The evolution of consent search law

This study examines the legal issues associated with consent searches conducted by law enforcement officers to gather evidence for criminal prosecutions. Through a review of the available case law relating to consent searches the study examines the requirements of a valid consent to search, the issues associated with these requirements, and the relationship between these requirements and the Fourth Amendment. While the paper focuses on Supreme Court decisions, lower court cases are included to illustrate specific points and examine general trends. The reader is given a general understanding of judicial preferences for procedures to be used when effecting consent searches.     

Two faces of patient safety and care quality: a Franco-American comparison

Patient safety, and more broadly the quality of care, is typically discussed with reference to the reduction of preventable adverse events within hospitals and adherence to practice guidelines on care processes. We call it the 'care-centered approach' and recognize that the United States is a leader in the field. Another face of patient safety and care quality may be defined as the 'system-centered approach'. It focuses on access to a timely and effective continuum of health-care services--clinical prevention, primary care and appropriate referral to and receipt of specialty care. Although France's efforts to pursue a care-centered approach to patient safety are limited, its system-centered approach yields some benefits. Based on the evidence we have reviewed for access to primary care (hospital discharges for avoidable hospital conditions), mortality amenable to medical intervention and consumer satisfaction, in the United States and France, there appear to be good grounds for bolstering the system-centered approach in the United States.     

CIT in context: the impact of mental health resource availability and district saturation on call dispositions

The goals of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs include improving safety during encounters between police and persons with mental illnesses, diverting persons with mental illnesses away from the criminal justice system, and increasing referral and access to mental health services. CIT is a systemic intervention, and as such, its implementation and effectiveness are influenced by existing practices and infrastructures. However, little research has considered the context in which CIT programs are implemented. In this paper, we present research on CIT in four Chicago police districts that vary in terms of two contextual factors hypothesized to influence the impact of CIT training on how calls involving persons with mental illnesses are resolved. Using data from 112 patrol officers in four Chicago police districts, we consider the impact of mental health services availability and CIT saturation (the percentage of district personnel that are CIT certified). Findings indicate that CIT training increased direction to mental health services primarily in districts with greater availability of mental health services. In districts with low service availability, higher CIT saturation increased direction to mental services. The opposite pattern emerged for contact only or informal call resolution. No effects were found for arrest as a call outcome.     

The role of adolescent physical abuse in adult intimate partner violence

This study's primary aims were to examine whether a sample of young adults, aged 23 to 31, who had been documented as physically abused by their parent(s) during adolescence would be more likely to aggress, both physically and verbally, against their intimate partners compared with nonabused young adults and whether abuse history was (along with other risk factors) a significant predictor of intimate partner physical and emotional violence perpetration or victimization. In this longitudinal study, 67 abused and 78 nonabused adults (of an original sample of 198 adolescents) completed the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale and the Jealousy and Emotional Control Scales. Nonabused comparison adolescents were matched for age, gender, and community income. As adults, participants with abuse histories had significantly higher rates of intimate partner physical violence and verbal aggression than did comparison participants. Multivariate logistic regressions indicated that adults with histories of physical abuse were more than twice as likely to be physically violent and almost six times more likely to be verbally aggressive to their intimate partners than were comparison participants. Having had an alcohol use disorder, being married to or living with a partner, and perceiving one's partner as controlling were also significantly associated with physical violence. Jealousy and feeling controlled by one's partner were also significant predictors of verbal aggression. These findings underscore the importance of preventing adolescent abuse as a means of decreasing the incidence of intimate partner physical violence in adulthood.     

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS＇ LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL DAMAGES ON SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES

The increasing popularity of the Internet in recent times brought profound changes to the society as a whole. Communications mediated by computers are now a consolidated reality in large parts of the world. And the virtual social networks are confused by many with the Internet concept itself. In turn, the Brazilian legal system lacks specific legal rules to address the legal relations taking place within its scope. And the case law is increasingly facing the subject. Within that framework, the doctrine＇s role is emphasized. Therefore, this article aims at investigating the civil liability for consumer accidents occurred in social networking websites on the Internet. After describing the virtual universe＇s peculiarities, this paper intends to approach the consequences when consumer accidents occur, since those accidents, considering the technological complexity of that environment, stress the obvious vulnerability of the consumer even more.     

Agencification of Public Service Delivery in Nigeria： An Empirical Study of Selected Public Agencies in Lagos State

There have been efforts to establish agencies as part of a strategy to improve service delivery world-wide. In Nigeria, agencies have also been established at both the national and state levels. The Lagos State Government has also established various agencies to fulfill different government functions in the state. After many years, the activities of these agencies have improved the delivery of services to the people in Lagos State, but there is still much to be done. This is why this study examines agencification of public service delivery in Nigeria with reference to Lagos State. The study uses mixed methods and triangulated data to achieve the research objectives. Questionnaire was used to collect data from service users and departmental officials. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with key officials of the selected agencies. Key documents were also reviewed. The findings reveal： lack of human resources capacity, inadequate financial management skills, and poor management of service providers, and the environment of the people of Lagos State are not considered in the conception and the implementation of the service-delivery-driven agencies. The study therefore recommends that agencification of public service in Lagos State as conceived if properly implemented can contribute to effective public service delivery.     

When Terrorism Goes to Sea: Terrorist Organizations and the Move to Maritime Targets

Terrorist groups are often relatively conservative in their choice of strategy, tactics, and targets, and it is worth asking what characteristics are associated with unconventional behavior. In this article we explore the question of why terrorist organizations move to one type of unconventional attack that has been a focus of concern of policymakers in recent years, namely attacks on maritime targets. Through an investigation of the organizational capacity and ideology of terrorist groups that committed maritime attacks between 1998 and 2005, we argue that this kind of violent behavior is driven by capability. Certain organizational characteristics of terrorist groups—territorial control, involvement in the drug trade, organizational size, and connections with other groups—provide groups with the capabilities that make maritime attacks both realistic and desirable. Terrorist groups' ideology—what they believe, and what their goals are—does not have the same impact, with the possible exception of groups affiliated with al-Qaeda. Our findings have implications for future research.     

Terrorism in Colombia: Logic and Sources of a Multidimensional and Ubiquitous Phenomenon

This article examines contemporary uses of terrorism in Colombia. Combining an historical analysis with the most complete database available on political violence, we illustrate how terrorism in Colombia constitutes a specific strategy that can be distinguished from other manifestations of violence. We argue that Colombia's non-state armed groups have turned terrorism into a pivotal element of their repertoires of action. These parties have not only increased their reliance on this strategy and introduced more refined forms such as de-territorialized terrorism, but also have specialized in particular terrorist attacks that suit their general objectives. While paramilitary groups rely mostly on massacres and forced disappearance, guerrillas concentrate on agitational terrorism including kidnappings and indiscriminate bombings.     

Assessing the impact of a corporate headquarters relocation in a metropolitan region: the case of J.C. Penney

The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact resulting from the recent move of the J. C. Penney Corporation to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and the resulting implications of this move on the local communities. This impact is analyzed in a spatially disaggregated manner to identify the location of the impact inside the area, particularly in regard to location of generated service employment and population, and the fiscal effects that they will have in the cities and counties of the region. The metropolitan area is divided into several hundred appropriate geographical zones, and the impacts are studied for these zones. Such disaggregated studies, as opposed to conventional total impact studies, would be more helpful to public and private sectors in their decision making process in regard to developmental issues. Furthermore, the fiscal effects of such development on the regional municipalities also will be studied.