The Law Lords and Human Rights

This article presents an empirical analysis of the impact of the Human Rights Act on the House of Lords. Drawing on a database of judgments from 1994 to 2007, changes in judgment‐giving behaviour are identified by charting patterns of agreement and dissent across different categories of case. Voting records are also examined in order to identify whether significant differences exist between individual Law Lords in their approach to human rights cases.     

Measurement of police cynicism: A factor scaling approach

Niederhoffer's police cynicism index is assessed in an attempt to identify and refine specific dimensions of police cynicism. Through a principal component factor analysis, a three-factor structure was identified. Three factor scales were developed, and their internal consistency, reliability, and predictive validity were compared with those of the original index. Overall, although less reliable, the factor scales proved to be more powerful predictors of salient criterion variables and to offer greater conceptual clarity in studying the effects of police cynicism.     

The commitment of delinquents to their misdeeds: A re-examination

Do delinquents and nondelinquents adhere to similar or contrasting value systems? The results of a study undertaken to resolve the conflicting conclusions of Sykes and Matzas' studies and those of Cohen, Cloward and Ohlin, and Hindelang are reported. Correlations of participation in delinquent activities and approval or disapproval of those activities indicate that delinquents generally hold “middle class” values, but violate them in a search for excitement.     

voicing the non-place: precarious theatre in a women's prison

Based on the personal experience of the author, who is involved in theatre projects with women convicts, the article moves across issues of detention, migration, and precarity. Foucault's concept of governmentality is instrumental in describing the arbitrary exercise of power on incarcerated people and their precarious living conditions. Life in jail is especially uncertain for clandestine migrants. In the article, recollections from the rehearsals of the show I racconti del corpo (Tales of the body) alternate with images and quotes from the play, poems by women convicts, and reflections on detention as the ultimate condition of precarity for migrant women.     

THE WORK ORIENTATIONS OF JAIL PERSONNEL: A COMPARISON OF DEPUTY SHERIFFS AND CAREER LINE OFFICERS

Based upon interview data from 60 officers in four county jails, this paper examines the differences in the institutional work orientations and experiences of deputy sheriffs and career line correctional officers. We found that both deputy sheriffs and corrections officers felt they received little support from administrators and were treated as second-class employees. Corrections officers were more likely to emphasize the professionalism of corrections work, to reduce social distance with inmates, and to stress the importance of human relations skills in effective work performance. In contrast, deputies were more likely to emphasize the futility of corrections work, to view inmates with suspicion and distrust, and stress coercive control and order maintenance duties.     

Who stays? who leaves? an examination of sex differences in staying and leaving

This article examines some of the major variables associated with the staying and leaving process, particularly as it operates similarly or differentially for male and female adolescents. Sixty attitude statements about aspects of school, parents, peers, teachers, and value orientations were obtained from 796 adolescents and factor analyzed. This subset of independent variables, together with a set of personality and ability measures, was then used to predict staying or leaving status. The discriminant analysis was undertaken using leaving status and sex (LVSEX) as the dependent variable. Using a stepwise solution method of discriminant analysis, two significant functions were identified-the first suggesting a sex dimension, the second a stayer-leaver dimension.Received Ph.D. from La Trobe University. Current research interest is adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from University of N.S. W. Current research interest is mathematical reasoning in adolescence.     

Devotion to Legalism: On the Brexit Case

This note examines the UK Supreme Court's judgment in the Brexit case, Miller v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. The case upheld the decision of the High Court, which rejected the claim that the foreign affairs prerogative provided a legal basis for giving notice to EU institutions of the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU. But the Supreme Court's preferred basis for dismissing that claim rested on the more general proposition that significant constitutional change can only be effected by statute. This position offers the germs of a jurisprudence of constitutional change and was substantiated by means of an analysis of Parliament's dual capacity as legislator and constituent agent. Miller also includes important and potentially innovative dicta on the relationship between international and domestic sources of law.