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PurposeThis paper aims to raise awareness and the level of debate on a significant new development in international law.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes a historical overview in considering current approaches to the phenomenon of private military corporations (PMCs) and uses case examples to discuss the issues raised.FindingsThe paper concludes that the phenomenon raises many issues that need further analysis, such as the outcome of this phenomenon on the future of democracy in sovereign states.Research limitations/implicationsThe topic allows for much further research into such matters as definitional, jurisdictional and enforceability issues with regard to corporate entities known as PMCs.Practical implicationsFor peace and human rights to prevail in democracies in which the state maintains the monopoly on the use of force, the paper argues that PMCs should be prohibited rather than subjected to mere regulation.Originality/valueThe paper is the first to use the term "preyfits" in describing the actions of transnational corporations. While most scholars argue for regulation of PMCs, this paper argues for their total prohibition.

The exercise of public power by the military in civilian Western democracies such as Australia and the United States demonstrates a tendency toward failure in responsibility for moral behavior. Pauline Collins argues that a different system of military criminal investigation and discipline outside the civilian justice system enables the military to operate like a coterie and can lead to a failure in the requisite moral standard of behavior required of military personnel and maintaining civilian institutional control. Collins argues that the justifications for separate treatment of weakens both the military standing and the practice of civilian control of the military as well as leading to an overall decline in morality and values in a democratic society

Civil-military relations establishes the civilian control over the military to protect democratic values. This book argues analysis of the CMR is distorted by the absence of consideration of the judicial arm, with the 'civil' seen as referring only to the executive and/or legislature. The civil courts approach to military discipline and the impact that has for CMR within - the United Kingdom, United States and Australia is investigated. The author concludes that by including the courts in the development of CMR theory militarisation of the civilian domain is discouraged. A paradigm shift acknowledging the fundamental role of all three organs of government in liberal democracies, for control of States' power is essential for genuine civilian oversight

The development of research instruments for measuring social work practice skills has been overlooked despite the overall growth of social work practice research. This article describes the development of an instrument to measure social work practice skills derived from both psychotherapy integration research and eclectic psychosocial models of social work practice. Based on data collected from 285 MSW interns who completed the Practice Skills Inventory, results demonstrated that four clear factors emerged encompassing therapeutic, supportive, treatment planning/evaluation, and case management skills. The four factors (totaling 33 items) accounted for over 50% of the variance and snowed good to excellent internal consistency ratings. Theoretical and methodological strengths and limitations of the scale are considered, as well as its potential implications for social work practice and education. Recommendations for further validation of the Practice Skills Inventory are suggested.

The Practice Skills Inventory (PSI) was developed with MSW students to measure the frequency with which social workers employ specific intervention strategies. Despite initial evidence of validity, reliability, and utility further validation is needed with more experienced social workers. The current study with 281 experienced MSW practitioners revealed three factors (Supportive, Therapeutic, and Case Management) very similar to three of the original four factors derived from the previous study. However, some differences did emerge including an additional Insight factor. These four factors constituted a more parsimonious solution (23 items) than the original scale and accounted for over 60% of the variance with good to excellent internal reliabilities. Comparisons with the original version are made as well as suggestions for future research.

Chapter One Frames and Intersections of Studies of Place, Conflict and Communication -- Chapter Two The Strain to Hold Ground: Site-Based Conflict and an Indigenous Ideology of Water and Place -- Chapter Three Conflict in South Sudanese Communities Living in Australia -- Chapter Four Explorations of Place and Identity: Navigating Local and Global Contexts in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms -- Chapter Five Conflicting Communication about the Ownership and Meaning of Places in a School in South West England -- Chapter Six How Prostitution and Sex Work Created Conflict in Public Discourses in Dublin -- Chapter Seven Court-Annexed Mediations within Singapore: A Complex Interface between Individual Place and the Court Environment -- Chapter Eight 'Restoring Right Relations' – with Oneself, with a Place, with the Past -- Chapter Nine 'Democracy' as Ideology in Education: Tracing Indexicality through Conflict, Place and Communication -- Chapter Ten 'Siting' Voice in Stories of Conflict: Bounding Conflict in Place and Time through Social Memory and Acts of Remembering -- Chapter Eleven Remembering and Forgetting in Australia -- Chapter Twelve Re-Forging Military Cohesion in Exile: Zimbabwean Army Deserters in South Africa -- Chapter Thirteen Learnings regarding the Role of 'Place' in Conflict and the Communication of Conflict

Objective: This study describes a confirmatory factor analysis of the internal structure of the Practice Skills Inventory (PSI) and assesses reliability and criterion validity of the subscales. Method: The study used a combined survey sample of social work master's students and experienced practitioners (N = 566) who responded to the 75-item questionnaire. Results: A three-factor model measuring supportive, therapeutic coping, and case management skills significantly fits the data (based on several fit indices) with high factor loadings and good reliability ratings. Subscales also predicted the level of social work practice experience. Conclusions: The PSI demonstrates adequate factorial validity and internal consistency and provides a practical tool to further study the utilization of social work practice skills.