Stepping Up to the Plate: Minor Leaguers Attempt to Remedy their Unconscionable Plight

Professional baseball players are often thought of as making multi-million-dollar salaries, but most professional baseball players have recently made under $15,000 a year. Minor league players toiled under an onerous system resulting from baseball's judicially created antitrust exemption and lobbying efforts that exempted them from minimum wage and overtime. These factors allowed teams to impose a uniform player contract (UPC) on players with numerous unconscionable provisions for years. However, a late-night Tweet in August of 2022 sent shockwaves through the sports and labor world, announcing that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) was sending out authorization cards to represent minor league players. After years of fighting to maintain the authority to impose conditions on minor league players, through lobbying and litigation, Major League Baseball (MLB) turned over a new leaf and recognized the unionization of minor league players under the MLBPA less than three weeks later. In light of this long sought-after recognition, this article takes a novel approach. First, it provides historical context for baseball's unique ability to impose working conditions on minor leaguers without significant concern for legal ramifications. Second, it provides an overview of the doctrine of contractual unconscionability and analyzes the prior UPC as an unconscionable agreement. Finally, it details the historic unionization process and makes detailed recommendations to ameliorate the unconscionable conditions minor league players have faced when they negotiate with MLB owners to draft their initial collective bargaining agreement.     

Improved Area of Origin Estimation for Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Using 3D Scanning

An important component of crime scene reconstruction is bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA). Where BPA concerns impact patterns, estimating the area of origin is critical information for scene reconstruction. Traditionally, this is achieved by measuring individual bloodstains and performing trigonometric calculations; however, 3D scanning has been proposed as a viable alternative for overcoming logistical and practical concerns with the manual method. Therefore, this project aimed to establish whether the FARO Focus 3D scanner and FARO Zone 3D software can improve the accuracy of area of origin estimates relative to the manual method. We created a series of eight bloodstain impact patterns and performed paired analysis using the two methods to estimate areas of origin for each pattern. Our data suggested that FARO-derived estimates were generally more accurate than using the manual method. FARO-estimated heights of origin areas were generally closer to the true distance. Both methods underestimated the distance from the wall for most patterns originating 150mm or greater from the wall, but overestimated distances for patterns originating closer to the wall. The degree to which distances were underestimated increased significantly the further the blood source was from the wall and was greater for FARO-derived estimates. The results of this research contribute to the validation of these instruments for operational implementation for BPA and should be considered alongside the practical benefits of 3D scanning relative to manual methods. Further, 3D scanning can provide reliable BPA reconstruction documentation for technical review and court presentation.     

人民币国际化背景下汇率对工业行业就业的影响——基于跨境贸易结算的影响因素视角

将跨境贸易人民币结算比重引入劳动力市场动态均衡模型,推导出汇率影响就业的全新路径,并利用2000-2018年中国工业行业面板数据进行实证分析。研究发现:通过进出口产品结构贸易路径,汇率对行业总体就业的正向影响最显著,其次是经由汇率变动预期路径,而汇率通过净出口指数路径对就业的负向影响较微弱。人民币汇率对不同行业就业的影响产生差异的根源是不同行业进出口产品结构及产品异质性的差距导致在汇率变动的不同情形下,行业间跨境贸易人民币结算的水平不同,从而造成外贸企业对劳动力的需求具有差异。并且,技术特征及贸易来源地特征是造成行业间就业水平差异的显著因素。     

Red Tape,Rule Burden,and Legitimate Performance Trade-Offs: Results from a Vignette Experiment

Abstract

Goals in the public sector are complex and managers can face situations in which pursuing one legitimate goal necessitates performance trade-offs in other areas. This study tests how knowledge of legitimate performance trade-offs shapes the perception of red tape. Using a vignette experimental design and a sample of university students, between group t-tests and regression analyses suggest that, when evaluating increased rule burden, individuals that are provided with information about how objectively burdensome rules serve alternative values such as equity and effectiveness associate them with lower levels of red tape. A series of Monte Carlo simulations suggest that this effect is substantial.     

青少年违法犯罪的分析及对策思考

解决青少年违法犯罪问题,既要抓住重点,又要有发展眼光,才能建立适应青少年违法犯罪形势的、动态的控制体系     

人的自由,人的解放——关于人的自由而全面发展的一点思考

马克思的“人的自由而全面发展”的思想是建立在对人的科学认识和对资本主义深刻批判基础上的,揭示了人类社会发展和人的发展的客观规律。人的自由发展与人的全面发展虽然是两个不同的范畴,但它们又是密切联系,相辅相成的。从某种意义上讲,人的自由发展比全面发展更重要。因此,我们应当理直气壮地讲人的解放,人的自由发展。     

广东省群体性事件多发的态势与防范对策

广东省群体性事件的高发是广东省处于社会转型时期的必然产物。社会发展的断裂、利益表达机制的缺乏、群体利益冲突的增加是群体性事件多发的根本原因。建立健全社会保障机制、利益表达机制、社会危机应对机制、全面的社会治安防控机制是解决群体性事件的有效措施。