Assessing effective participation in vulnerable juvenile defendants

Effective participation in trial is outlined under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and refers to the ability to understand and engage in trial. Juvenile defendants are often referred to psychologists or psychiatrists by their solicitors to establish ‘effective participation’ capacity. In the USA, key components to participate effectively are defined and standardised assessments available. In the UK, no formal measures exist. A consecutive series of 20 adolescents aged 12–20 years, referred by their solicitors to our service, were assessed using a standardised battery and a semi-structured interview designed to assess effective participation. Fifty-five per cent had at least one neurodevelopmental disorder. Low IQ was common and 50% had age-equivalent language scores below 10 years. Rates of depression, anxiety and PTSD were high. Knowledge about trial was poor. These findings have implications for Criminal Justice System professionals and to ensure fair trials for young defendants.     

When Is Science Used in Science Policy? Examining the Importance of Scientific and Technical Information in National Research Council Reports

A frequent lament among researchers is that public policy makers should pay more attention to scientific and technical information (STI). If there is any single area where one might expect STI to be used in public policy making and agenda setting it is in science and technology policy. Many of the policy makers in science and technology policy are themselves scientists or researchers and presumably would prove especially receptive to STI. However, STI is only one of many types of information used in policy making and policy actors often differ in the extent to which they view STI as credible, particularly compared to other types of potentially policy‐relevant information. Research on credibility (the believability of information, information types, and media) has shown variance and policy makers’ “credibility maps.” Thus, some policy makers have preference for formal information generally and STI specifically, but others privilege raw data, personal experience, authority, history and anecdote, analogical reasoning, or conformance to ideology, to name just a few of the information choices. Here, we build on the current researchers’ previous bibliometrics‐based work and use data from 41 semi‐structured elite interviews with National Research Council (NRC) executives and staff and NRC committee members concerning the use of STI in reports issued by the NRC. Findings show that the use of STI in NRC reports varies according to the nature of the inquiry and the sponsor. Information used in the reports is based on not only the assessed credibility of information but also its perceived direct relevance and the availability of STI as compared to other types of information. In general, the amount of STI in the NRC reports tends to have modest effects on the likelihood that reports will be used in policy making or by the mass media. More important factors include the timing of the report with respect to political agendas, the party requesting the report, and the enacted roles of NRC staff members and committee chairs.     

论我国知识产权海关保护制度之完善

2003年11月26日,我国通过了新的《知识产权海关保护条例》,对海关在知识产权边境保护中的职能进行了调整。该条例的颁布实施必将极大地提高海关对知识产权边境保护的效率和质量。     

虚拟研究开发中保护知识产权的协议

虚拟研究开发是虚拟企业概念渗透于科学研究的一种模式。由于不确定多数的参与主体、技术信息的共享、网络环境的复杂性等特点 ,以协议来保护虚拟研发中涉及的知识产权是一种贴切反应虚拟合作要求、成本较低的防患于未然的积极方法。本文将合同法原理与虚拟研发特点相结合 ,试图设计可供借鉴的虚拟研发协议范本 ,其内容主要包括 :参与主体、标的、认证条款、保密条款、风险承担、知识产权确认与分享等 1 3个条款。     

数字图书馆建设中知识产权问题的思考

数字图书馆扩大了信息传播范围的同时,也增加了知识产权管理的难度。知识产权是一种无形财产权,具有国家授予性、专有性、地域性、时间性等特点,数字图书馆是以网络为依托的信息空间,在其建设和运行中,信息收集,复制和传播必然会涉及到较多、较复杂的著作权问题,极易造成侵权行为,解决相关问题可采取以下几个措施:扩大图书馆合理使用范围;引入法定许可制度;建立强制许可制度;完善和加强著作权集体管理机制。     

知识经济时代下知识产权的重新审视--兼议我国应采取的对策

知识产权是工业时代的产物,知识经济时代下的知识产权有存在的正当性,但忽略了正义性.从人类历史发展的角度看,知识产权制度有其历史的合理性,但从知识和知识生产规律的角度看却存在局限性.在知识经济时代,应把直接所有权作为对知识保护的基础.目前,我国只重视知识产权的行使,而忽视其滥用的问题,应完善知识产权立法,尊重并合理保护知识产权.     

Adapting measures of social climate for use with individuals with intellectual developmental disability in forensic settings

The social climate of forensic settings is thought to impact on a number of important clinical and organisational outcomes and is, therefore, an important construct in relation to the successful functioning of forensic units. A variety of self-report questionnaires have been developed to objectively measure the social climate of forensic settings (e.g. the Correctional Institutions Environment Scale and the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema), however these questionnaires have not been validated for individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD). Given the prevalence of IDD in prison and forensic psychiatric settings and the potential impact of such cognitive deficits on the ability to complete a range of self-report questionnaires, it is important to consider the potential reliability and validity of existing social climate measures in IDD populations. This article will, therefore: (1) examine the cognitive, linguistic and response format difficulties that may arise when administering self-report measures of social climate in IDD populations; (2) consider potential adaptations to existing measures of social climate that might make them more suitable for use with IDD populations; and (3) identify important directions for future research in the area.