From science to survival

He has written widely in his field and is author of The Search for Society; The Violent Imagination; The Red Lamp of Incest; Kinship and Marriage; Encounter with Anthropology,and co-author of The Imperial Animal.(with Lionel Tiger). This is an abridged version of the author’s new introduction to Encounter with Anthropology,to be published by Transaction.     

Citizen participation and judgment in policy analysis: A case study of urban air quality policy

The emphasis currently placed on citizen participation in planning results in part from the recognition that planning requires judgments that have both value and technical components. This article describes a case study of a citizen participation process in which planners' judgments, rather than the judgments of the members of a citizens' task force, seemed to dictate the outcome. Although citizens were supposed to be influential in the policy analysis, they were, in effect, excluded from a meaningful role in the process. The analysis was actually guided by planners' supposedly technical judgments. Those judgments had important value implications, however, and those implications were not made clear to the citizens' task force. Examples are given of judgments made by planners at each stage of the analysis and the value components of those judgments are discussed. In each example, the judgments resulted in elimination of alternatives, selection of information, or integration of information. Two examples of methods of citizen participation which can increase the influence of citizens' judgments are also described.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Regulating Marriage and Cohabitation in 21st Century Britain

This article assesses the legal regulation of marriage and cohabitation in Britain and outlines a growing need and desire for the currently confused law to be amended despite what has been termed 'the normal chaos of family law'. It adds to the topical debate about 'couple regulation' and argues that law should protect the function rather than the form of relationships. This argument is supported by recent Nuffield Foundation funded research, which draws on a major attitudinal survey of over 3000 respondents' views about marriage, cohabitation and the law and a number of in-depth interviews with current and former cohabitants. This research supports the view that cohabitation is now an accepted parenting and partnering structure across Britain, and that this ought to be reflected in a 'reflexive' approach to legal regulation in this sphere.     

Shooting from the Hip: Proposed Minimum Rights in Criminal Proceedings throughout the EU

Abstract:  EU action in the field of procedural rights in criminal proceedings was expected. The effects on procedural rights of the EU-propelled increase of repressive, cross-border efficiency with the application of the principle of mutual recognition could not fail to be noticed, and doctrinal opinion has been outspokenly critical of the current predominance of the 'security'-element over the other two in the 'area of freedom, security and justice'. Unfortunately, the proposed Framework Decision on certain procedural rights in criminal proceedings throughout the EU is a double failure: first, the Commission's methodological choices betray a cavalier attitude to the limits of EU competence in this area. Second, it is also a substantive failure in that the rights selected as being 'so fundamental that they should be given priority at this stage' do little to solve the problems actually besetting the application of the principle of mutual recognition in criminal matters.     

Control,consent and political legitimacy

In this essay, I evaluate Philip Pettit’s theory of republican political legitimacy and maintain that it fails to provide a more satisfactory account of legitimacy than consent-based theories. I advance two interrelated theses. First, I argue that in so far as Pettit successfully narrows the scope that his theory of political legitimacy has to address, his arguments could be adapted to support consent-based theories. Second, I argue that Pettit’s theory fails to satisfy the high standards it sets for itself and is thus unsuccessful. My critique focuses on Pettit’s notions of historical, political and normative necessity, before evaluating whether his requirement of equally individualised popular control of government should be endorsed.     

Evaluating the Cultural Fit of an Approach for Practice Model Development for Tribal Child Welfare

Three American Indian tribes utilized Business Process Mapping (BPM) as a tool to develop culturally-based tribal child welfare practice models. This study employed a multi-methods design to evaluate the cultural fit of BPM when used in tribal settings. Findings indicated that although programs considered BPM a “mainstream” intervention, each still found the process to be an effective means of creating models reflecting child welfare practice within tribal cultural contexts. Findings further suggested that BPM can, however, benefit from examination of how it might better articulate cultural values and norms, as well as differences between tribal and mainstream child welfare approaches.