论气候变化语境下的国际服务贸易法适用问题:以一般例外规则为视角

各国日益重视采用服务贸易措施应对气候变化,我国WTO服务承诺亦与气候变化相关。因措施通常视成员是否承担减排义务而给予不同待遇,容易违反非歧视原则,一般例外是判断措施合法性的关键。一般例外适用于气候变化时将面临措施性质认定、必要性测试、发展中成员可否利用引言获得特殊待遇等诸多难题。为确保一般例外适用的可预见性并妥善平衡贸易与气候变化,需强化贸易与气候变化的相互支持,解决一般例外法理的连贯性不足等缺陷,避免僵化解释,力争规则更新修改。     

Maternal Separations During the Reentry Years for 100 Infants Raised in a Prison Nursery

Prison nurseries prevent maternal separations related to incarceration for the small subset of children whose pregnant mothers are incarcerated in states with such programs. For a cohort of 100 children accepted by corrections into one prison nursery, subsequent separation patterns are analyzed. The largest numbers are caused by corrections' removal of infants from the nursery and infants reaching a one-year age limit. Criminal recidivism and substance abuse relapse threaten continued mothering during reentry. Focused and coordinated services are needed during prison stay and reentry years to sustain mothering for women and children accepted into prison nursery programs.     

Is cooperation cost reducing? An analysis of public–public partnerships and inter-municipal cooperation in Brazilian local government

ABSTRACT

In local government systems worldwide, financial pressures have obliged local authorities to focus on cost-efficient methods for providing local services, including inter-municipal agreements and public–public partnerships. However, in comparison with municipal mergers, privatisation and other approaches to the problem, the cost impact of the cooperative provision has not yet been thoroughly examined empirically. Moreover, available empirical research has largely concentrated on waste disposal in developed countries. The present paper seeks to contribute to the empirical literature on inter-municipal agreements and public–public partnerships by comparing their impact on costs with ‘stand-alone’ provision in a range of non-waste local services. In contrast to the bulk of existing studies, our analysis takes place in a developing country context by examining Brazilian local government over the period 2013/15. We found that – on the whole – cooperative provision is less expensive than the ‘stand-alone’ provision for the services studied. Our results can be explained by the size and composition of the population, together with the politics for cooperation.     

Criminalizing human trafficking in Latvia: the evolution and implications of human trafficking policies

This article explores the development and evolution of human trafficking policies in Latvia and the measurable outcomes of these policies. An analysis of policy development revealed that Latvia has three different types of human trafficking policy: criminalization statutes, national action programs, and victim service provisions. These policies have produced outcomes such as criminal cases against traffickers, rehabilitation services for victims, and the formation of anti-trafficking institutions. The results revealed direct causal links between human trafficking policies and anti-trafficking institutions are evident with the National Coordinator and social services for victims. Indirect causation is also present with specialized police and prosecutor units and anti-trafficking institutional policy development by the anti-trafficking working group.     

There’s an app for that: Modernizing domestic violence support through the creation of new technologies,tools, and services

With domestic violence (DV) at an all-time high, police departments are drastically underutilizing technology to combat DV. Currently, New York police departments complete a “Domestic Incident Report” at the scene of domestic incidents but fail to adequately facilitate support services. New York State should mandate a services component into police DV protocols, specifically by commissioning: (1) an application linked to DV organizations presented at the scene of domestic incidents; and (2) a gateway application to refer victims to the correct services. Such tools would allow for the rendering of more efficient support to DV victims in times of immediate crisis.     

A comparison of seclusion rates between intellectual disability and non-intellectual disability services: the effect of gender and diagnosis

Introduction: The use of seclusion as a means of managing the extreme behaviours forensic patients in secure settings is a controversial yet often common practice, despite there being little evidence that seclusion as a practice has any significant therapeutic value for the patient. The aim of this study was to explore the use of seclusion and whether this differs as a function of gender and diagnosis across secure services. Method: This study collated data from 11 medium and low secure hospitals that admit male and female patients, with some services providing services for patients with intellectual disability (with or without co-morbid disorders), and others for patients with mental illness and/or personality disorder only. Results: Both gender and diagnosis were associated with differential seclusion rates. Seclusions were three times longer for patients in the non-ID compared to the ID service. Male seclusions (for any diagnosis) were around twice as long as those in female services. Female ID patients spent significantly less time in seclusion compared to other groups. Female ID was associated with two to three times the number of seclusion events per patient compared to other groups. No statistically significant association between the type of service and the reason for a patient being secluded. Conclusions: A range of organisational factors that determine the use and duration of seclusion are cited and merit further exploration. High rates of psychiatric co-morbidity and the complexity of patients admitted to services may also mediate risk and use of seclusion. The study supports the use of early intervention techniques and the adoption of positive behaviour support.     

“Supporting me through emotional times,all different kinds of behaviour.” Forensic mental health service users understanding of positive behavioural support

This service evaluation project explored service users’ experiences of positive behavioural support (PBS) within a medium secure mental health service. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyse interviews with ten service users. Four main themes emerged from the data: My plan; How I understand PBS; How PBS has helped me, the benefits; and Making the plan work. Overall, service users viewed their experience of having a PBS plan positively. They reflected that the plans offered staff greater understanding of their behaviours and needs, enabling them to receive appropriate support. Service users valued the experience of being involved in the process, offering important insights into their experiences. They also expressed frustrations about staff not following the plan and not understanding why they had a plan whilst others did not. Limitations of the study, clinical implications and ideas for future research have been discussed.     

From Maltreatment to Delinquency: Service Trajectories After a First Intervention of Child Protection Services

The relationship between maltreatment in childhood and delinquency in adolescence is recognized. However, the data available do not reveal what proportion of children under the supervision of child protection services (CPS) later transfer to youth legal services, nor the sequence of services provided by these two systems. This study sketches a preliminary portrait of Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) incidence among Quebec children and adolescents as a consequence of a first crime after initial CPS case closure (N = 14,252). It quantifies the scope of the phenomenon and identifies the best predictors of YCJA incidence from among the administrative data available. Survival analysis revealed a 15.4% YCJA incidence for the entire cohort in the five and a half years following termination of initial intervention; boys between 12 and 17 years old when their initial CPS cases were closed were at the greatest risk (27.2%).     

关于公安民警警务保障问题的几点思考——以提高民警抚恤标准为视角

当前,我国警务保障存在执法权益得不到切实保障、抵御职业风险的保障能力不足等问题。人民警察作为人民利益、国家政权和建设社会主义事业的重要保障者,在正常履职过程中经常面临着自身合法权益受损的问题,因此,提高民警抚恤标准是十分必要的。     

The Rudd Government's Employment Services Agenda: Is it Post‐NPM and Why is that Important?

Perhaps the most potent symbol of the Howard government's faith in New Public Management (NPM) was the Job Network. Interrogating the Rudd government's replacement package, this article assesses whether the recent restructuring of employment services constitutes a post‐NPM environment. It is argued that there are major post‐NPM elements, seen most clearly in: the softening of jobseeker sanctions; greater deliberation on policy direction and results; a more inclusive employment super‐ministry and reliance on other ‘horizontal’ governance reforms; and enhanced government resources for multiple‐disadvantage clients. However, categorising these changes as post‐NPM is problematic because the steering mechanism remains the market‐based contract, a central NPM characteristic. Theoretical difficulties in applying paradigmatic concepts to services provide additional barriers to conclusive assessments, though the Rudd government's employment services regime provides a basis for taking stock in the post‐NPM debate.