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With interests varying from Wimbledon tennis programmes to muckshifting, Hanson Trust is the true conglomerate. Ken Gooding talks to its debonair chairman, James Hanson, who runs what he calls his ‘free form management’ company from the seclusion of a Chelsea mews.

The present study investigates the use of two actuarial assessment measures ‐ Risk Matrix 2000 (Thornton et al, 2003) and Static 99 (Hanson & Thornton, 2000) ‐ with individuals convicted of downloading child pornography on the internet. A UK community‐based sample of convicted internet sex offenders (n = 73) was assessed using both a standard and a revised version of RM2000 and Static 99 and assessed for rates of reconviction. None of the offenders in the sample were convicted of a further sexual crime between a one‐and‐a‐half and fouryear follow‐up. These results suggest reconviction rates for internet sex offenders are lower than for contact child sex offenders. It was found that both the standard version of RM2000 and Static‐99 overestimate the risk levels posed by internet offenders and that an adapted version of RM2000 may be a more realistic measure of risk level in this population. In addition, it was noted that a higher frequency of low‐risk offenders appeared to be accessing images of younger children and images depicting more serious victimisation than high‐risk offenders.

Do models which can be used to predict the behaviour and performance of manufacturing companies fail when we apply them to organisations whose main product is information? If they do, how will this impact on strategy planning and investment decisions? As suggested in previous articles, companies can be likened to naturally occurring structures such as plants and animals. They have a finite life and the need for evolutionary development means that, sooner or later, these structures must be replaced by others better suited to surviving in a changed environment. Those companies which do survive beyond their natural life span usually do so in name only.

Pro‐Cite is a software package for managing personal bibliographic databases from which printed bibliographies are frequently required. The article first considers the kinds of project for which Pro‐Cite is intended, and those for which it is not intended. In the latter category is included the management of large permanent databases to which powerful online access is frequently required. Its strength lies in its specialisation: it provides pre‐defined data structures for various kinds of printed and audio/visual materials and pre‐defined output formats corresponding to a range of standard styles. The package is discussed in detail with sections on Editing, Searching, Printing and Browsing, Indexing, and Sorting. The article also discusses the use of Biblio‐Links. These are reformatting devices which are used to convert downloaded online search results to Pro‐Cite format.

November 30, 1967 Master and Servant — Dismissal — Redundancy — Calculation of payment — National agreement providing for 41 hour working week in road haulage business — Local agreement providing for 68 hour working week for shunters — Whether basis of calculation of redundancy payments 41 or 68 hour week — Evidence whether employees drivers or shunters — Evidence that local agreement contractually binding — Evidence later admitted that local agreement not intended to be contractually binding — Whether later evidence on local agreement wrongly admitted — Whether National agreement varied by local agreement — Contracts of Employment Act, 1963 (11 and 12 Eliz II, C.49), Sched.2, para. 1(1), (2) — Redundancy Payments Act, 1965 (13 and 14 Eliz. II, c.62), s.1(1), Sch. I, para. 5(1) — Wages Regulation (Road Haulage) Order, 1966 (S.I. 1966. No. 554).

Accessing and distributing child pornography is an emerging problem. This paper aims to examine the judicial sentencing decisions of child pornography cases and whether they differ from decisions of child molestation cases.

Using a legal database of Canadian court judgments, the study examined sentencing decisions of 50 child pornography and 50 child molestation cases, identifying variables that were present in the judges' reasons for their decision.

The results revealed a disparity in sentencing that favours incarceration rather than community sentences for child molesters over child pornography cases. Despite what appears to be lighter sentences for child pornography offenders, judges were more likely to sanction treatment and recommend restrictions in cases of child pornography than child molestation. In light of the absence of literature exploring sentencing disparity among child sexual offences, further directions and suggestions for practice are discussed.

The examination of the disparity of sentencing decisions for child molesters and child pornography offenders and the identified variables that may contribute to these decisions suggests that the judiciary views child pornography and child molestation offenders differently and are more punitive toward contact offenders. Such disparity has implications for the criminal justice system.

This study offers the first exploration of sentencing disparity and decisions on child pornography and child molestation cases in Canada.

Extra care housing (ECH) is housing for older people that aims to provide flexible care while fostering independence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that some of the successes and failures in improving accessibility during remodelling had on care provision, in order to offer advice to social housing providers planning to remodel existing properties into ECH.

The data consisted of an inventory of accessibility features and assistive technology (AT) items in flats and common areas. The data were drawn from ten ECH schemes in different regions of England.

Most of the AT found was low-technology supporting independence, such as grabbers; some was specific to care provision, such as hoists. Even after remodelling, the design and layout of most buildings did not fully comply with accessibility standards, leading to increased provision of care for some tenants: a care-negative situation.

This multidisciplinary, original research on remodelling into ECH presents successful examples of accessibility, AT and care integration that required active tenant involvement and creative design input from care staff, architects and builders who were AT and accessibility aware. It is argued that for new and remodelled ECH buildings to be care-neutral, designers need to work towards the most inclusive model of ECH.

This is original research that has produced guidance for builders, developers, policy makers and other stake holders.

Managing the risk of sex offending and sexually harmful behaviour presented by some men with intellectual disabilities is enhanced if community services map the number in their catchment area, apply appropriate risk assessment and management methods, and implement evidence‐based treatment. This paper describes the methods and progress of one community intellectual disability service in mapping and assessing the risks. A second paper is planned that will address progress in treatment.

On many occasions when academics have an online search conducted through their libraries they take their printed list of references, for which they have waited patiently for perhaps a week, back to their offices or homes whereupon they will type them all into their microcomputers for local storage using appropriate database management or word‐processing software for the purpose.

Prediction markets are techniques to aggregate dispersed public opinions via market mechanisms to predict uncertain future events’ outcome. Many experiments have shown that prediction markets outperform other traditional forecasting methods in terms of accuracy. Logarithmic market scoring rules (LMSR) is one of the most simple and widely used market mechanisms; however, market makers have to confront crucial design decisions including the setting of the parameter “b” or the “liquidity parameter” in the price functions. As the liquidity parameter has significant effects on the market performance, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive basis for the setting of the parameter.

The analyses include the effects of the liquidity parameter on the forecast standard error and the amount of time for the market price to converge to the true value. These experiments use artificial prediction markets, the proposed simulation models that mimic real prediction markets.

The simulation results indicate that prediction market’s forecast standard error decreases as the value of the liquidity parameter increases. Moreover, for any given number of traders in the market, there exists an optimal liquidity parameter value that yields appropriate price adaptability and leads to the fastest price convergence.

Understanding these tradeoffs, the market makers can effectively determine the liquidity parameter value under various objectives on the standard error, the time to convergence and cost.