New Jersey Appellate Division Affirms Allocation to Insured for Pre-December 2004 Insolvencies

The New Jersey Appellate Division has held that in long-tail allocation cases, the policyholder remains responsible for amounts allocable to insurers who became insolvent before December, 2004, and that the rule announced in Farmers Mutual Fire Ins. Company of Salem v. N.J.P.L.G.A. does not apply to such insolvencies because the Legislature specifically provided that the statutory amendments that formed the basis for the Farmers Mutual decision applied prospectively from their effective date. The decision confirms that for insolvencies that took place before the amendments' effective date, New Jersey's common law rule that the policyholder bears the risk of insolvencies and is responsible for shares allocable to them still applies. The Court's decision strengthens insurers' arguments that Farmers Mutual did not alter the common law rule for policies that are not subject to the 2004 amendments to New Jersey's Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association Act or Surplus Lines Insurance Guaranty Fund Act.     

The Verifiability Approach to detection of malingered physical symptoms

Inspired by recent research showing that liars are reluctant to include verifiable details in their accounts, we explored in two studies (N?=?125; N?=?105) whether participants who report fabricated symptoms (‘malingerers’) present fewer verifiable details than participants who report genuine ill-health symptoms. In Study 1, participants were instructed to describe a typical day on which they had experienced a genuine or malingered symptom. Truth tellers’ statements included significantly higher proportions of verifiable details concerning the reported symptoms than malingerers’ statements. Compared with truth tellers, malingerers generated longer statements with more unverifiable details. In Study 2, we informed participants that their statements may be assessed for verifiable or checkable details. Malingerers often mentioned ‘false’ witnesses to provide checkable information and differences between malingerers and truth tellers in statement length, and checkable and uncheckable details were no longer significant. The utility and implications of the Verifiability Approach to detection of malingering are discussed.     

Blood on the Stone: Greed,Corruption and War in the Global Diamond Trade

Blood on the Stone: Greed, Corruption and War in the Global Diamond Trade by Ian Smillie, Anthem Press, International Development Research Centre, 2010, ISBN: 978 1 55250 498 7, 237 pp.     

Latent Profile Approach to Duration of Stalking

Abstract: Stalking behavior and victim–stalker relationship are often the principal known factors in a stalking case. Thus, they are of great importance when trying to identify factors contributing to stalking duration. The present study aims to identify distinct subgroups of stalking victims based on measures of behavioral stalking dimensions. These victim subgroups, stalking dimensions, and victim–stalker relationship are examined in relation to stalking duration. Using a sample of 137 university students, latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed five distinct victim subgroups based on stalker behavior dimensions: surveillance, low‐profile, social lurker, wide scope, and baseline stalkers. The subgroups were significantly related to stalking duration and explained a considerable amount of the variance along with the stalking dimensions and victim–stalker relationship. Connections to stalking literature and utility of person‐orientated methods in stalking research are discussed.     

Exploring Risk: Potential Static,Dynamic, Protective and Treatment Factors in the Clinical Histories of Female Sex Offenders

Despite nearly a century of knowledge indicating a significant number of women engaging in sexual activities with children, the phenomenon has not yet been fully acknowledged. Recently, however, there has been a marked increase in research in this area. However, due to the relatively small numbers of detections or convictions there remains a lack of data regarding: (1) the specific clinical characteristics of female sex offenders; and (2) how these clinical factors link to re-offending and treatment need. The following study examines potential risk, protective, and treatment factors that are highlighted through the process of clinical intervention, using an adapted version of the Beech and Ward (2004) risk framework. We describe how female sex offenders typically display clinical deficits in the same risk domains as their male counterparts, while noting the ways in which these deficits manifest in this population. In addition, we compare these vulnerability factors in four established types of female sex offender.     

Responding to the Structural Violence of Migrant Domestic Work: Insights from Participatory Action Research with Migrant Caregivers in Canada

This study explores international domestic workers’ response to employer abuse and exploitation following changes to Canada’s Live-in-Caregiver Program in 2014. This research followed an interpretive policy analysis research design, using feminist, participatory, and action research methods. University-based researchers, advocates, and peer researchers collaborated to develop and implement the project’s research and advocacy goals. Thirty-one caregivers in Toronto and Calgary participated in individual and/or focus group interviews to discuss access to permanent residence, working conditions and forms of support. Many shared examples of labor exploitation and psychological hardship due to precarious work conditions and long periods of family separation. Barriers to accessing services and fear of losing status led the majority of caregivers to rely primarily on informal networks for mutual aid and support. This paper identifies how changes in Canada’s temporary foreign worker program for live-in-caregivers exacerbates the structural violence of migrant care work, where the risk for abuse, exploitation, and risk of losing status is normalized. Migrant caregivers accept the precarious work conditions with the promise of permanent residence and the chance to improve their lives for themselves and their children. Towards envisioning improvements in social service delivery, our research highlighted the need for social services to increase outreach and safety planning for migrant workers who are vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and the loss of legal immigration status. Our research also supports grassroots advocacy to call for all migrant workers to be granted permanent resident status upon arrival to ameliorate the structural violence of migrant labor.     

Evaluation of the use of pharmacological treatment with prisoners experiencing high levels of hypersexual disorder

This paper presents an evaluation of the impact of pharmacological treatment in reducing hypersexual disorder in adult males who have been incarcerated following conviction for a sexual offence. The evaluation compares two types of pharmacological treatment, one of which is part of the current NICE guidance for treatment of hypersexuality (Antiandrogens), whilst the other type (SSRIs) is off-label use in the UK for hypersexuality. The participant pool comprised 127 adult male prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences in a UK prison. Participants had been voluntarily referred for pharmacological treatment to manage hypersexual disorder. The results demonstrated a significant reduction of hypersexual disorder pre- and post-medication and contribute to the evidence base for the use of pharmacological treatment with individuals for whom hypersexual disorder may be a salient factor in their offending. Limitations of the current research are discussed.