Reviews

Sidney Bloch and Peter Reddaway, Russia's Political Hospitals: The Abuse of Psychiatry in the Soviet Union. London: Victor Gollancz, 1977. 510 pp.

Richard B. Remnek (ed.), Social Scientists and Policy Making in the USSR. New York: Praeger Publishers, and London: Martin Robertson, 1977. xi+144 pp. £10.90.

Boris Shragin, Protivostoyanie dukka. London: Overseas Publications Interchange, 1977. 316 pp.

Murray Yanowitch, Social and Economic Inequality in the Soviet Union. London: Martin Robertson, 1977. xv+197 pp. £8.85.

Ulrich Hewer, Zentrale Planung und technischer Fortschritt. Probleme seiner Organisation und Durchsetzung am Beispiel der sowjetischen Industrie. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1977. Vol. 84, Series I of Giessen Monographs in Agricultural and Economic Research on Eastern Europe. 225 pp.

Donald W. Green and Christopher I. Higgins, SOVMOD I. A Macro‐econometric Model of the Soviet Union. New York and London: Academic Press, 1977. xxii+312 pp. $22.50. £15.95.

Harry G. Shaffer (ed.), Soviet Agriculture: An Assessment of Its Contributions to Economic Development. New York: Praeger Publishers and London: Martin Robertson, 1977. 167 pp. £11.70.

Connie M. Friesen, The Political Economy of East‐West Trade. New York: Praeger, 1976 and London: Martin Robertson, 1977. ix + 203 pp. £13.75.

Gunnar Adler‐Karlsson, Studien über Wirtschafts‐ und Systemvergleiche. Band 7: The Political Economy of East‐West‐South Cooperation. Vienna and New York: Springer Verlag, 1976. 208 pp. DM 48.—. S330.—.

Jozef M. van Brabant, East European Cooperation. The Role of Money and Finance. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1977. xxv+395 pp.

Martin McCauley (ed.), Communist Power in Europe 1944–1949. London: Macmillan Press, 1977. xxiii+242 pp. £10.00.

Lilly Marcou, Le Kominform. Le Communisme de guerre froide. Paris: Presses de la Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, 1977. 360 pp. 120 F.

William S. Heiliger, Bibliography of the Soviet Social Sciences, Troy, New York: Whitston Publishing Co., 1978. 2 vols. v+966 pp. $65.00.     

Qualitative Leverage and the Epistemology of Expert Opinion

We discuss the motivation for integrating qualitative informationin statistical models of complex, partially observable causalmechanisms and suggest ways to minimize the dangers posed byBraumoeller and Kirpichevsky. We stress the importance of linkingour statistical estimators to underlying theories of the datagenerating process, qualitative or otherwise.     

SETTING THE SCENE

This article focuses on the Family Law Act of Australia and its subsequent impact on the Australian courts. There is an analysis of the historical and social factors that led to the legislation. The article also discusses the constitutional precedent and framework surrounding the Family Law Act's inception. Finally, the article addresses the future of the Australian courts under the Family Law Act.     

Geoforensic search to crime scene: Remote sensing,geophysics, and dogs

In the absence of surface indications of burial sites, law enforcement or humanitarian organizations are faced with the difficult task of focusing large-scale ground searches to a manageable excavation area. A geoforensic-based survey may exclude parts of the landscape for reasons such as diggability or viewshed analysis but leave areas still too large for invasive exploration. This work examines how drone-based remote sensing, geophysics, and search dogs may be combined to narrow such searches. Here, we ask the reader to consider two examples where forensic geomorphology and land use provided a range of possible burial locations. Following this is a multi-proxy approach to similar dilemma, with a search-to-scene case study using remote sensing (drone photography), geophysics, ground probes, and search dogs. This approach is not presented as a definitive guide, but serves as an example of the conjunctive use of well-studied methods to approach a common problem in geoforensics.     

Characteristics of female patients admitted to an adolescent secure forensic psychiatric hospital

Bluebird House is the only mixed gender NHS secure forensic psychiatric hospital for adolescents in the South of England. It has admitted more than 30 female patients since the service opened in 2008. The admission criteria are that patients must be detained under the Mental Health Act and present evidence of being a risk of harm to others. This article describes the clinical characteristics of 30 consecutive female patients admitted to a highly specialised adolescent forensic inpatient service. Key results include a very high rate of incidents of risk behaviours exhibited by female patients within the unit but good clinical outcomes. The majority of patients had severe symptoms of mental disorder, especially emotional instability, self-harm behaviours and aggressive behaviours. Few had diagnoses of mental illness. Assessment findings from the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory and the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk are discussed, as are parallel with studies from other female secure services.     

Tilting at Windmills: the Defamation Act 2013

In April 2013, the Defamation Act was passed, the culmination of a four‐year political campaign. The legislation is intended to ameliorate the ‘chilling effect’ of libel law on scientists, online commentators, NGOs, and others. This paper considers the main changes wrought: reform of the main common law defences, changes relevant to scientific discourse and online speech, and revisions that will impact on process. It identifies areas where there will be problems of interpretation for courts, and suggests that the Act will fail to provide clarity for publishers keen to assess the legality of their actions. The paper also contends that more attention should have been paid to remedies (in particular, the desirability of discursive remedies such as the right of reply). The question is posed whether the Act addresses the core problem with libel law: the juridification and over‐complication of public sphere disputes, and the attendant cost of embroilment in legal proceedings.     

A note on modelling labour migration in LDCs

Taking the family as the rural‐to‐urban migration decision‐making unit, will the ‘expected‐income migration model’ accurately predict the level of migration? Consideration of two variables ‐ desire for leisure, and a version to risk ‐ serves to show that the expected‐income model yields a systematic downward bias in the predicted level of rural‐to‐urban migration. Likely policy implications emanating from the incorporation of these variables in the migration decision are indicated.