Organising citizenship at Local 890's Citizenship Project: unleashing innovation through an affiliate organisation

This article considers the problems of organisational survival, innovation, and inter‐organisational partnerships for unions and for immigrant community‐based organisations. The analysis focuses on the Citizenship Project, a project for assisting and organising Mexican immigrants, launched in 1995 by Teamsters Local 890 in response to the assault on immigrant rights in California. It concludes that new community‐based partner organisations sponsored by existing unions can be one effective response to these problems if the participants establish and sustain an appropriate balance of autonomy and accountability. The article also traces the development of a radical and expansive notion of citizenship by the Citizenship Project, and a related set of methods that integrate organising with service delivery, labelled ‘citizenship work’. It recommends that non‐profit tax‐exempt support centres be established at labour centres, labour councils, and international unions in order to lower the costs of such innovation for local unions.     

Assessing effective participation in vulnerable juvenile defendants

Effective participation in trial is outlined under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and refers to the ability to understand and engage in trial. Juvenile defendants are often referred to psychologists or psychiatrists by their solicitors to establish ‘effective participation’ capacity. In the USA, key components to participate effectively are defined and standardised assessments available. In the UK, no formal measures exist. A consecutive series of 20 adolescents aged 12–20 years, referred by their solicitors to our service, were assessed using a standardised battery and a semi-structured interview designed to assess effective participation. Fifty-five per cent had at least one neurodevelopmental disorder. Low IQ was common and 50% had age-equivalent language scores below 10 years. Rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD were high. Knowledge about trial was poor. These findings have implications for Criminal Justice System professionals and to ensure fair trials for young defendants.     

Transitions through Out-of-Keeping Acts

Within a negotiation, when an act by one party is out-of-keeping with the previous moves and underlying logic of the interaction, the act and those that follow hold the potential for creating a transition to a new logic of interaction. In this paper, we investigate the presence and role of seven distinct types of transitions resulting from out-of-keeping acts across ten complex legal negotiations. The data reveal that a critical feature differentiating across the types is the abruptness/gradualness of the transition. We explore the combination of relational, informational, and procedural acts comprising the transitions and find that all three components are present across transitions, but in different proportions and orders. Understanding the role of out-of-keeping acts in negotiations facilitates a more complete picture of the microprocesses involved in the creation of critical moments in negotiations.     

Representative Government and Network Governance – In Need of 'Co-governance': Lessons from Local Decision Making on Public Schools in Denmark

The article argues for the importance of reconciling the institutions of representative government and network governance by means of a combined structure of 'co-governance', and the need for elected politicians in a role as co-governing guardians of democracy in network governance. Based on an examination of two different cases of interactive governance within the field of school reform at the local level in Denmark, some lessons are drawn as to an appropriate new role for elected politicians in a structure of co-governance.     

Back‐pedalling in Iraq: lessons unlearned

This article analyses which of the major lessons learned from previous experiences in nation building have been applied or ignored in Iraq. It focuses on the first six months of the post‐combat period, a time frame generally recognised as being critical for laying the foundations for a stable and democratic future. A review of previous cases points to six lessons that, in fact, have been unlearned, and only two that have been realised in this initial phase in Iraq.     

Loan only credit default swaps the story so far

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. Key points

• The market for Loan Only Credit Default Swaps (LCDS)is expected to develop rapidly, but the market documentationfor this product is proving to be a difficult issue as a resultof differing views by users of the product and divergent approachesbetween the US and European markets.
• The International Swapsand Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) has, on 4 May 2007,released a long-awaited revised draft of the European LCDS.The finalization of this draft is not far off, but certain importantissues are yet to be finalized.
• Rather than speculate on theoutcome of such discussions, this article looks at the developmentof the European LCDS market, the motivation and needs of itsparticipants and takes stock of the European documentation beforeit underwent the recent almost year-long consultation process.It therefore compares the European LCDS of May 2006 againstthe US LCDS of June 2006 (ignoring . . . [Full Text of this Article]