THE LIMITS OF CHANGE: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN

Women make up the majority of local government employees in Great Britain but are not, however, evenly represented throughout the employment structure. Rather, women are overwhelmingly concentrated in low paid, low status and often part-time jobs, and are under-represented as decision makers, either as managers or elected council members. The situation of black and ethnic minority women is one of even greater marginalization. From 1982–7 over 200 local authorities adopted equal opportunity (EO) policies, both for employment practice and service delivery, the aims of which included redressing this inequitable situation for women. The achievements of these EO policies have proved to be very limited. Most have been introduced with few resources and little managerial or political support and without mechanisms for implementation or management accountability. EO reforms have been contained within the existing relationships and structures of local authorities when by definition, successful EO policies will upset the status quo. Nevertheless important lessons have been learned from this first pioneering phase of EO policy development.     

Problems of transnational policymaking: Environmental policy in the European Community

Abstract. Environmental protection is inherently a cross-border issue, which might be thought to create opportunities for transnational regulation. This has significant potential consequences for European integration. However, two contrasting trends can be identified. On the one hand, the increasing magnitude of environmental problems, along with growing public and elite awareness of these issues, are generating responses which put the European Community at the centre of a process of 'regulation'. It is intended that this role should grow in the twin contexts of the Single Market and of increasing interaction with Eastern Europe with its vast pollution problems. On the other hand, however, the kind of 'political' policy intervention which environmental protection requires has not really developed. EC environmental policies have thus far been rather weak in both formulation and, especially, implementation, and even existing gains are likely to come under increasing pressure from the trend towards economic deregulation characteristic of the Single European Market project. Probably the most significant impact of Community efforts in the environmental field has been to encourage the convergence and strengthening of national regulation among member states, more than to create distinct European policy processes and institutions.     

Turning the Tide: Recognizing Climate Change Refugees in International Law

Many of the debates surrounding the environmental, social, and economic implications of climate change are now well known. However, there is increasing concern over the extent to which those suffering displacement or forced migration as a result of climate change are protected. This article seeks to highlight the plight of such individuals and suggests how the current protection gap might be remedied. Present legal structures, such as the Refugee Convention and the framework for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), prove largely inadequate having been constructed for different purposes and being limited in their application. The alternative proposed in this article is a regionally oriented regime operating under the auspices of the UN Climate Change Framework. While both the Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol currently call for regional cooperation in respect of adaptation activities, it is argued there should be an explicit recognition of so‐called climate change refugees in the post‐Kyoto agreement that allows for, and facilitates, the development of regional programs to address the problem. Employing such a strategy would remedy the current protection gap that exists within the international legal system, while allowing states to respond and engage with climate change displacement in the most regionally appropriate manner.     

The Importance of Mental Illness Education

Until our legal community–both lawyers and judges–understands basic truths about the medically based and highly treatable mental illnesses, (depression, manic‐depression [bipolar disorder], schizophrenia, and the anxiety disorders, including obsessive compulsive disorder) our nation does not offer “justice for all” for the more than 27 million Americans who have one or more of these common brain problems. With accurate information, our legal community can restore justice to millions of Americans, children to seniors, and do much to improve health, prosperity, stability, and safety to our nation, through actions and decisions which promote public education and understanding, early recognition and treatment, and which replace stigma, discrimination, wrongful punishment, and failure with understanding, recovery, productivity, and justice.     

The Pursuit of Grounded Theory in Agricultural and Environmental Regulation: A Suggested Approach to Empirical Legal Study in Biosecurity

In the light of the current, increased interest in empirical legal studies, including the associated capacity limitations identified in the Nuffield Foundation's Inquiry on Empirical Research in Law , and in other arenas, this article seeks to contribute to the development of empirical legal studies by presenting in detail one approach to empirical research in the field of biosecurity (border controls and associated measures to protect human, animal, and plant life and the environment). The article focuses on the particular approach of grounded theory to legal inquiry in law, on the novel aspects of this research methodology, and on the potential, as identified by the present authors, for its application to biosecurity. The article examines some of the specific processes applied in the analysis of qualitative data, collected through the application of this methodology, focusing on the insights facilitated by the mixed-method approach to analysis developed by the authors. Finally, examples of the insights gained through both the application of grounded theory and the particular approach to data analysis are presented and evaluated.     

Flashpoint: An Innovative Media Literacy Intervention For High‐Risk Adolescents

This paper describes the development and formative evaluation of a media literacy, media based intervention for high‐risk adolescents. The program described, Flashpoint, was developed to (1) moderate the influence of media presentations of violence, substance abuse and prejudice on adolescents; and t (2) teach participants cognitive skills which would enable them to resist impulses to engage in behavior involving violence, substance abuse or prejudice. The evaluation described studied the pilot testing of the program with three groups of adolescents (N=33) involved in the juvenile justice system: adolescents in a diversion program (first time, nonviolent offenders); adolescents on probation; and adolescents in residential custody of the Department of Youth Services. Qualitative findings are reviewed in detail.