What happens when a reform works? The need to study unanticipated consequences of mandatory processing of domestic violence

One of the primary facets of the sociology of law is concerned with the relationships between formal rules and regulations having the force of governmental social control and the values, norms and practices of those who enforce them (or not). This “law in action” perspective enables research to test out the differential impact on legal decisions of both formal and informal aspects of social control (Hawkins, 1992). One of the limitations of recent work on domestic violence is that it focuses too narrowly on one or two negative sanctions, e.g., arrest or restraining orders, to the exclusion of the other options and the mix of formal and informal decisions in the criminal justice system as a whole (Reiss, 1974). This research attempts through a close analysis of the workings of the Quincy, Massachusetts criminal justice system in response to domestic violence, to identify the consequences, unanticipated and anticipated, of decisions made in several domains (public, police, prosecutors, and courts) of the criminal justice system. This study uses in-depth interviews with batterers, victims and criminal justice agency and related personnel as well as agency policies, training materials and records to examine possible unintended consequences of aggressive intervention in cases of domestic violence. This study will explore the impact of the Quincy Domestic Violence Program, considered to be a national model, on the lives of victims and offenders who are treated by the court. We have selected the District Court at Quincy, Massachusetts as our research site. It has a well deserved national reputation treating abusers systematically from the initial intake by arresting officers through close supervision in probation.     

The new JCAHO patient safety standards and the disclosure of unanticipated outcomes. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

This article looks at the newly-issued JCAHO standards and their increased focus on patient safety in performance standards for healthcare organizations. As part of these standards, hospitals are required to inform patients of outcomes of care, including unanticipated outcomes. This article examines this requirement and suggests varying interpretations of it. After looking at the current legal and ethical standards requiring disclosure of errors or negligent acts, the article suggests that hospitals are faced with many difficulties in implementing the standard. Specifically, the article argues that more details are necessary regarding what events must be reported and what hospitals are required to do when members of the medical staff refuse to inform patients of medical error.     

Outsmarting the Liars: The Benefit of Asking Unanticipated Questions

We hypothesised that the responses of pairs of liars would correspond less with each other than would responses of pairs of truth tellers, but only when the responses are given to unanticipated questions. Liars and truth tellers were interviewed individually about having had lunch together in a restaurant. The interviewer asked typical opening questions which we expected the liars to anticipate, followed by questions about spatial and/or temporal information which we expected suspects not to anticipate, and also a request to draw the layout of the restaurant. The results supported the hypothesis, and based on correspondence in responses to the unanticipated questions, up to 80% of liars and truth tellers could be correctly classified, particularly when assessing drawings.

Good practice in eliciting disclosures from sex offenders

Abstract

Eliciting useful and reliable disclosures from sex offenders is imperative for effective risk management. Responsiveness to accurate self-report by sexual offenders of their risky thinking and problematic behaviours ensures that offenders are dealt with at the correct risk level. This requires practitioners to use a range of constructive strategies and techniques for eliciting disclosures. Drawing on a recent study that investigated the nature and usefulness of disclosures, this paper explores the inherent challenges and identifies best practice in this important area of work.     

The emperor's cloths of disclosure: Hot money and suspect disclosures

This paper describes the results of the analysis of the Dutch database of suspect financial transactions for the years 1994-1996. It provides a detailed insight into the money volume at risk, the reasons for disclosure and the persons and corporations involved. The results show that from the start 48% of the disclosed money reports had to be discarded as there was either no money involved or there was no crime-money. The remaining database showed that all the distributions were very skewed resulting in the conclusion that “few move little money and few move much” or 179 persons were responsible for 89% of the disclosed money movements. The paper raises some questions about the assumptions underlying the anti-money laundering policy and the requirements for designing an adequate disclosure system at a European level. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

European remedial coherence in the regulation of non-consensual disclosures of sexual images

The non-consensual dissemination of sexually explicit images or videos for no legitimate purpose represents a serious sexual violation by means of breaching an individual's ability to control their own sexual identity. This article argues that the only adequate legal response to this behaviour is targeted criminal regulation, and that action on a regional level is within the European Union's competence by virtue of Article 83(1) TFEU. The approaches of EU Member States to the phenomenon through targeted criminal law are examined in order to extract positive and negative elements of the respective regulatory systems. Drawing on the experiences of these States, as well as on existing EU criminal directives, a draft directive is included to illustrate what form a European regional system of criminal regulation may take.     

Mentally ill and non-mentally-ill patients' abilities to understand informed consent disclosures for medication

The perormance of two groups of hospitalized mentally ill patients (schizophrenia and major depression) and two groups of non-mentally-ill patients (patients hospitalized for ischemic heart disease and non-ill primary care patients) was compared on a standardized, objective instrument for assessing patients' understanding of information relevant for patient decision making (consent) about treatment with medication. Generally, hospitalized schizophrenic patients manifested significantly poorer understanding of informed consent disclosures about potential medication than did the other groups. Considerable variance, however, was apparent within the schizophrenic group and was related to a number of clinical and demographic variables. The results are interpreted with reference to issues of compatence to consent to or refuse treatment.This research was supported by the Research Network on Mental Health and the Law of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. We wish to acknowledge Cynthia Wickless, Elizabeth Cote, and Kathryn Cranford for their assistance in this study and to thank several colleagues for helpful comments on an earlier draft: William Gardner, Steven K. Hoge, John Monahan, Stephen Morse, Ed Mulvey, and Henry Steadman.     

Ancillary consequences of employee theft

The majority of research on employee theft considered the characteristics and predictors of workplace misconduct. When consequences were considered, research centered on the economic losses arising out of workplace offending. This article addresses the ancillary consequences of employee theft. Interviews were conducted with 457 business owners, managers, supervisors, and other employees to assess their experiences with employee theft. By fully understanding the costs, businesses can be prepared to carry out strategies that would offset many of the negative consequences resulting from workplace misconduct.     

The consequences of a pragmatic turn for semiotics

Clara H. Stewardson Professor of Philosophy.     

The electoral consequences of corruption scandals in Spain

Previous studies of the electoral consequences of corruption in Spanish local elections (Jiménez Revista de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociológicas, 6(2):43–76, 2007; Fernández-Vázquez and Rivero 2011, Consecuencias electorales de la corrupción, 2003–2007. Estudios de Progreso, Fundación Alternativas; Costas et al. European Journal of Political Economy: 28(4):469-484, 2012) have found that voters do not necessarily punish corrupt mayors. As has been pointed out in the comparative literature, the average loss of electoral support by corrupt incumbents is small and does not prevent their reelection most of the times (Jiménez and Caínzos 2006, How far and why do corruption scandals cost votes? In Garrard, J. and Newell, J. (eds.) Scandals in past and contemporary politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press). What remains unsolved, however, is the remarkable variability in this pattern. This article explores some of the micro-level variables that may mediate the effect of corruption scandal on the votes. We focus on three factors: ideological closeness to the incumbent party, political sophistication, and employment status. Our results provide only partial support for our hypotheses, suggesting that the effects of corruption are much more complex than what may seem at first sight.