Understanding criminal behaviour: identifying psychological differences between domestically violent offenders and non-offenders

Numerous theories have been formulated in an attempt to explain the psychological differences between violent offenders and non-offenders. Constructs that have emerged as salient in such scholarship include anger expression, social problem solving, locus of control, attitudes toward women, impulsivity and temper. Although a considerable amount of sound research has been conducted into 'violent offending' per se, in general terms, research into family and domestic violence is yet to be as methodologically and theoretically rigorous. In an attempt to link these areas of work, and to identify the risk factors (or 'criminogenic needs') of specific sub-groups of male offenders, this research compared: (I) property offenders, (2) those who had been· 'violent against strangers', (3) those who had been 'violent against intimates' and (4) non-offenders. In an effort to address one of the shortcomings of prior research, potentially confounding variables such as age, education level cultural identity, and socio-economic status were controlled for in an effort to arrive at more meaningful representations of each offender group's specific psychological deficits and abundances. A number of differences were highlighted between the groups, but few of these remained after demographic
covariates were controlled for. This paper details the nature of these differences, while also proposing that future studies adopt a similar methodology.

The relevance to international mergers of the ethical perspectives of participants

International mergers are becoming more widespread among medium-sized companies that for decades have held a prime position in their home country market, but who now feel threatened that they may not be of a significant size to continue to be viable in the international marketplace. The purpose of this paper is to examine the merger of one Australian company and one of its former competitors in the international marketplace from the perspective of the congruence between their espoused ethical cultures in business prior to the merger. A questionnaire comprising 46 questions was sent to the public relations manager of each organization prior to the merger. These managers were asked to fill in the questionnaire and to provide a copy of their code of ethics. The research found that organizations need to not only have a code of ethics, but also need to focus especially on the area of code augmentation to ensure that they communicate the ethos of their code to their employees.

Multiple barriers to obtaining child support : experiences of women leaving violent partners

This article reports on a study which explores how policies and practices shape the experiences of single parents when seeking and using child support from violent ex-partners. The findings of this and similar research studies on violence, child support and poverty indicate that the receipt of child support is a multi-step process plagued with multiple barriers.

The potential for improving intra-organizational communication in the process of mergers and acquisitions via accounting systems

As the number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continues to increase on a global basis, more managers are called upon to develop their M&A transition skills. While, undoubtedly, organizations realise the importance of good communications for successful implementation of change programs throughout the entire M&A process, they often find it hard to make this communication both constant and lucid. The article argues that accounting systems display the potential for improving intra-organizational communication by infusing managers and 'non-accountants' with a common financial vocabulary for communication and 'reading' the state of the business.

Affective determinants of treatment engagement in violent offenders

Affective factors are likely to play a major role in determining the extent to which offenders are able to engage with, and benefit from, treatment. In this article, it is argued that the relationship between affect and treatment engagement may be understood in three ways: the access the client has to emotional states, the ability to express such states, and the willingness of the client to do this in the therapeutic session. It is suggested that affective determinants of treatment readiness can be understood with reference tomodels of emotional regulation and that attention to these affective factors in the early stages of treatment is likely to promote engagement, reduce attrition, and consequently improve treatment outcomes for violent offenders.

Anger and indigenous men : understanding and responding to violent behaviour

This book is for social work and criminal justice practitioners who wish to develop culturally appropriate and effective programs for reducing anger-related violence perpetrated by Indigenous men. It places cultural context at the heart of any intervention, broadening the focus from problematic behaviour to a more holistic notion of well-being.

Anger, overcontrol, and serious violent offending

With few exceptions, existing theoretical and clinical analyses of anger in relation to violence have concerned themselves with the understanding and management of high levels of angry experience and low levels of anger control. In contrast, clinical observations and other accounts of those with histories of extreme violence have identified inhibited or unexpressed anger as an important antecedent for some forms of violence. In this paper we review existing models and accounts of dysfunctional low levels of angry experience and/or expression, apply recently developed theories of emotional regulation to these problems, and discuss some of the implications of this work for the delivery of anger management programs for seriously violent offenders.