EXAMINING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CHILD ACCESS AND CHILD SUPPORT

This article examines the connection between fathers' access to children and their maintaining child support. Also examined are various approaches to obtaining compliance with support orders. The effect of various factors on payment of support, such as frequency of contact, remarriage, and the length of time since the separation, is analyzed.     

Blind spots in policy analysis: What economics doesn't say about energy use

This article describes the difficulties of reducing analysis of energy use to an application of economic theory. It shows how economic concepts of behavior direct attention selectively to some important determinants of consumer behavior and away from others; how available economic accounts of short-term change in energy use, investment in energy efficiency, and the dynamics of investment limit understanding and narrow analysts' vision; how promising policy options are overlooked as a result; and how concepts and knowledge from the noneconomic behavioral sciences can compensate. Two strategies are discussed for improving analysis. Using economic theory to guide the improvement of existing models can help, conceptual blind spots will remain. A problem-oriented approach drawing on concepts and methods from across the behavioral sciences can avoid the blind spots, but cannot be systematic. Analysis can be improved by using both approaches in concert; some implications of a combined strategy are sketched.     

Methodology for the analysis of civil commitment detention times and costs

The authors expand their methodology for quantifying and comparing civil commitment processes by developing new formulas for the determination of the average commitment detention time and cost. They also examine the effects of specific changes in commitment procedures on the average detention time and cost. Using data from Oregon's civil commitment process, the authors present several examples of the practical application of their methodology and conclude with a discussion of its major administrative and research implications.     

A Mediator on the World Stage?—How the EU's Commitment in Foreign Affairs is Portrayed by New Zealand and Australian Media

Abstract: ‘European identity’ is as much a contested concept as is the role of the European Union in foreign affairs. This article combines the two concepts and introduces a third variable, ‘the Other’, in order to address the following questions: How do non‐Europeans perceive the EU on the world stage? Is a tentative identity as a mediator in foreign affairs conveyed in the EU's conduct of foreign policy? Analysing 10 newspapers, 4 television bulletins, and 830 public surveys from Australia and New Zealand in the first half of 2004, this article argues that the EU's efforts to further democracy and peace are often marginalised in Australian and New Zealand perceptions. Nevertheless, subtle traces of perceptions of the EU as a potent global actor promoting human rights and environmental sustainability and challenging unilateral US policy courses were detected.     

The Impact of Cultural Diversity on International Criminal Proceedings

This article analyses the impact of cultural diversity on internationalcriminal proceedings, and what may be done to counter the unfortunateconditions — limited (or lack of) understanding, alienationand disagreement — resulting from this diversity. Eachof these conditions, if ignored, seriously undermines not merelythe efficacy of international criminal tribunals, but also theirworth from the standpoint of those who are supposed to benefitfrom them, i.e. actual participants (accused, witnesses andvictims) and affected populations. At present, internationalcriminal tribunals primarily understand the problem of culturaldiversity as one of how to cope with linguistic variations.However, a persistent focus on culture as language hides differencesin terms of other culture-specific components of equal relevanceto their work, notably socio-cultural norms and convictionsabout justice. These variations are especially difficult totackle. In this context, the article examines whether nationalcourts, which are assumed to conduct their proceedings in moreculturally homogenous settings, offer more appropriate foraof adjudication of grave crimes under international law.     

MEDIATION AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

This article summarizes policies and procedures used by various courts in the United States in responding to domestic violence. Over 200 courts and services were contacted under a grant from the State Justice Institute in developing this survey. The article covers the profile of mediation services, mediator training regarding domestic violence, screening for domestic violence and protocols used.