Professionalism and regionalism: The case of hiring orientations in the south

The CASE (Computer-Assisted Sentencing) system has been developed to help sentencers to choose an appropriate sentence to impose on a convicted offender. Primarily, the system is aimed at Magistrates’ Courts. In England and Wales, by far the largest majority of sentencing is carried out by Magistrates, accounting for about 95 per cent of all sentences and over 80 per cent of sentences for more serious offences.     

‘Sexing the city’

Sexing the City: Lesbian and Gay Politics within the Activist State. By Davina Cooper. London, Rivers Oram Press, 1994. Pp.216. £30 hb, £11.95pb.     

Towards a Non-zero-sum Interactive Framework of Spatial Politics: the Case of Centre–Province in Contemporary China

This paper proposes an interactive, non-zero-sum framework to understand an important facet of spatial politics in contemporary China: the central-provincial relationship. The 'conventional wisdom' of the field, it is argued, confuses the role of coercion in the exercise of power, and assumes a static, zero-sum central-provincial relationship. Changes are merely cyclical, and hopes for genuine changes are pinned on ad hoc factors such as the arrival of 'enlightened' leaders. Drawing on Parsons' insights on the concept of power, the article outlines a new approach which sees the forces of genuine changes as residing within the institutional system. It interprets the central-provincial relationship as a non-zero-sum, interactive process of conflicts and compromises, whereby genuine changes to the relationship are made.     

Approaches to the Merit Principle in Queensland Public Service Recruitment 1859–2000. From rich and dumb to gender discrimination to politicisation?

The traditional career service model of public employment was ostensibly based on the merit principle, designed to ensure employment on what you knew rather than who you knew, and to remove patronage. However, the image of public servants is often poor, and many are perceived as having little real merit. This article reviews approaches to merit in the Queensland state public service. It finds that, in earlier times, the merit principle was often enshrined in primary and subordinate legislation, but was subsequently moderated by social values including gender and class discrimination, and by circumstances such as wars. This had implications for the skill levels and quality of public employees, and therefore for public policy and public services. In recent decades, the merit principle has been subjected to extensive redefinition and has been subordinated to the desire for greater political control of public services, and pursuit of ‘responsiveness’.     

Introduction: The State of State Employment

Public sector industrial relations is a somewhat neglected field of investigation. The relative neglect by industrial relations scholars is surprising given that public sector employees in Australia are much more likely to be unionised and work within larger organisations with formalised industrial. Moreover, it has been within public sector environments where the efficacy of public policy directions in industrial relations have been tested. Public sector environments are more likely to be characterised by structured bargaining and policy testing than much of the private sector. One of the purposes of this symposium, then, is to remedy this relative neglect of public sector industrial relations.     

Social Networks of Homeless Youth in Emerging Adulthood

Little is known about the social networks of homeless youth in emerging adulthood despite the importance of this information for interventions to reduce health risks. This study examined the composition of social networks, and the risks and supports present within them, in a random sample of 349 homeless youth (33.4% female, 23.9% African American, 17.7% Hispanic) between the ages of 18 and 24. Social network members who were met on the street were among the most likely to be perceived as engaging in risky sex, as well as to engage in substance use with the youth. Youth were more likely to count on relatives and sex partners for support compared to other network members, but they also were more likely to use substances with sex partners and perceived them as engaging in risky sex. Interventions may need to recognize the importance of intimate relationships during the developmental stage of emerging adulthood by enhancing supportive bonds and reducing substance use and risky sex in these relationships.