Book reviews

Parties and Party Systems: A Bibliographic Guide to the Literature on Parties and Party Systems in Europe Since 1945 on CD‐ROM. Edited by Stefano Bartolini, Daniele Caramani and Simon Hug. London: Sage Publications, 1998. £99 (stand alone version), £150 (network version). ISBN 0–7619–5924–6 and ‐6002–3.

Changing Party Systems in Western Europe. Edited by David Broughton and Mark Donovan. London: Pinter, 1998. Pp.xix+315, 2 figures, 13 tables, biblio., index. £55 (cloth); £16.99 (paper). ISBN 1–85567–327–4 and ‐328–48.

The Choice for Europe. Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht. By Andrew Moravcsik. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998. Pp.xii+514, index. £16.95 (paper). ISBN 0–8014–8509–6.

People and Parliament in the European Union: Participation, Democracy, and Legitimacy. By Jean Blondel, Richard Sinnott and Palle Svensson. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998. Pp.xvi + 287. £40 (cloth). ISBN 0–19–829308–9.

Legitimacy and the European Union. By David Beetham and Christopher Lord. London: Longman, 1998. Pp.viii +144. £9.99 (paper). ISBN 0–582–30489‐X.

Democracy in Europe: Legitimising Politics in a Non‐State Polity. By Heidrun Abromeit. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 1998. Pp.ix + 182, bibliog., index. £25 (cloth). ISBN 1–57181–985–1.

Political Theory and the European Union: Legitimacy, constitutional choice and citizenship. Edited by Albert Weale and Michael Nentwich. London: Routledge, 1998. Pp.xiii + 205. £55 (cloth). ISBN 0–415–17313–2.

Germany, France and the Integration of Europe: A Realist Interpretation. Thomas Pedersen. London: Pinter, 1998. Pp. viii + 221, bibliog., index. £40. ISBN 1–85567–537–4.

Recreating Europe: The European Union's Policy towards Central and Eastern Europe. By Alan Mayhew. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Pp.xxi + 403, 2 maps, 7 figures, 37 tables, bibliog., index. £45 (cloth); £15.95 (paper). ISBN 0–521–63086‐X and ‐63897–6.

Enlarging the EU Eastwards. By Heather Grabbe and Kirsty Hughes. London: Pinter for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1998. Pp.x + 130, 1 map, 16 tables, 4 figures, bibliog., index. £27.50 (cloth); £11.99 (paper). ISBN 1–85567–525–0 and ‐526–9.

Divided Europe: The New Domination of the East. By Adam Burgess. London: Pluto Press, 1997. Pp.222, bibliog., index. £40 (cloth); £13.99 (paper). ISBN 0–7453–1262–4 and ‐1257–8.

The European People's Party: Origins and Development. By Thomas Jansen. New York: St Martin's Press; London: Macmillan. 1998. pp.xiv + 206. 2 annexes, bibliog., index. £45. ISBN 0–312–21062–0 and 333–72057–1

The Italian Guillotine. Operation Clean Hands and the Overthrow of the First Republic. By S. H. Burnett and L. Mantovani, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998. Pp.xii + 332, chronology, The Cast of Characters, index. £45 (cloth); £15.95 (paper). ISBN 0–8476–8877–1 and ‐8878‐X.

The French Civil Service. By M. Luc Rouban. Paris: La Documentation Francaise, 1998. Pp.118, bibliog. NP. ISBN 9–782110–038777.     

Do Homeowners Associations Affect Citywide Segregation? Evidence From Florida Municipalities

Homeowners associations (HOAs) have become one of the most popular housing options, offering residents supplemental services, amenities, as well as exclusivity and protection. HOAs are touted for their potential to improve the match between household preferences and local services, but denounced for, among other things, their tendency to facilitate residential segregation. Yet, despite growing claims, these propositions have not been rigorously tested. The expectation is that if households do sort into HOAs based on income or race/ethnicity, then these associations can affect segregation by encouraging exclusive and homogeneous living environments. However, HOAs may actually offer a unique vehicle for racial and/or economic mixing or, at the other extreme, they may not influence segregation if residents do not rely on HOAs to sort along racial or economic lines. Unlike previous studies, the current analysis observes jurisdictions over multiple decades in an attempt to better identify whether the growth in HOAs is driving changes in segregation. Using a unique, longitudinal database of HOAs in Florida and multiple measures of segregation, this article tests the effect of HOAs on jurisdiction racial/ethnic and economic segregation. Results from both ordinary least squares and instrumental variable regressions indicate that an increase in HOA presence exacerbates black–white and Hispanic–white residential segregation. Any segregation, however, is tempered by the concentration of HOA units in larger communities. On the contrary, there is no significant effect on income segregation; this suggests that HOAs do not intensify existing tendencies toward income sorting.     

Pitying the Third World: towards more progressive emotional responses to development education in schools

The development sector appeals to emotions in its marketing and education material to raise awareness and funds for its work. Much of this material is now directed at schools, where young people form long-lasting opinions about development and the developing world. This paper draws upon research with 118 students in five New Zealand/Aotearoa secondary schools to show that young people are not passive receptors of development marketing and education. Instead, they question the activities of international ngos involved in aid work and how they are meant to feel or act in response. We examine these emotional responses of young people and the demoralising feelings of guilt, sadness and scepticism that arise, often alongside an innocent paternalism and a desire to help. We outline possibilities for more socially progressive forms of development education, based on the recognition that young people are questioning old ways of doing aid work and looking for something new. We challenge ngos to be part of new forms of global connectedness that disrupt old ‘us and them’ binaries based on difference, and instead to pursue new linkages based on shared feelings of empathy, friendship and social justice.     

Can the RUVIS Reflected UV Imaging System Visualize Fingerprint Corrosion on Brass Cartridge Casings Postfiring?

Comparisons are made between the visualization of fingerprint corrosion ridge detail on fired brass cartridge casings, where fingerprint sweat was deposited prefiring, using both ultraviolet (UV) and visible (natural daylight) light sources. A reflected ultraviolet imaging system (RUVIS), normally used for visualizing latent fingerprint sweat deposits, is compared with optical interference and digital color mapping of visible light, the latter using apparatus constructed to easily enable selection of the optimum viewing angle. Results show that reflected UV, with a monochromatic UV source of 254 nm, was unable to visualize fingerprint ridge detail on any of 12 casings analyzed, whereas optical interference and digital color mapping using natural daylight yielded ridge detail on three casings. Reasons for the lack of success with RUVIS are discussed in terms of the variation in thickness of the thin film of metal oxide corrosion and absorption wavelengths for the corrosion products of brass.     

Rape,Defendant Anonymity and Evidence‐Based Policy Making

In 2010, the Coalition government announced in its Programme for Government, that: ‘We will extend anonymity in rape cases to defendants.’ The question of anonymity for defendants accused of rape and other sexual offences, has been repeatedly raised in parliamentary debates over several decades, and has also received frequent attention in newspapers and, to a lesser extent, in academic and professional literature. The debate includes an array of factual claims and arguments that rest on weak empirical foundations. In November 2010, the Ministry of Justice published a report entitled: Providing Anonymity to those Accused of Rape: An Assessment of Evidence, which was intended to provide an evaluation of evidence that would inform the debate over defendant anonymity. This article critically examines this report and its discussion of key issues such as false rape allegations, and considers whether its conclusions can be relied upon by policy makers.     

Religious-Related Abuse in the Family

Religion provides directives for positive moral action and the promotion of human welfare; but religious beliefs can also foster and justify abusive behavior in the context of family life and child rearing. Parents, who are emotionally distraught and cannot control their responses to their child’s needs or misbehavior, might wield religious ideas to intimidate and control their children. In our paper we set forth two fundamental types of religion-related emotional abuse and discuss the complex role that religion can play in perpetuating abusive family relationships. We address the emotional aspects of religion-related abuse and also its transgenerational transfer. We present a case illustration focusing on how such abuse leads to dysfunctional patterns of behavior in family relationships and disruptions in emotion regulation processes. Applying a Relational Family Therapy model, we consider select therapeutic implications for addressing and overcoming religious abuse and restoring functional emotion regulation processes in families.     

VHA Primary Care Providers’ Perspectives on Screening Female Veterans for Intimate Partner Violence: A Preliminary Assessment

Female Veterans experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at alarming rates. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) requires foundational research to guide the development of policy and programs to detect IPV among women Veterans and provide interventions. This pilot study reports findings from in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 12 VHA primary care providers treating female Veterans in the New England region. Although most providers indicated that they were not currently routinely screening for IPV, they expressed positive attitudes and beliefs about screening in VHA primary care settings. Themes also included the importance of a comprehensive health care response to IPV, such as interdisciplinary coordination of care and team-based approaches to detection and intervention. Barriers to routine screening were identified, as well as recommendations for training programs and clinical tools to inform the successful implementation of a standardized IPV screening and response program in VHA. Although preliminary, these findings represent an initial step in an essential line of research.     

Secure pathways for women in the UK: lessons from the women’s enhanced medium secure services (WEMSS) pilots

Abstract

Women’s enhanced medium secure services (WEMSS) is a model of care aimed at providing a more appropriate level of security for women and, in so doing, reducing the number of women in high secure psychiatric services. In 2007, three Department of Health commissioned WEMSS pilots became operational. This study compared the clinical outcomes of women in WEMSS with control women in six standard medium secure services and one high secure service matched on key clinical and risk characteristics, in order to examine their pathways of care. Our findings confirm that the WEMSS pilots were successful in transitioning women from high secure services who had previously been thought unsuitable for medium secure services. However, WEMSS showed no additional clinical benefit, suggesting that these women could be cared for equally well within standard medium secure services. We make recommendations about WEMSS and the future shape of women’s secure care in England.