Victimization Rates, Exposure to Risk, and Fear of Crime

Studies of fear of crime repeatedly point to an apparent paradox: fear of crime and risk of victimization are related inversely among demographic groups (i.e., age, race, and sex groups). However, data from surveys of Chicago residents show that fear of crime is related positively to victimization rates once they are adjusted for exposure to risk. When demographic variables are included with the adjusted rates as predictors of fear of crime, age and sex effects persist. Even so the present findings indicate that fear of crime should not be interpreted as an irrational or unjustified response and that fear can be reduced by lowering victimization rates.     

A Comparison of US and UK Asbestos Liability

This article compares the impact of asbestos liabilities in the U.S. with that in the U.K. The maximum exposure to asbestos in the U.S. occurred during the time period from the 1930s to the 1960s. In the U.K., the peak asbestos exposure likely occurred during the 1960s and the 1970s. Asbestos-related deaths are projected to have peaked before 1997 in the U.S. Asbestos-related deaths in the U.K. are projected to peak sometime before 2020—some 20 years after those in the U.S. In the U.S., asbestos-related claims are believed to have peaked around 2002. Given the anticipated peak in asbestos-related disease deaths in the U.K., the peak in asbestos-related claims in the U.K. will likely occur sometime after 2020. There are differences in judicial systems and victim compensation schemes (private and public) between the U.S. andthe U.K. However, trends in recent U.K. court decisions and regulatory activities (as well as increases in victim awareness, litigation, on-going discovery, victim support groups, and claim compensation) suggest that the U.K.'s current asbestos liability situation may be analogous to what the U.S. experienced in the mid-1980s, and that the impact on the U.K. courts and economy may be far from over.     

MAKING DELINQUENT FRIENDS: ADULT SUPERVISION AND CHILDREN'S AFFILIATIONS*

Although having delinquent friends is one of the strongest known correlates of delinquent behavior, criminologists have been curiously silent as to why some adolescents acquire delinquent friends and others do not. Analysis of data from the national Survey of Parents and Children reveals a strong association between forms of direct and indirect parental supervision and the kinds of friends that adolescents make. Parents who closely monitor their children's affiliations exhibit a variety of traits typical of involved or conscientious parents. Indirect supervision also appears to mediate the effect of attachment to parents, one of the few established correlates of delinquent friendships. These and other findings illustrate the critical role that parent‐child relations play in the process of making delinquent friends.     

The Modernising Antecedents and Historical Origins of One Nation Labour

Launched at the 2012 conference, Ed Miliband's One Nation Labour initiative draws heavily on the party's experience under Neil Kinnock during the late 1980s as well as from Tony Blair's tenure as leader of the opposition between 1994 and 1997. In policy terms, Miliband promised a Labour government would prevent firms from ‘poaching’ trained workers from other businesses and would stop short term predatory behaviour in the economy by offering companies greater protection from takeovers. Both proposals echo those at the heart of Labour's 1989 policy review document, Meet the Challenge, Make the Change. The link between One Nation and Tony Blair's New Labour concerns the discourse with which the party's outlook is articulated. As such, One Nation Labour has not been shaped by current political debates. Rather it reflects the party's ability to learn from previous initiatives, building on their strengths in a reflective fashion.     

REMOVING THE CULTURAL AND MANAGERIAL BARRIERS IN PROJECT‐TO‐PROJECT LEARNING: A CASE FROM THE UK PUBLIC SECTOR

Project‐based initiatives form a major part of government investment and, so, learning from past projects should be a major concern for public sector organizations. Previous research has explored systems and processes for project‐based learning but little research has examined the social and cultural factors that enable this learning to be applied with useful effect. This paper reports on two successive major UK government projects. The introduction of independent learning accounts (ILAs) and the subsequent introduction of educational maintenance allowances (EMAs) following the scrapping of the former. Although similar in many respects, the first was a major failure while the second, having learned the lessons of the first, was acclaimed as a success. Using a cultural analysis, this case study shows how project‐to‐project learning enabled the EMA project team to learn from the failed project. This resulted in two significant changes in government and civil service organizational culture.