Practice in search of a theory: The case of intensive supervision— An extension of an old practice or a new approach?

Intensive supervision of probationers and parolees has recently emerged as a potential solution to the chronic problem of overcrowding in our jails and prisons. This emergence has taken place in the absence of any true theory which supports the contention that more supervision will lead to lower recidivism rates. The future of this option is analyzed within this framework. This article represents an updated version of a paper, “Practice In Search of a Theory: The Case of Intensive Probation,” delivered at the Annual Conference, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Chicago, Illinois, March, 1984. While prepared under the auspices of the National Institute of Justice, the views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of either the National Institute of Justice or the U.S. Department of Justice.     

Voluntarism and health care

The writers are co-authors of Unhealthy Charities; Health Research Charities II: The Politics of Fear;and Health Research Charites: Image and Reality.     

Reviews and notes

Visions of Emancipation: The Italian Workers’ Movement since 1945, by Joanne Barkan. New York: Praeger, 1984.

Socialism in History: Political Essays of Henry Pachter, edited by Stephen Eric Bronner (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984).

The Anatomy of Job Loss: The How, Why and Where of Employment Decline. Doreen Massey and Richard Meegan. (N.Y.: Methuen, 1982. Pp. viii + 258.)

Shutdown at Youngstown: Public Policy for Mass Unemployment. Terry F. Buss and F. Stevens Redburn. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983. Pp. xv + 219.)

The Fight Against Shutdowns: Youngstown's Steel Mill Closing. Staughton Lynd. (San Pedro: Singlejack Books, 1982. Pp. xx + 244.)

Critical Studies in Organization and Bureaucracy. Frank Fischer and Carmen Sirianni, eds. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984.

The Politics of Terrorism. Michael Stohl, ed. 2nd ed., rev. and expanded. New York and Basel: Marcel Dekker, 1983. 473 pp.

The State as Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression. Michael Stohl and George Lopez, eds. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1984. 202 pp.     

Devolution and Local Government: Evidence from Scotland

Devolution in Scotland has had a major impact upon local government. Local government, at both political and managerial levels, perceives central government in the shape of the Scottish Executive to be closer (geographically and politically) and more open to local government in terms of access to ministers and civil servants. However, Scottish central–local relations continues to be characterised by a sense of mistrust of local government, especially among civil servants and a continuing desire for central control of key policy agendas. Equally, the policy process continues to display features of fragmentation across major policy areas. Moreover, Westminster has not yet departed the scene of Scottish politics in both financial and policy terms but also in the enduring presence of a Westminster ‘political culture’     

Communication and Political Mobilization: Digital Media and the Organization of Anti-Iraq War Demonstrations in the U.S.

The speed and scale of mobilization in many contemporary protest events may reflect a transformation of movement organizations toward looser ties with members, enabling broader mobilization through the mechanism of dense individual-level political networks. This analysis explores the dynamics of this communication process in the case of U.S. protests against the Iraq war in 2003. We hypothesize that individual activists closest to the various sponsoring protest organizations were (a) disproportionately likely to affiliate with diverse political networks and (b) disproportionately likely to rely on digital communication media (lists, Web sites) for various types of information and action purposes. We test this model using a sample of demonstrators drawn from the United States protest sites of New York, San Francisco, and Seattle and find support for our hypotheses.     

Reform from within: the Grendon example

In Salduz v Turkey (27 November 2008, No. 36391/02), the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) stated:

...in order for the right to a fair trial to remain sufficiently ‘practical and effective’… Article 6 § 1 requires that, as a rule, access to a lawyer should be provided as from the first interrogation of a suspect by the police, unless it is demonstrated in the light of the particular circumstances of each case that there are compelling reasons to restrict this right…The rights of the defence will in principle be irretrievably prejudiced when incriminating statements made during police interrogation without access to a lawyer are used for a conviction.     

Listening to children: Participation rights of minors in Italy and the United States

This article compares laws and policies in Italy and the US regarding children's right to be heard and to engage in the life of the community. Italy has adopted a strong children's rights perspective, informed by the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The US, with its pre-modern constitution and resistance to international law, has been slow to recognise children's rights to voice and agency. The US Supreme Court has extended some due process rights to children in criminal court proceedings, but the US lags far behind Italy in recognition of children's rights to participate in civic life and collective decision-making. Child well-being rankings may reflect these differences in attitudes towards children's rights. Italy ranks significantly higher than the US on objective measures of child well-being and Italian children report superior peer and family relationships.     

Labor Market Returns to MBAs From Less-Selective Universities: Evidence From a Field Experiment During COVID-19

Master's degree enrollment and debt have increased substantially in recent years, raising important questions about the labor market value of these credentials. Using a field experiment featuring 9,480 job applications submitted during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, I examine employers’ responses to job candidates with a Master of Business Administration (MBA), which represents one-quarter of all master's degrees in the United States. I focus on MBAs from three types of less-selective institutions that collectively enroll the vast majority of master's students: for-profit, online, and regional universities. Despite the substantial time and expense required for these degrees, job candidates with MBAs from all three types of institutions received positive responses from employers at the same rate as candidates who only had a bachelor's degree—even for positions that listed a preference for a master's degree. Additionally, applicants with names suggesting they were Black men received 30 percent fewer positive responses than otherwise equivalent applicants whose names suggested they were White men or women, providing further evidence of racial discrimination in hiring practices.