An Antipodean History of Interpretation

In this paper, we explore the connections between intepretivism's core and its peripheries in both geographical and epistemological terms, by tracing the relationship between interpretivism and Australian political scholarship. In this task, we draw on some of the most celebrated and influential work on Australian politics—by political scientists but before them historians and anthropologists—to show how the approach typically undertaken by these researchers echoes key tenets of interpretivism, especially through an interest in subjective beliefs and experiences, a desire to uncover and bring to life richly contextualised detail, and a commitment to the abductive linking of theory and practice. As such, we suggest that the spread of this counter identity to interpretive researchers in Australia risks manufacturing a sense of methodological antipathy, marginalising the work of interpretivists from mainstream political scholarship.     

Incidence of Fetal Drug Exposure in Alabama: 2004–2011

Postmortem toxicological results for neonates and stillborn fetuses were examined to determine the incidence of drug exposure in utero and the relationship to fetal mortality. From 15,600 fatalities with toxicological analyses, 39 subjects were identified; 22 had positive findings (56%). Among the general population, 10,500 had positive findings (67%). Among the subject population, 22 drugs/metabolites were identified; cocaine/benzoylecgonine was most frequent (9 of 22 cases, 41%) then methamphetamine/amphetamine (7 of 22 cases, 32%). Respective incidences among the general positive population were 12% and 6%. Fetal/neonatal concentrations overlap the general population and exceed the mother. Remaining substances, detected largely in fatalities unrelated to drug exposure, were of little toxicological significance. The variety, with exceptions, reflects the general population. That the incidence of cocaine and methamphetamine among fetuses/neonates is three‐ and fivefold greater than the general population is evidence that maternal abuse of these drugs poses greater risk to fetal viability than all other substances identified.     

Article 260(2) TFEU: An Effective Judicial Procedure for the Enforcement of Judgements?

Article 260(2) TFEU (ex 228(2) EC) enables the European Court of Justice to enforce compliance with its judgements. This article analyses its use in doing so and questions whether it could be applied more effectively. It commences by highlighting the principally economic and environmental context of the case‐law, and by examining the initiatives taken to tackle delays in bringing these cases before the Court. The article then critically evaluates the effectiveness of the financial sanctions available to the Court. In doing so, it aims to fill a gap in present research by looking beyond the procedural measures through which the Court and the Commission operate to examine the practical impact of Article 260(2) itself.     

The supreme court and police practices: The unusually busy 2003–2004 term

The 2003–2004 term of the Supreme Court was the most important term of the Court for the law enforcement community in the last decade. The Court decided 11 cases dealing with issues concerning actions taken by police officers, the largest number of “police practices” cases decided by the Court in the last nine years. In addition, several of these cases are among the most important of the 49 police practices cases decided during this time period. The Court: 1) upheld the arrest of all the occupants of a car when drugs are found in it; 2) permitted police roadblocks seeking information from the public in certain circumstances; 3) refused to suppress physical evidence obtained from Miranda violations; 4) expanded the availability of warrantless car searches incident to arrest to include arrests of recent occupants of the car; and 5) upheld statutes requiring persons stopped on reasonable suspicion to identify themselves.     

The impact of state governance structures on management and performance of public organizations: A study of higher education institutions

Legislative statutes are passed by political majorities which support structures that insulate the implementing agency from its political opponents over time. Political actors also respond to different constituencies. Depending on the broad or narrow base of these constituencies, actors favor different kinds of governance structures. We apply this theoretical framework to the question of whether the state governance structures of boards of higher education affect the way university managers allocate resources, develop sources of revenue, and promote research and undergraduate education. Over the past two decades state governments have given considerable attention to state governance issues, resulting in many universities operating in a more regulated setting today. This paper develops a classification of higher education structures and shows the effects of differences in these structures on university management and performance using a data set that covers the period from 1987 to 1998. The analysis suggests that, for most of the measures, productivity and resources are higher at universities with a statewide board that is more decentralized and has fewer regulatory powers. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Access to justice: a new approach using human rights standards

This article details a trial of a new approach to measuring access to justice that utilises human rights instruments as the reference point. It involves an examination of people's actual experience of the justice system using human rights standards as the benchmark. The research project selected the right to income security. The project trialled a range of methods gathering data about how people have been treated in the Australian social security system and how they would expect to be treated if there was a human right to social security in Australia. This data is assessed against the set of standards developed to measure the enjoyment of the right to social security. The trial suggests that without knowledge about human rights and legal rights, without the confidence to exercise those rights and without the capacity or capability to seek or find help it is unlikely that people will realise their rights and accordingly access to justice is placed in question. The research methodology has the potential to be a useful model to conduct further access to justice research.