Sleaze or clear blue water?: the evolution of corporate and pressure group representation at the major UK party conferences

There has been growing academic and public interest in corporate political lobbying in both the UK and EU in recent years. In Britain, links between politicians and commercial interests have been one of the areas examined by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (‘the Nolan Committee’ and now ‘the Neill Committee’). A visible but under‐researched aspect of political lobbying by firms and other groups is the range of activities that take place at annual party conferences. An exhaustive study of these activities at the three main British party conferences between 1994–97 is reported, covering the period from Tony Blair's first appearance as party leader to the aftermath of the 1997 General Election. There is clear growth of visible lobbying, particularly at the Labour conferences, over the period leading up to the election, and a dropping off in 1997; particularly at the Conservative conference. The implications of the results for organisations, and particularly for public affairs practitioners, are considered. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications     

Auswirkungen des Umweltrechts auf eine nachhaltige Regionalentwicklung*

Das Umweltrecht nimmt in vielfältigen Formen und Verfahren Einfluss auf die Regionalplanung als (Haupt-)Instrument nachhaltiger Regionalentwicklung. Der Beitrag beleuchtet dies unter rechtlichen Aspekten und bezieht hierzu Stellung. Die Kritik richtet sich u. a. auf die Heterogenität umweltrechtlicher Agenden und die eingeschränkte Sanktionierung von Verstößen gegen Vorgaben des Umweltrechts. * Schriftliche Fassung eines Vortrags auf dem Kongress Steuerungsimpulse für eine nachhaltige Regionalentwicklung am 24./25. 11. 2004 in Greifswald. Verf. ist Inhaber eines Lehrstuhls für öffentliches Recht und Geschäftsführender Direktor des Ostseeinstituts für Seerecht, Umweltrecht und Infrastrukturrecht, Universität Rostock.     

Applying a forensic actuarial assessment (the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide) to nonforensic patients

The actuarial Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG) was developed for male offenders where it has shown excellent replicability in many new forensic samples using officially recorded outcomes. Clinicians also make decisions, however, about the risk of interpersonal violence posed by nonforensic psychiatric patients of both sexes. Could an actuarial risk assessment developed for male forensic populations be used for a broader clientele? We modified the VRAG to permit evaluation using data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study that included nonforensic male and female patients and primarily self-reported violence. The modified VRAG yielded a large effect size in the prediction of dichotomous postdischarge severe violence over 20 and 50 weeks. Accuracy of VRAG predictions was unrelated to sex. The results provide evidence about the robustness of comprehensive actuarial risk assessments and the generality of the personal factors that underlie violent behavior.