Improving violence intervention outcomes by integrating alcohol treatment

There is extensive empirical and theoretical support for a link between alcohol use and intimate partner violence. Recent innovations in the assessment of these constructs have shown a strong temporal link between alcohol use and intimate partner violence. The majority of men participating in batterer intervention programs have alcohol problems, and these men are at very high risk for violence recidivism. Research has shown substantial decreases in partner violence among alcoholics subsequent to obtaining alcohol treatment. It is likely that violence outcomes could be significantly improved by incorporating alcohol treatment as a standard component of batterer intervention programs.     

The Relationship Between Partner Abuse and Substance Use Among Women Mandated to Drug Treatment

This study investigates the relationship between substance use and partner abuse among women (N = 1,025) who entered drug-treatment programs through the criminal justice systems in New York City and Portland, Oregon. Self-report data on substance use and partner abuse indicate that although the rate of partner abuse in both cities is well above the national average, the less substance-involved women in Portland reported more abuse than their New York counterparts. Our analyses suggest that the relationship between partner abuse and substance use during conflicts varies within the population of women offenders who are heavily drug-involved, with women in Portland reporting a greater direct link between partner abuse and substance use. The findings indicate that there is a need for drug-treatment providers to understand their clients' victimization histories and the relationship between partner abuse and substance use in order to engage clients in the treatment process and help them learn how to avoid being victimized in the future.     

Liability and criminal justice management: Resolving dilemmas and meeting future challenges

To reduce liability, police executives rely heavily on hierarchically imposed rule adherence to control subordinates’ discretion. This management approach runs counter to current advice on how to “best manage” a public entity. This article develops an innovative approach to police management that reduces liability exposure while improving the management of the organization in keeping with contemporary notions of human resource development.     

Victim-offender race and support for capital punishment: A factorial design approach

Existing research suggests that juries are more likely to condemn murderers to death when offenders are black victims are white. It remains to be seen, however, whether these decisions reflect broader racial prejudices in society that are imported into the jury room. If they do, then insuring equity in capital sentencing may be beyond reach. Accordingly, this study uses factorial design methodology to examine whether members of the general public are more supportive of capital punishment when asked to rate a vignette describing a murder involving a white victim and black offender as opposed to other victim-offender racial combinations. Our analyses suggest that the race of the offender, but not the victim, has a significant influence on support for capital punishment. Thus, procedural safeguards alone may be unable to eliminate racial bias in capital sentencing.     

The consequences of perpetrating psychological aggression in dating relationships: a descriptive investigation

Psychological aggression is the most prevalent form of aggression in dating relationships, with women perpetrating as much, if not more, psychological aggression than men. Researchers have advocated for an examination of the consequences that follow psychological aggression for the perpetrator, in hopes that this will lead to innovative intervention programs aimed at ameliorating dating violence. The current study investigated the self-reported consequences of having perpetrated psychological aggression against a dating partner among female college students in a current dating relationship (N = 115). Participants endorsed numerous consequences as having followed their perpetration of psychological aggression, including both punishing and potentially reinforcing consequences. Furthermore, findings indicated that for some perpetrators, psychological aggression may function as a method of emotion regulation. Implications of these findings for future research and intervention are discussed.     

A CONSUMER-WELFARE APPROACH TO NETWORK NEUTRALITY REGULATION OF THE INTERNET

"Network neutrality" is the shorthand for a proposed regimeof economic regulation for the Internet. Because of the trendto deliver traditional telecommunications services, as wellas new forms of content and applications, by Internet protocol(IP), a regime of network neutrality regulation would displaceor subordinate a substantial portion of existing telecommunicationsregulation. If the United States adopts network neutrality regulation,other industrialized nations probably will soon follow. As aresult of their investment to create next-generation broadbandnetworks, network operators have the ability to innovate insidethe network by offering both senders and receivers of informationgreater bandwidth and prioritization of delivery. Network neutralityregulation would, among other things, prevent providers of broadbandInternet access service (such as digital subscriber line (DSL)or cable modem service) from offering a guaranteed, expediteddelivery speed in return for the payment of a fee. The practicaleffect of banning such differential pricing (called "accesstiering" by its critics) would be to prevent the pricing ofaccess to content or applications providers according to priorityof delivery. To the extent that an advertiser of a good or servicewould be willing to contract with a network operator for advertisingspace on the network operator's affiliated content, anotherpractical effect of network neutrality regulation would be toerect a barrier to vertical integration of network operatorsinto advertising-based business models that could supplementor replace revenues earned from their existing usage-based businessmodels. Moreover, by making end-users pay for the full costof broadband access, network neutrality regulation would denybroadband access to the large number of consumers who wouldnot be able to afford, or who would not have a willingness topay for, what would otherwise be less expensive access. Forexample, Google is planning to offer broadband access to end-usersfor free in San Francisco by charging other content providersfor advertising. This product offering is evidently predicatedon the belief that many end-users demand discounted or freebroadband access that is paid for by parties other than themselves.Proponents of network neutrality regulation argue that suchrestrictions on the pricing policies of network operators arenecessary to preserve innovation on the edges of the network,as opposed to innovation within the network. However, recognizingthat network congestion and real-time applications demand somedifferential pricing according to bandwidth or priority, proponentsof network neutrality regulation would allow broadband Internetaccess providers to charge higher prices to end-users (but notcontent or applications providers) who consume more bandwidthor who seek priority delivery of certain traffic. Thus, thedebate over network neutrality is essentially a debate overhow best to finance the construction and maintenance of a broadbandnetwork in a two-sided market in which senders and receivershave additive demand for the delivery of a given piece of information—andhence additive willingness to pay. Well-established tools ofRamsey pricing from regulatory economics can shed light on whethernetwork congestion and recovery of sunk investment in infrastructureare best addressed by charging providers of content and applications,broadband users, or both for expedited delivery. Apart fromthis pricing problem, an analytically simpler component of proposednetwork neutrality regulation would prohibit a network operatorfrom denying its users access to certain websites and Internetapplications, such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). Althoughsome instances of blocking of VoIP have been reported, suchconduct is not a serious risk to competition. To address thisconcern, I analyze whether market forces (that is, competitionamong access providers) and existing regulatory structures aresufficient to protect broadband users. I conclude that economicwelfare would be maximized by allowing access providers to differentiateservices vis-à-vis providers of content and applicationsin value-enhancing ways and by relying on existing legal regimesto protect consumers against the exercise of market power, shouldit exist.     

FAMILY LAW EDUCATION REFORM PROJECT: A FACULTY PERSPECTIVE

The Family Law Education Reform Project Report calls for shifting the family law teaching paradigm from a focus on case‐based analysis toward a problem‐solving, interdisciplinary approach. This essay encourages law professors to take seriously this shifting teaching and learning paradigm. Aligning family law curriculum with the realities of practicing family law is a critical step in this process. This essay discusses the numerous intellectual challenges family law professors will face as they reflect on the proposed FLER Project curriculum.     

The Relationship of Abuse to Women’s Health Status and Health Habits

The present study examined the relationship between exposure to abuse and women’s health status and health behaviors in a sample of rural women. One hundred forty-eight women visiting a community health care center completed survey packets that included measures that assessed: exposure to abuse, impairment associated with exposure to abuse, physical and mental health problems, health behaviors, and the extent of health care usage. Results indicated that exposure to abuse was positively and significantly related to the adoption of a negative psychological perspective, which in turn was negatively correlated with physical and mental health, as well as with the practice of healthy behaviors. Results also showed that women exposed to abuse engage in less healthy behaviors and utilize more health care resources than do women with no such exposure. Implications for improving the assessment and treatment of abuse in health care settings are discussed. This article is based on a thesis completed by the first author with the same title as this report.     

Emotion Dysregulation,Gender, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: An Exploratory Study in College Students

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent problem, as it is bidirectional and perpetrated by both men and women. Emotion dysregulation may influence IPV perpetration among men and women. This cross-sectional survey study of 598 college students investigated the associations between two important factors related to IPV perpetration: gender and emotion dysregulation. Findings illustrated an association between emotion dysregulation and IPV perpetration. The bivariate association between physical violence and one facet of emotion dysregulation differed by gender, such that lack of emotional awareness was associated with violence perpetrated by women, but not men; however, this was not supported in multivariate analyses. These preliminary findings suggest that future work should examine how different emotion regulation deficits may increase IPV by gender.     

The appointment of federal regulatory commissioners: A case study of the CRTC

Abstract. Members of federal administrative tribunals are selected and appointed in ways which are little known by most people within or close to government and which are even more obscure to the general public. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), one of the most influential of these government agencies, is taken in this essay as a model through which to examine this selection and appointment process. An attempt is made to shed light on the criteria applied to candidates in the process of staffing this commission, as well as on the path such candidacies must follow. With appropriate adaptations to other regulated sectors of the economy, the procedures outlined here may be said to be mirrored in the process of choosing commissioners for other important federal administrative tribunals. From the time when a name is entered on the list of candidates kept by the appropriate minister until the day the cabinet approves the appointment of the minister's nominee, several departments of the government and various bodies involved in the political process have their say in the outcome of the candidacy. This essay shows that the procedure is to a great extent discretionary, but that the exercise of such discretion is sufficiently enshrined in custom to prevent arbitrary abuse. Sommaire. Les membres des tribunaux administratifs fédéraux sont choisis et nommés selon un processus peu connu de l'ensemble du secteur public et parapublic et pratiquement ignoré du grand public. Dans cet article, le Conseil de la Radiodiffusion et des Télécommunications canadiennes (CRTC), l'un des plus importants organismes gouvernementaux, a été choisi afin de permettre l'examen de ce processus de sélection et de nomination. L'auteur tente de mettre en lumière les critères auxquels doivent satisfaire les candidats à un poste dans ce conseil ainsi que l'acheminement bureaucratique que doivent ouivre ces candidatures. Moyennant des adaptations nécessaires aux autres secteurs réglementés de l'économie, les procédés exposés dans cet article reflétent la manière dont sont choisis les commissaires des autres importants tribunaux administratifs fédéraux. Du jour où un nom est inscrit sur la liste des candidats que maintient un certain ministre jusqu'au jour où le Conseil des ministres approuve la nomination de la personne qui a été recommandée par le ministre en question, plusieurs ministères ainsi qu'un nombre de corps politiques ont fait connaître leur Commission. opinion au sujet de la candidature. Cet article démontre que le procédé décrit est en grande partie discrétionnaire mais que l'exercice dune telle discrétion est suffisamment ancré dans l'usage pour que soit évité tout abus arbitraire.