Book notes

Development in States of War. Edited by Deborah Eade. Oxford: Oxfam, 1996. Pp.109. £8.95. ISBN 0855983442

Yearbook of International Co‐operation and Development: 1998/99. Edited by Helge Ole Bergesen, Georg Parmann and 0ystein B. Thommessen. London: Earthscan for The Fridtjof Nansen Institute, 1998. £45. Pp.348. ISBN 1 85383 526 9     

Book reviews

Amir Taheri, Holy Terror: The Inside Story of Islamic Terrorism. London: Century Hutchinson; Bethesda, MD: Adler & Adler, 1987. Pp.313. £12.95/$19.95 (hardback); £3.95 (paperback).

Robert O. Slater and Michael Stohl (eds.), Current Perspectives on International Terrorism. London: Macmillan Press; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988. Pp. 288. £29.50/$39.95 (hardback); £13.95 (paperback).

Juliet Lodge (ed.), The Threat of Terrorism. Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books; Boulder, CO.Westview Press, 1988. Pp. 280. £35/$33.50 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback).

Edward F. Mickolus with Peter A. Flemming (compilers), Terrorism, 1980–1987: A Selectively Annotated Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1988. Pp. 314. £49.50/$55.     

Health and social care staff responses to working with people with a learning disability who display sexual offending type behaviours

Abstract

This study found that 59% of social care staff were currently supporting a client with a learning disability who had offended or displayed an offending type behaviour. The range of behaviours was similar to that displayed by clients in a secure health facility and included rape, sexual assault and exposure. Only 22.9% of social care staff had received training in this area, while none of the health staff had. Both groups expressed low levels of confidence in supporting this client group. The areas of difficulty were common to both groups and included personal attitudes and attitudes of others to the behaviour, and concerns over risk, responsibility and safety. In respect of attitudes, social care staff were found to be significantly more likely to hold negative attitudes towards the person's behaviour, while health staff were significantly more likely to feel negatively towards the person. Health staff were significantly more likely to identify training as a means of further support, while social care staff identified professional input. Both groups identified the need for theoretical training about working with this client group. Despite this no significant differences were found between those who had and had not received training and confidence, attitudes and the need for further support.     

A qualitative investigation of treatment components for families of youth who have sexually offended

ABSTRACT

Traditional treatment approaches for youth who commit sexual crimes are generally understudied and lack consideration for youths’ evolving context and development. A holistic model is important in service delivery, whereby multiple socio-ecological risk and protective factors are targeted in treatment. Family treatment, a key component of holistic practices, has not been well-defined for families of youth who have committed sexual crimes. Better understanding of the practical techniques used in service agencies can inform family services for youth. Using an inductive grounded theory approach, this qualitative study interviews service providers (N?=?19) to understand components of family treatment. Findings suggest components including problem solving, communication skills, and working through the pain meet certain goals of restructuring and uniting families. The therapeutic relationship was a component that meets all goals of family treatment and helps families and youth overcome stigma of sexual offending. Findings have implications for developing and testing models of family treatment for sexually abusive youth.     

Privatizing housing: An assessment of U.K. experience

Abstract

This article describes the way in which the government of the United Kingdom has implemented the policy of privatization with respect to housing since coming to power in 1979. It details the main elements and diversity of the policy; it evaluates the results in terms of tenure change, allocation of housing services, prices, and investment; it examines the emerging problems of affordability and access; and it suggests that there have been considerable benefits from both privatization and deregulation in terms of greater efficiency and responsiveness.

However, it also stresses the extent to which government involvement in housing, although undoubtedly shifting away from direct provision, has reemerged through both income‐related and supply subsidies to other landlords. The article concludes that in the United Kingdom, unlike the United States, the provision of adequate housing for all is still regarded as a government responsibility.     

Time for a change: applying the good lives model of rehabilitation to a high-risk violent offender

In this article we operationalise the theoretical concepts of the Good Lives Model (GLM) of offender rehabilitation by providing a step-by-step framework for assessment, formulation, treatment planning, and monitoring with a high-risk violent offender residing in the community. The case study illustrates how the GLM can be applied to complement and enhance traditional Risk-Management interventions and shows how the GLM's clinical relevance extends from sex offending to broader offending typologies.     

Patent construction after Amgen: are patent claims construed more widely or narrowly than previously?

Legal context. This article considers the UK Courts' approachto patent construction since the House of Lords' decision inKirin-Amgen Inc v Hoechst Marion Roussel Limited, which washanded down in October 2004, and seeks to examine whether theUK Courts' construction of patents is wider or narrower thanpreviously. Key points. The available data appear to suggest that thereis little difference in outcome, whether the old Improver testis applied or the new Kirin-Amgen test; of more significanceremains the nature of the wording of the patent claims themselvesand the correct identification by the trial judge of the inventionunderlying the patent. Practical significance. By eschewing a literal approach andrefining the test used in order to ensure both compliance withthe EPC and consistency with courts in other European countries,the UK Courts continue to provide an attractive forum for resolutionof patent disputes.