Knowledge of spouse abuse in the community: A comparison across locations

Of concern to many who study criminality of all kinds is the high level of known abuse in a climate of noninvolvement by others. The research reported in this paper clearly indicates that noninvolvement in spousal assault cases is not dependent on low levels of knowledge of the problem, as many people admit to being aware of its occurrence among relatives, friends, and neighbors. This knowledge does vary, however, by location of the respondents with strong effects of nonmetropolitan residents expressing greater knowledge of the occurrence of this violence than people living in urban areas. We find this in the context of lower levels of self-reported victimization. It could be that these lower levels reflect a reluctance on the part of nonmetropolitan women to admit to researchers that they are victims of this problem. Or, it could suggest that these women have access to a more intricate network of support from friends and family who become involved in discussing this problem with the victims and helping them to reduce its incidence.     

Identity,citizenship, and mobiIization: The Nationalities Branch and World War Two

Abstract: A perennial theme of Canadian political debates is the nature of Canada's national identity. It is becoming increasingly clear that this issue is intimately bound up with the question of citizenship, since contemporary identity claims are often couched in the language of rights and the contemporary Canadian state actively encourages identity through citizenship development. The few existing studies on modern Canadian citizenship policy tend to locate its origins in the 1960s, or at best in the 1946 Citizenship Act. This article shows that the questions of identity, citizenship and mobilization were addressed first during World War Two in an agency called the Nationalities Branch of the Department of National War Services. While contemporary policy certainly differs from these origins, the Nationalities Branch nonetheless was the parent of all subsequent administrative organs devoted explicitly to citizenship development. The article shows that citizenship policy first developed around the question of ethnic identity, that “identity formation” through citizenship policy is a coherent field of government activity that pre-dates the Citizenship Act, and that mobilization is an equally coherent field of government practice, even in a liberal-democratic state such as Canada. Sommaire: La nature de I'identité nationale du Canada constitue I'un des thèmes éternels des débats politiques canadiens. De plus en plus, il ressort que cette question est intimement liéeà celle de la citoyenneté, car les revendications contemporaines d'identité sont souvent exprimées dans le langage des droits et car I'État canadien contemporain encourage activement la quête d'une identité par le biais de I'acquisi-tion d'une citoyenneté. Les rares études qui existent sur les politiques modernes de citoyenneté canadienne retracent généralement les origines de ces politiques aux années 1960, ou au mieux à la Loi sur la citoyenneté de 1964. Cet article montre que les questions d'identité, de citoyenneté et de mobilisation ont retenu pour la première fois I'attention durant la Second Guerre mondiale, quand un organisme appelé la Direction des nationalités, au ministère des Services nationaux de la guerre, s'est penché sur elles. Certes, les politiques contemporaines diffèrent des politiques d'origine, mais la Direction des nationalités reste la source de tous les organisms administratifs qui furent créés par la suite pour traiter explicitement de la citoyenneté. Cet article indique que les politiques de citoyenneté sont nées tout d'abord de la question d'identité ethnique, que la formation d'une identité par le biais d'une politique de citoyenneté est un champ cohérent d'activités gouvernemen-tales, antérieur à la Loi sur la citoyenneté, et que la mobilisation est également un champ cohérent d'interventions gouvernementales, même dans un État libéral-démocratique comme le Canada.     

Is There a “Singles Tax”? The Relative Income Tax Treatment of Single Households

The existence of a "marriage tax," in which many married couples pay more taxes when married than their combined taxes as single individuals, is well known. However, largely lost in the attention devoted to married taxpayers is the treatment of single taxpayers. This article examines the relative tax treatment of single and married taxpayers. Various types of representative taxpayers are constructed, and the difference in income taxes paid by single taxpayers and married taxpayers is calculated. These calculations show that there is a "singles tax"; that is, a single individual typically pays a greater income tax liability than a married couple with identical income, especially when the main transfer programs are considered.     

Bicommunalism and Canadian Constitutional Reform

The concept of bicommunalism may be invoked in order to clarifyissues relating to Quebec's place in Canada. Since 1960 theQuebec government has put forward constitutional and fiscaldemands that have implied a view of Canada as a bicommunal polityof "two majorities" (Francophone Quebec and Anglophone Canada)in contrast to a bicommunalism of majority and minority (Englishand French Canadians). Many Canadians, however, view their countryas pluralistic and multicultural rather than bicommunal. Thesediffering perceptions help explain recent constitutional controversies—notably,Quebec's rejection of the Constitution Act, 1982. In 1987 thefirst ministers (the prime minister and provincial premiers)reached a unanimous constitutional agreement, the Meech LakeAccord. The accord goes a certain distance toward meeting thetraditional constitutional demands of Quebec, but its underlyingprinciples are not bicommunalist. Perhaps the accord marks theend of bicommunalism in Canada. One cannot be sure of this,however, because (among other reasons) the accord may neverobtain the legislative support needed to bring it into force.     

Child abuse by baby-sitters: An ecological-interactional interpretation

This study explored the social contexts in which physical abuse by baby-sitters occurred. This was accomplished through a content analysis of 98 founded case records of physical abuse committed by baby-sitters. In 70% of the case records there was evidence that sitters had a conflict with the victim prior to the abusive act. Children fighting with other children was the most common type of disturbance, followed by conflicts surrounding toilet training, children's continuous crying, disobedience, and rudeness. There was evidence that parents' explicit or implicit approval of baby-sitters' violence contributed to the child abuse in approximately one-quarter of the cases.This research was supported by a grant from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.     

The financial implications of merging proactive CCTV monitoring and directed police patrol: a cost–benefit analysis

Objectives

This study presents a cost–benefit analysis of an intervention pairing proactive CCTV monitoring with directed police patrol in Newark, NJ. A recent randomized control trial found that the strategy generated significant crime reductions in treatment areas relative to control areas. The current study focuses on the financial implications of the experimental strategy through a cost–benefit analysis.

Methods

The study begins by measuring the costs and benefits associated with the experimental strategy, the findings of which can inform agencies with existing CCTV infrastructure. Follow-up analyses measure the costs and benefits of the intervention for agencies absent existing CCTV infrastructure, meaning a CCTV system would have to be funded in addition to the intervention outputs. Alongside overall benefits, this study presents the tangible cost savings afforded to the Criminal Justice system as well as to each of the separate criminal justice (CJ) system components: Policing, Courts, and Corrections.

Results

We found the experimental strategy to be highly cost effective for agencies with existing CCTV infrastructure. However, when the cost of the CCTV system is considered, the strategy is largely cost prohibitive. While the cumulative societal and criminal justice findings suggest some evidence of a modest cost savings, the strategy is highly cost prohibitive for each of the individual CJ system components when CCTV system costs are included.

Conclusions

Results suggest that the experimental strategy is a worthwhile investment for agencies with existing CCTV infrastructure. Agencies absent CCTV may want to consider whether funds would be better allocated towards alternate strategies.

     

Canada: The Supreme Court Sets Rules for the Secession of Quebec

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1998 that neither the Canadianconstitution nor international law allows Quebec to secede fromCanada unilaterally. Secession would require amending the constitution.However, if a clear majority of Quebecers unambiguously optsfor secession, the federal government and the other provinceswould have a constitutional duty to negotiate. This is an obligationthat the court declared to be implicit in four principles that"inform and sustain the constitutional text"—federalism,democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and respectfor minorities. The same set of principles would govern thenegotiations themselves. Accordingly, Quebec could not dictatethe terms of secession, and one cannot assume that agreementwould be reached. If negotiations fail, and Quebec declaresindependence unilaterally, the international community wouldhave to decide whether Quebec's action was legitimate.