Issues in Coverage for Preexisting Pollution Conditions under Pollution Liability Insurance Policies

Pollution liability insurance policies provide coverage for claims and costs associated with pollution conditions that develop and commence during the policy period. Coverage under such policies for claims arising from pollution conditions that existed before the policy incepted, however, varies significantly under different policy forms. This article addresses the two principal means that insurers have utilized to limit the risks associated with preexisting pollution conditions under pollution policies: the known conditions exclusion and retroactive date provisions. The article explains that these provisions have received mixed treatment in the courts and are likely to continue to be a focus of future coverage litigation involving environmental impairment liability and pollution legal liability policies.     

The Complexity of Public Attitudes Toward Sex Crimes

Previous research suggests that public opinion about crime is nuanced, as it has been found to vary greatly depending upon the type of questions asked and the amount of information provided. Few have similarly examined the complexity of public attitudes specifically about sex crimes. A survey was administered to a sample of U.S. residents utilizing the factorial survey method. The results suggest that specific details about the offense, offender, and victim had a significant effect on perceptions. The findings point to discrepancies between policy and public opinion, as well as to the importance of educating the public about the realities of sexual offending and victimization.     

Quantitation of Synthetic Cannabinoids in Plant Materials Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography with UV Detection (Validated Method)

Plant based products laced with synthetic cannabinoids have become popular substances of abuse over the last decade. Quantitative analysis for synthetic cannabinoid content in the laced materials is necessary for health hazard assessments addressing overall exposure and toxicity when the products are smoked. A validated, broadly applicable HPLC‐UV method for the determination of synthetic cannabinoids in plant materials is presented, using acetonitrile extraction and separation on a commercial phenylhexyl stationary phase. UV detection provides excellent sensitivity with limits of quantitation (LOQs) less than 10 μg/g for many cannabinoids. The method was validated for several structural classes (dibenzopyrans, cyclohexylphenols, naphthoylindoles, benzoylindoles, phenylacetylindoles, tetramethylcyclopropylindoles) based on spike recovery experiments in multiple plant materials over a wide cannabinoid contents range (0.1–81 mg/g). Average recovery across 32 cannabinoids was 94% for marshmallow leaf, 95% for damiana leaf, and 92% for mullein leaf. The method was applied to a series of case‐related products with determined amounts ranging from 0.2 to >100 mg/g.     

Using Game of Thrones to Teach International Relations

Despite the known benefits of long-term, game-based simulations they remain underutilized in Political Science classrooms. Simulations used are typically designed to reinforce a concept and are short-lived, lasting one or two class sessions; rarely are entire courses designed around a single simulation. Creating real-world conditions in which students operate often requires the development of distinct cultures and shared experiences that only long-term interactions can generate. These long-term interactions create a community where the past interactions of players matter when making decisions about future action. Long-term role-playing also gives students a forum to fully immerse themselves in the material resulting in deeper content comprehension. This article presents a framework for using a long-term, game-based simulation based on the popular television show Game of Thrones. The simulation uses an active learning approach to help students understand a variety of topics related to International Relations and related fields. The article concludes with a discussion on how the simulation can be modified to fit a variety of non-Political Science courses as well as provides the framework for an experimental design to test the effectiveness of the simulation.     

Exploring the Intersection of Theory and Practice of Arts for Peacebuilding

A rising number of public and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) leaders are employing the arts in efforts aimed at encouraging social change. Meanwhile, scholars have offered a number of theories concerning the character of political agency and its exercise, and contended that effective use of the arts may result in individual and group epistemic change. Far fewer analysts, however, have married such theorisations of aesthetics with empirical investigations of how professionals actually use the arts to promote such shifts. This article addresses this concern by studying the strategies adopted by two international nongovernmental organisations (INGOs), American Voices and Bond Street Theatre, that have worked to encourage peace through music and theatre-making in light of changing conceptions of agency and the power of aesthetics to stimulate its exercise. We outline the approaches these NGOs adopt to do so and the mechanisms by which their leaders believe their work catalyses changes in values at the individual and community levels. We argue that understanding these dynamics more thoroughly and in light of conceptions of agency and aesthetics leads to a stronger theorisation of whether and how arts-based peacebuilding efforts can lead to sustainable community cultural change.