Legal Design for Practice,Activism, Policy,and Research

This article offers an original integrated introduction to how to think about what design can do for law; where to find examples of legal design; and how to assess it. It identifies clear points of contact between lawyerly concerns and designerly skills, knowledge, and attitudes. It proposes that designerly ways can directly improve lawyerly communication; and that they can also generate new structured‐yet‐free spaces in which lawyers can be at once practical, critical, and imaginative. The article foregrounds the, hitherto unrecognized, diversity of existing legal design practice by drawing examples from across four fields of lawyering: legal practice, legal activism, policy making, and legal research. Emphasis is placed throughout on the need for a critical approach to legal design – that is, for legal design to be thought about and done with a commitment to avoiding, exposing, and remedying biases and inequalities.     

CITES,wild plants,and opportunities for crime

The illegal trade in endangered plants damages both the environment and local communities by threatening and destroying numerous species and important natural resources. There is very little research which systematically addresses this issue by identifying specific opportunities for crime. This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary study which brings together criminological and conservation science expertise to identify criminal opportunities in the illegal wild plant trade and suggest strategies in order to prevent and mitigate the problem. Methodologically, the study adapts a crime proofing of legislation approach to the UN Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and is based on documentary and interview data. Situational crime prevention is used as a framework to provide points for effective intervention.     

Crisis,justice, and managing the appetite for risk

Jindal Global Law Review - The phrase ‘never let a good crisis go to waste’ is often (mis)attributed to Winston Churchill. It expresses the common perception that the sentiments evoked...     

Risk factors for stalking violence,persistence, and recurrence

This study used a retrospective design to investigate risk factors associated with violence during a stalking episode, persistence (increased duration of stalking) and recurrence (multiple subsequent separate stalking episodes) in 157 people (91% male, mean age 35 years) with an established history of stalking behaviour. Results showed that diverse risk factors are associated with different types of stalking outcomes. Consistent with previous research, stalking violence was more likely to occur when the victim was an ex-intimate, when explicit threats had been made and where there had been previous property damage (AUC = .74). Personality disorder, older age, criminal versatility, a prior acquaintanceship and erotomanic delusions (AUC = .75) predicted stalking recurrence. Finally, previous acquaintanceship, the presence of delusional beliefs and the absence of a history of physical or sexual violence were associated with stalking persistence. These results clearly show that effective assessment and management of stalking requires consideration of different stalking outcomes and the diversity of associated risk factors.     

Project SafeCare: Improving Health, Safety, and Parenting Skills in Families Reported for, and At-Risk for Child Maltreatment

Project SafeCare was a 4-year, in-home, research and intervention program that provided parent training to families of children at-risk for maltreatment, and families of children who were victims of maltreatment. Parents were trained in treating children's illnesses and maximizing their own health-care skills (Health), positive and effective parent–child interaction skills (Parenting), and maintaining low hazard homes (Safety). The effectiveness of these training components was evaluated as the change in the parents' scores on roleplay situations for child health problems, hazards present in the home, and the frequency and quality of parent–child interactions during activities of daily living. Statistically significant improvements were seen in child health care, home safety, and parent–child interactions.     

Electronic supervision for sex offenders: Implications for work load, supervision goals, versatility, and policymaking

Electronic monitoring strategies are being used increasingly for sex offenders across the United States. Despite this increased use, few researchers have considered the broader implications for probation and parole officers when these tools are used. In this study, attention was given to how the use of electronic monitoring for sex offenders is related to supervision goals, work load, the use of other supervision strategies, and state level policies. Findings showed significant differences in several areas. The conclusion focuses on community corrections policy implications.     

Application, review, and reporting process for Waivers for State Innovation. Final rule

This final rule sets forth a procedural framework for submission and review of initial applications for a Waiver for State Innovation described in section 1332 of the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act including processes to ensure opportunities for public input in the development of such applications by States and in the Federal review of the applications.     

Schizophrenia: Causes,crime, and implications for criminology and criminal justice

This paper is aimed at criminologists and criminal justicians seeking to understand their role in educating law enforcement and correctional personnel who must deal with the mentally ill. It is motivated by William Johnson's (2011) recent call for rethinking the interface between mental illness, criminal justice, and academia, and his call for advocacy. We concur with his concerns, and insist that this rethinking must necessarily include grounding in the etiology of mental illness (specifically, with schizophrenia) as it is currently understood by researchers in the area. Advocacy must go hand in hand with a thorough knowledge of the condition of the people for whom we are advocating. We first examine major etiological models of schizophrenia, emphasizing the neurodevelopmental model that incorporates genetics, neurological functioning, and immunological factors guided by the assumption that the typical criminologist/criminal justician has minimal acquaintance with such material. We then address the link between schizophrenia and criminal behavior, and conclude with a discussion of the implications for criminology and criminal justice.     

Business Planning for Climate Change: Identifying Vulnerabilities and Planning for Changes in Water,Temperature, Sea Level,Natural Resources,Health Effects,and Extreme Events

The ability to predict the timing and magnitude of future climate and temperature changes at a regional level has become increasingly important for corporate decision making and enterprise risk management. In the short term, companies could face decisions about acquisitions of water-dependent companies and natural resources or might be planning facilities or operations in communities vulnerable to erosion and flooding, changes in water supplies, and increasing health-care costs. In the intermediate term, companies need to assess these vulnerabilities to determine appropriate insurance coverage, plan for new infrastructure, implement preventative health-care programs, or protect natural resources. A technical approach needs to involve predictive tools that can provide bounding estimates at regional scales. The implications of those changes need to be translated to consequences that can affect specific businesses. Corporations must be cognizant of the uncertainties in this forecasting process and for that reason it is essential to link the likelihood of outcomes with the magnitudes of consequences. This article outlines an approach that is gaining traction as a way to address this complex matter.     

Human Rights, Risks, and New Strategies for Global Investment

It is often argued that the rules and practices of foreign directinvestment can threaten the protection of human rights. Thatdanger used to arise from the fact that the investors simplydismissed concern for these rights as their responsibility.This is no longer so. Major lenders and project sponsors nowregularly make commitments to human rights and to allied principlesgoverning environmental protection and health and safety. Thedanger instead arises from the way in which the two domainsare being brought together. The collision that threatens isnot over whether, but over how commercial imperatives are tobe integrated with this branch of social justice. The article aims at diagnosis of the problem and considers somepossible solutions to it. It frames the issues in terms of severalcompeting fundamental principles, and draws on concrete examplesfrom the investment contracts regulating the Baku – Tibilisi- Ceyhan (BTC) and Chad/Cameroon pipeline projects. Once theareas of potential collision between these contracts and humanrights requirements are explored, the essay considers a significantalteration to the BTC agreement, designed to open it up moreeffectively to human rights concerns. The analysis ends witha consideration of some model clauses for investment contractsin the future.     

Race,occupational status,and pro-active police arrest for drinking and driving

The issue of pro-active police arrest bias by race, occupational status, and police patrol intensity is examined using the offense of DUI (Driving Under the Influence of alcohol). Intoxicated drivers from a 10-weekend roadside survey of vehicles randomly selected from the streets of a medium-sized southeastern metropolitan area are compared to officially arrested drivers apprehended during a corresponding time period. Upon examination, no statistically significant arrest bias was detected by the driver's race. However, compared to the roadside survey population, lower occupational status drivers (i.e., blue collar) were significantly more likely to appear in the arrested population than an upper status (i.e., white collar) driver—especially in the lightly patrolled middle and upper class residential sections of town. The significance of occupational status, when combined with the finding that race was not a significant indicator of difference between the arrested and roadside survey populations, suggests that pro-active police arrest bias is more a function of institutionally determined police patrol practices rather than overt racial prejudice on the part of individual officers.     

Linking innovation,productivity, and competitiveness: implications for policy and practice

A country’s competitiveness is a complex concept that has been widely studied from different perspectives. Given that the competitive performance depends on the formation of intellectual capital and society’s capacity to innovate, economic research has identified innovation and productivity as key engines for the increase of competitiveness. There are several alternatives approaches for measuring innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. These approaches lead to different assessments, since there is no universally accepted definition and measuring technique of the aforementioned concepts. Moreover, these definitions appear to have several overlaps and this complicates the analysis of their relations. The aim of this paper is to present a methodological framework for studying the dynamic linkage among innovation, productivity, and competitiveness and explore the implications for policy and practice. For each one of these measures, an overall score is estimated, using a regression-based model that follows the principles of multi-objective mathematical programming. For the purpose of the analysis, a database containing a set of 25 indicators for 19 countries for the period 1998–2008 has been developed. The most important results include a series of contour maps and gap analysis diagrams that illustrate the evolution of the overall innovation, productivity, and competitiveness indices and compare the performance of the examined countries. These results show that, by average, there are no significant gaps among innovation, productivity, and competitiveness, although several variations may be found for particular countries. The motivation for this research from a policy and management perspective, is to explore whether, how and why certain combinations of competitiveness, productivity and innovation levels for a given country as well as across countries reveal any particular set of intrinsic strengths or weaknesses as well as more effective entry points regarding public sector (policy) interventions. A systematic profiling and comparison of competitiveness, productivity and innovation competence levels may reveal guidelines and insights for private sector (management) choices and initiatives as well.