Asylum-seekers and national histories of detention

The Australian system of mandatory detention of asylum–seekers has become increasingly controversial. Insofar as commentary on detention has been framed historically, critics have pointed to Australia's race–based exclusionary laws and policies over the twentieth century. In this article, we suggest that exclusion and detention are not equivalent practices, even if they are often related. Here we present an alternative genealogy of mandatory detention and protests against it. Quarantine–detention and the internment of "enemy aliens" in wartime are historic precedents for the current detention of asylum–seekers. Importantly, in both carceral practices, non–criminal and often non–citizen populations were held in custody en masse and without trial. Quarantine, internment and incarceration of asylum–seekers are substantively connected over the twentieth century, as questions of territory, security and citizenship have been played out in Australia's histories of detention.     

Fatal child abuse-maltreatment syndrome. A retrospective study in Ontario,Canada, 1990-1995

Child death due to repeated episodes of physical assault or neglect has been termed the child abuse-maltreatment syndrome (CAMS). We characterized the injuries in a series of fatally abused or maltreated child to delineate objective diagnostic criteria for the CAMS for use by clinicians and pathologists. All deaths (age <17 years) investigated by the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, Canada during the time period 1990-1995 were reviewed. Cases of CAMS were defined as death due to lethal recent injury or malnutrition in the presence of significant old (healing or healed) injuries indicative of repeated episode of inflicted trauma. The nature and frequency of the various injuries was determined. The frequency of the shaken baby syndrome, and the types and frequency of ano-genital injuries were also studied. Twenty-one cases of fatal CAMS were found in the study period. Most cases had significant recent head injury with intra-cranial hemorrhage (71%). Other significant recent injuries commonly observed included blunt injuries of the skin and soft tissues (67%), blunt abdominal trauma with visceral injuries (14%), and fractures (18%). Eight cases (38%) fulfilled accepted criteria for the shaken baby syndrome. Many children with fatal head injuries had evidence of older head trauma (38% of all cases). A significant minority of cases had evidence of malnutrition due to neglect (10%) or ongoing ano-genital injuries (10%). Most cases of child homicides due to repeated episodes of abuse or maltreatment involve head trauma including shaken baby syndrome. Fractures of long bone and ribs, the classical markers of child abuse, were relatively infrequent compared with head injury. A proportion of cases had ano-genital injuries due to repeated sexual abuse or punitive maltreatment. All clinicians and pathologists must recognize the wide spectrum of injuries in child abuse to ultimate protect the victim or other children in an at-risk situation.     

The Professional Researcher as Change Agent in the Government–Performance Movement

Although academic and professional publications give the impression that performance measurement is a growing government practice, in actuality the use of this technology is not as deep or as widespread as it may appear. Even when performance measures are used, governments rarely integrate them into planning, budget, personnel, and other management processes. Most professional researchers located primarily in academic institutions, but also in research and government organizations, approach performance measurement as though governmental officials, elected or otherwise, are already sold on its usefulness. Instead, they need to function as "change agents," using a variety of strategies to gain acceptance and understanding of the strengths and limitations of performance measurement. This article draws on the authors' experiences with the Community Benchmarks Program of the Maxwell School in Onondaga County and a review of the current literature. It suggests guidelines for professional researchers who want to increase the use of performance measures by governments at all levels.     

Outcomes–Based Performance Management in the Public Sector: Implications for Government Accountability and Effectiveness

Requirements for outcomes–based performance management are increasing performance–evaluation activities at all government levels. Research on public–sector performance management, however, points to problems in the design and management of these systems and questions their effectiveness as policy tools for increasing governmental accountability. In this article, I analyze experimental data and the performance–management experiences of federal job–training programs to estimate the influence of public management and system–design factors on program outcomes and impacts. I assess whether relying on administrative data to measure program (rather than impacts) produces information that might misdirect program managers in their performance–management activities. While the results of empirical analyses confirm that the use of administrative data in performance management is unlikely to produce accurate estimates of true program impacts, they also suggest these data can still generate useful information for public managers about policy levers that can be manipulated to improve organizational performance.     

Social Support, Risk-Level and Safety Actions Following Acute Assessment of Suicidal Youth

The purpose of the pilot study was to examine the interrelationship between social support, risk-level, and safety actions for 2 groups of suicidal adolescents (50 attempters and 50 ideators), who had presented for an acute assessment at an outpatient mental health service. A social support model was proposed in which it was thought that information related to patients' social support would impact upon the types of risk-level and safety actions made by clinicians. Data was collected from a total of 100 patient files, utilizing the acute assessment reports (e.g., reports assessing risk of self-harm). Findings show that groups differed significantly on indices of negative support severity, positive support, and risk-level. Limited support was found for the proposed social support model. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.