Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Time for a Radical Overhaul?

Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic have put relationships between the UK government and its devolved counterparts under growing strain. Tensions generated by both of these developments have exposed the inadequacies of the existing, under-developed system for bringing governments together in the UK. The limitations of the current system include the ad hoc nature of intergovernmental meetings, and their consultative rather than decision-making character. Drawing upon an analysis of how intergovernmental relationships are structured in five other countries, the authors offer a number of suggestions for the reconfiguration of the UK model. They explore different ways of enabling joint decision making by its governments, and argue against the assumption that England can be represented adequately by the UK administration. Without a serious attempt to address this dysfunctional part of the UK’s territorial constitution, there is every prospect that relations between these different governments will continue to deteriorate.     

THE DIMMING OF ILLUSIONS: CHANGING ATTITUDES OF LABOURERS TO DIRECT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT ON NSW PUBLIC WORKS, 1899–1916*

Abstract: Direct employment on public works (or day labour) was a powerful symbol of the possibilities for reform within capitalism in the early years of this century. It promised not only more work at times of high unemployment, but better conditions of employment. Further, there was the possibility of labourers, through their unions, having much greater control of their working lives. The major political battles were over whether governments should use day labour or contract. But, for the labourers themselves, the question of the nature of the administration of day labour became an increasingly important one. A sympathetic administration, such as that under E.W. O'Sullivan, not only meant great practical benefits for labourers; it served also as an example of what was possible through developing an alternative model of dealing with capitalist crises. However, in the case where a Labor government was unwilling to challenge the weight of traditional bourgeois economic thinking, day labour lost any pretence of being either model employment or a symbol for the future. In 1910–16, when labourers already had raised expectations of what day labour promised, such administration meant a growing alienation of labourers and their unions from the Holman Government and from Labor's parliamentary road in general.     

Youth and the transition to adult status: Uganda

This paper examines the transition to adult status in four ethnic groups in Uganda, including one with circumcision and one with age-sets. The formal status hierarchies and the recognized points of transition are described. Then the variations from these norms are examined to show that when one functionally becomes an adult may differ from the stated points of transition.Presented at the Nabugabo Conference, March 21–24, 1971, Methods and Problems and Strategies of Field Work, Makerere Institute of Social Research, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.Research Fellow, Sociology, Makerere Institute of Social Research, and Assistant Professor, Harvard University.     

Interpersonal trust and disaffected high school youth

The study consisted of two parts. First, a new scale of interpersonal trust for adolescents was constructed using a representative sample of 70 students from a community high school. Second, the hypothesis was tested that disaffected youth compared to the more conventional would show less interpersonal trust. Two matched groups of 57 students each were employed for the second part of the study. Results indicate that the new scale is a reliable and valid measure. Correlates of the scale disclose that trust is associated with interpersonal distance, certain developmental factors, and the quality of parent-adolescent relations. Results from the second part of the study tend to confirm the hypothesis in that greater trust scores were found among students with more conventional beliefs.This study was partly supported by NIMH Grant No. MH9210, Ford Foundation Grant No. 69-0264B, and the Jessie and C. Clement Stone Foundation.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Currently working on personality and clinical problems of adolescents and adults.Recieved his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Plans to continue his work of program development in the area of affect education in secondary schools.Received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. Current work is in the area of community mental health.     

Unwilling Fathers and Abortion: Terminating Men's Child Support Obligations?

There is broad agreement across the western industrialised world that men who father children outside of marriage share in an obligation to support their offspring financially. Against this consensus, some men's groups have claimed that if women are accorded control over the decision to continue or to terminate a pregnancy then it is unfair to hold genetic fathers financially liable for child support. This paper assesses the merits of this claim from a feminist perspective. Having considered a number of arguments, it suggests that the currently accepted grounding of child support liability (in voluntary creation of need) provides little scope for refuting the men's groups' argument. The paper then moves on to argue that voluntary creation of need is, however, inadequate as a basis for child support liability, and that the current analysis offers compelling grounds for preferring a collective model of support obligations.