Parents, children and the porous boundaries of the sexual family in law and popular culture

This article focuses on a perceived ideological overlap between popular cultural and judicial treatments of sex and conjugality that contributes to a discursive construction of parenthood and parenting. The author perceives that in both legal and popular cultural texts, there is a sense in which notions of ‘natural’ childhood are discursively constituted as being put at risk by those who reproduce outside of dominant sexual norms, and that signs of normative sexuality (typically in the form of heterosexual coupling) may be treated as a sign of safety. These ideas are rooted in ancient associations between fertility, sexuality and femininity that can also be traced in the historical development of the English language. With the help of commentators such as Martha Fineman, the article situates parents and children within a discourse of family which prioritises conjugality, with consequences for the ways in which the internal and external boundaries of families are delineated

Who are these youths? Language in the service of policy

In the 1990s policy relating to children and young people who offend developed as a result of the interplay of political imperatives and populist demands. The ‘responsibilisation’ of young offenders and the ‘no excuses’ culture of youth justice have been ‘marketed’ through a discourse which evidences linguistic changes. This article focuses on one particular area of policy change, that relating to the prosecutorial decision, to show how particular images of children were both reflected and constructed through a changing selection of words to describe the non-adult suspect and offender. In such minutiae of discourse can be found not only the signifiers of public attitudinal and policy change but also the means by which undesirable policy developments can be challenged

Introduction: Twenty-Five Years of Social & Legal Studies

This short article introduces the five review articles, which make up this special issue to mark the 25th anniversary of Social &amp; Legal Studies. </jats:p

Room-Temperature Ballistic Transport in III-Nitride Heterostructures

Room-temperature (RT) ballistic transport of electrons is experimentally observed and theoretically investigated in III-nitrides. This has been largely investigated at low temperatures in low band gap III–V materials due to their high electron mobilities. However, their application to RT ballistic devices is limited by their low optical phonon energies, close to KT at 300 K. In addition, the short electron mean-free-path at RT requires nanoscale devices for which surface effects are a limitation in these materials. We explore the unique properties of wide band-gap III-nitride semiconductors to demonstrate RT ballistic devices. A theoretical model is proposed to corroborate experimentally their optical phonon energy of 92 meV, which is ∼4× larger than in other III–V semiconductors. This allows RT ballistic devices operating at larger voltages and currents. An additional model is described to determine experimentally a characteristic dimension for ballistic transport of 188 nm. Another remarkable property is their short carrier depletion at device sidewalls, down to 13 nm, which allows top-down nanofabrication of very narrow ballistic devices. These results open a wealth of new systems and basic transport studies possible at RT.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Nitride Electronic NeXt-Generation Technology (NEXT) ProgramUnited States. Office of Naval Research. Young Investigator Progra

Needs and pathways for strengthening the contribution of qualitative methods toward more effective impact assessment practice

Many jurisdictions are looking to next-generation Impact Assessment (IA) that includes sustainability considerations that extend beyond biophysical. Subjectivity is inherent in many of these additional impact considerations and they are often not easily nor effectively quantified. Delivering effective IA within this broadening scope requires new, innovative, and rigorous applications of qualitative methods that enable meaningful inclusion of diverse knowledges, values, and information. While many qualitative methods are available for IA, there remains significant opportunity to strengthen their contribution toward more effective IA practice. As such, we establish in this paper needs that must be addressed if qualitative methods are to meaningfully contribute to IA and pathways for acting on these needs. Relating findings from a survey, semi-structured interviews, and a world café, this paper identifies six key needs for enhancing the effective use of qualitative methods in IA, and five pathways for addressing these needs that involve all IA actors. We conclude that there are deeply entrenched assumptions about qualitative methods and that shifting these views will be challenging and take time. Together the identified needs and pathways provide a framework for action to improve the effectiveness of IA and should be considered in IA training and practice

Understanding the role qualitative methods can play in next generation impact assessment

Since its inception, impact assessment (IA) has been perceived by many to be a largely technical, quantitative exercise. However, as jurisdictions shift towards a more sustainability-oriented IA that accounts for a wider range of social, cultural, economic, health and well-being, and equity implications of proposed projects and strategic initiatives, values and subjectivity come more to the fore. Making predictions now needs innovative, and rigorous applications of qualitative methods that enable meaningful inclusion of diverse knowledges, values, and information sources, whilst at the same time giving confidence to decision makers and other stakeholders about the evidence base. Adopting such qualitative methods in practice is hindered by a lack of clarity of the role of qualitative methods in the delivery of sustainability-oriented IA. Guided by findings from a thematic analysis of primary data gathered through an international survey supplemented by semi-structured interviews and a workshop, the novel contribution of this paper is to clarify how and why qualitative methods can best contribute to the effective delivery of next generation IA

What's the point of parenthood? The agreed parenthood provisions under the HFE Act 2008 and inconsistency with intention

This article illustrates the inconsistencies of the current law relating to intention as the basis for agreed parenthood. I argue that the courts are not always faithful to the underlying policy of recognising intention to attribute legal parenthood, in particular where the putative parents’ relationship has broken down. I claim that it is problematic to prioritise certainty of the existing inadequate procedural conditions at the expense of certainty for the child’s identity. A much clearer articulation of how intention is enshrined as the basis of parenthood is needed

Mediation, financial remedies, information provision and legal advice: the post-LASPO conundrum

The near-total collapse in numbers of solicitors providing legal advice and assistance to publicly-funded clients attempting to settle private family law issues through mediation since the legal aid reforms implemented in 2013 raises important questions about how, if at all, clients in mediation can receive legal information and advice other than from lawyers in financial cases following divorce. This article explores, in a preliminary way, this aspect of mediation practice, drawing on small-scale qualitative data from a study conducted shortly prior to the legal aid reforms concerning the settlement of such cases. It explores how mediators then approached their (permissible) function of providing clients with legal information and how they dealt with cases where they felt that the proposed outcome was particularly unfair to one party or unlikely to be endorsed by a court, and asks how mediation practice – and legal practice – may come under pressure to change in this brave new world.The empirical data drawn on in this article were collected during research funded by the Nuffield Foundation, an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social well-being in the widest sense