Management of legal information in an international context: A conundrum of challenges and opportunities

Evolving technologies have created many exciting opportunities to increase the availability of legal information, and to facilitate the organization and publication of this information. With the globalization of almost all legal issues, increased access to primary and secondary resources in electronic format across jurisdictional lines has been a welcomed development by academics, lawyers, international business entities, and others. However, the myriad of legal systems and approaches to maintaining legislative and judicial records has led to a host of challenges in regard to coherent and efficient management of legal information. Focusing on development of legal information systems in China and the United States, this paper will open with a summary of the exciting current and emerging technological advances in legal research methodologies and in the electronic publication of cases, statutes, regulations and other critical resources. The paper will then analyze corresponding challenges, including authenticity, accuracy, currency and consistency. The analysis will include discussion of the varying quality of legal information resources proliferating in the Internet, as well as the host of issues surrounding electronic publishing of legal information by government entities and commercial enterprises. The paper will conclude with a prospective analysis of the manner in which emerging technologies can enhance knowledge management of legal information and strengthen legal systems in both common law and civil law jurisdictions.     

A Geometric Morphometric Approach to Sex Determination of the Human Adult Os Coxa

Abstract: Sex determination of the human skeleton is best assessed from the os coxa. The present study explored the possibility of using three‐dimensional landmark coordinate data collected from various landmarks located over the entire bone to determine whether there were significant sex differences local to the landmarks. Thirty‐six landmarks were digitized on 200 African American and European American male and female adult human os coxae. MANCOVA results show that sex and size have a significant effect on shape for both European Americans (Sex, F = 17.50, d.f. = 36, 63, p > F = 0.0001; Size, F = 2.56, d.f. = 36, 63, p > F = 0.0022) and African Americans (Sex, F = 21.18, d.f. = 36, 63, p > F = 0.0001; Size, F = 2.59, d.f. = 36, 63, p > F = 0.0005). The discriminant analysis shows that sexing accuracy for European Americans is 98% for both males and females, 98% for African American females, and 100% for African American males.     

Increased Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior Among Migratory Homeless Youth: Exploring the Role of Social Network Composition

Travelers are a migratory subgroup of homeless youth who may be especially prone to engaging in risky behavior. This study compared the substance use and sexual behavior of young homeless travelers and non-travelers to evaluate the extent and possible sources of travelers’ increased risk. Data came from face-to-face interviews with 419 homeless youth (36.6% female, 34.0% white, 23.9% African American, and 20.0% Hispanic) between the ages of 13 and 24 years (M = 20.1 years, SD = 2.5) who were randomly sampled from 41 shelters, drop-in centers, and street sites in Los Angeles. Travelers were almost twice as likely as non-travelers to exhibit recent heavy drinking, 37% more likely to exhibit recent marijuana use, and five times as likely to have injected drugs. Travelers also had more recent sex partners and were more likely to report having casual or need-based sexual partners and combining sex with substance use. Mediation analyses suggest that travelers’ deviant peer associations and disconnection to conventional individuals and institutions may drive their elevated substance use. Differences in sexual risk behaviors are likely attributable to demographic differences between the two groups. Overall, these differences between travelers and non-travelers suggest different service needs and the need for different service approaches.     

“Fortunate enough to obtain and keep the title of profession”: Self-regulating organizations and the enforcement of professional monopolies

Abstract: This paper establishes a framework for examining self-regulating occupations and their relationships with government, the public and other occupational groups. It then examines one aspect of this regulative bargain, the tools used by self-regulating organizations to enforce their statutory monopolies, in order to maintain jurisdictional boundaries. Evidence of these strategies was found through a review of the literature on the pros and cons of self-regulation, and legislation, regulations, and by-laws sent to the author by self-regulating occupations in Canada. The paper concludes with a discussion of trends in occupational self-regulation that may affect professional monopolies. Sommaire: Dans cet article, on établit un cadre permettant d'examiner les professions auto-r églement ées, ainsi que leurs relations avec le gouvernement, le public et les autres groupements professionnels. Ensuite, on y examine un aspect particulier de cette entente r églementaire, » est-à-dire les outils qu'utilisent ces organismes pour faire respecter leur monopole statutaire afin de pr éserver leurs frontières juridictionnelles. Les éléments de ces stratégies ont été identifiés au moyen d'un examen bibliographique des avantages et désavantages de l'auto-réglementation, ainsi que par une analyse des lois, des règlements et des statuts sociaux envoyés à l'auteur par les professions auto-réglementées au Canada. En conclusion, l'auteur discute des tendances de I'auto-réglementation professionnelle qui risquent d'influer sur les monopoles professionnels.     

NARCISSISTIC BORDERLINE COUPLES: IMPLICATIONS FOR MEDIATION*

Suddenly my head begins to spin. I feel dizzy and confused. My head keeps going round and round. In front of me sits a married couple; they go on and on in circles, going nowhere. A feeling of despair overwhelms me as I think to myself, This couple needs to be in therapy. I then realize I am the therapist.     

Workplace Bullying Policy in the Australian Public Sector: Why Has Gender Been Ignored?

This article examines the question of gender-neutral workplace bullying policy in the Australian context. It draws on the international workplace bullying literature and interview data gathered from policy actors located in Australian public service administrations, including managers, policy implementors and employee advocates. Our findings show that both the literature and the policy actors tend to present workplace bullying as a product of individualised behaviour, overlooking the nuances and dimensions of organisational power relations that include gender. As part of this tendency, policy actors insisted that workplace bullying be represented as gender-neutral. Our analysis reveals two key factors underpinning the defence and dissemination of workplace bullying as a gender-neutral problem: the tendency to individualistic remedies in public sector policies; and the idea among policy actors that if workplace bullying was portrayed as needing gender analysis, its current support as an important organisational issue would dissolve.