bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Behaviour in Children and Adolescents With and Without an Intellectual Disability: Relationships with Fear and Anxiety
Authors: Gullone Eleonora , Cummins Robert A. , King Neville J.
Published: July 2016

Prior research has indicated that people with an intellectual disability experience higher levels of negative affect, including anxiety and fearfulness, than people who are not disabled. This is important because research has also suggested a negative relationship between emotional distress and adaptive behaviour, albeit in nondisabled populations. The present study investigates the relationships between fear, anxiety, and adaptive behaviour in children and adolescents with an intellectual disability as compared to youth of average intelligence. A sample ranging in age from 7 to 18 years participated in the study. Fifty-one respondents (30 male, 21 female) constituted the intellectually disabled sample, and 57 (28 male, 29 female) constituted the comparison group. Analysis revealed higher levels of fear and anxiety among the group with disabilities. An inverse relationship was also found between negative affect and adaptive behaviour among the youth with disabilities, but not for youth of average intelligence. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for intervention programs.
Empowering Families: Policy, Training, and Research Issues in Promoting Family Mental Health in Australia
Authors: Sanders Matthew R , Duncan Sarah B
Published: July 2016

Many of Australia's most serious and distressing mental health problems are related to the breakdown of traditional family support structures. Regardless of age, people who live in families with high levels of interpersonal conflict, violence, poor communication and inadequate care are at increased risk for a variety of mental health problems. This paper summarises the main recommendations of a scientific advisory committee on families and mental health, which prepared the Healthy Families, Healthy Nation: Strategies for Promoting Family Mental Health in Australia (Sanders, 1995). The paper argues for the importance of better utilisation of existing knowledge concerning family support and intervention programs and for the importance of a preventive focus in the provision of family oriented mental health services. We also highlight some of the unresolved issues that should become a focus of future research.
The Therapist—Patient Relationship with Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Stark F.-Michael
Published: July 2016

Schizophrenic patients seem to react sensitively to expressed affect. Expressed emotion research has shown the negative impact of specific family communication styles on the course of illness. This paper reviews and discusses related research on the therapist–patient relationship. Two studies by the author are presented. The first study is an examination of therapist rating of the therapist–patient relationship, the interaction between therapist's ratings and patient's psychopathology, and the prediction of the course of illness from therapist ratings. The second study assesses the therapist–relative–patient triad using EE measures, as well as dyadic assessment of the therapist–patient relationship.
The Case for Involving the Family in the Treatment of Childhood Anxiety
Authors: Cobham Vanessa E.
Published: July 2016

Anxiety disorders are among the most common forms of psychopathology reported by children and adolescents. Anxiety disorders in children have debilitating consequences, both for the child and his/her family. In addition, research indicates that, in many cases, these disorders follow a chronic and persistent course. The efficacy of child-focused cognitive-behavioural interventions in the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders has been well demonstrated by recent, well-controlled research. This treatment outcome literature is briefly reviewed. Most recently, however, interventions used in the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders have taken the form of combined interventions aimed both at the anxious child and his or her family. This paper reviews two related bodies of research in presenting a case for the involvement of families in the treatment of childhood anxiety. First, the etiological evidence implicating the families of anxious children in the development and/or maintenance of childhood anxiety is presented. Second, the treatment outcome studies that have empirically evaluated this type of combined intervention are reviewed.
The Psychophysiology of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Haines Janet , Josephs Stephen , Williams Christopher L. , Wells Jennifer H.
Published: July 2016

The aim of the study was to compare the psychophysiological pattern associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) in clinical patients (n = 13) and checking behaviours in a nonclinical population (n = 13) to evaluate the validity of the anxiety reduction hypothesis. A second objective was to examine the psychophysiological pattern associated with prevention of ritualistic behaviour in the OCD group and of checking behaviour in the control group. A guided imagery methodology was utilised in order to examine the progression of the behaviours over time. Various psychophysiological measures were incorporated to account for the response to personalised imagery presented in four distinct stages. The stages included setting the scene, approach, incident, and consequence. Both the psychophysiological and the subjective response to the ritual/checking and response-prevention/no-checking scripts were higher than to the neutral script for both groups. A trend towards significantly higher heart rate response to the response-prevention/no-checking than to the ritual/checking script was also observed. Higher levels of depersonalisation and anxiety in the OCD group were observed following prevention of the ritual. The patterns of response indicated obsessive–compulsive behaviour may act to prevent the level of anxiety experienced by an individual from escalating, rather than to reduce it from an already elevated level.
Nonclinical Panic Attacks in Adolescents: Prevalence, Symptomatology, and Associated Features
Authors: King Neville J. , Ollendick Thomas H. , Mattis Sara G. , Yang Bin , Tonge Bruce
Published: July 2016

In this study, we examined the prevalence and nature of nonclinical panic attacks in 649 Australian youth and explored the relations between such attacks and measures of social support, stress, anxiety, depression, and fear. Full-blown attacks (attacks involving four or more symptoms with rapid onset) were reported by 104 of the youth (16%). Attacks were reported more frequently by girls than boys; however, age was unrelated to panic-attack status. Heightened levels of anxiety and fear, as well as stress in the family and lack of family support, were related to attack status. Path-analytic procedures supported a working model consisting of stress, social support, and emotional distress as related to panic status. Limitations of the self-report data on panic attacks and the other measures used in this study are acknowledged.
Current Issues in the Assessment of Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: A Developmental Perspective
Authors: Campbell Marilyn A. , Rapee Ronald M.
Published: July 2016

This paper describes some of the current problems with the assessment of children's anxiety. The main assessment methods — structured clinical interview and self-report — often have problems with validity and reliability while less frequently used measures such as physiological recording, behavioural observation, and thought-listing also have their attendant difficulties. Possible ways of reducing some of these problems using a developmental perspective are discussed.
The Effectiveness of a General-Practice-Based Physical Activity Intervention on Patient Physical Activity Status
Authors: Graham-Clarke Peita , Oldenburg Brian
Published: July 2016

Physical inactivity is a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Interventions designed to reduce the prevalence of physical inactivity have focused primarily on either adoption of physical activity or noncompliance and relapse, and no interventions have been reported which cover adoption, compliance, maintenance, and relapse, particularly within the clinical setting. TheFresh Startprogram, a multiple risk factor intervention program for the reduction of cardiovascular disease risk factors in general practice patients, was developed to cover all aspects of the adoption and maintenance of habitual physical activity, using Prochaska and DiClemente's Transtheoretical model. The evaluation of the program on cardiovascular disease risk factors and behaviours provided the opportunity to evaluate the impact of a staged program on patient physical activity behaviour. The program was evaluated in a randomised controlled trial in Sydney's Western, South-western, and Wentworth regions with 80 volunteer general practitioners and 758 volunteer patients between January 1991 and January 1993. Self-reported physical activity data were used as the basis for estimating energy expenditure due to leisure-time physical activity. The results failed to show any differences between groups over time, as a function of patients' baseline stages of change, and as a function of baseline activity levels. There were some indications, however, that the least active would respond to doctor-based advice to increase their physical activity, and that doctor advice would lead to a progression inintention to changein approximately 20% of patients. Limitations of the study, the program, and physical activity intervention in the clinical setting are discussed.
General Practitioners as Agents of Health Risk Behaviour Change: Opportunities for Behavioural Science in Patient Smoking Cessation
Authors: Wiggers John H. , Sanson-Fisher Rob
Published: July 2016

General practitioners have been suggested as occupying a position in the community that offers considerable potential for reducing the prevalence of health risk behaviours. Green, Eriksen, and Schor (1988) have proposed that if general practitioners are to effectively adopt a role in modifying patient health risk behaviours, a number of prerequisite conditions must be met. Using the model proposed by Green et al., this paper reviews the literature to describe the circumstances under which general practitioners currently practise this role. The review focuses on the circumstances relating to practitioner modification of one patient health risk behaviour: smoking. Research detailing the extent of practitioner involvement in the modification of this risk behaviour is also reviewed. The paper concludes by discussing the opportunities available for behavioural scientists to facilitate general practitioners' adoption of a role in patient smoking cessation.
The Development of Behaviour Therapy in Australia
Authors: Lovibond Syd H.
Published: July 2016

In his address to the Annual Conference of the Australian Behaviour Modification Association in 1986, Dr. Robin Winkler chose the topic “The social history of behaviour modification in Australia” (Winkler & Krasner, 1987). Dr. Winkler was concerned to recognise the contributions of a number of individuals who were prominent in the new movement in the 50s, 60s and 70s. My aim is rather different. I want to try to capture what the early workers were trying to achieve, what they saw as the problems, and how they viewed the early developments. I will then look at more recent developments in Australian behaviour therapy, and try to characterise its current status. Finally, I'll discuss what seem to me the major current problems, and suggest some possible solutions. Where I feel able to do so, and it seems to me appropriate, I'll make some comparisons with the situation in the USA. Many of the more general points, of course, will be relevant to behaviour therapy in any country.
Noncontingent Application Versus Contingent Removal of Tactile Stimulation: Effects on Self-injury in a Young Boy with Multiple Disabilities
Authors: Sigafoos Jeff , Pennell Donna
Published: July 2016

This study examined the effects of tactile stimulation on self-injurious behaviour (SIB) in a 10-year-old boy with developmental disabilities. SIB occurred at high rates during unstructured play, suggesting an automatic reinforcement, sensory stimulation function. Noncontingent application of an alternative source of tactile stimulation produced only modest reductions in SIB, but contingent removal of the objects used to obtain tactile stimulation produced clinically significant reductions.
Partner Involvement in the Treatment of Chronic Headaches
Authors: Kneebone Ian I. , Martin Paul R.
Published: July 2016

The present study tested the hypothesis that involving the partners of headache sufferers in a group cognitive-behavioural stress-coping intervention for chronic headaches would enhance treatment outcome. A treatment program in which partners were involved (PI) was compared with a standard treatment program in which partners were not included (NPI) and a no-treatment control condition (NTC). The NPI condition was effective compared to the NTC condition, but there was less evidence that the PI condition was effective. No significant differences were found between the PI and NPI conditions at posttreatment or follow-up. These results are considered in terms of the usefulness of involving partners in group headache-treatment and the manner of their involvement. In addition, the possibility that partner involvement may actually detract from treatment effectiveness is discussed in terms of its impact on motivation and personal responsibility for change.
The Reduction of Inappropriate Sucking Behaviour in a 7-Year-Old Girl Through Response-Cost and Social-Reinforcement Procedures
Authors: Bradley Linda , Houghton Stephen
Published: July 2016

An identical procedure to that of Pianta and Hudson (1990) was employed to reduce inappropriate sucking of fingers, hair, and clothes by a 7-year-old girl. The subject's mother utilised a simple response-cost procedure, which was faded over time, and social reinforcement to achieve substantial success. Follow-up observations conducted 6 months after the program terminated revealed a high degree of maintenance.
Developmental Disabilities and Child Abuse and Neglect: The Ecobehavioural Imperative
Authors: Lutzker John R.
Published: July 2016

Described here is a brief history and critique of behavioural parent training, followed by a description of an ecobehavioural approach to families with children with developmental disabilities and families involved in child abuse and neglect. A definition of ecobehavioural is provided, along with suggestions for future research.
The Influence of Anxiety on Accuracy of Heart Rate Estimations
Authors: Butler Karen S. , Rapee Ronald M.
Published: July 2016

Twenty-eight non-clinical subjects, scoring either high or low on a variety of anxiety measures, were asked to match their perceived heart rate to a series of tones produced by a metronomal device, both at rest and during a period of mild exercise. Actual heart rate was measured concurrently with an electrocardiogram. No differences were found between groups in the accuracy with which they were able to monitor their heart rates and, in fact, all subjects markedly underestimated their heart rate. Also, no significant correlations were found between heart rate awareness and any of the measures of anxiety, except for a negative relationship between awareness and scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Theories of anxiety, and methodological considerations, are discussed.
A Community Approach to Smoking Prevention: A Review
Authors: Schofield Margot J. , Redman Selina , Sanson-Fisher Rob W.
Published: July 2016

This paper reviews individual and community approaches to smoking prevention. It summarises some behavioural components of individual and group methods of smoking prevention and cessation and points to some of the shortcomings of these approaches. The advantages of community-based interventions for smoking are reviewed and the limitations of past community studies are noted. It is proposed that a community approach to smoking prevention holds considerable promise. Multiple interventions which address smoking as a community issue and the provision of community-based structures and support for smoking cessation are needed to combat this major public health problem.
The Buckingham Project: A Comprehensive Mental Health Service Based Upon Behavioural Psychotherapy
Authors: Falloon Ian R.H. , Krekorian Haroutyan , Shanahan William J. , Laporta Marc , McLees Sheila
Published: July 2016

Behavioural psychotherapy has been demonstrated as the treatment of choice in most forms of serious mental disorders. In some instances it interacts synergistically with drug therapies. The Buckingham Project is a field trial of a comprehensive mental health service that employs behavioural analysis and therapy in the management of all cases of adult disorders occurring in an epidemiologically defined population. A multi-disciplinary team provide in vivo treatment. Results suggest that the incidence and prevalence of major episodes of mental illness have been substantially reduced and that the need for traditional hospital-based care has been minimised. The significance of this project for planning health services and for the future of behavioural psychotherapy is discussed.
Behavioural Marital Therapy: An Overview
Authors: Behrens Brett C. , Halford W. Kim , Sanders Matthew R.
Published: July 2016

Behavioural marital therapy (BMT) has developed from the application of social exchange and social learning theories to the understanding and modification of marital interaction. Encouraging high rates of exchange of positive behaviours, and training in communication skills, have been the major focuses of BMT till recently. While these strategies produce therapeutic change, there are still many couples whose marriages do not improve with this sort of therapy. Recent developments have focused on the role of cognitive, affective and situational variables in marital interaction. Outcome research has shown the value of cognitive and affective interventions in their own right, but it is unclear if the addition of these interventions will enhance the efficacy of BMT.
Does Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Support Cognitive Models of Depression?
Authors: Oei T.P.S. , Duckham S. , Free M.
Published: July 2016

Research into the efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has repeatedly demonstrated that it is a useful method for alleviating the symptoms of clinical depression. However, the underlying mechanism of the recovery process has remained a matter of debate in the literature. Although at no point in the literature has it been stated that cognitions ‘cause’ depression, this has been a strong implication in the design of many of the studies. The lack of consensus on the issue of causation is due partly to the lack of a co-ordinated approach to investigating the process of cognitive change and other variables in the depressive patient. Also the failure of many research designs to eliminate alternative hypotheses has led to confusion and debate about the direction which CBT research should take. The overall effect has limited the possibilities for an integrated model of depression. This paper looks at the various working models of depression in the literature and suggests the direction for future investigators' testing of these models.
Behavioural Medicine: Research and Development in Disease Prevention
Authors: Taylor C. Barr , Owen Neville
Published: July 2016

Behavioural medicine has become a popular, important and distinct field of research and clinical practice. One of the more exciting areas of behavioural medicine has been in the application of behavioural techniques to reduce cardiovascular risk-factors on a community-wide basis. Work conducted in this area highlights a key issue for the development and support of behaviour analysis and modification activities in Australia: to what extent should behavioural practitioners and their interest groups pursue a specialised, behaviour-analytic approach to the areas in which they are involved, as opposed to adopting interdisciplinary frameworks and approaches. We describe some of the activities of the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, which has been able to operate as a large, interdisciplinary organisation, guided by behavioural approaches. We also discuss some setting, provider, program and client variables relevant to research and development on health promotion and disease prevention in Australia and elsewhere.
Time-Series Analysis of Behavioural Data: An Update
Authors: Sharpley Christopher F.
Published: July 2016

Some recent developments in the use of interrupted time-series analysis (ITSA) are described with particular reference to the detection of effects with short data series such as those often encountered in applied behaviour analysis. The necessity to perform the sometimes troublesome model-identification procedure is questioned, and the likely incidence of Type 1 and 2 errors is discussed. Conclusions are drawn to suggest that ITSA may be safely applied to data that are typical of those collected in applied behaviour analysis.
Researching Functional Relations in Behaviour Analysis and Therapy
Authors: Arco Lucius
Published: July 2016

Behaviour analysis and therapy is based on the investigation of functional relations between behaviour and its controlling variables. This article focuses on the description of the functional relation and methods used for its research. In particular it presents unpublished data to illustrate how the continuous measurement of independent variables aids the identification of functional relations, research into generalization (a major problem area in behaviour analysis and therapy) and the development of parametric analyses. The implications of comprehensive functional analyses are discussed.
A Five-Factor Framework for Conceptualizing Human Behaviour Change: Old Wine in Newly Arranged Casks
Authors: Molloy Geoffrey N.
Published: July 2016

This paper presents an integrative framework or notional model for conceptualizing human learning which recognizes both environmental and internal or mediating determinants of behaviour. In line with the spirit of the times, the model accommodates the more traditional antecedents-behaviour-consequences (ABC) model with the rapidly emerging cognitive behaviour modification and psychophysiological literature. The five casks or boxes represent a dynamic interdepenent system elements. It is intended as a heuristic device for formulating and testing hypotheses, and as a reminder that apart from simple habits and reactions, human theses, and as a reminder that apart from simple habits and reactions, human behaviour is multiply determined, a product of interacting elements in a complex system.
Control of Nocturnal Enuresis in a Cerebral Palsied Child Using an Enuresis Alarm: A Case Study
Authors: Oswin Kathy , Hudson Alan
Published: July 2016

An enuresis alarm was successfully used for treatment enuresis in a five-year-old athetoid cerebral palsied child. Treatment included an overlearning procedure and the child was dry at six months follow up.
Two Factors are Quite Enough: A Response to Molloy (1984)
Authors: Birnbrauer Jay S.
Published: July 2016

External variables and measurable aspects of human behaviour, biology, mind, emotions, and whatever else one cares to name are all that psychologists and other professionals concerned with behaviour change have to respond to and manipulate. A two factor model thus is proposed to maintain attention and action on goals and methods. In the course of arguing this position, some common misconceptions of the operant model are corrected.
A Successful Adaptation of Systematic Desensitization in the Treatment of a Phobia of Babies
Authors: Free Michael , Beekhuis Margaret
Published: July 2016

A case study is presented of a young woman with an unusual phobia, a fear of babies. Barabasz's (1977) technique of systematic desensitization using psycho-physiological measures was chosen as the main treatment strategy. Difficulties arose as the client was unable to visualise scenes involving babies. Nor could she look at photographs of babies long enough for the hierarchy to be ordered using a psycho-physiological measure (skin conductance). A set of photographs was eventually used for the hierarchy, but it was ordered in terms of the length of time the client could look at the various photographs. Systematic desensitization was carried out using the set of photographs instead of imaginary scenes, together with some in vivo exposure in the latter stages of treatment. At termination the client could approach babies without discomfort. Improvement was maintained at one year follow-up.
Social Skills Training for Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Watson Janine E. , Singh Nirbhay N.
Published: July 2016

Deficiencies in social skills are a major problem in the rehabilitation of schizophrenic patients. To adapt to community life, schizophrenic patients must meet certain minimum levels of socially acceptable behaviour. Over the last two decades, social skills training procedures have been used to systematically teach these behaviours. Procedures typically used in social skills training include instructions/coaching, modelling, behavioural rehearsal and role play, feedback and reinforcement, and homework assignments. These and other procedures are discussed in this review. In addition, the outcome of social skills training for the schizophrenic patient is discussed with reference to short- and long-term changes in social behaviour.
The Molloy-Birnbrauer Exchange: How Many Factors do a Psychology Make?
Authors: Morris Edward K.
Published: July 2016

Molloy and Birnbrauer have recently exchanged views in this journal over how how many factors are necessary to provide an adequate account of human behaviour and behaviour change. Their differences apparently reflect alternative conceptualizations of the roles played by physiology and cognition in the analysis of behaviour. The present paper provides some background to these issues, showing that the current cognitive behavioural approach to physiology and cognition is but a reworking of some aspects of traditional mentalism. Following this, several alternatives to this traditional conceptualization are offered by way of (a) an analysis of how functional and structural contextual conditions affect behaviour and (b) distinctions between issues of behavioural process and content-related behavioural substance. For psychology to be a cumulative and progressive enterprise, a natural science approach to issues of physiology and cognition must be maintained, no matter how many factors may be tajcen as germane to human behaviour and behaviour change
The Effects of Competitive Orientation on the Ability and Effort Attributions of Racquetball Players
Authors: Spink Kevin S.
Published: July 2016

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different goal structures on the attributional patterns of individuals involved in a sport situation. One hundred and fifty-eight male subjects played in one of two types of racquetball tournament. In the competitive tournament, the goal was to win as many games as possible, whereas in the mastery tournament the goal was to do one's best. Analyses revealed that individuals in the competitive condition tended to focus more on ability attributions than did individuals in the mastery condition. The implications of these findings for the sport practitioner are discussed.
Carl Schmitt and the Paradox of Liberal Democracy
Authors: Mouffe Chantal
Published: July 2016

In his introduction to the paperback edition of Political Liberalism, John Rawls, referring to Carl Schmitt's critique of parliamentary democracy, suggests that the fall of Weimar's constitutional regime was in part due to the fact that German elites no longer believed in the possibility of a decent liberal parliamentary regime. This should, in his view, make us realize the importance of providing convincing arguments in favor of a just and well-ordered constitutional democracy. “Debates about general philosophical questions”, he says, “cannot be the daily stuff of politics, but that does not make these questions without significance, since what we think their answers are will shape the underlying attitudes of the public culture and the conduct of politics.”
Carl Schmitt's Critique of Liberalism: Systematic Reconstruction and Countercriticism
Authors: Bielefeldt Heiner
Published: July 2016

Critique of liberalism has a long tradition. However, those launching critical attacks against liberalism frequently turn out to be liberals themselves who are concerned, for instance, about the common equation of liberalism with a bourgeois attitude of “possessive individualism” or with the reduction of liberal politics to an empty proceduralism. The recent debate between liberalism and communitarianism largely amounts to such a kind of liberal self-criticism. Even outspoken communitarian critics, like Sandel, undoubtedly appreciate important achievements of liberalism; often they take these achievements more or less for granted.
The 1933 “Break” in Carl Schmitt's Theory
Authors: Maus Ingeborg
Published: July 2016

The following article begins by engaging in a debate with the literature on Carl Schmitt, a literature whose most obvious feature is its age. Nevertheless, the comprehensive engagement with Carl Schmitt's work which has appeared in the meantime has not in every respect advanced our knowledge in the area discussed in this article, because its attention is chiefly focussed on other matters. But that in itself indicates a problem.
The Dilemmas of Dictatorship: Carl Schmitt and Constitutional Emergency Powers
Authors: McCormick John P.
Published: July 2016

The first line of Carl Schmitt's Political Theology is perhaps the most famous sentence—certainly one of the most infamous—in German political theory: “Sovereign is he who decides on the exception” [Souverän ist, wer über den Ausnahmezustand entscheidet]. And yet the full significance of this famous sentence is often underestimated. I intend to focus upon 1) its significance in the overall trajectory of Schmitt's Weimar work, and 2) its potential significance for contemporary constitutional theories of emergency powers.
The Philosophy of Law: An Encyclopedia edited by Christopher Berry Gray, New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1999. Two volumes, i-xxxviii + 950 pages. ISBN 0-8153-1344-6.
Authors: Thornton Mark
Published: July 2016

This encyclopedia provides a comprehensive survey of philosophy of law. The articles cover every period of Western philosophy and every part of the globe. Every school and methodology of legal philosophy is detailed. There are ninety articles on individual thinkers in both the Anglo-American and European traditions. Every facet of law as a social institution, of criminal law, and of private law, is covered. Relevant political, moral, and epistemological issues are discussed. The general standard, though uneven, is high. To guide readers a subject list by topic and four indexes are included. The editor deserves congratulations for a remarkable achievement.
“A Hatchet for Paley’s Net”: Bentham on capital punishment and judicial discretion
Authors: Crimmins James E.
Published: July 2016

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) was a life-long opponent of capital punishment. All told he left us three essays on the subject, dating from 1775,1809 and 1830, only the first and third of which have been published and subjected to critical analysis. In this article I am concerned with the unpublished manuscripts of 1809. Hitherto ignored by students of utilitarian legal philosophy, these papers contain what is perhaps Bentham’s most trenchant criticisms not only of capital punishment per se but also of the extensive discretionary powers which its administration made available to England’s magistrates. With legislators making increasing use of the penalty of death in the second half of the eighteenth century, magistrates felt compelled to grant reprieves to convicted capital offenders and to substitute lesser penalties as a matter of common practice. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, this manner of dispensing justice was an issue of some moment to law reformers of all persuasions, including the radical Bentham.
Politics and Jurisprudence in the British Courts
Authors: Sterett Susan
Published: July 2016

One thing seems clear in British politics today: many of the old truths no longer hold. Voters no longer vote according to class. The current government has made some effort to shake up the civil service and bring in outsiders. And a third political party is struggling along. Faced with all this, scholars have had to rethink their approach to British politics and governance. Appellate courts have long been considered Britain’s least interesting governing institution, but they have also benefited from the shake-up. Studies published in recent years mean to examine the politics of the British courts, primarily the Law Lords, the members of the House of Lords who comprise the final court of appeal in Britain. And, congruent with other changes in politics, studies find that courts have become interesting enough that they ought at least be considered in discussing British politics.
The ‘Forces’ of Law
Authors: Waluchow W. J.
Published: July 2016

In Law’s Empire, Ronald Dworkin introduces an important distinction between what he calls the ‘grounds’ and the ‘force’ of law. The former primarily interest Dworkin in LE and concern the “circumstances in which particular propositions of law should be taken to be sound or true.” (110) Propositions of law, we are told, are “all the various statements and claims people make about what the law allows or prohibits or entitles them to have.” (4) That Canadians owing income tax to the federal government must file their returns before April 30 or face a late penalty is presumably an example of a proposition of law. That the United States constitution prohibits slavery is another. These (true) propositions of law simply report the law’s (present) requirements, requirements which normally should be respected but which might justifiably be disobeyed or disregarded in exceptional cases. A true proposition of law, then, does not necessarily entail an answer to the question: What should I do, or decide (if called upon to render a judicial decision)? It also does not necessarily entail an answer to the question: Should the coercive power of the state be exercised against this person?
Skepticism and the Apologetics of Law
Authors: Adams David M.
Published: July 2016

Contemporary legal theory is increasingly marked by the clash between two opposing, basic approaches to law and legal doctrine. The first approach is skeptical: it seeks both to expose the conceptual and normative commitments of tort or contract or constitutional law, and to impeach them on the grounds that they comprise what are in fact incoherent and morally insupportable ideologies. By contrast, the second approach is explicitly apologetic: it aims to celebrate law by offering a reconstruction and justification of the basic features of constitutional or statutory or common law practice. The first approach is of course represented by the “deconstructionism” imported into law from literary and social theory by those scholars associated with the Critical Legal Studies (“CLS”) movement. At its most controversial, the work of these recent legal skeptics seeks to link traditional legal doctrine, and the modes of analysis and pedagogic methods peculiar to it, with a radical critique of political liberalism by showing that the doctrine and its methods serve to legitimate existing social inequalities, hierarchies, and forms of domination, while at the same time obscuring their own legitimating role. One important corollary of this general thesis is the emphasis upon what Roberto Unger has called “the contradictory and manipulable character of legal doctrine”, i.e., the effort, inspired by the familiar deconstructionist premise that texts lack any fixed or stable and coherently formulable meaning, to “deconstruct” the basic categories of (liberal) legal discourse with the aim of exposing tensions and inconsistencies inherent within them, and of depicting the responsiveness of this “patchwork quilt” to background social, political, and economic forces.
The Acceptance of a Legal System
Authors: Shiner Roger A.
Published: July 2016

The interest of political theory in the acceptance of law is obvious. If one believes that a regime is legitimate only if it governs with the consent of the governed, then the notion of acceptance is deeply linked with the notion of legitimacy, a fundamental concern of political theory. The interest of legal theory in the notion of acceptance is less obvious. I construe it to arise in the following way. One central tradition in legal theory is that of positivistic or content-independent theories of law. Positivism, crudely speaking, is characterized by some form of the Separation Thesis—that the existence of law is one thing and its merit or demerit another. But if it is important for positivistic legal theory to mark the separation of law and the merits of law, then it must also be important to mark the separation between law and the acceptance of law. The existence of law must be one thing and its acceptance as meritorious another. In deference to the separation of existence and merit, positivism tries to find a content-independent account of the validity of law. Equally, in deference to the separation of law and acceptance, positivism tries to find a content-independent account of the acceptance of law. The topic of this paper is whether the separation of law and the acceptance of law is possible. I shall try to suggest, in service of a non-positivistic or content-dependent approach to law, that this separation is not possible. I will attempt to argue on the basis of points which legal positivism itself has acknowledged to form valid constraints on any theory of acceptance. My ambitious thesis is that positivism has presented us with the reasons for rejecting it. Even if that thesis is not made out, I have a less ambitious thesis which I am confident of securing, that the demand for an account of law which permits law to be accepted ‘for any reason whatever’ is not a theoryneutral demand which might decide between positivism and natural law theory. Rather, it is an expression of a prior commitment to positivism. It is the familiar demand of natural law theory that the convergence of attitudes towards law which makes for acceptance of law must be a convergence for the right kind of reasons; ones that have to do with the value of law.
The Application (and Mis-Application) of Wittgenstein’s Rule-Following Considerations to Legal Theory
Authors: Bix Brian
Published: July 2016

Wittgenstein’s writings on “rule-following” remain an important—and sharply contested—part of his later thought. The reference to “rules” in those writings was both broader and more basic than the use of that term in most discussions of practical reasoning or legal theory. Wittgenstein’s use of “rule” refers to all normative constraints which apply over an indefinite variety of cases, to practices where our actions might be said to be guided, to situations where characterizing actions as “correct” or “incorrect” makes sense. However, “[h]e aimed not to write a book on rules but to examine specific problems arising out of insights into the normative nature of a language, of logic and of reasoning.” He focused in particular on normative practices that on the surface do not seem troubling or difficult to understand: for example, using a word correctly, understanding a signpost, and continuing a simple mathematical series. In such examples, the interesting question is not whether a particular response or continuation is right or wrong; Wittgenstein specifically chose examples where there would be consensus on that issue. Wittgenstein’s question is what is it about the rule or about ourselves which makes our responses right or wrong (or which justifies us in reaching that evaluation)?
Rights, Values, and Controversy
Authors: Lucy W.N.R.
Published: July 2016

Many political and moral theorists believe conceptual arguments about the nature of liberty, authority or power cannot be resolved independently of background normative theories. When this view is combined with the assumption that normative disputes are in some sense irresolvable—because, for example, reason fails us here—we have a partial account of the significance of controversy in moral and political argument. Controversy is significant because it is a manifestation of a deeper truth about reason and value. By contrast many would deny that controversy over such matters tells us anything important—it tells us merely what we already know, that disputants are stupid, self interested, in the thrall of an ideology, or informationally deprived.
Criminalization and Sharing Wrongs
Authors: Marshall S.E. , Duff R.A.
Published: July 2016

In colloquial speech the terms ‘crime’ and ‘criminal’ have a use which, though connected to the strictly legal notion of criminality, goes well beyond it. It is a way of indicating a serious condemnation of an activity or action. Similarly, when people say of something “There ought to be a law against it,’ they are not necessarily speaking literally, though they might be. Nonetheless, even when they are speaking colloquially and figuratively in using this expression, it is clear that the ‘law’ here is the criminal law and not the civil law. The sense that ‘something ought to be done’ expressed in these usages reflects the idea that there is a kind of wrong which demands a collective response rather than just an individual one. The figurative, colloquial use trades, of course, on the literal one. However, pace Devlin, it requires more than a general feeling of outrage to characterise just what kinds of wrongs are appropriately categorised as crimes. The enduring debates concerning the distinction between crime and tort bear witness to the fact that such a characterisation is far from easy.

These academic debates can be situated against the background of wider philosophical discussions about the relationship between the individual and the collective, the private and the public, and the way in which these pairs of concepts map onto one another. We might agree with George Fletcher that “Blackstone had a point in identifying crimes as public wrongs and torts as private wrongs”: the criminal law should deal with those kinds of wrong which are matters of public concern, and which therefore require a collective response from the whole community; wrongs which are, by contrast, properly the concern only of the private or individual victim should be dealt with under the civil law. What is far less clear, however, is how we should characterise that distinction.
An Essay on Private Remedies
Authors: Sherwin Emily L.
Published: July 2016

One of the assumptions of our legal system is that when a violation of law has occurred, we (society) should provide a remedy for individuals who were harmed. More specifically, we should provide them with corrective remedies—remedies that place them as nearly as possible in the position they would be in if no wrong had occurred. This principle is not universal. There are legal wrongs, usually statutory, for which only public officials can seek a judicial remedy. And where private remedies do apply, not all the effects of a legal wrong are covered. But in general, individuals who have suffered legal wrongs are entitled to remedies that relieve the effects of the wrong and return them to their “rightful position.”
Theorizing about Law
Authors: Case Roland
Published: July 2016

There are many, purportedly competing, theories about law and about aspects of legal practice. H.L. A. Hart, in perhaps the most famous contemporary account, explains law in terms of primary and secondary rules. Writers within the American legal realist tradition believe rules cannot adequately explain legal practice and look instead to actual decisions. This view is reflected in Oliver Wendell Holmes’ famous definition of law as “the prophecies of what the courts will do in fact.” Ronald Dworkin theorizes that posited rules cannot account for the innumerable disputes about the law and argues that political morality plays an important role in conceptualizing law. These theories variously explain law in terms of (a) posited rules, (b) judicial decisions and not rules, and (c) legal rules and moral rights. This sampling of “rival” theories typifies the current state of jurisprudence: a plethora of apparently competing and seemingly endlessly debated theories about law. Ruth Gavison suggests that much jurisprudential discussion has been “sterile and barren” because theorists often have not appreciated the plurality of purposes for theorizing about law and, consequently, the extent to which putatively contradictory accounts of law are at cross purposes or complementary.
Giving It All Away? Thomas Reid’s Retreat from a Natural Rights Justification of Private Property
Authors: Mackinnon K.A.B.
Published: July 2016

[P]roperty must exist wherever men exist, and…the right to such property is the necessary consequence of the natural right of men to life and liberty.

Thomas Reid 1788

I proceed therefore to consider in what State or Order of Society there is the least temptation to ill conduct, and I confess that to me the Utopian System of Sir Thomas More seems to have the advantage of all others in this respect. In that System, it is well known there is no private Property. All that which we call Property is under the Administration of the State for the common benefit of the whole political Family.

Thomas Reid 1794

The few remarks on property that are found in the Essays on the Active Powers of the Human Mind of the eighteenth century Scottish “Common Sense” philosopher, Thomas Reid, have led at least one commentator to treat him as a fairly traditional advocate of the natural right to (private) property, albeit one with a concern for the very poor. In an article on William Paley and the rights of the poor, Thomas Home remarks in passing that Reid’s (and Adam Ferguson's)

major concern was to justify natural rights to property and that their interest in the poor was so little that a reader who accidentally skipped a paragraph or a page would miss all they had to say on the topic.
Kant on International Law and Armed Conflict
Authors: Orend Brian
Published: July 2016

In recent years, there has been tremendous interest in the contributions of the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant to on-going debates about the appropriate nature of international justice and law. The end of the Cold War, for example, seemed to bring with it promises of greater international cooperation of the kind envisaged by Kant. Furthermore, those interested in the more explicitly moral aspects and potentialities of international law, such as those regarding human rights protection, have looked to Kant for comfort and inspiration in the face of strong pressures from doctrines dismissive of such aspects, such as law-and-economics and the statist strictures of realpolitik.

There has, however, been widespread scholarly disagreement over Kant’s precise heritage in this regard: some, for instance, have found in Kant’s international writings a harbinger of world government while others have criticized Kant for faihng to specify any concrete powers for his fabled cosmopolitan federation; some have accused Kant of sacrificing his exalted moral principles on the dubious altar of state-centred expediency while others dismiss Kant as one of the most naively optimistic, and hopelessly moralistic, international thinkers ever; and, finally, some have accused Kant of glorifying the resort to warfare while others insist that Kant actually advocated “an extreme pacifism.” There is, in short, a ferocious and complex debate regarding which set of ideas can properly be called the “Kantian” view of these foremost issues of international law and what, if any, value can be attached to it.