Towards a Polanyian Perspective on Fair Trade: Market-based Relationships and the Act of Ethical Consumption

Fair trade requires that developed country consumers engage in market-based transactions with developing country producers. Yet this is not market trade in any straightforward sense, because the purchase of fairly traded products brings consumers into two market relationships at the same time. One is the market relationship through which consumers buy the product itself, which enables them to act altruistically by consciously paying the price premium that the producer receives. The other is the market relationship through which consumers buy the socially reputable knowledge of having helped a distant stranger, which enables them to harness their ostensibly ethical consumption to a knowingly self-interested action. This latter relationship adds a new dimension to orthodox commodity fetishism. A Polanyian perspective is developed to investigate the way in which fair trade reworks the commodity fetish. This serves as a prelude to an extended discussion of the moral status of the behavioural motivations that underpin fair trade consumption.     

中国改革与社会科学的作用

谢谢主席.我非常荣幸有这个机会跟大家一起讨论社会科学与经济发展的问题.今天我准备用中文讲,我北京有很多朋友,他们有一句话说:"天不怕地不怕,就怕外国人说普通话,"因此如果我有说错的地方,请大家原谅.     

Engagement processes in model programs for community reentry from prison for people with serious mental illness

Linking prisoners with mental illness with treatment following release is critical to preventing recidivism, but little research exists to inform efforts to engage them effectively. This presentation compares the engagement process in two model programs, each representing an evidence-based practice for mental health which has been adapted to the context of prison reentry. One model, Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT), emphasizes a long-term wrap-around approach that seeks to maximize continuity of care by concentrating all services within one interdisciplinary team; the other, Critical Time Intervention (CTI), is a time-limited intervention that promotes linkages to outside services and bolsters natural support systems. To compare engagement practices, we analyze data from two qualitative studies, each conducted in a newly developed treatment program serving prisoners with mental illness being discharged from prisons to urban communities. Findings show that the working relationship in reentry services exhibits unique features and is furthered in both programs by the use of practitioner strategies of engagement, including tangible assistance, methods of interacting with consumers, and encouragement of service use via third parties such as families and parole officers. Nevertheless, each program exhibited distinct cultures and rituals of reentry that were associated with fundamental differences in philosophy and differences in resources available to each program.     

Imaging electrostatic fingerprints with implications for a forensic timeline

The electrical charge deposited by contact electrification due to a finger touching a thin insulating surface is imaged using an electric field microscopy system. It is based on an ultrahigh impedance electric potential sensor used as a non-contact raster scanning probe to measure surface charge density with a spatial resolution of up to 5 μm. Preliminary results are presented which yield two principle findings. First, they indicate that the spatial resolution of the fingerprint image is sufficient for identification purposes. Secondly, that the decay of the surface charge may be considered as a candidate method for the dating or sequencing of these electrical charge fingerprints. The decay of surface charge with time is well defined, largely material dependent, and may take many days. This intrinsic decay rate for the material may be quantified using the charge imaging system described in this paper and a known test charge. The measurement technique described is non-destructive, may be repeated without degradation of the sample, and does not preclude the subsequent use of other techniques such as DNA analysis or conventional latent fingerprint development.     

Toward Normalization of Defamation Law: The U.K. Defamation Act of 2013 and the U.S. SPEECH Act of 2010 as Responses to the Issue of Libel Tourism

In the wake of several high-profile libel actions brought by U.S. celebrities and foreign businessmen in London because of more favorable defamation laws there, London was dubbed the “libel tourism capital of the world.” The U.S. response in 2010 was the passage of the SPEECH Act, preventing courts from enforcing libel judgments from foreign jurisdictions not providing the same level of protection as the United States. Similarly, in 2013 the United Kingdom responded to international and national criticism by passing the Defamation Act to address the loophole in its system that caused the abuse. Both acts have been criticized, the first for its aggressiveness, and the second for its conservative nature. This article examines the development of the law of defamation in the two jurisdictions and analyzes the content of both statutes, along with their criticisms, proposing international cooperation to address the issue of libel tourism.     

Development and Pilot of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Trauma‐Informed Juvenile Court Self‐Assessment

Trauma‐informed practices in the juvenile justice system are increasingly recognized as effective for promoting public safety through case management, rehabilitation, and treatment that is responsive to a traumatic event exposure and current trauma reactions. As court systems explore integration of trauma‐informed practices, tools for identifying best practices and strategically implementing trauma‐informed approaches are integral for judges and court administrators aiming to develop trauma‐informed courts. The current paper reviews the National Child Traumatic Stress Network's development of the Trauma‐Informed Juvenile Court Self‐Assessment (TI‐JCSA). Implications for self‐guided strategies to shift court practices and policies to align with trauma‐informed approaches will be discussed.     

Primer binding site mutations affecting the typing of STR loci contained within the AMPFlSTR SGM Plus kit

The Forensic Science Service carries out human identification and familial investigations using the AMPFlSTR SGM Plus kit (PE Biosystems, Warrington, England). We have studied approximately 42,000 parent/child allelic transfers (meioses) for deviations from expected Mendelian Inheritance patterns. Of 55 apparent mutations detected, 20 had patterns suggestive of the presence of a primer binding site mutation producing a silent/null allele. The presence of a silent allele was unequivocally demonstrated in 13 of the 20 suspected cases by using alternative primer sets. Of the 13 confirmed cases, 9 involved the D18S51 locus. As the individuals in these cases all originated from the same geographic region of the Middle East, this cluster suggests the presence of a relatively common variant D18S51 allele in that particular group. These data taken together with our previously published work, confirm that the primer binding sites utilised for amplification of the loci contained in the AMPFlSTR SGM Plus kit have highly conserved nucleotide sequences.