The Life and Death of the Care Order (Criminal)

Professor Robert Harris, Department of Social Policy and Professional Studies. The University of Hull. Hull, HU6 7RX. Summary This paper traces the life history of the care order (criminal)from its inception in the 1969 Children and Young Persons Actto its abolition in the 1989 Children Act. It is argued thatthe care order (criminal) is a microcosm of the central ambiguityof the juvenile justice system, and that its history accordinglymirrors that of juvenile justice itself. An empirical studyis then reported which demonstrates that the role of the provisionsince 1983 has been complex, but that it has catered for threedistinct groups of offenders, of whom only one poses a policyproblem. The ‘residence requirement’ solution tothis problem in the 1989 Children Act is welcomed as havinga better chance of sustaining the different tasks of the juvenilejustice system.     

Statistical inference concerning weighted Poisson rates under some natural order restrictions

A conditional Poisson model is proposed for situations where one wants to compare the rate parameters for several populations, adjusting for a 'size' parameter and the random e ects of the subjects. Sometimes the physical nature of the problem makes it logical to consider some order restrictions on the rate parameters. The rate parameters are estimated and tested for under such order restrictions. This investigation is motivated by a real-life example on butterfly behavior, and the estimation and tests of hypotheses are illustrated over this data set.     

Gender and the Pursuit of Respectability: Dilemmas of Daily Life in a Home for Adolescents

Summary Our attention in this paper centres on aspects of daily lifein a local authority Home for Adolescents. We focus on the contradictionsand dilemmas surrounding the staff's efforts to regulate theexperiences of their charges; especially, on the tensions arisingfrom attempts to channel the residents', the ‘children's’sexuality. In so doing, we seek to relate local, managerialconflicts to broader, to societal issues; in particular, toissues surrounding conceptions of gender, respectability, familylife. Drawing on a participant observation study, we argue thatsexuality pervades the administration of such a home. We describethe socio-spatial features of the institution, the daily routinesof its occupants and the boredom evidenced by residents—theircharacteristic response to the routines imposed on them. Further,we record aspects of the residents' experiences when releasedfrom the Home; their visits to boyfriends, to girlfriends, toclubs and pubs. In short, we contrast the pursuit of respectabilitywithin the Home with the search for pleasure outside its confines.     

Institutionalized Ambivalence: Social Work and the Children and Young Persons Act 1969

Summary Partly through political ambivalence, partly through internalcontradictions, the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 hasfailed to reconceptualize the relationship between justice andwelfare in the juvenile court. The social work role is now characterizedby the potential for role conflict and inappropriate exerciseof discretion. Nevertheless, it is argued that the Act raisesissues which must be addressed and the capacity of the ‘backto justice’ movement to do so is critically assessed.     

Boiled Eggs and Baked Beans - a personal account of a hearing researcher's journey through Deaf Culture

This article forms a reflexive account of the trials, pains and joys of the launch of a hearing researcher into 'Deaf Culture' - the unique world of British Sign Language (BSL) users. Three resources of reflexive data are utilised; the researcher's experiences of learning BSL with other hearing signers; participant observation data from a Unit for Deaf people with psychiatric problems and finally, experiences of interviewing members of a national organisation of Deaf people. These experiences reflect the assumptions and preconceptions the hearing world holds concerning Deaf people and the remarkable ways in which the latter rationalise them and attempt to subvert them. The intellectual issues addressed here concern the role and status of researchers within foreign settings, the problems of enculturisation and the physical and social effects experienced whilst undertaking this type of research.