Images from a Neoliberal City: The State, Surveillance and Social Control

Smith (1996: 230–232) characterized the latetwentieth century crusade for a new urbanfrontier as akin to the Wild West ofnineteenth century America. In the last tenyears, not only in the North American contextbut in Europe too, extending the boundaries ofthe urban frontier – economically,politically, and culturally – has galvanizedpowerful urban coalitions in the task ofre-taking – both ideologically and materially– city spaces from the visible and symbolicelements of urban degeneration. The project ofurban reclamation has not been neutral but hasbeen formulated within a post welfare,neoliberal politics that has promoted aideology of self responsibilisation within aclimate of moral indifference to increasinglyvisible inequality. These ideological shiftshave been fuelled by, and consolidated in, anevolving form of state ensemble that, as arapidly moving target (Hay 1996: 3), has beenlargely neglected in criminological analysis.It is the contention of this paper that theagents and agencies of the neoliberal state areconstructing the boundaries and possibilitiesof the new urban frontier while simultaneouslyengaging in a project of social control thatwill have far-reaching consequences for how weunderstand the meanings of public space, socialjustice and the parameters of state power.     

Compensation for medical injury in New Zealand: does "'no-fault" increase the level of claims making and reduce social and clinical selectivity?

The issues of patient safety and quality of care have gained policy attention with a growing appreciation of the scale and impact of medical injury in health systems. While the focus is clearly on the prevention of iatrogenic injury, the question of patient compensation is now also considered important, if only because in fault-based tort systems the fear of litigation may itself be a barrier to the disclosure and open discussion of medical error. No-fault systems, by contrast, do not require proof of culpability, and thus may both reduce barriers to compensation and increase disclosure of error. Little evidence, however, is available on the performance of such systems. This article reports on the analysis of two data sources-a sample of hospital admissions and a complete set of compensation claims for medical injury. Both are for the same year and region of New Zealand, a country that has maintained a no-fault system of accident compensation for a quarter of a century. Just over 2 percent of hospital admissions were associated with an adverse event that was potentially compensable under scheme criteria. While the claims process was well targeted, the level of claims making and receipt was low, with the ratio of successful claims to potentially compensable events being approximately 1:30. Comparison of social and clinical characteristics of the two data sets revealed a degree of selectivity. Compared with the hospital events, the typical successful claimant was younger and female and was much more likely to have experienced a surgical adverse event that, while unexpected, was not due to substandard care. It is concluded that, in interpreting these results, account needs to be taken of a number of features unique to the New Zealand system. These include: the limited payoff for a compensation claim (no pain and suffering or lump sum, free hospital care); the relative complexity of the grounds for claim (either rarity and severity or practitioner error); and a history of limited litigation for medical error. This suggests that, while the New Zealand system is well targeted, cheap, and free of financial and legal barriers, a change in legal doctrine alone has not in itself been sufficient to remove completely the selective and low level of claims making traditionally associated with patient compensation under tort.     

Children rearing children: A study of reportedly maltreating younger adolescents

This ex post facto study of officially reported child abuse and neglect incidents examined the demographic and dynamic variables associated with reportedly maltreating adolescent mothers of differing ages. A sample of one half of all the incidents reported within Maricopa County, Arizona, was drawn for the period January 1, 1976, through December 31, 1978 (N =5,098). Adolescent mothers were compared on the basis of their age at the time of the incident, and were categorized as younger adolescents (less than 16 years of age) and older adolescents (16 to 19 years of age). It was found that this total sample of adolescents was faced with pressures such as those found within the general, non-age-specific maltreating population. However, the younger adolescent was faced with the greatest financial stress, yet was less likely to be receiving any income supplement. Additionally, the younger adolescent was more likely to be a minority group member, was less likely to be married, and the maltreating situation involved neglect of children. In sum, the reported situation was likely to have been a direct result of the financial, educational, employment, and life experience limitations found in the adolescent's environment. Discussion of the findings reported that the younger adolescent parent's problems were rooted in basic survival and environmental stabilization needs. Implications and suggestions for further research are also presented.     

Adolescents' concepts of marriage: A structural-developmental analysis

This study involved the construction of a theory and scoring manual for assessing the developmental stages of individuals' concepts of marriage. Four stages (Magical, Idealized Conventional, Individualistic, Affirmational) were identified. The reliability of the scoring procedure (interrater and item-total protocol) was judged to be acceptable. Correlations with age, schooling, ego development, and years of marriage support the marriage concepts stage sequence. Adolescents (N=162) scored at the first two stages of marriage concepts. However, in ego development, their mean score was above the Conformist level, thus suggesting that the adolescents were more advanced in their overall personality development than in their developmental stages of marriage concepts.This study was supported in part by a grant from The Spencer Foundation and conducted at the Social Science Institute, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.Received his Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. Current research interests include personality development in adolescents and young adults.     

L‘évaluation du rendement des cadres supérieurs dans la fonction publique québécoise

Sommaire: Au moment où l'on parle de plus en plus de l'imputabilité des gestionnaires publics, il paraît important de s'interroger sur les mécanismes grâce auxquels les administrateurs sont anenés à rendre compte de leur gestion. Le présent article contribue àéclairer cette question en examinant le processus d'évaluation du reiidenient des cadres supérieurs de la fonction publique quéléoisr. Après avoir décrit l'origine et le conteiiu de la politique d'évaluation dn rendement des cadres, les auteurs inontrent que, jusqu' à maintenant, le processus d'évaluation du rendenient exerce en définitive un impact limité sur la gestion. L'analyse du eontenu de plus de 400 fiches d'évaluation du rendement réevèle par ailleurs que les gestionnaires supérieurs éprouvent des difficultés sérieuses dans la définition des attentes signifiées à leurs subordonnés et dans l'évaluation de leurs réalisations. Abstract: At a time when accountability is brought to the forefront in the public service, one has to wonder if the system provides the managers with adequate measurement tools, allowing them to render a satisfactory account of their management. in this article, the authors examine the managers' performance appraisal system in Quebec's Civil Science and draw conclusions on its usefulness as a management tool and its fairness as a compensation devise. After describing the origins and substance of the present policy, they demonstrate that results of the appraisal practice have indeed very little impact on management decisions. The analysis of as many as 400 appraisal forms reveals moreover that managers experience serious difficulties in defining the expectancies of their subordinates in the appraising of results. Le présent article est le résumé d'une étude publiée par le Centre d'études politiques et administratives du Québec: Marcel Proulx et Slichel Roy, L'évaluation du rendement des cadres supérieurs dans la fonction publique québécoise, coll. Bilans et Perspectives, no 1, Québec, École nationale d'administration publique, 1983, 152 p.