Psychological Injuries and Legal Decision Making in Civil Cases: What We Know and What We Do not Know

Civil plaintiffs frequently seek monetary compensation for their psychological injuries. Despite the increased study of psychological injury within the legal system, there has been little empirical examination of how psychological injury evidence impacts legal decisions. To illuminate what is known (and not known) on this topic, this paper reviews legal and empirical research regarding how legal decision makers (judges and jurors) perceive and use psychological injury evidence to render civil judgments. A few themes emerged from this review: (1) Courts generally devalue psychological injury, often making it difficult for plaintiffs to pursue and succeed on these claims; (2) these difficulties are a likely byproduct of legal decision-makers’ misperceptions of mental illness; and (3) despite a recent surge in empirical research on how jurors perceive and use psychological injury evidence to render civil decisions, many unexplored areas remain. Specific recommendations for legal policy and suggestions for future research are highlighted throughout this review.     

Early Intervention with Compensated Lower Back-Injured Workers at Risk for Work Disability: Fixed versus Flexible Approach

Low back pain (LBP), a leading cause of disability, has been linked with profound economic, personal, and social costs (Hills 2006; World Health Organization 2003). This significant effect propels research in identifying modifiable risk factors that protract LBP; these factors can be targeted in early intervention (EI) (Pransky, Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 49(3):249–251, 2007; Schultz et al., Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 17:327–352, 2007, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 18(2), 140–151, 2008; White et al. 2013). This randomized controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of two approaches, fixed versus flexible, in delivering proactive, interdisciplinary EI with 63 workers within a workers' compensation interdisciplinary case management setting (i.e., WorkSafeBC, Canada). Off-work 4 to 10 weeks post-back injury, the workers were also at risk of protracted work disability (N?=?24 at high risk; N?=?39 at moderate risk). Fixed, protocol-driven, interdisciplinary, multimodal, clinical, occupational, and case management-based EI was compared with a flexible, individual need-driven EI with the same modalities as the fixed approach. Results showed a significant narrowing of the outcome gap between the two interventions. High-risk injured workers tended to benefit more from a fixed, protocol-driven approach, as shown in the pilot study (Schultz et al. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 18(2), 140–151, 2008). The results indicated that moderate-risk workers benefitted from a more flexible, need-based, individual, and low-intensity approach as compared with a fixed approach. The flexible approach for moderate-risk workers was also less costly and consumed fewer rehabilitation and health care resources. Recommendations for future research and practice included larger sample sizes, controllability of research interventions, risk for disability-EI matching, and conditions under which a flexible delivery of multimodal EI is more efficacious than a fixed approach, and vice versa.     

Investing in Crisis: The Methods,Strategies, and Expectations of Investors in Single-Family Foreclosed Homes in Distressed Neighborhoods

In the wake of the U.S. foreclosure crisis, the magnitude of homes flowing into investor ownership since 2007 has been unprecedented. Based on interviews with investors and other key informants active on the south and southwest sides of Atlanta, we describe the key aspects of the business models of such investors, including their methods of identifying properties, determining acquisition prices and renovation costs, and managing properties for rent. We also examine their expectations for financial return, including the sensitivity of returns to market and property uncertainties. We conclude with key findings and some recommendations for policymakers.     

Hungry for Information: Public Attitudes Toward Food Nanotechnology and Labeling

What people think about food nanotechnology (nanofood) is under‐explored in the United States, especially outside of quantitative surveys. As such, we set out to examine public attitudes toward food nanotechnology in conversational, focus group settings in order to identify policy options for nanofood governance, and in particular, options for labeling. Through analysis of focus groups in six U.S. locations, we found that the vast majority of the participants wanted nanotechnology labels for all types of food products, and most were willing to pay a premium for labeling. Participants cited abilities to choose and avoid potential risk as the main purposes of nanofood labels. However, they recognized that labels alone do not provide much meaning and that information concerning food nanotechnology products needs to be sought and supplied beyond the label to enable informed choices. Additionally, willingness‐to‐use and risk–benefit perceptions varied according to the position and intended functions of the nanomaterials in food products.     

OBITUARIES

The Indian Federation. An Exposition and Critical Review. By Sir Shafa'at Ahmad Khan, Litt.D. Pp. xii + 450. 6?” × 9”. Macmillan and Co. 1937. 15s.

The Spirit of Zen. By Alan W. Watts. Wisdom of the East Series. Edited by L. Cranmer‐Byng and Dr. S. A. Katadia. 73/4” × 5”. Pp. 136. John Murray, 1936. 3s. 6d.

When Japan Goes to War.* By O. Tanin and E. Yohan. 8/1/4>” × 5/1/2>”. Pp. 271. Lawrence and Wishart. 5s.

Japan at the Cross Roads. By Walter Smith. Published by Lawrence and Wishart, London. 1936. 3s. 6d.

The Far East Comes Nearer. By H. Hcsscll Tiltman. Pp. 314. Illustrated. London: Jarrolds. 1936. 12s. 6d.

The China Year Book, 1936

Problems of Chinese Education. By Victor Purcell, Ph.D. 8 /3/4>” ×5/3/4>. Pp. viii+261. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., Ltd. 1936. 10s. 6d.

Attack on Everest. By Neil Macintyre. Pp. 172. Methuen. 5s.

Tibetan Journey. By Madame Alexandra David‐Neel. 9” × 5 ?”. Pp. 276. Maps and illustrations. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head. 12s. 6d.

Social Organization and Customary Law of the Nepalese Tribes. By Dr. Leonhard Adam, American Anthropologist. No. 4. 3$

Khyber Caravan: Through Kashmir, Waziristan, Baluchistan and Northern India. By Gordon Sinclair. 8 3/4” × 6”. Pp. xvi+287. Maps. Hurst and Blackett. 12s. 6d.

The Clear Mirror: A Pattern of Life in Goa and in Indian Tibet. By G. E. Hutchinson. 9” × 5 ⁷/_8". Pp. xii+171. Cambridge University Press. 8s. 6d.

Ganésa: A Monograph on the Elephant‐Faced God. By Alice Getty. With an Introduction by Alfred Foucher. Oxford : Clarendon Press. 1936.

Afghanistan. A Brief Survey. By J. D. Ahmada and M. A. Aziz. With a Foreword by Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal. 10” × 7/1/2>". Pp. xx + 159. First published by Dar‐ut‐Talif, Kabul, September, 1934. New impression, Longmans, Green and Co., printers in India, April, 1936. Three maps and seventy illustrations. 12s. 6d. Library edition, 15s. 6d.

The Harēm. By N. M. Penzer. Pp. 260. Index. Map. Forty‐two plates. Harrap and Co. 1936. 21s.

Moslem Women Enter a New World. By Ruth Frances Woodsmall. Publications of the American University of Beirut, Social Science Series, No. 14. London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. 12s. 6d.

The Effects of Centralization on Education in Modern Egypt. By Russell Gait, Ph.D. 9?"× 6”. Pp. vi + 134. Cairo: Department of Education, American University. 1936.

The Nile : From the Source to Egypt. The Life‐Story of a River. By Emil Ludwig. Translated by Mary Lindsay. London: Allen and Unwin. 1936. Price 16s.

Sea Adventures. By Henry de Monfried. Translated by Helen Buchanan Bell. Thirteen illustrations and endpaper map. Methuen and Co., Ltd. 10s. 6d.

The Dangerous Sea: The Mediterranean. By George Slocombc. 8/3/4> × 5/3/4>”. Pp. xxx+286. Hutchinson. 1936. 10s. 6d.

Aden Protectorate: A Report on the Social, Economic and Politica Condition of the Hadhramaut. By W. H. Ingrams, O.B.E. Colonial No. 123. Pp. 1–127. With map. H.M. Stationery Office. 3s.

The Arabian Knight: Sir Richard Burton. By Seton Dearden. Pp.334. Arthur Barker. 12s. 6d.

The Gates of Jerusalem. By Jacqueline Cockburn. With an appreciation by Sir Ronald Storrs, K.C.M.G., C.B.E. Pp. x + 300. John Murray. 7s. 6d.

Who is Prosperous in Palestine ? Labour Pamphlet No. 7.

The Palestine Mandate : Invalid and Impracticable. By W. F. Boustany. Palestine Information Centre. 1936. IS. 6d.     

Book reviews

Iron Oxen: A Documentary of Revolution in Chinese Farming. By William Hinton. New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1970. Pp. x + 225. $6.95 and £2.15.

Hundred Day War: The Cultural Revolution at Tsinghua University. By William Hinton. New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1972. Pp. 288. $7.95 and £3.15.

The Development of China's Steel Industry and Soviet Technical Aid. By M. Gardner Clark. Ithaca, NY: New York State School of Industrial and Labour Relations, Cornell University, 1973. Pp. vii + 104, appendices. $7.00.

Urban Unemployment in Developing Countries. By Paul Bairoch. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1973. Pp. v + 99. 12 Swiss F.

Fiscal Federalism. By Wallace E. Oates. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972. Pp. xvi + 256, diagrams.

Foreign Resources and Economic Development: A Symposium on the Report of the Pearson Commission. Edited by T. J. Byres. Portland, Oregon and London: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1971. Pp. xi + 199, index. £2.75.

The Inter‐American Development Bank: A Study in Development Financing. By Sidney Dell. New York, Washington and London: Praeger Publishers, 1972. Pp. xv + 255. £6.25.

Money and Economic Development: The Horowitz Lectures of 1972. By Milton Friedman. New York: Praeger, 1973. Pp. x + 67, diagrams. £3.50.

Modern Revolutions: An Introduction to the Analysis of a Political Phenomenon. By John Dunn. London: Cambridge University Press, 1972. Pp. 294, index, bibliography. £1 .40 (Paper).

Socialist Economic Development and Reforms. By J. Wilczynski. London: Mac‐Millan, 1972. Pp. xvii + 350. £5.

Reforms in the Soviet and East European Economies. Edited by L. A. D. Dellin and Hermann Gross. Lexington: D. C. Heath and Co, 1972, Pp. viii + 175. £4.

Politics and Society in Post‐War Naples. By P. A. Allum. London: Cambridge University Press, 1973. Pp. xvi + 410, appendices, maps, bibliography and index. £11.00.

Latin America Review of Books. Edited by Colin Harding and Christopher Roper. London and Leeds: Latin America Review of Books Ltd, No. 1 Spring 1973. Pp. 220. £3.00 (cloth), £1.25 (paper).

Rural Guerrillas in Latin America. By Richard Gott. London: Penguin Books, 1973. Pp. 637. £1.00.

Latin America: Underdevelopment or Revolution. By André Gunder Frank, New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1969. Pp. xviii + 409. £3.90.

Politics and Social Structure in Latin America. By James Petras. New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1970. Pp. 382. £4.25.

The Politics of Land Reform in Chile, 1950–1970. By Robert R. Kaufman. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1972. Pp. 321. £6.00.

Political Mobilization of the Venezuelan Peasant. By John Duncan Powell. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971. Pp. 229.

Urban Challenge in East Africa. Edited by John Hutton. Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1972. Pp. viii + 285, map, tables and photos. Shs. 42 in East Africa.

Employment, Incomes and Equality: A Strategy for Increasing Productive Employment in Kenya. Geneva: International Labour Office, 1972. Pp. xx + 600. 305 wf.

Arms and African Development. Proceedings of the First Pan‐African Citizens Conference. Edited by Frederick S. Arkhurst. New York and London: Praeger, 1972. Pp. xvi + 158. £7.75.

Man, State, and Society in the Contemporary Maghrib. Edited by I. William Zartman. New York: Praeger and London: Pall Mall, 1973. Pp. vii + 531, appendices with tables, maps, bibliographical essay. $13.50 and £5.67.

Histoire Economique du Québec 1851–1896. By Jean Hamelin and Yves Roby. Editions Fides: Montreal, 1971. Pp. 436, index. $10.00.

Indochina in Conflict: A Political Assessment. Edited by Joseph J. Zasloff and Alan E. Goodman. Lexington, Mass., Toronto and London: D. C. Heath and Co, 1972. Pp. xv + 227. £5.00.

The Dynamics of Indian Political Factions. By Mary C. Carras. London: Cambridge University Press, 1972. £6.50.     

The Common Security and Defence Policy as an act of American hegemony

Abstract

The financial crisis endangers the security of NATO's members and partners. As such, NATO has a formal obligation to mobilize its resources to aid members in overcoming current economic challenges. NATO can play a valuable role on three levels. First, NATO can aid members in rationalizing their military procurement and manpower systems, thus reducing the fiscal burden of maintaining adequate defenses. Second, NATO can press the ECB and the EU to modify arrangements governing the Euro so as to minimize the risk that EMU will collapse. Finally, NATO has a “soft power” role in vigorously defending the liberal economic order and democratic political institutions of the Western Alliance from the ideological attacks that inevitably follow financial crises.