McIntosh on governance and accountability

Overview and scrutiny committees have been introduced in England and Wales as part of constitutional arrangements designed to improve local accountability. This article presents a conceptual framework for the evaluation of scrutiny arrangements based on five variables which have been identified as impediments to parliamentary scrutiny. A survey of Welsh councillors suggests that they perceive ‘resources and technical support’, ‘one-party dominance’, and ‘the relationship between scrutiny and the executive’ as factors which may influence the effectiveness of local scrutiny. The paper concludes that these findings have important implications for the extent to which political management reforms can enhance local accountability.     

Book notes

Law

Nan Berger, Rights, A Handbook for People Under Age, Penguin Books, 1974, £0.60, pp. 160.

M. D. A. Freeman, The Legal Structure, Longmans, 1974, £1.20, pp. 242.

Harry Calvert, Social Security Law, Sweet and Maxwell, 1974, £3.60, pp. 318.

D. Foulkes, The Local Government Act, 1974, Butterworths, 1974, £3.60, pp. 118.

Planning

J. Bailey, Social Theory for Planning, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1975, £4.25 (cloth), £1.95 (paperback), pp. 167.

Gordon E. Cherry (ed.), Urban Planning Problems, Leonard Hill, 1974, £4.50, pp. 259.

Ursula K. Hicks, The Large City: A World Problem, Macmillan, 1974, £6.50, pp. 270.

League of Women .Voters Education Fund, Supercity I'Hometown, USA, Prospects for Two‐Tier Government, Pall Mall Press, 1974, £4.75, pp. 139.

Research

A. F. Comfort and C. Loveless, Guide to Government Data, Macmillan, 1974, £5.95, pp. 404.

G Easthope, History of Social Research Methods, Longmans, 1974, £1.20, pp. 169.

E. Krausz and S. H. Miller, Social Research Design, Longmans, 1974, £1.00, pp. 118.     

Parenting and Intimate Relationship Effects on Women Offenders' Recidivism and Noncompliance with Probation

This study disentangled the effects of intimate relationships and parenting on women probationers’ noncompliance. Data from a sample of 257 women were analyzed using logistic and negative binomial regression. Women with nonconforming intimate partners missed treatment more frequently, had a higher likelihood of missing a probation appointment, and had a higher chance of a new arrest for substance abuse or misdemeanor crimes during a 3-year follow-up period. Women parenting children had fewer missed probation appointments. Missed probation appointments increased the risk of recidivism for all crime categories except driving under the influence. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Social problem-solving correlates of sexual deviancy and aggression among adult child molesters

Cognitive-behavioral treatment programs for adult sex offenders often include training geared to improve a perpetrator's social problem-solving skills. However, little empirical evidence exists to date that documents the relationship between problem-solving and deviant sexual interest or behavior among child molesters. As such, this study investigated the association between problem-solving and two aspects of sexual offending—self-reported sexual deviancy and clinician-rated sexual aggression among a recruited sample of incarcerated child molesters. To minimize the potential for biased self-reports, criterion scores on a lie scale were employed to exclude individuals who might be prone to misrepresent their responses. Results indicated this sample to be characterized by significant deficits on all measures of social problem-solving as compared to the general population. In addition, a series of correlational analyses indicated that an avoidant problem-solving style was significantly associated with past sexual aggression, whereas a negative problem orientation and an impulsive/careless problem-solving style were significantly related to a measure of current sexual deviancy. Of particular interest is the finding that a rational problem-solving style (i.e., the constructive style that involves the systematic application of specific problem-solving skills geared toward identifying an effective solution) was not significantly related to either sexual offending measure. The implications of these collective results are discussed.     

Why Quotas Are Needed to Improve Women's Access to Services in Clientelistic Regimes

Using data from a survey of 200 Moroccan and Algerian parliamentarians, this article assesses the relationship between parliamentarian gender, quotas, and constituency service provision to females. The findings suggest that while electing women increases service provision to females, quotas are needed to create mandates in clientelistic, patriarchal settings, where serving women is a less effective electoral strategy than serving men. Deputies elected through quotas are more responsive to women than members of either sex elected without quotas. The article extends a theory of homosocial capital to explain gender gaps in parliamentarians' supply of and citizens' demand for services. By demonstrating a novel mandate effect and framing mandates in a positive light, the article extends the literature on gender, representation, and clientelism; urges scholars to examine service representation; and supports quotas to promote women's access to services, political participation, and electability.