Silencing Whistleblowers by Contract

In 2015 the corporate world was jolted as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced its first enforcement action against employer‐mandated confidentiality agreements to silence would‐be whistleblowers, imposing sanctions on KBR Inc. (KBR) for contractually restricting its employees from becoming whistleblowers. Lying dormant until this action, Dodd–Frank's Rule 21F‐17, which bars restrictions on SEC whistleblowing, now provides the SEC with an active enforcement mechanism through which the agency regularly penalizes noncompliant employers. Although it is now clear from a regulatory standpoint that such confidentiality agreements violate the law, Rule 21F‐17 is void of guidance or explanation as to a much thornier question—whether employers may restrict their employees from turning over to the SEC internal, confidential documents supporting their whistleblowing disclosures. While incorporating the results of a request by the author under the Freedom of Information Act pertaining to Dodd–Frank's whistleblower submission process, this article is the first scholarly attempt to fill this void in the law. By integrating law from related legal doctrines, including contract law, employment law, and precedent under the False Claims Act, this article proposes regulatory amendments to Rule 21F‐17 that balance the employer's concern of safeguarding confidential documents with the whistleblower's need for providing documentary support of his or her claims. Such clarifications to the law will not only provide the SEC and the courts a clear mechanism to determine the lawfulness of such transmissions, but will, most importantly, serve as advance guidance to whistleblowers as to the boundaries of relying on documentary support as they reveal wrongdoing.     

Canine Population Data Generated from a Multiplex STR Kit for Use in Forensic Casework*

Abstract: Canine biological specimens are often part of the physical evidence from crime scenes. Until now, there have been no validated canine‐specific forensic reagent kits available. A multiplex genotyping system, comprising 18 short tandem repeats (STRs) and a sex‐linked zinc finger locus for gender determination, was developed for generating population genetic data assessing the weight of canine forensic DNA profiles. Allele frequencies were estimated for 236 pedigreed and 431 mixed breed dogs residing in the U.S. Average random match probability is 1 in 2 × 10³³ using the regional database and 1 in 4 × 10³⁹ using the breed dataset. Each pedigreed population was genetically distinct and could be differentiated from the mixed breed dog population but genetic variation was not significantly correlated with geographic transition. Results herein support the use of the allele frequency data with the canine STR multiplex for conveying the significance of identity testing for forensic casework, parentage testing, and breed assignments.     

Caring Letters Project: a military suicide-prevention pilot program

Background: The Caring Letters Project (CLP) is a suicide prevention program that involves sending brief caring letters to discharged inpatients following psychiatric hospitalization. Several studies suggest that repeatedly sending caring messages may reduce suicides and suicide attempts in high-risk populations. Aims: The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate feasibility of use in the military setting, (2) explore trends toward reduction of psychiatric rehospitalizations, (3) assess preference for and test e-mail correspondence, and (4) identify best practices and gather data to inform a randomized controlled study. Methods: A total of 110 psychiatric inpatients at a military treatment facility consented, were interviewed, and then received personalized handwritten letters or e-mails at regular intervals following discharge. Data collected included demographics, clinical characteristics, preference for e-mail versus postal mail, rates of undeliverable and return correspondence, rehospitalizations, and adverse events requiring safety procedures. Results: A total of 436 letters and e-mails have been sent to date. Most participants indicated preference for e-mail versus postal mail. Fifteen participants were readmitted for treatment compared to 20 patients in usual care. Twenty participants sent responses and all were positive statements about the program. There were no adverse events. Conclusions: This program is feasible for use at a military treatment facility. A randomized controlled trial is needed to determine whether the intervention can reduce suicide rates among military and veteran populations.     

Factors Associated with Separation and Ongoing Violence among Women with Civil Protective Orders

This study examined a large sample of women recruited out of court at the time they received a civil protective order to better understand relationship status after obtaining a protective order (PO) and factors associated with protective order violations. Results are consistent with prior research suggesting that the protective order may be the impetus in separating from the abusive partner for some women, while for other women it is part of the separation process. Results also indicated that five out of ten women who did not continue a relationship experienced a violation while seven out of ten women who did continue a relationship with the PO partner experienced a violation. The majority of women felt safer and reported they believed the protective order was effective 13 months post-PO, regardless of relationship status. Furthermore, stalking played a significant role in separation from an abusive relationship and in protective order violations regardless of relationship status. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Administrative avenues to democratic governance: the balance of supply and demand

Governance interventions have evolved to a much greater emphasis on the demand side of good or democratic governance. This article discusses the need for an appropriate balance between both the demand and the supply sides. In short, while citizens need to demand, governments need to respond; both are capable of some supply; and none of these should be taken for granted. The pros and cons of a balanced approach are discussed, as well as the risks of imbalance. The article also begins to explore what a balanced approach might look like, arguing that balanced approaches incorporate a reorientation and expansion of various mechanisms of control: hierarchic/bureaucratic mechanisms are reoriented to embrace and promote democratic principles and opportunities for exit and voice; market mechanisms are exploited wherever possible; and clan mechanisms based on trust and repeated interaction are introduced and emphasized. Brief examples demonstrate that operationalizing a balanced approach entails consensus building through a series of negotiations among key stakeholders. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dimensions of Athletic Identity and their Associations with Drinking Behaviors among a National Sample of University Athletes in the United States

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Although prior studies have indicated athletic identity plays a role in alcohol use among college athletes, this research has largely drawn on a unidimensional...     

The validity of criminal justice contacts reported by inmates: A comparison of self-reported data with official prison records

Purpose

Existing research on criminal justice contact data has not adequately examined the quality of self-reported timing data, has produced discrepant findings on validity as it relates to demographics, and is limited in its assessment of data quality using a life event calendar method. The study described in this article assessed the validity of self-reported contacts with the criminal justice system gathered using a life event calendar with a sample of incarcerated men.

Methods

Self-reports of criminal justice contacts (i.e., arrests, jail terms, prison terms) were obtained from over 700 incarcerated men using a structured life-event calendar method. Similarly, data were collected from the inmate's official records for the same events. These reports served as an external criterion for the self-reports.

Results

Results indicated a significant degree of reporting errors for arrests using the life event calendar approach with better reporting for jail and prison terms. Additionally, individuals with the highest number of previous arrests had the greatest recall difficulties.

Conclusions

Recall of arrest presents a difficult recall task. The life event calendar method should either be modified to improve recall of specific events for criminological samples or used instead to capture information on more general and extended events.     

The Politics of Transition? Explaining Political Crises in the Implementation of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement

The implementation of the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement has been marked by recurring crises. While each of these has its specific causes, they are symptomatic of contradictions in the underlying conditions of conflict. These made the Belfast Agreement possible, but they also create difficulties in its implementation. The Agreement echoes — not least in its ambiguities — the underlying contradictions, reconstituting the political terrain in terms of them. This has reproduced the tendency toward conflict even among the supporters of the Agreement, whose different responses and ends-in-view reflect the objective uncertainties in the situation. Political crises are likely to continue even after the full implementation of the Agreement.     

Organizational Characteristics and Funding Environments: A Study of a Population of United Way–Affiliated Nonprofits

This study examines a population of United Way–affiliated nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts (1) to test hypotheses generated by previous research on relationships between government funding and specific nonprofit organizational characteristics, (2) to compare differences in organizational characteristics between nonprofits receiving higher percentages of revenues from the United Way and from government sources, and (3) to explore associations between government funding and United Way and underexamined characteristics, including use of commercial income and racial diversity of organizational membership. The study supports previous research on the relationship between government funding and nonprofit characteristics, with one notable exception—less administrative complexity was associated with higher percentages of government funding. The study also finds differences in organizational characteristics between nonprofits with higher proportions of government funding and those with higher percentages of United Way funding, including organization size, number of board members, administrative complexity, use of volunteers, and the racial diversity of boards, staff, and volunteers.     

Trace DNA success rates relating to volume crime offences

In this study, 252 trace DNA samples (from handled surfaces) from 201 burglary, robbery and drugs cases were compiled to assess success rates and to interpret the value of trace DNA evidence in volume crime investigations. The average amount of DNA recovered from the trace DNA samples collected was 1.7 ng. Full or major (12 or more alleles) profiles were recovered from 14% of samples. Samples from firearms and burglary points of entry were the least successful. Mixtures were recovered from 21% of samples, presenting a case for the collection of more elimination profiles to enable more samples to be used for database purposes. The research highlighted the difficulties in collecting data relating to the success rates of samples. Computerised automation of this process would be extremely beneficial in the assistance of policy development, method application, training, and investigative usefulness.