The failure of local government modernization in Britain: a critique of functionalism

Abstract. Modernizing local government systems to meet changing needs and urbanization is common to most Western democracies. This article examines the British local government modernization which, it argues, placed far too much emphasis on improving the system's functional capacity and too little to improving its democratic quality. The overemphasis on functionalism has been most decisive in relation to creating wider areas for planning and transportation and creating more populous local units so as to exploit economies of scale. The result is a system with some of the largest local units among Western democracies. The new system is also very unpopular. Yet, even when judged in functional terms it has serious weaknesses especially in regard to its failure to recognize the different functional needs of urban and rural areas. The article makes a strong plea for the restoration of democratic as opposed to functional criteria in the design of local government systems and notes the contribution that public choice theory can make to local government reorganization by its insistence on distribution efficiency as opposed to production efficiency. Sommaire. La modemisation des systèmes de gouvemement local pour répondre à de nouveaux besoins et aux exignences de l'urbanisation est commune à la plupart des démocraties occidentales. L'auteur de cet article étudie la modemisation du gouvernement local britannique qui, à son avis, a trop porté sur l'amélioration de la capacité fonctionnelle du système et pas assez sur sa qualité démocratique. La trop grande importance accordée au fonctionnel a joué un rôle particulièrement décisif en créant de grandes régions pour la planification et le transport et des unités locales à très forte densité de population de façon à profiter des économies d'échelle. Le résultat, c'est un système qui compte certaines des unités démographiques les plus fortes dans les démocraties occidentales. Ce nouveau système est aussi très impopulaire. Etmême lorsqu'on le juge du point de vue fonctionnel, il accuse une très grave faiblesse en ne distinguant pas entre les besoins fonctionnels différents des régions urbaines et rurales. L'auteur plaide en faveur de la restauration de critères démocratiques plutôt que fonctionnels pour la conception de systèmes de gouvemement local et il indique la contribution que pourrait apporter la théorie du choix public à la réorganisation du gouvernement local grâce à son insistance sur l'efficacité de la distribution plutôt que sur l'efficacité de la production.     

Perceptions of control,depressive symptomatology,and self-esteem of women in transition from abusive relationships

The relation between women’s histories of experiencing violence and current psychological health were examined. Locus of control, feelings of personal power, depressive symptomatology, self-esteem, and judgments of control over a contingently responsive computer display were investigated in groups of 21 abused women and 18 comparison women. Within the sample of abused women, relationships between severity of abuse and the psychological variables were also examined. The group of abused women had lower beliefs in self-efficacy, were more depressed, and had lower self-esteem than the comparison women. There were no differences found, however, between the two groups in perceptions of control on the computer task. Severity of physical abuse among the abused women was positively correlated with depression scores. Verbal abuse was found to contribute significantly to many of the between-group differences. Empirical evidence of the positive impact of transition house residence on the abused women’s mental health was also presented. The importance of future research into both the differential effects of verbal and physical abuse on women and the role of the transition house in empowering abused women were discussed.     

Transfers from prison to hospital under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act between 2011 and 2014

In England and Wales, prisoners with mental disorder of such severity as to warrant inpatient treatment may be transferred to hospital under the Mental Health Act. UK Government guidance recommends that this process should be completed within 14 days; however, evidence suggests that in many cases it can take much longer. This retrospective service evaluation of 64 male prisoners, who were transferred under Section 47 or Section 48, aimed to evaluate transfer durations. The mean time from referral to admission was 76 days. Prisoners with a psychotic disorder were admitted more quickly. Remand prisoners were admitted more quickly than sentenced prisoners. Findings suggest that, in the UK the transfer time of prisoners under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act continues to far exceed the 14-day target which raises concern about equivalence of care for prisoners. Our findings support arguments for fundamental amendments to the admissions process.     

Endless Sex: The Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Persistence of a Legal Category

This paper challenges a view of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 as involving an unequivocal shift from the concept of sex to the concept of gender in law’s understanding of the distinction between male and female. While the Act does move in the direction of gender, and ostensibly in an obvious way through abandoning surgical preconditions for legal recognition, it will be argued that the Act retains and deploys the concept of sex. Moreover, it will be argued that the concept of sex retained is not merely an anatomical understanding, but sex in a biological sense. In this respect the Gender Recognition Act can be viewed as embodying a tension between gender and sex. Further, it is contended that this tension is explicable in terms of irresolution of contrary legal desires to reproduce the gender order and to insulate marriage and heterosexuality from homosexuality in the moment of reform.