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Government Attempts (government + attempt)
Selected AbstractsThe Reclassification of Extreme Pornographic ImagesTHE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Andrew D. Murray Legal controls over the importation and supply of pornographic imagery promulgated nearly half a century ago in the Obscene Publications Acts have proven to be inadequate to deal with the challenge of the internet age. With pornographic imagery more readily accessible in the UK than at any time in our history, legislators have been faced with the challenge of stemming the tide. One particular problem has been the ready accessibility of extreme images which mix sex and violence or which portray necrophilia or bestiality. This article examines the Government's attempt to control the availability of such material through s.63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which criminalises possession of such images. It begins by examining the consultation process and concludes that an underlying public policy objective was the root of the new offence despite the lack of a clear mandate for such a policy. The article then examines whether this weakness in the foundations for the proposed new offence caused the proposal to be substantially amended during the Committee Stage of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill: to the extent that the final version of s.63 substantially fails to meet the original public policy objective. The article concludes by asking whether s.63 may have unintended consequences in that it fails to criminalise some of the more extreme examples of violent pornography while criminalising consensual BDSM images, and questions whether s.63 will be enforceable in any meaningful way. [source] Stabilizing Output and Inflation: Policy Conflicts and Co-operation under a Stability PactJCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 5 2001Marco Buti The article analyses in a simple setting a game between an inflation-conservative central bank and a fiscal authority subject to an upper limit on the budget deficit. It is shown that complementarity or substitutability between the policies and the preference of each authority for the other authority's behaviour crucially depends on the type of shock hitting the economy. If the government attempts to stimulate output beyond its natural level, a ,deficit bias' emerges under non-co-operation; under co-operation, the equilibrium is characterized by both a ,deficit bias' and an ,inflation bias'. However, if the government only pursues cyclical stabilization these biases disappear and there are positive gains from co-ordinating the policy responses to shocks. [source] An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship Between Capital Acquisition and Bankruptcy LawsJOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009Howard Van Auken Ineffective capital acquisition decisions at start-up may lead to business failure and bankruptcy; a result which is both costly and disruptive to the owners and other stakeholders of the firm. To cope with the risk of failure, owners embark on a variety of risk-reducing activities whereas the U.S. government attempts to moderate the downside effects of such failures through the rules surrounding bankruptcy. Previous studies imply that as owners become more aware of the protections offered through the government regulation of bankruptcy, they should become less concerned with the effects of failure and be willing to raise higher levels of initial capital. Raising higher levels of initial capital, in turn, leads owners to take actions intended to reduce firm risk and to minimize the threat to their personal financial security. Data from a sample of small firms confirm our hypothesis by showing that as the level of initial capital acquisition increases, owners embark on activities intended to reduce firm risk. However, capital acquisition is not associated with the owner's familiarity with bankruptcy regulations. As a result, governmental objectives in establishing these regulations may not be achieved. Our findings have implications for firms' owners, consultants, and policymakers, in terms of the relationship between an entrepreneur's knowledge of bankruptcy laws and the financing of their enterprises. [source] An emergent cosmopolitan paradigm?THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Asylum, human rights, welfare Abstract This paper addresses the recognition in cosmopolitan debate of a possible disjuncture between the normative ideal of cosmopolitanism and its realization in practice. Taking as its focus the potential conflict between human rights commitments and national concern about immigration control, it reflects on a series of legal challenges to UK government attempts to withdraw support from asylum seekers who do not claim on entry into the country. Set in the context of socio-legal theory, these cases are analysed for signs of a ,national' or ,cosmopolitan' paradigm in judicial interpretation, and considered as a possible instance of reflexive judgment, espoused as a feature of cosmopolitanism. [source] Public (Interest) or Private (Gain)?JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 2 2007The Curious Case of Network Rail's Status This paper develops Whitehouse's 2003 examination of the creation of Network Rail, a case study of New Labour's attempt to operationalize the ,third way'. Significant changes have occurred since 2003 which make Network Rail's position as a private company with private sector debt appear increasingly anomalous. These changes include: the reclassification of the debt of another rail company from private to public, and the introduction of,imputed debt'into public sector debt measurement; new funding arrangements for Network Rail which make it heavily dependent on public support; and important rail regulatory policy changes. The paper analyses these changes, and revisits White-house's conclusions. In particular, this paper challenges Whitehouse's contention that Network Rail's creation led to the de facto renationalization of the railway infrastructure at a reduced public cost. The paper demonstrates that Network Rail is a very expensive mechanism for channelling public money to private companies, and argues that the Labour government's attempt to maintain the company's private sector status as part of its third way approach is ultimately untenable. [source] Railtrack is Dead , Long Live Network Rail?JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 2 2003Nationalization Under the Third Way This essay offers, by way of an examination of the proposals to reform the railway industry, a case study of the government's attempt to operationalize the third way. That these proposals are consistent with the third way is identified within this essay and yet they would appear to give rise to the de facto renationalization of the railway infrastructure. In accounting for this apparent contradiction in the (third way) means used and the (old-style democracy) ends achieved, it will be argued that this new form of nationalization is consistent with the third way rather than any socialist understanding of the term. To this extent, therefore, New Labour have attempted to reconceptualize the process of nationalization in pursuit of the ,new mixed economy'. [source] The Politics of Childhood and Asylum in the UKCHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007Clotilde Giner This article considers the general treatment of asylum-seeking families with children in the UK, focusing on the government's practices and public reactions to these measures. It first describes both the exclusive asylum framework, based on institutionalised suspicion, welfare restrictions and detention, and the inclusive child policy framework, based on recognising children's rights and protecting all children. The article then investigates the implications for policy-making that these radically opposed regimes have for those who fall between the two categories, i.e. asylum-seeking children. To this end, we examine more closely three asylum practices , Section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004, detention of accompanied asylum-seeking children in immigration removal centres and removals. Our analysis indicates that the government's attempt to fully include families within the restrictive asylum framework has been somewhat frustrated by the mobilisation of a wide range of public actors. As such, despite its supposedly ,legally unconstrained' room for action, the government has recently agreed to partly review its policy standards for asylum-seeking families, apparently aware of the potentially damaging effects of being seen as disregarding children's rights and needs. On the other hand, the government does not seem inclined to question the current asylum framework and the assumptions on which it is based. Consequently, the asylum system for families is likely to remain based on ad hocarrangements conditioned by the scale of the protests. [source] British Muslims and the UK government's ,war on terror' within: evidence of a clash of civilizations or emergent de-civilizing processes?THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Stephen Vertigans Abstract In the immediate aftermath of the September 2001 attacks on America, defending civilization was quickly established at the core of the ,war on terror'. Unintentionally or otherwise this incorporation of civilization connected with Samuel Huntington's ,Clash of Civilizations' thesis. Within the ,war on terror' the dark side of counterterrorism has become apparent through international practices like extrajudicial killing, extraordinary rendition and torture. The impact of Western governments' policies upon their indigenous Muslim populations has also been problematic but social and political analysis has been relatively limited. This paper seeks to help address the scarcity of sociological contributions. Hidden costs of the UK government's attempts to utilize violence and enhance social constraints within the nation-state are identified. It is argued that although counterterrorism strategies are contributing to a self-fulfilling spiral of hatred that could be considered evidence in support of the ,Clash of Civilizations', the thesis is unhelpful when trying to grasp the underlying processes. Instead the paper draws upon Norbert Elias's application of the concepts of ,civilizing' and ,de-civilizing' to help improve levels of understanding about the processes and consequences of particular Muslim communities being targeted by security forces. The paper concludes with an exploration of the majority of the population's acquiescence and willingness to accept restraints upon Muslims in order to safeguard their own security. [source] | |||||||||||||