Legal Change and Gender Inequality: Changes in Muslim Family Law in India

Group-specific family laws are said to provide women fewer rights and impede policy change. India's family law systems specific to religious groups underwent important gender-equalizing changes over the last generation. The changes in the laws of the religious minorities were unexpected, as conservative elites had considerable indirect influence over these laws. Policy elites changed minority law only if they found credible justification for change in group laws, group norms, and group initiatives, not only in constitutional rights and transnational human rights law. Muslim alimony and divorce laws were changed on this basis, giving women more rights without abandoning cultural accommodation. Legal mobilization and the outlook of policy makers—specifically their approach to regulating family life, their understanding of group norms, and their normative vision of family life—shaped the major changes in Indian Muslim law. More gender-equalizing legal changes are possible based on the same sources.     

Violence in Police Families: Work-Family Spillover

This article uses a path model to examine the relationship between violence exposure and domestic violence among police officers with the expectation that the relationships would be both direct and mediated. The mediation factors included burnout, authoritarian spillover, alcohol use, and department withdrawal. The model was tested through an analysis of data collected from 413 officers. Four mediation chains were identified; the most powerful of these was burnout and authoritarian spillover. Suggestions for future research include understanding violence in the context of unique workplace cultures, classifying violence types, and clarifying how this population defines violence and control.     

Women's Wellbeing and the Sex Ratio at Birth: Some Suggestive Evidence from India

A declining sex ratio (SR) for a population has generally been diagnosed as an indicator of worsening female advantage, while a declining sex ratio at birth (SRB) – such as in the context of the Indian population over the recent past – has been diagnosed as being caused largely by the phenomenon of sex-selective foeticide. In this article, we examine the merits of a less sinister hypothesis in terms of which a secular improvement in women's wellbeing has led to a sex-neutral reduction in the rate of foetal wastage, and through that route, to a reduction in the SRB (and therefore in the overall SR of the population). We seek support for this hypothesis by examining evidence from India. We also discuss the implications of this line of reasoning for women's wellbeing, development and the significance of a declining sex ratio.     

The role of human rights in extradition: the imperatives of reforming the Indian extradition law

The mobility of criminals and the consequent internationalization of crime have made domestic criminal law enforcement dependent upon international cooperation. As there is no general obligation of extradition at the international level, every country outlines the conditions and procedure, subject to which requests for extradition are granted. In fact, from the origin of the extradition system, objections stemming from human rights have been the major considerations in the grant or decline of extradition. It is in this background that the article examines and critically reviews the current level of the human rights protections afforded to persons facing extradition under the Indian Extradition Act, 1962. This article notes that in the field of extradition and human rights, several landmark legal developments have occurred in the last 50 years, and accordingly calls for a complete overhaul of the Indian extradition framework, so that India truly and effectively cooperates with other countries in criminal matters.     

Sources of Power in Public Negotiations: A Framework Applied to Public-Public and Public-Private Negotiations

The negotiation literature has extensively examined the topic of power and how it can be wielded. Numerous frameworks have been created and utilized in the various treatises on negotiations; analyzing the power differential in any given situation is a common teaching technique. However, despite this focus on the topic, discussions of power have been mainly focused on negotiations in the private sector. As a result, many of the most common frameworks are oriented toward this type of situation, resulting in a clumsy application to a public-sector negotiation. Given the growing importance of negotiations to public-sector leaders, we provide a new structure for analyzing power that can be utilized in such situations. For a municipal leader confronted with a complex public-private partnership, it is important to have the right tools to use when examining the power dynamics at play. After examining several current models of power, as well as other writings on the topic in negotiation and strategy literature, we present a new model. This model divides power into different categories based on whether it stems from formal or informal mechanisms, and then offers several specific forms relevant to the public sector. We then use this new model to examine a case study involving the new mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire and her efforts to negotiate a better response to the opioid and homelessness crisis. This case study illustrates the unique nature of public sector negotiations and provides a roadmap for negotiators looking to use our new framework.     

Child and adolescent suicide in a large, urban area: psychological, demographic, and situational factors.

We examined all completed suicides by children and adolescents in Los Angeles County who died during 1996 and 1997. There were 46 subjects, aged 11 through 16. The majority of the decedents were males and over age 14. The predominant racial group was Hispanic. There was an almost even split between firearms and hanging as the means of death. Females had a statistically significantly higher rate of prior suicide attempts than males. Over one-third left a suicide note, almost one-half were noted to be depressed, and 22% tested positive for alcohol or illicit drugs. Less than one-quarter were in mental health treatment. Eighty-seven percent had difficulty transitioning to or during adolescence; e.g., problems at home, legal and school difficulties, and relationship losses. These findings are discussed in terms of Eriksonian developmental theory. We offer recommendations for intervention and prevention of suicide.