Rethinking local political leadership

The changing nature of local political leadership in Britain over the past 25 years has received scant attention from political scientists. This article argues that changes in the roles and functions of local authorities have had a marked impact on the nature of local political leadership. Three phases (operational, transitional and collaborative) are identified and leadership roles are related to changes in the political context of local government. The fundamental tasks of leadership have not changed but what has changed is the balance or relative emphasis between them and the way they have been interpreted. While elected local authorities cannot ignore the implications of the changed external agenda – notably the advent of new forms of executive leadership – the way they respond still bears the mark of the local political culture.     

Shirley V. Scott & Charlotte Ku: Climate Change and the UN Security Council

Liverpool Law Review -     

A meta-analytic review of the frequency and patterning of laryngohyoid and cervical fractures in cases of suicide by hanging

The frequency and distribution of fractures are commonly utilized to assist in interpreting the manner of death. In cases of alleged suicide by hanging, however, the evidence base for the frequency and patterning of laryngohyoid and cervical vertebrae fractures resulting from such blunt force traumatic events is limited and so fractures cannot be reliably used to assist in interpreting the manner. Using meta-analytic techniques, this study aimed to estimate frequency and distribution of fractures in the context of relevant intrinsic and extrinsic variables. A systematic review of the literature identified 20 studies with relevant data (8523 cases of suicide by hanging). Meta-analyses identified the frequency and distribution of fractures present and how fracture frequency was affected by the subgroups of age, sex, completeness of suspension, ligature knot position and study design. Results indicated that fracture frequency was variable, there was no unique patterning, and high levels of heterogeneity were present in all variable sub-groups. Age was the only subgroup to show differences. Findings suggest that neck fracture frequency is inconsistent and cannot be predicted by the chosen variables. Subsequently, neck fractures in isolation should not be given weight in medico-legal interpretations of a hanging death as suicidal.     

Errors in the estimation of the distance of fall and angles of impact blood drops.

This paper presents derived equations for the estimation of the variances in the estimated distance of fall and the estimated angle of impact for blood droplets. The derived equation for the variance of the estimated distance of fall predicts that as the blood drop size approaches that of a blood droplet falling at terminal velocity, the variance of the estimate grows without limit. The derived equation for the variance in the estimated angle of impact shows that as the angle of impact approaches 90 degrees, the variance grows without limit. The validity of the equation for the estimated variance of the angle of impact was tested for five angles of impact (15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 degrees); the equation correctly predicted the observed variance up to an angle of 60 degrees.     

The value of interpersonal skills in lawyering

Noting the historical negative public perception held of attorneys, a 2×2 factorial design was created to assess the relative roles of legal competence and relational skill in the formation of client attitudes toward attorneys. Ninety-three subjects viewed a simulated, video-taped attorney-client interview in which the attorney possessed either (a) high legal competence and high relational skill, or (b) low legal competence and high relational skill, or (c) high legal competence and low relational skill, or (d) low legal competence and low relational skill. Analysis of questionnaires completed by the subjects after viewing the tapes revealed the attorney having high legal competence and high relational skill to be viewed as most expert, attractive, trustworthy. probable of satisfying the client, and being recommended and used in the future. The attorney having low legal competence and high relational skill was rated second on sixteen of the seventeen measures employed, indicating that relational skill contributes more to the formation of a client's perception of his or her attorney than does the attorney's level of legal competence. Implications of the results for the training of future attorneys are discussed.The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.     

Education. Period. Developing an acceptable and replicable menstrual hygiene intervention

This paper summarises pilot work by Irise International to develop an acceptable and replicable solution to menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in East Africa based around the manufacture of a reusable pad. The paper presents a theoretical justification for the approach and the results of pilot work used to develop it, including baseline menstrual hygiene practices and their relationship to school absenteeism in schoolgirls in western Kenya, the short-term impact of training girls to make a reusable product on school absenteeism using a partial preference, parallel group randomised control trial, and an assessment of the acceptability of the approach.