Original Interviews Research Articles

Not listening to big brother: testing hypotheses on Taiwanese defense

What motivates a weaker country to pursue a security strategy that is not supported by a major power? In this paper, we examine the disconnect between the United States and Taiwan regarding the latter’s defense strategies against threats from China. For years, the U.S. has encouraged Taiwan to adopt an asymmetric defense strategy in response to security challenges posed by the PLA. Nonetheless, Taiwan continues to invest significant resources in conventional military platforms, diverging from U.S. recommendations. Why does Taiwan pursue a defense approach that contradicts the advice of its more powerful partner? Drawing from the literature, we propose four hypotheses: trust, organizational and bureaucratic factors, symbolism, and strategic concerns. To test these hypotheses, we conducted original elite interviews with decision-makers in Taipei. The results strongly support the organizational and bureaucratic factors and strategic concerns hypotheses. This research also contributes to security studies by highlighting the differences in threat perception between the two countries, which could hinder alliance cohesion and collaboration. Theoretical contributions and policy implications are discussed in the conclusion.

Policy knowledge production in de-democratizing contexts

Abstract In an era of post-truth, the legitimacy of policy knowledge is questioned, especially in de-democratizing contexts where governments purposefully engage in post-truth politics to support their regimes. In such contexts, technocratic evidence-based policymaking is undermined, and the role played by policy advice changes. Recognizing the significance of political contextual factors that might differ across de-democratizing contexts, we analyzed how changes in policymaking and public administration in de-democratization contexts impact policy advice, focusing on think tanks in two de-democratizing countries of the European Union: Hungary and Poland. We identify four aspects of policymaking that are particularly consequential for the role of think tanks and the knowledge they produce in policymaking processes: questioning and politicizing expertise, centralizing policymaking, politicizing public administration, and dismantling accountability mechanisms. We argue that changes in policymaking along these four aspects are conducive to a controlled policy advice system, favoring short-term policy advice aligned with government ideology, while marginalizing and excluding the actors and knowledge that do not align. Our research, along with other literature on knowledge regimes in consolidated autocracies, suggests that control in these European Union–based contexts is not complete, and the think tank field continues to be characterized by diversity, particularly contestation and polarization between those who are aligned with the regime and those who oppose it. We substantiate our claims using an original interview dataset on think tanks in Hungary and Poland.

Listening to face transplant patients and caregivers: how medical humanities approaches redefine surgical ‘success’

A recent review of face transplants argues that overall, they have been successful. But this verdict is based on surgical measures rather than patient-reported outcomes (PROMs), which for historical reasons...

Using large language models to detect outcomes in qualitative studies of adolescent depression.

We aim to use large language models (LLMs) to detect mentions of nuanced psychotherapeutic outcomes and impacts than previously considered in transcripts of interviews with adolescent depression. Our clinical authors previously created a novel coding framework containing fine-grained therapy outcomes beyond the binary classification (eg, depression vs control) based on qualitative analysis embedded within a clinical study of depression. Moreover, we seek to demonstrate that embeddings from LLMs are informative enough to accurately label these experiences. Data were drawn from interviews, where text segments were annotated with different outcome labels. Five different open-source LLMs were evaluated to classify outcomes from the coding framework. Classification experiments were carried out in the original interview transcripts. Furthermore, we repeated those experiments for versions of the data produced by breaking those segments into conversation turns, or keeping non-interviewer utterances (monologues). We used classification models to predict 31 outcomes and 8 derived labels, for 3 different text segmentations. Area under the ROC curve scores ranged between 0.6 and 0.9 for the original segmentation and 0.7 and 1.0 for the monologues and turns. LLM-based classification models could identify outcomes important to adolescents, such as friendships or academic and vocational functioning, in text transcripts of patient interviews. By using clinical data, we also aim to better generalize to clinical settings compared to studies based on public social media data. Our results demonstrate that fine-grained therapy outcome coding in psychotherapeutic text is feasible, and can be used to support the quantification of important outcomes for downstream uses.

How wartime recruitment affects political engagement among civilians: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire

Promoting civic engagement and political participation in the aftermath of armed conflict is a key challenge for post-conflict recovery and development. This study investigates whether exposure to wartime recruitment by non-state armed groups increases non-combatants’ postwar political engagement. Extending existing theories of conflict and political participation, I argue that when territorial armed groups recruit more intensively within occupied communities, non-combatants in those communities are likely to remain more engaged in politics in the long run. Wartime recruitment increases the perceived salience of political issues among non-combatants, and fosters a stronger sense of entitlement to make claims on the postwar state. These legacies should be especially pronounced when the recruiting armed group holds power in the postwar political order. Empirically, I draw on original survey evidence and interviews from Côte d’Ivoire, leveraging geographic variation in communities’ exposure to recruitment by both winning and losing non-state armed groups. The results confirm that greater exposure to wartime recruitment is associated with increased political engagement among non-combatants seven years after the war’s end, especially in areas of high recruitment by winning rebels. Community exposure to recruitment does not increase pro-social attitudes or confidence in government, however. The findings underscore the legacies of wartime recruitment and inform debates about how conflict processes shape the political capacities of civilians.

Gender, Paid Employment, and Deindustrialization in New Towns in North-West England, c. 1970–1990s

Abstract Existing research into the deindustrialization that afflicted northern England and Scotland during the twentieth century has focused predominantly on men’s experiences of unemployment and strikes. In contrast, this article examines the relationship between women’s employment and deindustrialization through the lens of three new towns in north-west England. Skelmersdale, Runcorn, and Central Lancashire were established during the 1960s and 1970s, partly with the aim of attracting employers and workers to a region experiencing industrial decline. Competing constructions of women’s work, both paid and unpaid, informed how the towns were planned, managed, and experienced. The new towns widened employment opportunities for female workers, but they did not significantly reshape gender roles because women remained responsible for housework and childcare while men were conceptualized as breadwinners. To explore this contradiction, the article analyses archival material produced by the development corporations that planned the new towns, alongside original oral history interviews conducted with women who lived and worked in them. It argues that even in situations of deindustrialization and rising male unemployment, women’s jobs did not displace men’s. Rather, the new towns represented a continuation of and a departure from existing patterns of employment, demonstrating that state-led urban development was fraught with gendered tensions.

Political party building in populist style

This article assesses the local organisation of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in its first participation in South Africa’s local government elections in 2016. Drawing on original interviews with local party activists, it explains how the EFF’s brand of populism mobilised at the grassroots level during its formative years. The study argues that the party’s populist style was effective because it helped appropriate existing diverse networks of political activists by positioning itself as the voice of ‘ordinary black people’ against business and government ‘elites’. This orientation of the EFF appealed to youth, activists, and mineworkers who felt excluded from the African National Congress (ANC); while the protests and regalia of its populist style nurtured feelings of collective identity and efficacy among local party organisers. The article indicates how a populist style can be effective in exploiting generational cleavages to build a viable opposition party within the constraints of a dominant party system.

Food waste in hospitals: implications and strategies for reduction: a systematic review

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to comprehensively and extensively investigate food waste in hospitals and the environmental and economic effects it imposes on society. By knowing the reasons and factors affecting the creation of such wastes, it is possible to help reduce these effects.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted by systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Web of Science databases.FindingsThe results suggest that high-income countries such as Denmark, Sri Lanka, Portugal and Spain have more significant amounts of food waste than low-income countries like Turkey. The main reasons for food waste include inadequate food quality, low patient appetite and issues with the dining environment. Therefore, it is crucial to address these root causes to minimize food waste and alleviate the burden on the environment.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relies primarily on secondary data analysis and does not include original food waste audits or interviews with hospital staff. While the literature review provides useful background, conducting first-hand audits and interviews could strengthen the study by providing more current, contextualized and granular insights into food waste in hospitals. The lack of primary data collection limits the ability to make hospital-specific recommendations or quantify the opportunity for improvement. Additionally, the focus is on general frameworks rather than interventions tailored to the needs and constraints of hospitals in low- and middle-income regions. More region-specific research would be needed to understand nuanced challenges and develop customized solutions suitable for implementation in those settings.Originality/valueEffective measures can be taken to make policies and determine appropriate solutions to reduce these wastes. By recognizing the problems in structures, one can take steps to reduce global warming and waste of national funds.

Effort in Hindustani Dhrupad Singing: Using Interviews to Develop Effort Inference Models of Acoustic and Movement Features

Abstract This article sets out the results of research into effort in Dhrupad, a genre of Hindustani music. I examine gestural interactions with imaginary objects that vocalists outline when engaging with melodies. The study takes an embodied cognition stance and applies thematic analysis and inductive coding to original interviews with Dhrupad musicians in India, the UK, and the Netherlands. My findings demonstrate that from the singers’ cognitive perspectives, their hand movements are deeply connected to their voices. I also offer insights on the relationships between bodily movement, sound, and imagery that are used to inform the development of effort inference models.

Electoral Management in Iran: The Ministry of Interior’s Role in Parliamentary Elections

Although Iran’s Guardian Council enjoys incomparable legal authority over every stage of the electoral process, Iranian laws and regulations also provide the Ministry of Interior with an important role to play in the management of parliamentary elections. Through analysis of primary source legal materials and original interview evidence, this article considers when and how Iran’s supreme leader delegates autonomy to the executive as related to management of parliamentary elections.

Division on the Christian right: Republican pastors and the use of force

AbstractPolarization in American politics has not produced unity among conservative Christians. Drawing from original survey and interview data on Republican pastors in North Carolina, this paper seeks to understand why these pastors are divided on the legitimacy of force defending the “traditional American way of life.” We find (1) that theological fundamentalism has a positive, though weak, influence; (2) Christian nationalism and White grievance are powerful in increasing support for the use of force; and (3) distrust of elections intensifies the effect of these attitudes.

“The pull to do nothing would be strong”: limitations & opportunities in reporting insider threats

ABSTRACT Though a reporting mechanism, in which employees report suspicious and/or potentially malicious coworker behavior, is thought to be important to tackling insider risk, the literature on the subject is sparse and unconvincing. Empirical evidence of the actual use and utility of this type of detection mechanism is slim. Our article explores the propensity of employees to report a coworker’s concerning behavior suspected to be related to insider activity that would negatively impact an organization. This study uses an inductive approach and qualitative analysis of original interview data collected from 16 financial services organizations to explore attitudes and opinions about reporting a coworker’s concerning behavior, providing lessons on countering insider threats useful across industries and national security domains. The results show that there is confusion, uncertainty, and cognitive dissonance surrounding institutional reporting mechanisms, with some participants expressing both affirmative and negative opinions about their personal likelihood of reporting. Employees do want to report concerning coworker behavior that suggests an insider threat, but not at their own expense. These results are consistent with those from other studies and sectors. Our study will assist organizations in refining their assumptions around workforce attitudes regarding the reporting of coworkers.

‘We’ve Been Left Out’: women’s refuges in Northern Ireland, 1974–2008

Abstract With histories of late-twentieth-century Northern Ireland1 consumed with political violence, and studies of the contemporary women’s movements in Britain only recently shifting their focus beyond London, Northern Irish women’s refuges have been obscured from historical view. This article proposes that re-situating women’s refuges in the context of the Troubles can enrich our understanding of the refuge movements, and wider women’s activism, across the UK at the turn of the twenty-first century. Drawing from archived and original interviews as well as documentary sources, the article traces the development of the Northern Irish refuge movement over four key periods: early years (1974–83), cross-community organizing (1983–93), development (1993–8), and efforts for diversity and inclusion (1998–2008). Such a chronology challenges the perception of the 1980s as an era of division and decline for UK feminism, and highlights the value of moving away from overarching chronologies of women’s activism towards more localized timelines. Furthermore, re-contextualizing women’s refuges in the battleground of the Troubles offers new evidence of their efforts to reduce domestic abuse, bring together women from opposing communities, and rebuild a democratic society. These activities contributed to the ‘vernacular’ peace process taking place in Northern Ireland’s voluntary sector, and suggest that refuges across the UK were similarly engaged in a peace process addressing violence in the home.

Reporting on Europe’s Migration ‘Crisis’ for BBC Radio 4: Journalists and the Geopolitics of Storytelling

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to critical and popular geopolitics by exploring the production of BBC Radio 4’s reportage on Europe’s migration ‘crisis’. It draws on original interviews conducted with journalists, producers, editors, and senior commissioners at the BBC to uncover the thought-processes and practices that lie behind its diverse coverage. The paper identifies the professional codes that govern BBC journalists and documents the strategies of storytelling journalists employ to try and secure listener engagement and spark their geographical imaginations. It highlights the power and agency of journalists to construct geopolitical scripts on migration, but also points to creative room for journalists to inflect broadcasts with personal styles of witnessing and reporting. The journalists interviewed emerge as thoughtful and self-reflexive geopolitical ‘agents’ who are aware of their representational power and recognise the tension between objective and impartial BBC reportage and critical issues of emotion, positionality, and situated knowledge. Overall, the paper answers calls for more ‘peopled’ accounts of geopolitics and highlights the importance of investigating the production and practice of journalistic storytelling.

“Made for Corruption?” Private sector actors, renewable energy, and corruption risks for wind power in Mexico and solar electricity in Kenya

A future decarbonized global energy sector could require up to $110 trillion in new investment. With so much funding at stake, it is likely that low-carbon energy systems will attract and perpetuate corruption. This paper aims at providing an overview of private-sector stakeholders in the renewable-energy realm and examines possibilities and instances of corruption at the interface between private climate interventions and international development. In this paper, corruption risks and instances facing wind energy (including a mix of offshore and onshore designs) and solar photovoltaic panels (in off-grid configurations) are investigated. Based on original expert interviews and document analysis, we explore corruption risks in two national contexts (Mexico and Kenya) before offering a suite of recommendations and solutions to address corruption, and a conclusion with suggestions for future research.

Issue linkage in security assistance: A pathway to recipient security sector reform

ABSTRACT This article applies the international cooperation concept of issue linkage to identify an overlooked pathway to successful security assistance. We argue that providers can effectively incentivise recipients to implement otherwise undesirable reforms when they explicitly link implementation to another good whose value to the recipient outweighs the costs of the reforms. Drawing on original interviews, we find support for our argument in post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), where the United States used the promise of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program to incentivise BiH to integrate its three armies.

Movement escalation and mobilization for resistance: From anti-coup protest to ‘People's War’ in Myanmar

Protest campaigns have proven an effective form of contention to challenge authoritarian rule yet can at times escalate into armed conflict. This article aims to explain how a protest movement can escalate to an uprising by examining the case of Myanmar, where the 2021 military coup prompted the emergence of a diverse movement of strike groups, civil society, ousted Burman-majority parliamentarians, and ethnic minority resistance organizations. Based on original interviews with movement members, the article traces how repression triggered escalation and spurred increased cooperation among movement actors that resulted in an armed uprising. Building primarily on social movements and contentious politics studies, this article argues effective campaign framing was critical in maintaining movement unity and legitimizing violence as a form of resistance. Mobilization of resources in social networks and coalition networks was key to organizing armed resistance. The article contributes novel insights by showing that a diverse movement can strengthen cooperation to mount armed resistance, instead of fragment during escalation as studies have often found. The article also deepens our understanding of how movements with links to established armed actors may escalate, as it details how cooperation between mainstream protestors and armed actors can transform a movement into armed resistance.

Digital geographies of home: parenting practices in the space between gaming and gambling

ABSTRACT This paper advances debates at the intersection of geographies of children, youth and families, digital geographies, and geographies of home. We argue that social, seasonal and limited time are vitally important for understanding the new landscape between gaming and gambling and have wider analytical purchase for geographers. This paper reveals parenting practices connected to the multi-billion-dollar industry of paid-for currency in digital games used to access gambling style systems and chance-based mechanisms such as loot boxes. We use this timely example to develop new digital geographies of home from original interviews with families based in England on their everyday lived experiences of gambling-style systems in digital games as well as data from video ethnographies with children and young people and interviews with international game designers. This paper challenges current understandings by examining how parents make sense of gambling-related harms and demonstrates the spatial and temporal dynamics of purchasing decisions, rules, and associated conflicts in domestic space. We argue these systems in digital games shape and are shaped by family geographies. This paper concludes by outlining its relevance for the social and health sciences at a time of intense legislative interest in the increasingly blurred space between gaming and gambling.

Settler Colonialism and Mortal Dangers: Affective Responses to COVID-19 and the 2021 Israeli Bombings among Young Palestinians in Gaza

Abstract The article examines the affective dynamics of collective survival and resistance under Israeli settler colonialism in the Gaza Strip. Focusing on Gaza as an under-researched enclave of Israeli settler colonialism, it analyzes how young Palestinians renegotiated their affective bonds in response to two coinciding deadly events: the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 Israeli bombings. Theoretically, we extend the politics of emotions and affect to encompass experiences of settler-colonial violence. Drawing on original interviews with Palestinians in Gaza, we trace how affective bonds were impacted among families, friends, and neighbors and, from a transpersonal perspective, across the political community. We show how settler colonialism shaped responses to the pandemic, deepening existing inequalities and causing social frictions. The bombings, by contrast, triggered a unified response of pure terror and universal concern for collective survival. The military targeting of homes was countered by practices of physical and emotional togetherness in the face of death. Overall, our study shows how (i) different kinds of mortal dangers are experienced politically by colonized people, (ii) these experiences are conditioned by collective histories of colonial violence, and that (iii) they constitute expressions of collective affective life, necessary for the preservation of peoplehood amidst colonial oppression.

Beyond environmental harm: Industry claims, lived experiences, and the impacts of gas extraction

The peer-reviewed literature presents overwhelming evidence that fossil fuel based energy infrastructure projects are responsible for lower residential property values, environmental destruction and pollution that decrease residents' quality of life. These projects also challenge local people's sense of identity and even the threat of such a project can make residents question their sense of place. As evidence, we first present a bibliographic analysis of the environmental impact statements for the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and the Jordan Cove Energy Project in Oregon. We find that their approval processes relies on non-peer-reviewed, industry-funded claims that pipelines will bring economic benefit and will have no effect on property values. Second, through original interview data gathered between 2019 and 2021 in West Virginia and in 2021 in Oregon, we engage with the concepts of sense of identity and sense of place to demonstrate that regardless of the local context, fossil fuel based energy infrastructure projects cause more than environmental damage; they trigger emotional reactions in residents that see or fear seeing their everyday lives upended. Taken together, this Perspective contributes to the emerging field of emotional energy geography to show how the plans and implementation of oil and gas pipelines become crucial turning points in residents' lives.