Local government advocacy in the ‘suburban age’: an institutionalist interpretation of Melbourne’s evolving sub-metropolitan regional structures

ABSTRACT

The ‘suburban age’ has been conceptualised as the dominant global urban spatial reality for the 21^st Century, yet the politics associated with this heightened expansiveness remain underdeveloped. Of relevance is the potential for suburban discontentment across a myriad of spaces centred upon the under provision of infrastructure and employment. With urban regions often highly fragmented by local government boundaries, bottom-up inter-local government responses assume significance, including sub-regional advocacy given enduring hierarchical government dependencies. In consideration of the evolving strength of sub-regional advocacy, three institutionalist themes are introduced: credibility, coherency and coordination. Empirical insights are presented from chief executive officer (CEO)-based interviews conducted across expansive Melbourne, Australia. In Melbourne, a ‘weak mayor/strong CEO’ local government system predominates beneath a state government with extensive metropolitan responsibilities. Melbourne’s sub-metropolitan regional structures have recently looked to strengthen their external presence through actions illustrative of the identified themes, with local government CEOs playing a key role in directing their evolving character. The global ‘suburban age’ must be associated with heightened sub-regional competition across enlarged urban regions, the management of which will present a growing spatial challenge for political leaders.     

The goals of community-based corrections: An analysis of state legal codes

The increased reliance on community-based correctional programs has been influenced by rising offender populations and the need for states to lessen prison crowding. The ability of community-based corrections to provide rehabilitation, punishment, reintegration, and counseling services has been an issue among both researchers and administrators. Some researchers have asserted that community-based correctional programs have multiple or competing functions. This study examines 1992 legal codes for all fifty states to determine the legally prescribed goals as mandated by state legislatures. The findings suggest that rehabilitation is the primary legislatively mandated goal, and that most states have multiple purposes for handling offenders in the community. Suggestions for future research in the area of community-based corrections goals are made.     

Analyzing factors influencing readmission to a battered women's shelter

Factors that distinguished first admission and readmission to an emergency woman's shelter were examined using discriminant function analysis. Records from 563 women who were residents were analyzed. Results suggest that source of income, number and developmental stage of children, and prior history of physical assault are precursors of readmissions. This study was discussed in terms of improving follow-up services to former residents of emergency shelters.     

Remedies for Dishonest Assistance

The paper considers the nature of claims against dishonest assistants and the various money remedies those claims may evoke. Dishonest assistance is a form of civil secondary liability whereby the assistant is held jointly and severally liable along with the trustee whose misconduct he assisted. This is the sense in which dishonest assistants are said to be accountable as constructive trustees. In order to understand remedies available against dishonest assistants it is accordingly necessary to understand the corresponding remedies against defaulting trustees and what it means for them to be accountable. The paper examines the two different types of compensation that may be awarded against defaulting trustees—substitutive and reparative—and observes that the same two types of compensation may be given against dishonest assistants in appropriate cases. It also explores the circumstances in which trustees and dishonest assistants should be accountable for profits and whether they should ever be liable to pay exemplary damages. A strict application of the theory of civil secondary liability produces controversial results in connection with these latter remedies.     

Section 1983 litigation: An effective remedy to police misconduct or an insidious federalism?

In recent years the federal courts have experienced a dramatic increase in civil suits alleging police misconduct under the federal provision, 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, which was originally enactd as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871. Section 1983, presently the second most litigated provision of the United States Code, grants a private right of action for redressing violations of federal and Constitutional rights committed by persons (including municipalities) acting under color of state law. The recent development of Section 1983 as a mechanism for controlling police misconduct has profound implications for New Federalism, public official conduct and traditional legal doctrines (such as the exclusionary rule). This study reviews the legal basis for civil liability remedies, examines the impact of recent developments on police behavior, and explores the policy considerations underlying an assessment of this expanding legal remedy as a viable option in preventing police misconduct.     

Evaluating the effects of automobile safety regulation

Automobile safety standards adopted because of federal legislation have, according to many researchers, failed to save lives; safer cars, they infer, induce more dangerous driving. Results from the major study suggesting this conclusion are shown, however, to be quite sensitive to reasonable changes in the empirical model. An alternative statistical analysis of death rates supports a very different conclusion: Safety standards have saved tens of thousands of lives during the 1970s. More broadly, the article illustrates some general pitfalls in using statistical results in policy analysis, and how they can be avoided.