RECIDIVIST IMPACTS OF DIFFERENTIAL SENTENCING PRACTICES FOR BURGLARY OFFENDERS

The research reported here attempts to examine the recidivist impacts of probationary sentences versus incarceration. Statistically controlled comparisons were run on a probability sample of 100 offenders sentenced for residential or commercial burglary convictions in 1971. Subsequent arrest, conviction. and imprisonment data were gathered from official agency records through March of 1975. The results of this study indicate that for persons sentenced for burglary the likelihood of subsequent conviction for a felony or for any crime is less for probationer offenders than for any other sentence type. The strongest predictors of recidivism (defined as subsequent conviction for crime) were age, previous incarceration experience, and sentence type. Length of sentence. type of release, and number of previous arrests were essentially unrelated to subsequent rates of recidivism.     

IRELAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND 1992: THE BARRIERS TO TECHNOCRATIC ANTI-PARTITIONISM

This article examines the likely effects of 1992 on the relationship between the Republic and Northern Ireland. In particular, it seeks to assess the strategy of undermining partition through economic integration. After looking at the positions of the advocates of such a strategy and of its opponents, the difficulties in the way of the successful pursuit of such a policy are examined. These are: the extent to which the Single European Act will be made fully operative; the economic limits on cross-border cooperation; the administrative and governmental difficulties of pursuing cross-border cooperation; and the degree to which the political and cultural foundations of partition are independent of the economy. The article concludes with the argument that these barriers are such that a reliance on the pressures generated by the Single European Act and on a purely technocratic strategy of cross-border cooperation will not be sufficient to alter the constitutional relationship between the Republic and Northern Ireland.     

STRUCTURAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF PRlSONlZATlON

This study. based on an analysis of data obtained from a randomly selected sample of 239 inmates of a maximum security federal penetentiary, assesses the explanotory power and relative importance of variables related to prisonization in the previous literature. While support for hypotheses derived from the importation and deprivation models was found, our analysis. consistent with earlier research, reveals that the proportion of variance in prisonization which can be accounted for is not high. Still, our findings underline the necessity of moving toward an integration of existing theories of prisonization rother than attempting to view them as contradictory perspectives.     

IN DEFENCE OF LUTHER GULICK'S'NOTES ON THE THEORY OF ORGANIZATION

This article reviews a debate in public administration which occurred some 40 years ago between two giants of public administration, Luther Gulick and Herbert Simon. Simon is generally considered to have 'won' the debate in the 1940s and 195Os, and there is good reason to think that this 'victory' turned the field of public administration in a direction very different from where it had been headed previously. The paper makes two arguments. The first argument is that a close examination of the key articles – Gulicks 'Notes on the Theory of Organization' (1937) and Simon's The Proverbs of Administration' (1946) – shows that Gulicks essay was not nearly as vulnerable to Simon's criticisms as has commonly been assumed. In general, Gulicks arguments are richer and far more subtle than Simon recognized. The second argument has a more current focus: had Gulicks approach been pursued in the ways Gulick suggested, there is reason to think we would know considerably more about the design of organizational structures than we currently do.     

The Gorilla in the Closet: Joint and Several Liability and the Cleanup of Toxic Waste Sites

The use of the tort law doctrine joint and several liability (JSL) to Superfund, the federal program to cleanup inactive toxic waste sites, has been controversial since, its inception. Despite this controversy, the underlying assumptions for utilizing JSL have gone largely unexamined. We look at four rationales for applying joint and several liability in this setting: (a) a fairness rationale; (b) a settlement rationale; (c) a deep pockets rationale; and (d) an incentives effects rationale. We find that it is unclear whether JSL has had the desired effect of encouraging swift site clean ups. At a minimum it seems clear that unexpected and undesired consequences accompany its use warranting further research on this important public policy question.     

Protecting and Supporting Children in the Child Welfare System and the Juvenile Court

The impact of childhood trauma can be substantial and long term. Prevention of additional trauma should be the guiding principle for all professionals working with children in the child welfare and juvenile court systems. This article addresses ways these two systems can protect and support children before they enter the courtroom. This is accomplished by obtaining, sharing, and utilizing a complete trauma history on the child, as well as putting measures in place to protect against system‐generated trauma. It will also address how to reduce the trauma associated with testifying using psycho‐educational programs, and involving a caring, sensitive judge.     

The State of the Debate About Children's Disclosure Patterns in Child Sexual Abuse Cases

In current research studies about the disclosure patterns of sexually abused children, experts agree that most victims delay disclosure for years, often until adulthood. Researchers disagree about disclosure rates and recantation rates among children during formal interviews. Studies of children who had not previously disclosed but are known through corroborative evidence to have been sexually abused show lower rates of disclosure than do studies of children who had disclosed prior to the formal interview. Gradual disclosures among children are common, and more than a single interview may be necessary in some cases. Prior disclosure, level of support by non‐offending parents, developmental level, and relationship to perpetrator affect children's rates of disclosure and their disclosure patterns. More research is necessary to clarify children's post‐disclosure recantation rates and predictors.