Safeguarding Children's Welfare in Non‐Contentious Divorce: Towards a New Conception of the Legal Process?

This article considers the working of the current procedure intended to ensure the welfare of children when their parents divorce but are not seeking any orders relating to them. It shows that the process is ineffective in safeguarding children's welfare and is not geared to ensuring that their wishes and feelings are taken into account. It argues that the focus of policy should shift away from assuming that the legal system can handle the problems of divorce, towards using the legal process as a point of contact through which families can be offered the full range of services they may need during relationship breakdown.     

Abortion in Northern Ireland: Has the Rubicon Been Crossed?

On 7 June 2018, the Supreme Court delivered their long anticipated ruling on whether the abortion laws in Northern Ireland are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Although the case was dismissed on procedural grounds, a majority of the court held that, obiter, the current Northern Irish law was incompatible with the right to respect for private and family life, protected by Article 8 ECHR, “insofar as it prohibits abortion in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality”. This Supreme Court decision, seen alongside the May 2018 Irish referendum liberalising abortion, and the 5 June 2018 Parliamentary debate seeking to liberalise abortion laws in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, places renewed focus upon the abortion laws of Northern Ireland and Great Britain, which suggests that the ‘halfway house’ of the Abortion Act 1967 Act finally be close to being reformed to hand the decision of abortion to women themselves.     

Deaths in custody. Atlanta City Jail and Fulton County Jail, 1974-1985

A total of 53 in-custody deaths that occurred in Atlanta-Fulton County, Georgia, between 1974 and 1985 are reviewed. Custody deaths showed characteristics similar to those described in other geographical areas. The majority of deaths were due to natural causes, about one-fourth were suicides, and homicides were rare. For jails that housed a daily population of about 1,000 prisoners, an average of 4.4 deaths were observed annually. Men predominated, and racial makeup paralleled the general prison population. Seizures, alcohol-related illness, and cardiovascular disease caused over half of the natural deaths. All suicides were accomplished by hanging. Over two-thirds of the incidents that led to death occurred in the prisoner's cell, and about one-half of the victims were found dead in their cells. Two-thirds of those who died in custody had been arrested for crimes in which persons were not harmed, while nearly two-thirds of those committing suicide had been arrested for crimes against persons. Deaths in custody are expected events, and familiarity with the circumstances under which they occur should be helpful in enabling prison managers to establish policies and procedures to minimize their occurrence.     

BENCHMARKING OR THE SEARCH FOR INDUSTRY BEST-PRACTICE: A SURVEY OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SECTOR

Abstract: "The continuous process of measuring products, services, and practices against the toughest competitors or those companies recognised as industry leaders. (That is)… the search for industry best practices that will lead to superior performance" (Camp 1989. p. 10).
"Benchmarking" or the "Search for Industry Best Practices" has been accepted as a useful strategic tool. The move into the public administration arena is more recent. The underlying research in both cases is limited. The paper considers the advantage of benchmarking over business intelligence systems. Also, the government's stance on establishing quality programs and the relationships to benchmarking are considered.
The paper is based on research conducted in the public sector in Westem Australia to determine the extent to which benchmarking is used. The results indicate that whilst the concept is being embraced, the full range of benefits that could accrue is as yet not being realised. Indicators as to why this is so are outlined.     

Building Hong Kong: Nepalese labour in the construction sector

There is now a large body of work on foreign workers in Hong Kong. Most studies have concentrated on foreign domestic workers (most of whom are female and from the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand), with the result that researchers have paid less attention to working conditions that prevail for other non-Chinese employees, particularly males. As a consequence, Nepalese construction workers — despite their relatively large numbers — are almost invisible outside of the industry that employs them. This article is an initial attempt to broaden understanding of work-related issues confronting a small community and is based on data from a survey conducted in conjunction with the Far East Overseas Nepalese Association. The primary issues examined are hiring practices, occupational health and safety, job related training, the work environment, work place supervision and discipline, wages, and hours and benefits.