A Changing House: The Life Peerages Act 1958*

The year 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the Life Peerages Act 1958. The first life peer to obtain his letters patent was Lord Fraser of Lonsdale (Sir William Jocelyn Ian Fraser) on 1 August 1958. The first life peer to be introduced in the Lords was Lord Parker of Waddington (Sir Hubert Lister Parker) on 21 October 1958. The first woman peer to receive her letters patent dated 8 August 1958 was Baroness Wootton of Abinger (Barbara Frances Wootton), and the first woman peer to take her seat in the Lords was Baroness Swanborough (Dame Stella Isaacs, marchioness of Reading), ahead of Baroness Wootton on 21 October 1958. This article gives an overview of the background to life peerages and women peers before 1958, including the importance of two peerage cases, the Wensleydale case 1856 and the Rhondda case 1922. It does so with particular reference to women and the house of lords. It also considers the passage of the act itself; the initial life peers created in 1958; final equality between men and women peers achieved by the Peerage Act 1963; and the impact of life peers on the House since 1958.     

Freudian Slips and Coteries of Vice: The Sexual Offences Act of 1967*

The Sexual Offences Act 1967 made the first inroads to decriminalising men's homosexual sex since buggery was made a capital offence under Henry VIII. The act was drafted at the direction of the 1957 Wolfenden report, but bore the distinct hallmark of individuals of the 1967 parliament. More complex than the dictated product of Wolfenden, and more idiosyncratic than a simple reflection of the social climate of the 1960s, the private member's bill was a Labour initiative with bipartisan support, driven in the Commons by the bizarre motivations of its sponsor, Labour member for Pontypool, Leo Abse. Contrary to popular myths about the aims of decriminalisation, Abse's crusading Freudian motivation was concerned with discouraging, more than allowing, homosexual behaviour. Similarly, ‘privacy’– the gift of the house of lords to sexual regulation – was aimed largely at curtailing men's sexual practices, along with secreting them away. Thus, while the act is typically associated with a general ideal of freedom, much parliamentary motivation concerned control and the prevention of sexual activities.     

Electioneering,the Third Reform Act,and Political Change in the 1880s*

This article investigates the impact of the 1883–5 electoral reforms on the political culture of elections and electioneering in the constituencies, using the borough of Ipswich as its focus. It argues that historians have underestimated the extent to which the Franchise and Redistribution Acts of 1884–5 transformed political cultures outside the countryside and large cities, and that the Corrupt Practices Act of 1883 had a major impact on the modernisation of party organisation. Principally, however, it challenges the prevailing historical consensus that the basis of post‐reform constituency politics remained, to a large extent, local in nature, by suggesting that electioneering cultures were placed under considerable ‘nationalising’ influences from the early 1880s on. Rather than resisting these influences, the established Ipswich parties largely embraced them. Moreover, a general decline in corruption, and a general increase in the number of speeches reported in local newspapers from ‘carpetbagger’ candidates and national leaders, created a climate in which it was now more difficult for any constituency, however idiosyncratic, to insulate itself from ‘national’ politics.     

On-line Model Updating in Hybrid Simulation Tests

Hybrid simulation has emerged as a relatively accurate and efficient tool for the evaluation of structural response under earthquake loading. In conventional hybrid simulation the response of a few critical components is obtained by testing while the numerical module is assumed to follow an analytical idealization. Where there is a much larger number of analytical components compared to the experimental parts, the overall response may be dominated by the idealized parts hence the value of hybrid simulation is diminished. It is proposed to modify the material constitutive relationship of the numerical model during the test, based on the data obtained from the physically tested component. An approach based on genetic algorithms is utilized as an optimization tool to identify the constitutive relationship parameters used in updating the numerical model. The proposed model updating approach is verified through two analytical examples of steel and reinforced concrete frames. The results show the effectiveness of the updating process in minimizing the errors, compared to the assumed exact solution.     

1943年美国废除排华法分析

194 3年 12月 17日 ,美国总统富兰克林·D·罗斯福正式签署了一个由美国参众两院通过的《废除排华法律、规定移民配额及其他事项的法案》 ,废除了自 1882年以来美国政府所实施的一系列排华法律。本文拟就 194 3年美国废除排华法的历史背景、经过及其评价作些探讨     

The Dalai's Pervasive Act Condemned

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The Americans With Disabilities Act as Engine of Social Change: Models of Disability and the Potential of a Civil Rights Approach

The Americans With Disabilities Act, based on the civil rights/minority group and independent living models of disability, may enhance access to health care, personal assistance, employment, the electoral process, and smoke-free environments for people with disabilities. However, this essential law cannot resolve these key issues. Supplemental theoretical and policy approaches will be necessary to promote fundamental change.