article, my book will stay a pipe dream. This motivated me to lower my writing stakes in a way that may surprise you. As convincing as impostor voices can be, fears are not facts. The fact is that you can overcome your fears by shifting how you think about writing. All writing, even when the intent is to go public, is private at the start (Elbow 2012). Think of all the free writes (Heinrich 2012) and rough drafts that no one ever sees. Whenever you want to lower the stakes, Elbow suggests turning private writing that's “just for me” into personal writing that's “just for you and me” (p. 52). This happens when, for example, teachers challenge students to take the dare to share their drafts with a partner or a small group of students. Free-writing my answers to 3 questions called me to take a risky dare-to-share: What's paralyzing my progress? My fear of reprisal from the scholars and researchers whose ideas my article calls into question. What would make this writing project less fear-full? Invite a few of these scholars and researchers to poke holes in my ideas before I go public with them. How can I make this happen? Email 3 of these scholar-researchers and ask them to challenge and critique my rough draft. Lucky for me, the 3 scholar/researchers I contacted are dear colleague-friends. Far from the reprisals I feared, each is eager to engage in a dialogue in which disagreements are welcome. Crafting a “just for my colleague-friends and me” draft makes going public with a controversial premise feel much less daunting. Which colleague(s), whether or not they share your views, can help you lower your writing stakes? Then you'll see how lowering the stakes can float your writing projects to success. With gratitude to my ever discerning, reader-ally Beverly Sastri. Kathleen T. Heinrich, PhD, RN, is the author of A Nurse's Guide to Presenting and Publishing: Dare to Share. A twice-tenured professor turned consultant, her Scholarly Intensives, workshop series, and multi-year consultations give individuals and faculty groups the support, skills, and self-confidence to write for publication. Email: drkth@att.net or visit her website www.KTH_Consulting.com

Prediction of Whistleblowing or Non-reporting Observation: The Role of Personal and Situational Factors

This study examined whether it was possible to classify Australian public sector employees as either whistleblowers or non-reporting observers using personal and situational variables. The personal variables were demography (gender, public sector tenure, organisational tenure and age), work attitudes (job satisfaction, trust in management, whistleblowing propensity) and employee behaviour (organisational citizenship behaviour). The situational variables were perceived personal victimisation, fear of reprisals and perceived wrongdoing seriousness. These variables were used as predictors in a series of binary logistic regressions. It was possible to identify whistleblowers on the basis of individual initiative, whistleblowing propensity (individual and organisational), fear of reprisals, perceived wrongdoing seriousness and perceived personal victimisation. It was concluded that whistleblowers are not markedly dissimilar to non-reporting observers. Based on the two most influential variables (perceived personal victimisation and perceived wrongdoing seriousness), the average Australian public sector whistleblower is most likely to be an ordinary employee making a good faith attempt to stop what they perceived to be a serious wrongdoing that was initially identified through personal victimisation.

I have a bone to pick with you: the challenge of addressing dog-related injury in a rural community

BackgroundSarina, a rural community with a regional population of 12 000, is serviced by Mackay Safe Communities Network (MSCN). MSCN was established in 2000 to address high injury rates regionally....

It pays to cheat: tactical deception in a cephalopod social signalling system

Signals in intraspecific communication should be inherently honest; otherwise the system is prone to collapse. Theory predicts, however, that honest signalling systems are susceptible to invasion by cheats, the extent of which is largely mediated by fear of reprisal. Cuttlefish facultatively change their shape and colour, an ability that evolved to avoid predators and capture prey. Here, we show that this ability is tactically employed by male mourning cuttlefish (Sepia plangon) to mislead conspecifics during courtship in a specific social context amenable to cheating 39 per cent of the time, while it was never employed in other social contexts. Males deceive rival males by displaying male courtship patterns to receptive females on one side of the body, and simultaneously displaying female patterns to a single rival male on the other, thus preventing the rival from disrupting courtship. The use of tactical deception in such a complex communication network indicates that sociality has played a key role in the cognitive evolution of cephalopods.

Exploring the effectiveness of the output-based aid voucher program to increase uptake of gender-based violence recovery services in Kenya: A qualitative evaluation

BackgroundFew studies in Africa have explored in detail the ability of output-based aid (OBA) voucher programs to increase access to gender-based violence recovery (GBVR) services.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted in 2010 and involved: (i) in-depth interviews (IDIs) with health managers, service providers, voucher management agency (VMA) managers and (ii) focus group discussions (FGDs) with voucher users, voucher non-users, voucher distributors and opinion leaders drawn from five program sites in Kenya.ResultsThe findings showed promising prospects for the uptake of OBA GBVR services among target population. However, a number of factors affect the uptake of the services. These include lack of general awareness of the GBVR services vouchers, lack of understanding of the benefit package, immediate financial needs of survivors, as well as stigma and cultural beliefs that undermine reporting of cases or seeking essential medical services. Moreover, accreditation of only hospitals to offer GBVR services undermines access to the services in rural areas. Poor responsiveness from law enforcement agencies and fear of reprisal from perpetrators also undermine treatment options and access to medical services. Low provider knowledge on GBVR services and lack of supplies also affect effective provision and management of GBVR services.ConclusionsThe above findings suggest that there is a need to build the capacity of health care providers and police officers, strengthen the community strategy component of the OBA program to promote the GBVR services voucher, and conduct widespread community education programs aimed at prevention, ensuring survivors know how and where to access services and addressing stigma and cultural barriers.

Speaking the truth

Whistleblowers are protected by law, but in practice many nurses still report that fear of reprisals and inaction by line managers are dissuading them from speaking out about poor care. A radical change of culture is needed within healthcare organisations.

Can Outcome Expectancies Help Explain Sex Differences in Direct and Indirect Aggression?

This study examined the role of outcome expectancies in explaining sex differences in adolescents' inclination to engage in acts of aggression. Using a sample of Australian adolescents, 2 scales were developed to measure outcome expectancies of direct and indirect aggression. The data were used in subsequent mediation analyses. Sex differences in direct aggression were partially mediated by 2 types of aggression expectancies. Relative to females, males anticipated more overall benefits associated with acting aggressively and less fear of reprisals from authority figures. This pattern of expectancy beliefs predicted higher levels of self‐reported direct aggression. Sex differences in indirect aggression were fully mediated by anticipation of personal benefits, with males expecting greater personal benefits for engaging in this type of aggression.

The Right to Remain Anonymous: Anonymous Speakers, Confidential Sources and the Public Good

In the digital age, the news media gives voice to anonymous speakers in two ways: reporters may extend confidentiality to sources in exchange for newsworthy information, or a news website may host an online comment function that allows readers to post their reactions to content pseudonymously. Of these two groups of anonymous speakers, only online posters enjoy certain First Amendment protection against a subpoena seeking disclosure of their identities. The reporter’s privilege has always been legally defined as the professional privilege of a reporter to maintain the confidentiality of his sources. Yet as with all evidentiary privileges, the reporter’s privilege serves both private and public ends. Historically, state statutes and state common law have protected the private arrangement that enables sources to disclose information without fear of reprisal, and journalists to gain newsworthy content, because this relationship furthers the free flow of information to the public. By contrast, protection for anonymous

Aid/Watch and the Public Benefit of Advocacy for the Extra-territorial Relief of Poverty

The disqualification of Aid/Watch as a charity and the High Court of Australia's subsequent decision shines a spotlight on the common law definition of charitable activity. The Aid/Watch decision enables charitable organisations to legitimately advocate for more efficient implementation of government policies on the relief of poverty and for the advancement of education and religion, without fear of reprisal. 
 
 Initially we comment on the inherent tension the Australian Taxation Office experiences as a result of its status as a government department, its responsibilities to administer revenue collection and its role interpreting charity law. We then discuss the common law definition of charity and the Constitutional basis for the High Court’s decision in Aid/Watch. To conclude we outline areas of uncertainties but also potential benefits to charitable organisations which are relevant for any proposal to define ‘charitable organisation’.

Constraints influencing stakeholder participation in collective environmental management

Stakeholder participation is crucial for collective environmental management. This article unearths factors that influence stakeholder involvement, with emphasis on their associated origins. The management of a drainage canal in Map Ta Phut industrial estate, Thailand, was studied. Seven types of constraints were identified, namely: (a) distrust, generated from the lack of neutrality; sanction; sincerity; evidence of improvement; and denialism, (b) delay and slowness, created by characteristics of governmental procedures; geographically divided responsibility; the lack of willingness to participate; ineffective communication; limited budget; and misunderstandings, (c) information sharing in inappropriate manners, (d) an entrenched position originating from an allegation, past conflicts, and reminiscence, (e) unfairness and envy emerging from uneven distribution of benefits and inadequate infrastructure, (f) relationship abuse and fear of reprisals, and (g) community spoilage. Avoiding actions that create distrust, promoting activities that strengthen the relationship, sharing not only positive but also controversial information, understanding limitations of other stakeholders, being open-minded and forgiving, and self-evaluation and self-correction are ways to sustain successful stakeholder participation.

LGBTIQ Teens - Plugged in and Unfiltered: How Internet Filtering Impairs Construction of Online Communities, Identity Formation, and Access to Health Information

The anonymity the Internet provides represents an invaluable resource where LGBTIQ youth can freely discuss their issues, concerns and problems without fear of reprisal from a frequently homophobic community. LGBTIQ youth may find the Internet, and its online communities and social networks, to be the only conduit through which they can express themselves, reach out to others, and access health information that addresses their particular issues and needs. LGBTIQ adolescents often deal with environments that lack sufficient social networks, such as empathetic adults or friends, and they may face daily discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender expression.The mandated use of Internet filtering in public libraries, however, threatens this special relationship. With the passage of CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act), and its constitutionality subsequently affirmed by the Supreme Court, libraries are faced with the challenges presented by Internet filtering, and the obstacles to access it creates for disadvantaged patron groups. While library science literature has frequently discussed the problems of Internet filtering, LGBTIQ adolescents are often neglected by these studies despite filtering having a disproportionate impact on their communities. The need for anonymity, which the Internet can provide, is a more crucial need for LGBTIQ youth who often must construct their social networks in an environment hostile to their emotional, social and informational needs.

Barriers to and Incentives for Safety Event Reporting in Emergency Departments

Patient safety events (PSEs) are common in healthcare and may be particularly prevalent in complex care settings such as emergency departments (EDs). Systems for reporting, analyzing, learning from and responding to incidents are promoted as a means to reduce adverse events by facilitating feedback, learning and system change. However, only 4-50% of PSEs are reported. Under-reporting masks the true number of PSEs and may reduce our ability to learn from and prevent repeat events. The goal of this study was to identify barriers that prevent PSE reporting and incentives that encourage reporting. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with front-line nursing staff and nurse managers in EDs across British Columbia to explore their perception of barriers to and incentives for PSE reporting. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, checked for accuracy and entered into NVivo 8 software. Data were analyzed thematically as they were acquired, and emerging themes were explored in subsequent interviews. One hundred six interviews were conducted with staff from 94 of the 98 EDs in British Columbia. Six main barriers to PSE reporting were identified: (1) time constraints, (2) a sense of futility, (3) fear of reprisal, (4) a lack of education on PSE reporting, (5) reports being viewed as indicators of incompetence and (6) an inaccessibility of reporting forms. Incentives for reporting included valuing PSE reporting, the availability of alternative reporting pathways and feedback and visible changes resulting from PSE reports. We identified barriers that restrain nurses from reporting PSEs and incentives that facilitate reporting. Our findings should be considered when developing systems to report and learn from PSEs.

The Council of Europe Resolution and Recommendation on the Protection of Whistleblowers

In its Second Evaluation Report (2003–06), the Group of States against Corruption, a body set up in 1999 to monitor compliance with Council of Europe's anti-corruption legal instruments, noted that staff who reported cases of corruption in public administration received no special protection. On 14 September 2009, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) published a report from the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights entitled ‘The protection of whistleblowers’ and on 29 April 2010 PACE passed Recommendation 1916 and Resolution 1729 calling on member states to review their legislation on this subject. This note analyses these new sources, with a special focus on how they interact with current UK law. The Recommendation's first paragraph emphasises the importance of whistleblowing ‘as a tool to increase accountability and strengthen the fight against corruption and mismanagement’. Paragraph 2 urges the Committee of Ministers to take three actions: draw up guidelines which take into account the principles contained in the Resolution; invite states to examine their legislation and its implementation to check whether it complies with the guidelines; and consider drafting a framework convention on the protection of whistleblowers. Paragraph 3 calls for a European conference to be organised on this subject and suggests the establishment of a ‘strong internal whistle-blowing mechanism’ at the Council of Europe. The main focus of this note is on the guiding principles contained in paragraph 6 of the Resolution but there are eight other paragraphs and these will be outlined first. Paragraph 2 builds on the empirical research in both the USA and Australia which demonstrates that the two main reasons why people are deterred from reporting concerns are fear of reprisals and a belief that no action will be taken to deal with.

The Erosion of the Attorney-Client Privilege in the Wake of Sarbanes Oxley and Other Conflicting Duties Facing Corporate Counsel

The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002; and more particularly, Section 307 creates a mandatory Chief Legal Officer (CLO) position within corporations practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The new duties that have been imposed by the SEC, and which are now owed by corporate counsel, have presented ethical dilemmas and conflicting duties for in-house counsel for public companies. The CLO in a corporation now finds themselves functioning as a gatekeeper, or a watchdog for the government; and as such, these lawyers have a duty to report to the SEC certain conduct within the company they represent. However, lawyers also owe fiduciary duties to officers and directors, and to the corporation as a client. In these many, overlapping, and interwoven roles, corporate lawyers face great difficulty in complying with all aspects of both their professional and ethical duties. The attorney-client privileges in which the legal profession is so heavily grounded - such as confidentiality - are quickly eroding in the wake of Sarbanes-Oxley's new reporting requirements, and the lawyer’s ability to remain independent and objective has been fundamentally constrained. The up-the-ladder reporting requirements imposed on corporate counsel require upon a finding that there has been wrongdoing that the attorney report to the CLO or CEO, and if they do not respond adequately, counsel is then required to report to the board of directors, auditor, or other committee. Corporate counsel is traditionally hired by, and therefore loyal to, the CEO; and reporting up the ladder (and over the CEO’s head) can pose a difficult decision for the attorney, and in some cases, even conflict with a state’s code of professional conduct. And, in light of a substantial increase in SEC actions against lawyers, one must ask whether Sarbanes-Oxley provides workable guidelines, within which corporate counsel can perform their duties without fear of reprisal – either on the part of the SEC or their client.

Juvenile Probation and Police Partnerships as Loosely Coupled Systems: A Qualitative Analysis

Most organizational theories assume that agency partnerships within a system are seamless and tightly fit. Through qualitative interviews with program personnel, this study measured the extent to which juvenile probation and police partnerships were characterized as a ‘‘loosely coupled system.’’ Loosely coupled systems were measured by each agency’s willingness to share information, willingness to share power, flexibility in decision making, open communication without fear of reprisal, valuing diverse backgrounds of outside agencies, and degree of mutual commitment toward a common goal. Evidence to support the existence of a loosely coupled system was the willingness of officers to expand and broaden their traditional roles and appropriately share power, such that there was no mission distortion and role confusion observed. Information sharing efforts had a significant impact on dissolving old ways of thinking about traditional roles and instead built a new sense of trust, improved morale, and greater access to information.