The University of Buckingham Press Journals
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Applied Operational Intelligence: Improving Practice Through Marginal Gains
Full text linkThe Journal of Applied Operational Intelligence aims to be a bridge between high-quality peer-reviewed academic research and the intelligence community. The journal’s focus will be on evidence-based research, where conclusions and recommendations aim to inform intelligence practices, policies, training, and future research. In this editorial to the very first volume of the journal, Editors-in-Chief discuss the necessity of interdisciplinary research, the vital role of intelligence, and how marginal gains (e.g., research that produces small yet meaningful improvements) are vital to the overall performance of intelligence
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Islamic Marriage, Divorce and Child Custody in England and Wales
Full text linkThis article considers the inter-relationship between Islamic Law and case and statute law as it relates to legal practice in England and Wales. The emergence of Shari’a in the United Kingdom is briefly considered together with the Islamic origins of arbitration and the development of Shari’a Councils and arbitration bodies. It reviews the place of mediation and arbitration in decisions related to divorce, payment of mahr and child custody issues. These are considered within the case law which reports the outcomes in English courts, when marital disputes have not been settled through traditional means. Attention is also paid to the potential role of traditional attitudes on outcomes both within Shari’a councils and English courts
CASE COMMENT – Tickle v Giggle – No laughing matter
No full textAt the time of writing, Supreme Courts in both the United Kingdom1 and United States2 are considering cases which raise the questions of ‘what is a woman’, and whether it is possible to change sex. This follows on from a US Presidential election in which Democratic Party support for extreme trans rights was a key distinguishing feature highlighted by the Trump campaign – a campaign which ultimately secured a landslide victory for the Republican Party. The Australian case of Tickle v Giggle is similarly destined to be remembered, not only for its amusing name, but also because of its significance in tackling these same questions. It is a case that records a truly extraordinary episode in the history of Australian jurisprudence, and for society generally. The Federal Court judgment in Tickle v Giggle holds that, for the purposes of discrimination law, sex is not confined to biology, is not binary in nature and can be changed – and that as a result, women must allow males who claim to be women into their previously safe spaces and services. The decision acknowledges Roxanne Tickle’s right to access the social media application, Giggle for Girls. Uncritically accepting caselaw recognising change of sex stretching back over 30 years, Bromwich J. effectively adopts the submissions of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner who appears amicus curiae. The court fails to accept the relevance of the expert and lay evidence filed on behalf of the Giggle team, or to reflect on the practical implications of this decision. Arguments as to the lawfulness of special measures to exclude men with the purpose of advancing women’s equality hold no sway as it is accepted by Bromwich J. that Tickle is a woman – and therefore cannot be found to have been discriminated against as a male. Instead, Tickle is found to have been discriminated against on the ground of gender identity. It is not established that the Giggle team knew of Tickle’s gender identity and as a result there is no finding of direct discrimination. Instead, the Court finds that imposing a condition that individuals should appear visibly female constitutes indirect discrimination on the ground of gender identity. The test as to reasonableness is not applied and various constitutional arguments also fail to gain traction
In-Play Outcome Prediction of an Ongoing Basketball Game Using Machine Learning
No full textBasketball is among the most popular sports in the world today. Leagues and tournaments are played in all regions of the world, for example, the NBA, EuroLeague etc. Because of huge interest in basketball, there is a sizable pool of followers who are interested in betting. We study the related problem of predicting the winner of an ongoing basketball game which revises as the match progresses (also referred to as in-play winner prediction by researchers). We propose a supervised machine learning framework for the in-play winner prediction problem in basketball which seems to be new in the literature. We also quantify the importance of various features in arriving at the predictions using explainable machine learning techniques. Specifically, we use the Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) framework. We evaluate our approach on a dataset of regular season NBA games from 8 seasons (2015–16 to 2022–23 season). Our framework achieves the best overall prediction accuracy of about 74% over all states of the game, and the best in-play prediction accuracy ranging from about 63% to about 90% depending on the state of the game. SHAP scores reveal that different classification algorithms learn to predict differently. That is, feature importance (i) depends on different classification algorithms, and (ii) varies with time
Critical Thinking for Intelligence Analysts & Police Officers: A Path to Improved Criminal Justice
Full text linkTourism at a Crossroads in the Age of Climate Change in Bojanala Platiunum District Municipality, Northwest South Africa: Crises of Adaptation and Mitigation
Full text linkClimate change research is fast growing, with increasing information on the relationshipbetween climate change and tourism. Globally, tourism is sensitive to climate, meaning that the effects of climate change may change tourism flow and demand. Developing countries are those most affected by climate change. The consequence for tourism is disturbing as this sector contributes greatly to their economies. South African tourism depends on its environment to attract tourists; climatic change is a threat to the environment; therefore this is a major concern for South Africa. This article examines the perceptions of climate change threats within the tourism industry in Bojanala Platinum District Municipality in NorthwestProvince by exploring how perceptions can influence behaviour and how the tourism industry responds to a changing climate. The Bojanala Platinum District Municipality is dependent on its local tourism sector to drive its economy. While both the tourists and tourism operators are aware of the threat of climate change and are concerned about its impacts, there are no or very few adaptations and mitigation measures being implemented. The lack of climate change planning to deal with these impacts is likely associated with perception. The tourism sector establishments consider it is the responsibility of the government to respond to climate change. This will have implications beyond Bonjanala Platinum District
Exporting Environmental and Human Rights Abuses – Where Does Responsibility Lie
Full text link‘First world’ countries export their industries, manufacturing and production to ‘developing’ countries, thereby exporting their carbon emissions and other elements detrimental to biodiversity and the environment. Products manufactured for United States, United Kingdom and European Union corporations are produced in China, Bangladesh, India, Mexico and countries of Africa and, increasingly, South America. This creates low-paid jobs to the benefit of corporate profits, whilst increasing pollution and associated negative environmental consequences as well as exploiting labour and promoting human rights abuses. Countries such as the US export nuclear and chemical waste, too, transferring their blight to other parts of the globe. In the 1980s the US sought to export nuclear waste to Johnson Atoll in the Pacific, however, protest (principally from Australian activists) sought to put an end to this proposal, albeit chemical waste continues to afflict Johnson Atoll and the Pacific, it island nations people, flora, fauna and land. In the 2020s, the risks created by nuclear waste export are being multiplied with the AUKUS agreement between Australia, the UK and the US, including the prospect of US nuclear waste being disposed of in Central Australia where facility for storing the waste with any possible safety measures is lacking due to the nature of the terrain. In the 1970s, nuclear testing in the Pacific was banned when Australia went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Now, the potential for and reality of environmental and human damage and degradation from the nuclear industry will be not on Australia’s doorstep, but effectively in the middle of the living room. What prospects are there for international law action in relation to the export of environmental damage and human rights abuse? What prospects for legal action to ensure that corporations exporting industry and outsourcing manufacturing and production contribute proportionately to environmental protections and an end to global warming and climate change? Furthermore, can legal action ensure the implementation of proper industrial conditions and payment for labour in countries taking on manufacture, production, outsourcing and supply of ‘first world’ goods
Cashless Gambling: Potential Money Laundering and Responsible Gambling Initiatives
No full textRecent Australian government inquiries into casino, club, and hotel activities identified significant money laundering, and/or junket and links to organised crimes, and governance failings. The findings of two Royal Commissions determined that casinos in Sydney and Melbourne were not suitable entities to hold a gaming licence. Regulators gave these casinos two years to address concerns raised during these inquiries. One recommendation, supported by media reports and public health advocates, suggested the implementation of cashless gambling, that is, the use of non-cash forms of gambling (e.g., digital wallets, QR codes, or gambling debit cards). Others have expressed concerns about counterproductive or unintended consequences of tokenization of money and difficulties in monitoring expenditure. Although potentially useful as an anti-money laundering initiative, the effective use of cashless gambling as a harm minimisation/responsible gambling initiative requires careful consideration of its architecture, that is, the structure, processes and oversight of its implementation and operation. In this paper, we describe the complexities of cashless gambling and highlight relevant issues that need to be addressed. The findings of the various inquiries also raise serious questions regarding the proportion of funds commonly ascribed to individuals with gambling disorders. We conclude that key stakeholders (e.g., government, industry, financial and academic) need to collaborate to develop an optimal cashless gambling structure that achieves its intended objectives for responsible gambling over and above anti-money laundering
