Questions of gender in a multicultural society

The relationship between multiculturalism and feminism has been hotly debated both theoretically and politically. This article approaches the issue through a critical assessment of Susan Moller Okins article, "Is multiculturalism bad for women?" (1999) and argues that some forms of feminist critique of multiculturalism run the risk of upholding and strengthening monoculturalism in its most excluding form. Norwegian integration politics are critically evaluated in light of this discussion.     

Ideas and Ideals of Secular Masculinity in William of Malmesbury 1

This article explores the presentation of secular masculinity in two key works written by the twelfth century Benedictine monk, William of Malmesbury. It considers ideas and ideals of masculinity through the display of certain attributes including violence, sexuality and the use of speech in order to arrive at a definition of what Malmesbury himself considered to be ideal secular masculine behaviour. Central to each of these attributes, in Malmesbury’s eyes, was the notion of restraint. This ideal is linked to the importance of restraint in masculine ideals of late antiquity as well as issues specific to the eleventh and twelfth centuries especially developing notions of chivalry and courtliness. Malmesbury’s portrayal of Henry I is central to the paper as it not only reveals how complex Malmesbury’s presentation of Henry actually is but it also provides insight into the ideals of masculinity by which he – and others – judged him.     

Silos as barriers to public sector climate adaptation and preparedness: insights from road closures in Norway

Organisational perspectives propose that structural arrangements affect policy outcomes. Drawing on these perspectives, it is worthwhile to find out whether and how disagreements among public authorities create barriers to public sector adaptation and preparedness. As the literature on weather vulnerabilities and climate adaptation recommends increased public sector coordination, exploring the possibilities of governance can contribute to the improvement of lifeline conditions. Insights from a Norwegian case study suggest that the different mandates of responsible public authorities sometimes clash. Such clashes limit the abilities to sustain welfare and business conditions when avalanches and blizzards cause highway outages. The findings also show that governance might only partly improve public sector peril response measures, as there is rarely sufficient flexibility to consider specific interests or preferences, for example, to keep a highway open until a school bus or a freight delivery has passed.     

HCR-20 violence risk assessments as a guide for treating and managing violence risk in a forensic psychiatric setting

Abstract

Over the past decades there has been a vast development in the research into risk factors for violence and the development of risk assessment instruments. One instrument that has been given special attention is the HCR-20 violence risk assessment scheme. However, little attention has been paid to the clinical applicability of this tool, i.e. how does this assessment scheme perform when utilized in clinical practice as a tool to guide intervention and management in order to alleviate risk of violent behaviour? The present study was a true prospective study into the utilization of the HCR-20 as a clinical routine. Data on forensic psychiatric patients (n = 81) from a forensic unit in Denmark are presented. As part of a clinical routine all patients were assessed for risk of future violence utilizing the structured professional judgement model, the HCR-20. Outcome measures were aggressive episodes during hospitalization and new convictions post discharge. The predictive validity of the HCR-20 was lower compared with previous findings. It is argued that this does not necessarily indicate poor predictive accuracy of the HCR-20. Rather, it may indicate that the HCR-20 is suitable for guiding risk management in order to prevent violent behaviour.     

New Institutional Arrangements for Rural Development: The Case of Local Woolgrowers' Associations in the Transkei Area,South Africa

Until recently, smallholder farmers in the Transkei area had very limited access to a profitable market outlet for their wool. In response, the South African wool industry built shearing sheds, managed by a local association that sells directly to the brokers. This article investigates the effect of joint wool marketing through the shearing shed on the farmers' revenue from wool. A three-step regression model of the revenue from wool indicates that the farmers selling through the shearing shed obtain better financial results as compared to those who use alternative channels. This analysis shows how new institutional arrangements may contribute to economic development.     

Comprehensive Performance Assessment and Public Services Improvement in England? A Case Study of the Benefits Administration Service in Local Government

The purpose of this paper is to independently evaluate the impact of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment regime on one particular public service, namely the provision of council tax and housing benefits distributed by local authorities throughout the course of the regime. This service was assessed in every iteration of the CPA methodologies and it included one of the few key performance indicators (KPIs) where the definition of the performance indicator, the means of collection and the public reporting of its results, remained the same throughout the CPA period between 2002 and 2008.

The findings show that there were considerable and consistent improvements in benefits administration nationally within England and across all of its regions. The paper then investigates a series of propositions. Whether there was any significant variations in the performance of larger as opposed to smaller authorities, or between predominantly rural authority areas and urban authorities or between authorities with different party political control. Finding no significant differences the research suggests implementation of the CPA regime itself appears to have had a catalytic effect upon the performance of the benefit administration services within local authorities throughout this period. The paper therefore concludes with a brief discussion as to whether the findings support the theoretical position of proponents of neo-institutionalism isomorphism or more traditional rational actor theories of public choice.     

Book reviews

Consuming Public Services, Nicholas Deakin and Anthony Wright (eds), 1990, pp. ix + 222, Routledge, £30.00.

Managing under Pressure: Industrial Relations in Local Government, Martin Laffin, 1989, pp. 207, Macmillan, £30.00 hardback, £8.95 paperback.

Targeting Urban Employment Initiatives, Ivan Turok and Urlan Wannop, Department of the Environment (Inner Cities Directorate), HMSO, 1990, £8.50.

Tourism and the Inner City: An Evaluation of the Impact of Grant Assisted Tourism Projects, Polytechnic of Central London, Leisureworks and DRV Research, Department of the Environment (Inner Cities Directorate), HMSO, 1990, £15.50.

Five Year Review of the Bolton, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Programme Authorities, PEIDA Ltd, Department of the Environment (Inner Cities Directorate), HMSO, 1990, £16.50.

Getting People into Jobs: Good Practice in Urban Regeneration, Keith Hayton, Department of the Environment, (Inner Cities Directorate) HMSO, 1990, £13.00.

US Experience in Evaluating Urban Regeneration: Reviews of Urban Research, Tim Barnekov, Douglas Hart and Wilhelm Benfer, Department of the Environment (Inner Cities Directorate), HMSO, 1990, £7.70.

American Development Control: Parallels and Paradoxes from an English Perspective, Richard Wakeford, HMSO, 1990, pp. 277, £25.00.

Urban Government in the 1990s: Lessons from the USA, Robin Hambleton, School for Advanced Urban Studies, University of Bristol, 1990, pp. 129, £7.45.

Shropshire County Council: A Centenary History, D. C. Cox, Shropshire County Council, 1989, pp. 104, £5.95.

A History of Devon County Council 1889–1989, Jeffrey Stanyer, Devon Books, 1989, pp. 105, £3.95.

Government and County. A History of Northamptonshire County Council 1889–1989, Jonathan Bradley, University of Bristol Press, pp. 280.

Political Parties and Coalitions in European Local Government, Colin Mellors and Bert Pijnenburg (eds), Croom Helm, 1989, pp. 311, £35.00.

London 2001, Peter Hall, Unwin Hyman, 1989, pp. 226, £17.95

Abolition: The Reform of Metropolitan Government in England 1983–86: A Review and Bibliography, Ken Young and Lesley Grayson, 1988, Technical Communications, pp. 186.     

SNAKE CONFLICT-MITIGATION IN INDIA: THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE IRULA TRIBE

Nearly 46,000 people die from snakebite in India every year, so there is a real need for effective mitigating action. This depends on an understanding of snake behaviour in which the Irula excel. They are a traditional snake catching tribe and with the benefit of their knowledge it was possible to draw up a list of measures which could be taken to minimise contacts between snakes and humans.