Law and Rhetoric: Critical Possibilities

What contribution can rhetoric make to socio‐legal studies? Though now a byword for deception and spin, rhetoric was long identified with the very substance of law and politics. Latterly radical scholars have foregrounded an understanding of law as rhetoric in their polemics against legal formalism, but it needs to be complemented by a critical perspective which goes beyond simple revivalism, taking account of rhetoric's own blind spots, inquiring into the means by which some speakers and listeners are privileged and others excluded or silenced. The critical potential of legal rhetoric is tested here through a review of the developing law on mental capacity and the best interests of people with disabilities in England and Wales. Much of what is at stake there is properly grasped in terms of a politics of speech: who is addressed, who can speak, who must speak, and how are they represented in judicial and media discourse.     

A cost comparison study of using global positioning system technology (electronic monitoring) in a medium secure forensic psychiatric service

‘Electronic Monitoring’ (EM) uses devices to monitor individuals’ whereabouts. In 2010, South London and Maudsley medium secure unit introduced EM to monitor individuals on leave. Analysis after two years revealed EM was associated with increased unescorted leave and reduced leave violation; however, comparative costs were not established. This study aims to compare costs of EM for patients on leave by comparing average total cost per patient with and without EM. Costs were compared before and after implementation of EM. Total cost of leave for each group was divided by number of patients to generate average total cost per patient. The average total cost per patient without EM was £1702; £1617 with EM. Although cost decreased, this was not statistically significant. The results showed no significant difference between average total costs per patient before and after EM. The finding of EM being cost-neutral is cautiously optimistic. Further trials are recommended.     

Book Reviews

Drugs, women and justice: Roles of the criminal justice system for drug‐affected women Edited by James A. Swartz, Patricia O'Brien and Arthur J. Lurigio New York: Haworth Press Inc., 2006, p. 151. Hardback, ISBN 978‐0‐7890‐3624‐7     

The Messiness of Everyday Life: Exploring Key Themes in Latin American Citizenship Studies Introduction

This section seeks to provide a brief theoretical framework for the study of citizenship in Latin America by focusing on two characteristics which are of relevance to the essays collected here: belonging and political agency. It then goes on to discuss some key themes which emerge from a reading of the collected articles: methodology; civilisation and deviation; citizenship as the organisation of subordinate inclusion; popular ideas of citizenship as 'fairness'; role of public performance in defining political relationships.     

Correlation Between Employee Bonus and Company Performances＂ FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 Index Companies

In addition to examining the efl＇ect of employee compensation tools on its financial report, a public company should evaluate whether such tools could also retain or attract talent that can strengthen its competitiveness. This research aims to study how an employee reward system could impact on a company＇s performance, and develop a theory on how enterprises choose their employee reward plan. Taking into consideration that there is a lack of agreed objective of an employee reward plan, this paper attempts to evaluate the need for an employee reward system and its effectiveness from the perspective of how a system is implemented. In order to explore the relationship between an employee reward system and company performance, this research will compare in total the performance of 80 companies between 2002 and 2012：50 of them are from the FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 index that have a reward system and the other 30 are also listed companies but without a structured reward plan in place. The findings include that companies with an employee reward system generally perform better than those without one, and this is especially the case for those implementing a single employee bonus system than those with multiple systems. It is found that the employee reward tools can have a positive impact on a company＇s performance, particularly employee cash dividends and employee shares and bonuses.