The good,the bad,and the ‘vulnerable older adult’

Recent declarations by the Court of Appeal indicate that the inherent jurisdiction has survived the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for adults considered ‘vulnerable’ and whose decision-making is threatened by reasons other than mental impairment – such occasions may include instances of elder abuse. In this paper I argue, however, that the post-Mental Capacity Act courts have adopted a confused and outmoded concept of the vulnerable older adult, in particular where decision-making is threatened by abusive interpersonal relationships experienced by an older individual. This has particular implications in terms of the types of remedies imposed by the courts on older adults in such circumstances. In this article I suggest that by being more cognisant of recent more nuanced understandings of vulnerability, the courts may be better suited to identifying, and responding to perceived sources of vulnerability in a way that is more empowering for the older adult.     

Impulsivity,Offending, and the Neighborhood: Investigating the Person–Context Nexus

The traditional trait-based approach to the study of crime has been challenged for its failure to acknowledge differences in the social environments to which individuals are exposed. Similarly, community-level explanations of crime have been criticized for failing to take into account important individual differences between criminals and non-criminals. Ultimately, a full understanding of crime requires the consideration of both individual and environmental differences, perhaps most importantly because they may interact to produce offending behavior. Yet little criminological research has examined if the effects of individual-level characteristics vary by the context in which they are embedded. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by using multivariate, multilevel item response models to examine if the influence of impulsivity on offending differs as a function of neighborhood context. Analyses using data from the Project of Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods reveals that the effects of impulsivity are amplified in neighborhoods with higher levels of socioeconomic status and collective efficacy, and lower levels of criminogenic behavior settings and moral/legal cynicism. Implications of these findings for research and policy are discussed.     

Back to the future? Diabetes, HIV, and the boundaries of public health

The control of infectious diseases has traditionally fallen to public health and the clinical care of chronic diseases to private medicine. In New York City, however, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has recently sought to expand its responsibilities in the oversight and management of chronic-disease care. In December 2005, in an effort to control epidemic rates of diabetes, the DOHMH began implementing a bold new plan for increased disease surveillance through electronic, laboratory-based reporting of A1C test results (a robust measure of blood-sugar levels). The controversy A1C reporting produced was relatively contained, but when Dr. Thomas Frieden, New York City health commissioner, called for the state to begin tracking viral loads and drug resistance among patients with HIV, both the medical community and a wider public took notice and have started to grapple with the meaning of expanded surveillance. In the context of the past century of medical surveillance in America, we analyze the current debates, focusing first on diabetes and then HIV. We identify the points of contention that arise from the city's proposed blend of public health surveillance, disease management, and quality improvement and suggest an approach to balancing the measures' perils and promises.     

Intergenerational income mobility in Gothenburg,Sweden, 1925–1958, before the rise of the welfare state

This paper investigates intergenerational mobility at the household level by using tax data for the city of Gothenburg, Sweden for two periods, 1925–1947 and 1936–1958, before the rise of the welfare state. Young households (selected persons under 18) are followed and income mobility (defined as changes in household disposable equivalent income) is followed across generations. In addition, socioeconomic mobility (defined as changes in the socioeconomic status of household head) is followed across generations. These two approaches of measuring mobility will tell us to what extent sons and daughters follow in their fathers' footsteps before the rise of the welfare state in Sweden. The results indicate significant intergenerational income mobility for both periods, while the period from 1925–1947 seems to be more mobile. In addition, socioeconomic mobility increased during the last period, 1936–1958. Hence, even before the rise of the welfare state, Sweden had high intergenerational income mobility.     

Me,myself and I: the sociology of policing male rape,the gaze of the ‘Other’

In this paper, the bodies of male rape victims as the ‘other’ are problematized. The social and cultural constructions of male rape within a policing context are examined since the police play a major role in impeding the progress of male rape cases. The author draws on police data, generated from interviews and qualitative questionnaires with the police, to illustrate the problems with policing male rape in England, UK. While the author provides empirical data, sociological, cultural, and post-structural theoretical frameworks largely inform it. It is argued that the bodies of male rape victims are positioned in inferior positions, whereby their bodies are metaphorically and symbolically marked as ‘abnormal’, ‘deviant’, and the ‘other’. Through social and power relations, their bodies are tainted, which reinforces gender and social norms.     

Reform of the criminal law the Inns of Court,London, England July 26–29, 1987

Conference Papers

Reform of the criminal law the Inns of Court, London, England July 26–29, 1987     

Organized crime, the militarization of public security, and the debate on the “new” police model in Mexico

After the recognition in Mexico of a situation characterized by violence involving both non-state actors (mainly drug lords) and the state apparatus, the present research critically analyzes both the national security strategy adopted by President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa (2006–2012), which is based on the process of the militarization of public security, as well as the “new” police model proposed by the executive power that seeks to professionalize law enforcement agencies.     

Everything Is Relative,Including the “Absoluteness” of the Current,Restrictive Pollution Exclusion

Although insurers like to call the most recent versions of the pollution exclusion “absolute,” insureds should not necessarily agree—just as many courts have not agreed—that the exclusion is “absolute.” Instead, insureds should examine the precise language of the exclusions at issue, which may on their face provide a basis to argue that a potential for coverage exists. Further, whether the release at issue is made up of “pollutants” or constitutes “pollution” can only be judged by the circumstances of each case. Ultimately, an insured stands to gain if it can demonstrate that some aspect of the underlying claim, no matter how small, remains potentially covered under at least one policy. To avoid a duty to defend, an insurer must conclusively establish that all potential for coverage is excluded. Even a sliver of potential coverage is enough to trigger an insured's right to call upon an insurer to defend the entire underlying action, a right that itself could be worth millions of dollars in attorney's fees and investigation costs.     

The crimes of the homeless or the crime of homelessness? On the dialectics of criminalization,decriminalization, and victimization

This paper is a limited attempt to synthesize the older and newer trends in radical criminology — to integrate the issues of criminalization, decriminalization, and victimization. The object of our endeavor is homelessness and how society responds to it. In the paper, we first examine the dialectics of criminalization, homelessness, and economic crisis in relation to some of the general trends in the developing political economy of welfare capitalism. Second, we argue that criminologists should support and focus on effort to criminalize the condition of homelessness and, at the same time, to decriminalize most of the acts of survival of the homeless. In pursuing this end, we urge criminologists to respond by doing things with rather than for or to the homeless. Ultimately, we hope this paper contributes to the ideological and practical struggle for achieving stable institutional methods for satisfying basic human needs.     

The Jolly Hangman, the Jailed Journalist, and the Decline of Singapore’s Death Penalty

British journalist Alan Shadrake was convicted of contempt of court in 2010 for writing a book about capital punishment in Singapore. This article uses that book and other sources to analyze four aspects of Singapore’s death penalty. It begins with a profile of Darshan Singh, the hangman who executed 1,000 persons over the past half-century. The article then shows that Singapore’s system of mandatory capital punishment does not produce consistency in death penalty decision-making. Next the article argues that the prosecution of Shadrake increased criticism of capital punishment in Singapore by propelling his book to bestseller status. This is followed by an explanation of why the number of persons executed in Singapore has declined in recent years, from an average of 66 per year in the mid-1990s to an average of 5 per year since 2004. The key proximate cause of this decline appears to be prosecutors, who can use their discretion to charge defendants for possessing amounts of heroin, cannabis, cocaine, and methamphetamine that are just under the thresholds for a mandatory death sentence. Capital punishment in Singapore is not really mandatory, and it cannot escape the problems of bias and arbitrariness that have long plagued discretionary death penalty systems in the United States, Japan, and other nations.     

The birds,the bees,and the deep freeze: is there international consensus in the debate over assisted reproductive technologies?

This Comment traces assisted reproductive technologies from their historical beginnings in early artificial insemination techniques, through the revolutionary advent of in vitro fertilization two decades ago, and continues to current experimental procedures such as embryo twinning and cryopreservation of ova. It then examines the worldwide controversy surrounding clinical use of these technologies and international attempts to resolve these issues. The final focus is on whether or not a consensus exists within the international legal community on how to tackle the complex issues presented by recent advances in reproductive technology.     

Buster,Maranzano and the Castellammare War, 1930–1931

More than most issues surrounding the American Mafia, the history of the Castellammare War is contestable at both theoretical and empirical levels. As the alleged pivotal event in the creation of the contemporary structure of the US Mafia or Cosa Nostra, it is of obvious importance as a topic of historical investigation. But a survey of published works on the War and its consequences reveals confusion, inaccuracies, erroneous assumptions and missing information. This is the first major systematic attempt to explore the War and its consequences made since the 1970s. Aside from adding substantially to the stock of knowledge of the War and its participants, debates on the War are critically evaluated, using original source materials where possible. The Castellammare War did not have the ramifications assumed, when placed either in a broader context or from the vantage point of internal American Mafia dynamics.     

A Review of “Setting the Standard: Certification,Governance, and the Forest Stewardship Council”

Abstract

As the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes itself as one of the premier regimes in international law, member states are increasingly availing themselves of the significant dispute settlement provisions found in Part XV. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is beginning to take its place in the pantheon of major international tribunals. Although its jurisprudence thus far has largely consisted of applications for prompt release of vessels, these cases have arisen from disagreements over fishery practices and the enforcement of fishery laws by coastal states. The ITLOS is developing into a transparent, consistent and speedy forum to adjudicate marine disputes arising from UNCLOS. While the overall scope and reach of Part XV may be uncertain at the present time, especially vis‐à‐vis other dispute settlement institutions, the early activity under Part XV is promising. Those concerned with marine wildlife issues should be encouraged by the potential of Part XV, the ITLOS in particular, to serve as an effective regime in the realm of marine wildlife dispute settlement.