For the Love of Darcie: Recognising the Human–Companion Animal Relationship in Housing Law and Policy

This paper identifies the law’s failure to recognise and protect the human–companion animal relationship in the housing arena. The nature of the human–companion animal relationship has striking similarities to human–human relationships in the socially supportive aspects of the relationship such as attachment, nurturance and reliable alliance. This contributes to the social life and sense of well-being of the owner. There is also evidence that the human–companion animal relationship can have physical health benefits such as lowering the risk of death by cardiovascular disease. It is clear that society benefits from the human–companion animal relationship, which many owners perceive as akin to family, in the form of healthier, less isolated people with better social networks. Yet in the key area of housing, the law does nothing to protect or even recognise this relationship. In consequence, every year thousands of tenants in both the public and private sector are faced with ‘no pet’ covenants in their leases and grapple with difficulties such as reduced housing options, higher rents or the traumatic decision to give up their companion animal for rehoming or euthanasia. This is especially prevalent amongst vulnerable people, like the elderly and mentally ill, who are more likely to need to move into supported accommodation. This article examines housing law in countries, such as France and Canada, that prohibit ‘no pet’ covenants in residential leases and provides arguments for the effective formulation and implementation of such law in the UK.     

Custodial Relationships Of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren:Results of a home-based intervention study

The phenomenon of grandparents raising grandchildren has increased significantly over the past two decades. The literature documents that health, financial, and legal worries top the list of concerns for grandparents who raise grandchildren. The authors describe the results of a multidisciplinary study that provides home visitation with social, nursing, legal, and educational support to grandparents raising grandchildren in parent absent households. This article examines the custodial relationships of one hundred and sixty-three children being raised in sixty-eight families headed by grandparents in an urban population in the South. The data showed that of the 163 children, 70 were in the guardianship of their grandparents, 40 of the children had no legal relationship with their grandparents, 28 were in the custody of the State Department of Family and Children's Services, 21 were in the temporary custody of their grandparents, and four were adopted by their grandparents. Recommendations from this study include educating service providers and grandparents raising grandchildren regarding the potential financial benefits under Title IVE adoption assistance and supporting legislative reform to increase the stability of intergenerational kinship care. This project demonstrates an innovative approach of combining university-based research with multidisciplinary education while providing cost-effective support services through a partnership with the community.     

Size matters: the need for human-scale economic institutions for development

Current mainstream development thinking, with the exception of a few areas like microcredit, tends to favour size over substance. This article aims to challenge the belief that large-scale companies, markets, and institutions are the most effective means of ‘delivering development’. We argue that, by designing institutions to meet different needs at different scales, long-term sustainable development outcomes are more likely. Through an analysis of ‘new economics’ thinking, we look specifically at how the concept of subsidiarity could be applied to development thinking at the community and business levels, and we draw on some examples of where the concept is already manifest in practice, such as energy and commodity production.     

Budgetary Incentives for Retail Activities at Military Bases

The Department of Defense (DoD) operates an extensive system of retail activities at military bases for active duty, retired, and reserve personnel and their families. DoD stores employ 96,000 civilian workers and sell $14 billion of goods and services annually at below-market prices. DoD resists efforts to reduce its role in retail activities, arguing that even within the United States stores with below-market prices are a cost-effective alternative to higher cash compensation for military personnel. This article examines the budgetary incentives that make inefficient, government-operated stores attractive to DoD and describes options that would change those incentives. Because most of DoD's retail stores are controlled by nonappropriated fund instrumentalities of the federal government, reforming those incentives could require changes in the treatment of these poorly understood federal entities.