Measuring the Impact of New Public Management and European Integration on Recruitment and Training int he UK Civil Service

This article investigates the impact which the institutional development of the European Union (EU) and the new public management (NPM) have had on the process of recruitment and training of senior public officials in the United Kingdom between 1970 and 1995. Information provided by directors of personnel and training has enabled the extent of change observed in three government departments – Agriculture, Transport and Health – to be measured on a numerical scale. This is combined with a historical analysis rooted in practitioner experience. The evidence from both sources suggests that whereas NPM pressures have had a relatively similar impact on recruitment and training practices in all three departments, the response to EU pressure is much stronger in the Ministry of Agriculture than in the Departments of Transport and Health. The EU impact in Agriculture is particularly strong in respect of recruitment and career progression, the only area and the only department in which our index suggests that policy has been more heavily influenced by European pressures than by NPM. These findings reflect the strength of the political commitment to NPM and the power of the central departments in imposing it across Whitehall; and in the case of Agriculture the development of a cadre of senior officials who have almost all had experience of working in or with the EU institutions.     

Recovery of Missing Persons in Cyprus: Heavy Equipment Methods and Techniques for Complex Well Excavations

This technical note presents the methods and techniques developed by the Bi-communal Forensic Team (BCFT) of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP) used to excavate and exhume the remains of missing persons, many of whom were buried in deep wells at sites across the island of Cyprus during the conflict period of the 1960s and 1970s. A total of 493 Turkish Cypriots and 1508 Greek Cypriots were officially reported missing by the two communities as a result of the conflict. Since the team's formation, in 2005, the BCFT has excavated 114 wells, resulting in the recovery of 195 missing individuals from 35 of these well excavations. The standard excavation approach used by the BCFT, especially for deep well recovery, consists of “ramp,” “pocket,” and “pool” components. These excavation features enable CMP archaeologists to excavate deep wells safely and efficiently while simultaneously permitting time for thorough documentation and unimpeded recovery of human remains. The team uses three variants of this approach to cope with the variety of geological, physical, and hydrological contexts faced in Cyprus’ wells, including hard and soft landforms, the presence or absence of water, and limitations imposed by surrounding infrastructure. The “terracing”, “double-ramp”, and “single-ramp” variations are detailed with respect to the environmental contexts which prescribe their use. The BCFT's general procedures for human remains recovery and standard well safety protocols conclude the article.     

The Untimely Stevie Smith

Abstract

This essay considers the role of the untimely in the work of Stevie Smith. It explores motifs of belatedness in her reception history, suggesting how her own authorial persona and public presentation encodes this response. It examines the notion of the last-minute in her work, focusing on motifs such as disruption, elongation and delay. It suggests how her revision practice responded to the idea of being ‘too late’, with the moment of publication providing her with further prompts to revise her work. It focuses on final words and endings in her poetry and frames her interest in Christianity through ideas of temporality and form.     

Lone motherhood past and present: The life stories of Finnish lone mothers

The aim of this study is to examine how Finnish lone mothers of two age cohorts construct their lone motherhood and also to show how the meanings ascribed to social phenomena are socially and historically embedded. Finland presents an interesting case for studying the links between the social and the individual because the country has experienced rapid social shifts since World War II. It is shown how specific social contexts to some degree set the parameters for how social phenomena are understood and interpreted, as shown by the differences in how two cohorts of life-story writers construct lone motherhood.     

Case study of three generations of incarcerated sexual offenders

In an attempt to better understand sexual offenders, this study with the aid of a genogram utilizing a grounded theory approach examined the experiences of three generations of incarcerated sexual offenders. The offenders in this study described experiences characterizing a continuum of failure to control their own criminal offences and perpetuity of their chronic conduct despite its serious consequences including imprisonment. One implication of those findings is that some incarcerated chronic sexual offenders possess a predisposition towards a sexual addiction and accordingly, a biological inheritance and environmental factors contribute to their conduct. Therefore, it is recommended for correctional systems including supervisory care that mandatory treatment within a medical model of confinement as opposed to a punitive model be established in order to curve recidivism and victimization levels. A longitudinal study should be conducted consisting of family members who are violent sexual offenders.