The development and implementation of drug policy in England 1994-2004.

This thesis is a study of drug policy in England between 1994 and 2004. It focuses on five areas: - how drug policy was developed, why partnership forms were chosen as the mechanisms by which to achieve implementation and the impact of that décision, the relationship between the centre and localities, partnerships as new forms of governance and whether institutional resilience has been observed. The research used a multi-method approach comprised of three components: a literature review; an analysis of documentary sources, including the three key drug policies, and original, empirical research. The latter was undertaken with two separate groups, the first responsible for drug policy development and the second for policy implementation. Tackling Drugs Together (TDT,1995) was developed by a small group of people who successfully exploited the opportunities open to them and who were observed to have used all of the 'factors' identified by Levin (1997) in their capacities, as civil servants, politicians and members of the voluntary and campaigning sectors. They were 'motivated' to achieve change (from their institutional, personal or organisational position) and used the 'opportunities' and 'resources' open to them to do that. They did not however form a 'policy network' (Berridge 2006; Duke 2002; Sabatier 1998; Wong 1998; Hughes 1997). Those developing TDT (1995) chose partnership forms (Drug Action Teams - DATS) as a mechanism for implementation, because they provided an answer in a complex social policy area, allowing a wide variety of organisations to be brought together. In addition, the concept was associated with newness and dynamism. The direction of drug policy, post 1998, is linked to New Labour's wider social policy perspective - incorporating a focus on communlty and social responsibility. On the whole, DATs have supportéd this direction. Their relationship to the centre has in general been positive, whilst responding to a strong performance management framework. DATs have accepted this for the benefits it brings; and highly functional DATs have learned to adapt policies to their own local needs. Their sophistication, functionality and structure indícate that they have become new forms of governance (Newman 2001). This does not mean however that the old institutions have disappeared; they have shown resilience (Klein 1993) and adapted to the changes, working within a partnership, performance management and regional framework. The thesis makes a contribution by focussing on drug policy development and implementation. Through the examination of the impact of the partnership and performance management approaches over a décade, it illuminâtes other social policy areas and New Labour changes, especially within the area of governance, developing our understanding of institutional change and resilience

The Working Language of the CJEU: Time for a Change?

It is well known that the working language of the CJEU is French. For many years, the status of French was unquestioned, but this is now changing. This article considers how French came to be chosen as the CJEU’s working language; the effect of that choice on the CJEU’s judicial method; and the feasibility and desirability of a change in the CJEU’s language practices. Has French become an impediment to the CJEU’s capacity to communicate effectively with its stakeholders? Should French be replaced or supplemented? If so, by what? Would any potential benefits that might accrue from changing the CJEU’s language practices be outweighed by the disruption that would be caused? Or do the political sensitivities in play simply make reform impossible

The Changing Nature of Academic Careers in Law

An introductory talk given to Birmingham Law School PGR students as part of their annual PGR Conference, held at the University of Birmingham in June 2014. Anthony Arnull traces the transformations in Legal Education and the impact of the economic climate on student expectations and standards of teaching

THE PREDICTION OF AUSTRALIAN TAKEOVER TARGETS: A BINOMIAL AND MULTINOMIAL LOGIT ANALYSIS

This thesis provides the first attempt to predict takeover targets in the Australian context using binomial and multinomial logit models, extending the relatively small amount of work focused in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Evidence is provided concerning eight main hypothesised motivations for takeovers. Our results confirm the contention that such motivations are inconsistent both throughout time and across economies. Application of models to a true ex-ante predictive sample suggests that individual models are quite inaccurate, but that the use of certain methodological improvements can produce relatively accurate predictive classifications. Multinomial logit models are also compared to binomial logit models to examine whether theoretical benefits exist from discrimination between types of targets. Evidence is provided suggesting that the binomial model is indeed misspecified, but that it is the most appropriate model if the purpose of prediction is investment. Our main empirical finding is that a significantly positive abnormal return of 23.37 percent (68.67 percent prior to robustness adjustments) may be made from an investment in the commonly predicted targets of logit based models. This contradicts the current belief within the extant literature that such returns cannot be achieved through the use of binomial logit models for true ex-ante prediction.Financ

THE PREDICTION OF AUSTRALIAN TAKEOVER TARGETS: A BINOMIAL AND MULTINOMIAL LOGIT ANALYSIS

This thesis provides the first attempt to predict takeover targets in the Australian context using binomial and multinomial logit models, extending the relatively small amount of work focused in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Evidence is provided concerning eight main hypothesised motivations for takeovers. Our results confirm the contention that such motivations are inconsistent both throughout time and across economies. Application of models to a true ex-ante predictive sample suggests that individual models are quite inaccurate, but that the use of certain methodological improvements can produce relatively accurate predictive classifications. Multinomial logit models are also compared to binomial logit models to examine whether theoretical benefits exist from discrimination between types of targets. Evidence is provided suggesting that the binomial model is indeed misspecified, but that it is the most appropriate model if the purpose of prediction is investment. Our main empirical finding is that a significantly positive abnormal return of 23.37 percent (68.67 percent prior to robustness adjustments) may be made from an investment in the commonly predicted targets of logit based models. This contradicts the current belief within the extant literature that such returns cannot be achieved through the use of binomial logit models for true ex-ante prediction.Financ

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT...”UNINTENDED EFFECTS AND POLICY OUTCOMES

Cilj ovog rada je prikazati kako kampanje koje godinama vode skupine civilnog sektora mogu dovesti do politike koju usvaja vlada, a koja ima, kako se ovdje dokazuje, posljedice koje začetnici politike nisu predvidjeli. Taj se problem istražuje uz pomoć povijesnog pristupa na temelju studije slučaja u području zlouporabe droge i pravosuđa za mladež u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu, gdje su politike u oba slučaja pokazale sličnosti; rane kampanje za poticanje promjena rezultirale su političkim angažmanom kod stranaka koje su preuzele vlast. Pitanje koje se u ovom radu nameće jest jesu li sudionici kampanja mogli predvidjeti ishode politika koje su u to vrijeme zagovarali? Je li moguće predvidjeti nenamjeravane posljedice prilikom oblikovanja kampanja za zagovaranje politika?This paper looks at how years of campaigning by third sector groups maylead to policy promulgated by government, with it is argued, consequences which were unforeseen by those originating the policy ideas. This isexplored by taking a historical, case study approach in the areas of drug misuse and youth justice within the UK where the policyoriginsof bothshowed similarities, with early campaigning to initiate change resulting in political commitment from incoming political parties. The question asked in this paper is could campaignershave anticipated the policy outcomes at the time they were campaigning?Is it possible to anticipate unintended consequences when formulating policy campaigns

Being a girl who gets into trouble: narratives of girlhood

In this article I focus on the narratives of girls who describe the events that shape their lives and get them into trouble. The narratives are explored against Darrell Steffensmeier and Emilie Allan’s (1996) proffered Gender Theory, to consider whether it offers an adequate explanatory framework. The article adds to the body of knowledge about girlhood, gender norms, and transgression and provides fresh insight into the relevance of physical strength to girls’ violence. I conclude that girls are defining girlhood as they live it and it is the disjuncture with normative concepts that leads them into conflict with institutions of social control

Law and order conservatism and youth justice: Outcomes and effects in Canada and England and Wales

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://mmuperu.co.uk/bjcj/This paper explores how underlying law and order conservatism has shaped and defined youth justice policy in England and Wales and Canada. We argue that cultural and political influences affected implementation in ways which were initially unforeseen and therefore unconsidered. Our focus is twofold, on the intentions that drove the policy and practice changes and subsequently, on the negative consequences that emerged during implementation. We explore these with regard to the application of discretion and the paper considers the complexity of discretion and how neither, reducing or increasing it has led to simple or obviously predictable patterns. In addition, we apply Thompson's (2006) model of Anti- Oppressive Practice to consider how policies that were not intended to be oppressive and which were evidence based and informed by research and the policy community moved towards a law and order agenda.Published versio