State lotteries: Explaining their popularity

This article provides a detailed explanation for the adoption of state lotteries as revenue measures. It focuses on Texas for examples. Relying on a previously published set of evaluative criteria for revenue sources, the authors explain why, despite generally negative treatment of state lotteries by revenue experts, lotteries are favored by legislatures and publics in thirty-four states and the District of Columbia. As revenue matters rather than general policy matters, lotteries are politically expedient and have sufficiently large yields to overshadow shortcomings noted by experts and critics: regressivity, high administrative costs, instability, lower than anticipated yields, and potential negative social consequences. This look at policy-maker and public evaluation of state lotteries explains their widespread utilitization.     

"Independence" and the nonprofit board: a general counsel's guide

In the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regulations that govern the public company sector, standards are emerging to assure that nonprofit corporate boards are maintaining appropriate levels of independence. This Article provides a summation of the current trends in the development of independence standards for nonprofit corporate governance, from both tax and corporate law perspectives. The authors consider independence standards for nonprofit boards of governance and discuss the evolution of independence standards as they relate to the duty of good faith, and the distinction between independence and conflicts of interest. The authors also seek to examine the evolution of current federal regulations and study state models that have been successfully implemented to insure the independence of nonprofit corporations. Finally, the authors propose a set of core guidelines to be considered when addressing board and committee independence issues.     

Ethical issues in HealthConnect's shared electronic health record system

Many countries are in the process of implementing systems of shared electronic health records. This article explores some of the ethical concerns raised by Australia's proposed HealthConnect system which aims to create electronic event summaries of health information. Three areas of ethical concern relating to confidentiality, consent and the involvement of the private sector are examined. It is argued that unless the HealthConnect system is firmly grounded in policy based on ethical considerations, patients may not want to "opt in" to it.     

Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

Most of the research on paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland has concentrated on either the historical origins of paramilitary organizations or the background characteristics of individuals who engage in this activity. Less attention has been given to analyzing public attitudes in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland toward the use of paramilitary violence as a political tool within this society. In this paper we argue that one of the reasons for the intractability of the conflict and the current impasse over the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons is the widespread latent support for paramilitary activity among the civilian population in both these societies. Overall, the results suggest that only a lengthy period without political violence in Northern Ireland will undermine support for paramilitarism and result in the decommissioning of weapons.     

Paying for the Past: Redressing the Legacy of Land Dispossession in South Africa

The constitution of South Africa mandates equitable redress for individuals and communities evicted from their properties during colonialism and apartheid. The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights' institution‐wide assumption is that the financial awards given as equitable redress had no long‐term economic impact on recipients because the money is gone and they are still in poverty, whereas if people had received land, the economic impact would have been lasting. Consequently, in recent years, the commission has adopted a policy of using its soft power to force claimants to choose land restitution instead of financial awards. However, the interviews I conducted with financial award recipients show that in 30 percent of the cases, the award did produce a long‐term economic benefit because respondents invested in their homes. This empirical evidence suggests that the commission should rethink its recent shift in policy and not totally discount the potential of financial awards to produce a lasting economic benefit.     

Laws to detain individuals with substance dependency: breaching human rights or restoring health?

At the turn of the 20th century in the United Kingdom and Australia, legislation was introduced to detain and treat "inebriates". Since that time, variations of such laws have continued to exist. This column examines current laws in Australia and New Zealand with a particular focus on recent law reform efforts in New South Wales and Victoria. The column raises some of the issues with these laws in relation to breaching human rights for the purpose of treatment.