Breaking the mold: a new type of multilateral sustainable development negotiation

Participants in the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were reminded time and again that there is no model for the process to develop the SDGs. They resolved to not repeat the closed process used to develop the Millennium Development Goals, but the OWG began work when failures to reach consensus and fatigue with multilateral environmental negotiations dominated delegates’ minds, rather than examples of successfully negotiated outcomes. The OWG Co-Chairs were faced with the daunting task of guiding delegates’ efforts to develop a proposed set of crisp SDGs and targets that all could agree to, and thus, had to accomplish the following goals: (1) reduce delegation rigidity, both of individual Member States and within coalitions; (2) maximize the sense of participation, transparency, and ownership to get the most buy-in at the end; and (3) develop a sense of trust that would change the relationship between Member States. To do this, the OWG Co-Chairs broke the mold of UN multilateral negotiations that Member States and observers had become familiar with and created a different approach. This article examines how the OWG accomplished these goals and overcame the shortcomings of other multilateral negotiating processes on sustainable development to produce a widely supported consensus outcome at a time when governments have struggled to achieve agreement in many multilateral negotiation tracks.     

The Usage of the AMA <Emphasis Type="Italic">Guides</Emphasis> for the Determination of Psychological Injury Within the State and Federal Workers’ Compensation Systems

Psychological injuries, like physical injuries, may occur within the workplace. If those injuries are reported to be a result of a triggering event in the workplace, then a workers’ compensation (WC) claim may be filed by the individual. State WC and the federal WC systems have laws and rules in place to address workplace psychological injury claims. However, because each State has its own WC State laws as does the federal WC system, there is no current standardization in defining either psychological injury or in defining disability. This is because each system has its own definitions. A few States allow workplace psychological injury claims. Some States do not accept WC psychological injury claims. The remaining States recognize workplace psychological injuries but with specific limitations. The federal WC system allows WC psychological injury claims. There are problematic issues that occur in the State and federal WC systems. These issues are utilizing outdated terminology, employing outdated diagnostic criteria, and allowing documentation submission and professional opinion that does not comport with current professional standards of care. In addition, the need for a definitive answer to address causation is not always possible to address with regard to psychological injury. These types of issues introduce imprecision into the determination of psychological injuries. To address these concerns, the American Medical Association developed the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment as a means to take a more scientific approach to the assessment of impairment. This stance was a move away from the poorly defined term, “disability”. The focus was on evaluating the individual’s functioning in terms of impairment. The AMA holds that this is a more objective method that provides a balance between clinical opinion and the utilization of a more scientific methodology that increased precision in the determination of psychological injury and purported impairment in functioning that may have resulted from the injury. The American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment are utilized by many States and the federal WC systems to assist in the evaluation of psychological impairment in functioning and in the WC claims process. Some States opt to use earlier editions of the Guides. Other States and the federal WC system require the usage of the most current edition of the Guides. A few States opt to forego the usage of the Guides altogether and develop State-specific guidelines. The complexities that arise within the WC systems as well as usage of the Guides to evaluate and assess psychological injury are explored as well as potential solutions to address the imprecision that occurs within the WC systems.     

International regulation without international government: Improving IO performance through orchestration

International organizations (IOs) have been widely criticized as ineffective. Yet scholars and practitioners assessing IO performance frequently focus on traditional modes of governance such as treaties and inter-state dispute-resolution mechanisms. When they observe poor performance, moreover, they often prescribe a strengthening of those same activities. We call this reliance on traditional state-based mechanisms “International Old Governance” (IOG). A better way to understand and improve IO performance is to consider the full range of ways in which IOs can and do operate—including, increasingly, by reaching out to private actors and institutions, collaborating with them, and supporting and shaping their activities. Such actions are helping to develop an intricate global network of public, private and mixed institutions and norms, partially orchestrated by IOs, that we call “Transnational New Governance” (TNG). With proper orchestration by IOs, TNG can ameliorate both “state failure”—the inadequacies of IOG—and “market failure”—the problems that result when the creation and evolution of norm-setting institutions is highly decentralized. Orchestration thus provides a significant way for IOs to improve their regulatory performance. Some IOs already engage actively with private actors and institutions—we provide a range of illustrations, highlighting the activities of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Yet there remains a significant “orchestration deficit” that provides real opportunities for IOs. We draw on the lessons of existing IO activities to suggest additional possibilities for improving IO performance.     

The detection of hydromorphone in urine specimens with high morphine concentrations

A previous study suggested that small amounts of morphine are metabolically converted to hydromorphone. In the present study, morphine positive urine specimens obtained from a postmortem laboratory and a random urinalysis program were tested for morphine, codeine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone to assess the possibility that small amounts of hydromorphone are produced from the metabolism of morphine. The opioids were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as their respective trimethylsilyl derivatives following solid phase extraction. The limit of detection for hydromorphone was 5 ng/mL. A total of 73 morphine positive urine specimens were analyzed, with morphine concentrations ranging from 131 to 297,000 ng/mL. Hydromorphone was present at a concentration > or =5 ng/mL in 36 of these specimens at concentrations ranging from 0.02% to 12% of the morphine concentration. Hydrocodone was not detected in these specimens at the assay detection limit of 25 ng/mL. These results support earlier work suggesting that the detection of hydromorphone in urine specimens does not necessarily mean that exogenous hydromorphone or hydrocodone was used.     

Effectiveness of sex offender treatment for psychopathic sexual offenders

Meta-analyses have suggested that sexual offender treatment (SOT) completion is associated with lowered sexual recidivism rates for convicted sexual offenders. The paucity of properly designed studies allows for the alternative explanation of less recidivism among treated samples as reflecting that lower risk offenders disproportionately self-select into treatment. A test of the "self-selection explanation" can occur by investigating treatment effect on known high-risk offenders. Psychopathy correlates with increased sexual recidivism risk, such that an exploration of the SOT effect on psychopathic offenders could clarify the accuracy of the self-selection hypothesis. Additionally, the debated degree to which psychopaths are treatable might obtain clarification by a research review. This article examines empirical findings concerning the effectiveness of SOT for psychopathic sexual offenders. Ten studies were found to meet the minimal quality standards used, stemming from only four data sources. Shortcomings of existing research precluded clear conclusions, though trends in the data are delineated.     

Routine Activity Theory,Target Congruence,and School Context: A Multilevel Analysis of Teacher Victimization

Teachers at school are typically considered as handlers or guardians of students and managers of classrooms—in roles that foster learning and protect students from harm. Thus, relatively little research attention is given to identifying the risk factors for teacher victimization in comparison with the great deal of work addressing the correlates of student victimization at school. The present study fills this gap in the literature on school violence by examining the individual- and school-level predictors of teacher victimization. The authors’ analysis is framed using a multilevel opportunity theoretical approach, incorporating measures of teacher activities, self-protection, teacher attributes that suggest target vulnerability and target antagonism, school-level norms supportive of delinquency, and school-level guardianship. These various risk and protective factors are examined using hierarchical negative binomial regression models with data from over 4,100 teachers in 98 schools in Kentucky.     

Eating Regulation Styles, Appearance Schemas, and Body Satisfaction Predict Changes in Body Fat for Emerging Adults

Obesity and high body fat percentages are a major public health issue. The percentage of obese and overweight Americans has increased over the past 30 years. On average, overweight individuals with higher percent body fat than normal weight individuals are at increased risk for numerous negative outcomes both physically and mentally. A prime time to investigate changes in body composition and associated psychological influences on decision making is during the emerging adulthood period. The first few years of college are a time when adolescents begin to regulate for themselves their own eating behaviors. Previous research shows that freshmen gain weight and increase in percent body fat during their first year of college. The current study addresses the limitations of previous research by investigating (1) individual growth in percent body fat over a longer period of time in college than previous available research and (2) important psychological and sex differences in this growth. This study measures percent body fat across the first 3 years of college at 8 time points for 542 undergraduates (351 females, 65 %; 191 males, 35 %). Longitudinal data analysis was conducted to identify changes in percent body fat, psychological predictors of those changes, and how changes differ for males and females. Our study found that significant increases exist in percent body fat during undergraduates' college years and that change differs for males and females. In addition, through the use of nested hierarchical models, eating regulation style (autonomous or controlled regulation), appearance schema (self-evaluative salience or motivational salience), and body satisfaction were identified as influential predictors of change in percent body fat. For example, young females, who do not feel in control of their physical appearance yet spend a great deal of time maintaining their appearance, have the highest initial body fat percentage and the steepest increase in percent body fat. Overall, males and females with high autonomous regulation and high motivational salience are likely to maintain (instead of increase) percent body fat over the college years. Knowing the influence of these predictors can be useful for promoting health and intervening with young adults in the college setting and other emerging adults who are not enrolled in postsecondary institutions.     

Where is the ‘Plus’ in ‘Credit-Plus’? The Case of Chiapas,Mexico

Abstract

It has become common to try and increase the effectiveness of microfinance programmes by adding supplementary services to the financial product. However, the added value accruing from this ‘credit-plus’ approach has been little analysed. We hypothesise that the extent of added value from credit-plus depends on the ability of the credit supplier to cultivate trust, or social capital, amongst clients. Applying difference-in-difference estimation, we exploit a natural experiment of two ‘credit-plus’ programmes in Mexico. The findings suggest that credit-plus is not universally effective, but that it is at its most effective, especially with low-income groups, where ‘bonding’ (within-group) social capital exists.