THE PUBLIC SERVANT

To the ignorance of most Australians, the nature of the Commonwealth public Service has changed a lot over recent years. Whether the change is for the better or worse is a matter of opinion. The first essential is that the public should be aware of what has happened.     

Thomas Hobbes and the philosophy of punishment

In this article I argue for a full appraisal of Hobbes's theory of punishment which takes account of its divergent and contradictory aspects. Examining his theory within the general context of his position in Leviathan, it is possible to see its centrality for the subsequent development of the modern philosophy of punishment. From this point of view, it is also possible to pinpoint the source of a central weakness in the retributive theory of punishment.     

Methodological issues in marital violence research

Recent interest in all aspects of domestic violence has stimulated rapid proliferation of research and literature. Although the knowledge base has grown, what we don't know still far exceeds what we do know. Starting from nothing, initial research tended to “sweep with a wide broom” in an effort to develop direction. The absence of an accepted methodology produced wide sample and design variations and inconsistent findings. The urgent press for information promoted a desire to disseminate “facts” that may have been less than factually derived from research that may have originally been seen as pilot in nature. This paper discusses the methodological issues that may have contributed to some of the inconsistencies in the marital violence literature and makes suggestions for the design and interpretation of research.     

Selecting trial court administrators an alternative approach

A number of suggestions have been advanced about how trial court administrators should be selected. Few, if any, have been guided by organization and management theory. Two major alternatives offered in the literature are examined and a proposal on how they should ideally be chosen is presented. Empirical research undertaken in the state of Florida served as the major source from which the author drew his examples.