New families,new governance and old habits

In December 2011, the UK Government formally launched its ‘troubled families’ initiative. This is a focused programme of interventions, coordinated at local level and paid for by results. It has been described by the Prime Minister as a part of the ‘social recovery’ that has to be set alongside the economic recovery that is his government's priority. It is illustrative of a decisive shift in the nature of the welfare state as it reflects the neo-liberal political project. It also reflects a purposed shift in social attitudes towards troubled and troublesome families, driven to a considerable degree by a vicious popular press. It is indicative of a marked shift in the pendulum from ‘rehabilitation’ to ‘rescue’ as the focus of welfare practice with children and families. Recent developments in the promotion of adoption of children in the UK should be viewed in this light. This paper considers how those families with tense or divergent relationships with the state are to be governed in the context of a state and a set of social attitudes that represents a decisive break with the post-war welfare consensus.     

Radiographic age estimation based on degenerative changes of vertebrae

Age estimation is an important component of decedent identification. When assessing adult remains, anthropologists frequently use gross examination of skeletal elements, such as clavicles, ribs, and pubic symphyses. For fleshed bodies, this requires the removal of these elements and maceration prior to analysis. A new method was developed using radiographic imaging to estimate age from degenerative changes of the lower thoracic and upper lumbar vertebrae. This technique will complement anthropological age estimation methods in young and middle-aged adults and may serve as a stand-alone method for older individuals. Digital radiographs from 240 medical examiner cases were evaluated. The sample included 120 females and 120 males between the ages of 18 and 101 years. A 3-phased scoring system was used for the target vertebrae. Transition analysis was conducted on binned average scores and a Bayesian approach was used to assign age intervals. At the 90% credible interval, individuals in Bin 1 were under 36 years of age while those in Bin 3 were over 47 years of age. Individuals in Bin 2 showed too much age variation to be informative. No significant differences were found between males and females. These findings will be especially useful in the age estimation of older adults and may eliminate the need for skeletal sampling in medicolegal cases where advanced degenerative changes are radiographically observed in the lower thoracic and/or upper lumbar vertebrae. This method was developed for use on fleshed individuals but may also be applicable to skeletonized remains.     

THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY AND WORLD FOOD TRADE

Despite i t s internal differences, the European Economic Community seems to be moving toward an established and permanent position as agricultural exporter. European nations have moved irreversibly from being an import market to bejng a self-sufficient and large-scale producer. An established and politically entrenched agriculture in the European Economic Community has widespread support and their general economic needs elevate agriculture to promirience in attacking trade deficits.     

Natural Disaster Relief and Horizontal Equalization in Australia

The commonwealth government's natural disaster relief policyover the period of 1970–1971 to 1977–1978 requiredeach state to undertake a particular "base" expenditure on naturaldisaster relief before Commonwealth assistance was payable.This article examines the impact of this policy on "horizontalimbalance" between the states, an imbalance which arises becauseof differences in fiscal capacity and/or differences in thecost of providing public services between the states. It isconcluded that the policy exacerbated rather than counteractedthis particular imbalance. A set of "base" expenditure requirementswhich takes this imbalance into account is then calculated. ^* The financial assistance of a research grant from the ReserveBank of Australia and the assistance of the Centre for Researchon Federal Financial Relations at the Australian National Universityare gratefully acknowledged. The advice and comments of R. L.Mathews and W. R. Lane are also acknowledged.     

Disease management: legal strategies for the next generation of managed care

The provision of proper and cost-effective healthcare to chronically ill patients is a crucial aspect of succeeding at managing care. An increasing number of managed care organizations are relying upon specialized outside providers to manage patients with such diseases. In such circumstances, this type of care is "carved out" and given to a specialized disease management organization. The authors discuss the strategies behind such arrangements, provide case studies of many of the specialized organizations providing such disease management, and analyze the legal issues that are likely to arise from such contractual relationships.     

Socioeconomic determinants of migration in Mexico

"This study examines the socioeconomic influence on migration frequency and transitory movements in four Mexican regions. The analysis is based on data gathered from the [Mexican Fertility Survey] 1976-1977, considering the influences of...education, occupation, literacy, place of residence and fertility. The methods used for this analysis were regression and logistic regression." Aspects considered include patterns of internal migration in Mexico, data sources, analysis of independent variables, migration experiences, and age effects. A comment by Carlos Brambila Paz is included (pp. 179-83). (SUMMARY IN ENG)