Deconstructing the Construction Defect Insurance Claim

This article provides a practical overview of the issues presented by a construction defect insurance claim. It begins with a discussion of establishing standing under the typical comprehensive general liability insurance policy, with a particular emphasis on additional insured issues. The article then describes the typical issues faced in proving an “occurrence” took place in the context of a construction claim. Thereafter, the article addresses the so-called business risk exclusions and their potential application in a construction defect case.     

Mail vs. telephone surveys of criminal justice attitudes: A comparative analysis

This study compares results from surveys using two modes of administration. A subset of questions from the 1992Texas Crime Poll, a statewide poll conducted annually by mail, was replicated in telephone interviews using the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing System. The phone survey yielded better participation rates but less complete responses to individual attitude questions than did the mail poll. As expected, the mail survey was less expensive but less efficient than the automated phone survey. The central finding was that all but one of the responses to five attitude questions difered significantly across the surveys. The samples differed in their demographic composition, but this did not explain differences in the substantive findings from the mail and phone surveys. The discussion considers alternative explanations for differences in the findings from the two surveys and suggests direction for further comparative research.     

CHILD-CENTERED, VERTICALLY STRUCTURED, AND INTERDISCIPLINARY

This paper will describe the genesis and philosophy of the Center for Children's Policy. Practice and Research at the University of Pennsylvania (CCPPR), a joint project of the Schools of Law, Medicine and Social Work. The mission of CCPPR was to mobilize the resources of all disciplines engaged in childhood issues across the campus to seek innovative solutions for the crises facing America's children. CCPPR seeks to combine clinical practice, research, and policy in a vertical structure that would maintain linkages at all stages of scholarship, practice, and reform. Five essential structural factors were that the project must be: (a) vertically integrated; (b) interdisciplinary; (c) team-based; (d) child-centered and (e) developmentally informed. This paper can serve as a template for developing similar centers or projects, and will describe our methods, the projects we have undertaken, as well as the pitfalls and challenges of this highly demanding integrative approach.     

Incidence and toxicological aspects of cannabis and ethanol detected in 1394 fatally injured drivers and pedestrians in Ontario (1982-1984)

A comprehensive epidemiological study of the involvement of cannabis and ethanol in motor vehicle fatalities in the Province of Ontario, Canada, is described. The study is based on toxicological analyses of blood and, when available, urine specimens. Ethanol was determined by headspace gas chromatography (GC). For cannabis, the methods employed were radioimmunoassays (RIAs) for screening and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for the determination of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in blood. The study sample consisted of 1169 drivers and 225 pedestrians. THC was detected in the blood of 127 driver victims (10.9%) in concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 37 ng/mL, with a mean of 3.1 +/- 5.0 ng/mL. Ethanol was found in 667 driver victims (57.1%), in concentrations ranging from 9 to 441 mg/100 mL, with a mean of 165.8 +/- 79.5 mg/100 mL. For pedestrians, the incidence of THC and ethanol in the blood was 7.6 and 53.3%, respectively. The incidence of THC in the driver victims in this study constitutes an approximately threefold increase over the results of an Ontario study completed in 1979. At least a part of the increase may be attributed to interstudy differences in analytical methodology for cannabinoids.     

Police occupational solidarity: Probing a determinant in the deterioration of police/citizen relations

The deterioration of police/citizen relations has had a major impact on the administration of justice. Mutual suspicion, hostility, distrust, and fear have resulted in minimal citizen cooperation and, consequently, an increase in police use of aggressive enforcement procedures. These procedures adversely affect the police as well as the citizenry. Use of aggressive enforcement has two salient consequences: it isolates the police from the citizen, and it generates occupational solidarity among police personnel. Solidarity subsequently increases police/citizen polarization. The process, thus, is circular. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the determinants of social isolation and occupational solidarity.To investigate these determinants, a multivariate, multistage conceptual model was developed and analyzed. The findings suggest that the conceptual model, save two minor modifications, fits the data. Policy implications based on these findings are presented and discussed.