Emerging trends in correctional civil liability cases: a content analysis of federal court decisions of title 42 united states code section 1983: 1970–1994Publications received

This research analyzes the decisions of correctional civil liability cases litigated under Section 1983 for the years 1970 through 1994. The analysis provides an examination of 3,205 published United States federal court correctional liability cases brought against correctional personnel in penal and local jail facilities. Longitudinal trends, patterns, prevailing parties, common types of lawsuits filed, and damages and attorney fees awarded are discussed based on the content analysis classification scheme. The analysis revealed sixteen major correctional topic areas where prisoner litigation is likely. High liability issues in corrections are addressed and recommendations are presented.     

Review of the Evidence Supporting the Medical and Legal Use of NeuroQuant® in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

Decades of research have shown that the brain atrophies after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, multiple practical issues made it difficult to detect brain atrophy in individual patients with mild to moderate TBI. This situation improved by 2007 with the FDA approval of NeuroQuant®, a commercially available, computer-automated software program for measuring MRI brain volume in human subjects. Several peer-reviewed scientific studies have supported the reliability and validity of NeuroQuant®. This review addresses whether NeuroQuant® meets the Daubert standard for admissibility in court cases involving persons with TBI. The review finds that NeuroQuant® is an objective, reliable, and practical means of measuring brain volume and therefore can be an important tool for measuring the effects of TBI on brain volume in clinical or medicolegal settings.     

A Whole of Government Strategy for Family Violence Reform

The Family Violence Reform strategy in Victoria is one of a number of contemporary government initiatives that have been framed within a whole of government model of policy reform. This article shows how the principles and processes of the whole of government approach were applied to the social problem of family violence. We examine the reasoning behind the adoption of this approach, what it was intended to achieve, the processes and activities that took place and stakeholders’ views about the outcomes and impact of this approach. The choice of a whole of government strategy reflected the need to address philosophical and organisational cultural differences about family violence and responses to it. Key elements were: the demonstrated commitment to reform and leadership provided by ministers, agency heads and senior managers; the involvement of community sector representatives; and the role of the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD).     

Shifting perspectives: a confirmatory factor analysis of the working alliance inventory (short form) with high-risk violent offenders

The Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) is the most widely used measure of the therapeutic alliance. However, previous studies of the factor structure of the WAI have obtained disparate results. This study examined ratings from three rater perspectives (therapists, clients, and observers) in a rehabilitation program for high-risk violent prisoners with high PCL-psychopathy scores. The authors used confirmatory factor analysis with a short version of the WAI and examined one-, two-, and three-factor models. It was hypothesized that the context and client characteristics could alter the factor structure of the ratings. However, no differences were found in factor structure by perspective; the results from all rater perspectives suggested that a two-factor structure was the best fit for the data. Thus, we concluded that therapists, observers, and prisoners all saw the goals and task aspects of the therapeutic alliance as distinct from the bond component.