title: Understanding Christian-Muslim relations: Past and present [Book review]

authors: Pratt, Douglas

subjects: Christian

abstract: Clinton Bennett’s overview analysis of the history of relations between Islam and Christianity has been attempted with a view to shedding light on contemporary interfaith issues and the prospects for ongoing interreligious dialogue. After some 1,400 years of encounter and engagement, has there been any real progress? For that matter, as the introduction notes, ‘How is progress judged?’ (p. 1). The author is of the view that ‘the most meaningful dialogue . . . takes place when individuals or groups of Christians and Muslims meet face to face and discuss their faith, hopes and dreams, problems and successes’ (p. 8). At the same time, he acknowledges the rightful role of discursive dialogue where, in effect, the interlocutors are the abstract systems of ‘Islam’ and ‘Christianity’. Dialogue is as much inter-systemic as it is interpersonal; a view with which I fully concur. Taking a broad, chronological approach, Bennett visits significant contributions and contributors from both faith traditions. He shows how ‘arguments and counter-arguments used centuries ago remain popular today, on both sides’ (p. 8) and structures his work through the lens of a dual category analysis of conciliation and confrontation that he developed in an earlier work (Bennett, 1992).

text: Understanding Christian-Muslim relations: Past and present [Book review] Clinton Bennett’s overview analysis of the history of relations between Islam and Christianity has been attempted with a view to shedding light on contemporary interfaith issues and the prospects for ongoing interreligious dialogue. After some 1,400 years of encounter and engagement, has there been any real progress? For that matter, as the introduction notes, ‘How is progress judged?’ (p. 1). The author is of the view that ‘the most meaningful dialogue . . . takes place when individuals or groups of Christians and Muslims meet face to face and discuss their faith, hopes and dreams, problems and successes’ (p. 8). At the same time, he acknowledges the rightful role of discursive dialogue where, in effect, the interlocutors are the abstract systems of ‘Islam’ and ‘Christianity’. Dialogue is as much inter-systemic as it is interpersonal; a view with which I fully concur. Taking a broad, chronological approach, Bennett visits significant contributions and contributors from both faith traditions. He shows how ‘arguments and counter-arguments used centuries ago remain popular today, on both sides’ (p. 8) and structures his work through the lens of a dual category analysis of conciliation and confrontation that he developed in an earlier work (Bennett, 1992).

year: 2009

title: Life on parole: An extended investigation of how pre-release and post-release factors contribute to desistence from crime

authors: Brown, Andrew

subjects: prevention of recidivism

abstract: Prevention of recidivism is the universally accepted goal of the New Zealand/ Aotearoa justice system, the nation’s Department of Corrections, politicians and public (“Our vision goal and priorities reducing re-offending”, New Zealand Department of Corrections, 2015). What can be done within prisons prior to release and then in the community post-release to reduce recidivism needs to be better understood. Parolees endure significant challenges when they transition back to their communities. Finding suitable accommodation, confirming stable employment, and maintaining prosocial support networks rate highly among these challenges (Bucklen & Zajac, 2009). While a high proportion of parolees fail to meet these challenges and recidivate soon after release, there are some who do not. Understanding the factors that enable those who avoid further convictions post-release is an important step in designing interventions and processes that might lead to higher a proportion of parolees similarly succeeding (Polaschek & Yesberg, 2016). Of equal importance is the need to understand the factors that increase parolees’ risks of recidivating. Measures have been designed by researchers to understand first, how men prepare for, and conceptualise, their re- entries and second, how they then experience life on parole. The Release Plan Quality (RPQ) measure was designed to analyse prisoners’ release plans and rate their quality on various metrics. Another measure, the Parole Experiences Measure (PEM) rates the quality of parolees’ experiences during re-entry and transition (Wilson, Kilgour & Polaschek, 2013). This thesis examines the PEM and the RPQ in relation to four recidivism outcomes at one- year post-release, namely; conviction for breach of parole conditions, reconviction for new offending (excluding convictions for breach of parole), new convictions for violence offences and convictions leading to reimprisonment. Logistic regression analysis results indicated that PEM outcomes were more predictive of the four recidivism outcomes than the RPQ results. Better RPQ results did, however, predict better PEM results. PEM results (particularly PEM results from the PEM external circumstances subscale) at the two-month mark post-release were found to best predict the four recidivism outcomes. This indicated that environmental issues external to the parolee such as employment and accommodation were more likely to impact risk of recidivism than internal, personal factors such as mental health and personal attitudes. The effectiveness of the PEM two-month results for predicting the four recidivism outcomes remained after controlling for possible confounding variables. This research suggests first, that parolees who have better release plans will have better experiences when on parole and second that parolees who have early positive experiences on parole particularly in relation to external factors such as employment and accommodation are somewhat more likely to remain crime-free post-release.

text: Life on parole: An extended investigation of how pre-release and post-release factors contribute to desistence from crime Prevention of recidivism is the universally accepted goal of the New Zealand/ Aotearoa justice system, the nation’s Department of Corrections, politicians and public (“Our vision goal and priorities reducing re-offending”, New Zealand Department of Corrections, 2015). What can be done within prisons prior to release and then in the community post-release to reduce recidivism needs to be better understood. Parolees endure significant challenges when they transition back to their communities. Finding suitable accommodation, confirming stable employment, and maintaining prosocial support networks rate highly among these challenges (Bucklen & Zajac, 2009). While a high proportion of parolees fail to meet these challenges and recidivate soon after release, there are some who do not. Understanding the factors that enable those who avoid further convictions post-release is an important step in designing interventions and processes that might lead to higher a proportion of parolees similarly succeeding (Polaschek & Yesberg, 2016). Of equal importance is the need to understand the factors that increase parolees’ risks of recidivating. Measures have been designed by researchers to understand first, how men prepare for, and conceptualise, their re- entries and second, how they then experience life on parole. The Release Plan Quality (RPQ) measure was designed to analyse prisoners’ release plans and rate their quality on various metrics. Another measure, the Parole Experiences Measure (PEM) rates the quality of parolees’ experiences during re-entry and transition (Wilson, Kilgour & Polaschek, 2013). This thesis examines the PEM and the RPQ in relation to four recidivism outcomes at one- year post-release, namely; conviction for breach of parole conditions, reconviction for new offending (excluding convictions for breach of parole), new convictions for violence offences and convictions leading to reimprisonment. Logistic regression analysis results indicated that PEM outcomes were more predictive of the four recidivism outcomes than the RPQ results. Better RPQ results did, however, predict better PEM results. PEM results (particularly PEM results from the PEM external circumstances subscale) at the two-month mark post-release were found to best predict the four recidivism outcomes. This indicated that environmental issues external to the parolee such as employment and accommodation were more likely to impact risk of recidivism than internal, personal factors such as mental health and personal attitudes. The effectiveness of the PEM two-month results for predicting the four recidivism outcomes remained after controlling for possible confounding variables. This research suggests first, that parolees who have better release plans will have better experiences when on parole and second that parolees who have early positive experiences on parole particularly in relation to external factors such as employment and accommodation are somewhat more likely to remain crime-free post-release.

year: 2019

title: ‘Revolting murder at Te Aroha’ in 1881

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: The brutal murder of Hamiona Haira, who had been mining with his two brothers and his father-in-law, shocked the new settlement. Being a member of Ngati Koi and Ngati Hako, these hapu threatened utu on the Pakeha responsible, causing both Maori and Pakeha miners to abandon their claims at Tui. Suspicion immediately fell on John Procoffy, a Finn, and evidence was quickly collected, officials being anxious to obtain a speedy conviction to avoid an innocent Pakeha being killed in revenge. Rangatira agreed to let the courts deal with the case, although some Pakeha criticized the government for being too anxious to appease Maori.
After a coroner’s inquest, which included Maori as members of the jury, returned a verdict of murder by ‘person or persons unknown’, Procoffy faced two trials. As the prosecution was handicapped by the limitations of contemporary forensic skills, its case was largely circumstantial. Although the police were certain they had their murderer, others were not convinced, and there was a reluctance to convict because of the death penalty. The final outcome was a verdict of not guilty, which, as was pointed out, should have been ‘not proven’. 
Procoffy fled the country. His acquittal was accepted by Maori leaders, and calm returned to Te Aroha.

text: ‘Revolting murder at Te Aroha’ in 1881 The brutal murder of Hamiona Haira, who had been mining with his two brothers and his father-in-law, shocked the new settlement. Being a member of Ngati Koi and Ngati Hako, these hapu threatened utu on the Pakeha responsible, causing both Maori and Pakeha miners to abandon their claims at Tui. Suspicion immediately fell on John Procoffy, a Finn, and evidence was quickly collected, officials being anxious to obtain a speedy conviction to avoid an innocent Pakeha being killed in revenge. Rangatira agreed to let the courts deal with the case, although some Pakeha criticized the government for being too anxious to appease Maori.
After a coroner’s inquest, which included Maori as members of the jury, returned a verdict of murder by ‘person or persons unknown’, Procoffy faced two trials. As the prosecution was handicapped by the limitations of contemporary forensic skills, its case was largely circumstantial. Although the police were certain they had their murderer, others were not convinced, and there was a reluctance to convict because of the death penalty. The final outcome was a verdict of not guilty, which, as was pointed out, should have been ‘not proven’. 
Procoffy fled the country. His acquittal was accepted by Maori leaders, and calm returned to Te Aroha.

year: 2016