Analyzing factors influencing readmission to a battered women's shelter

Factors that distinguished first admission and readmission to an emergency woman's shelter were examined using discriminant function analysis. Records from 563 women who were residents were analyzed. Results suggest that source of income, number and developmental stage of children, and prior history of physical assault are precursors of readmissions. This study was discussed in terms of improving follow-up services to former residents of emergency shelters.     

It's patently absurd — benefit sharing genetic resources from the sea under UNCLOS,the CBD and TRIPs

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes a scheme of sovereignty over parts of the seas. The resources of the seas within state jurisdiction covered by UNCLOS are then accessed and shared according to the scheme set out in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which relies, in part, on patenting according to the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs). The key findings of this paper are that patents compliant with TRIPs are unlikely to achieve the objects of sharing the benefits from exploiting the genetic resources of the seas because of the significant gaps in UNCLOS and the failure to take into account broad patent claims by non‐residents in benefit sharing arrangements. Consequently, the reliance by the international community on UNCLOS and the CBD for the regulation of benefit sharing, undermines the internationally agreed mandate that the genetic resources of the seas are to be shared and used for the benefit of all.     

Handout or Hand‐up: Ongoing Tensions in the Long History of Government Response to Drought in Australia

In 2014 the Coalition government announced a 320 million dollar package for drought‐hit farmers. In describing this initiative as a “hand‐up” not a “hand out” Prime Minister Tony Abbott encapsulated more than 150 years of tension over whether government drought response should be unconditional limited relief or conditional longer‐term assistance. This paper considers the long history of drought assistance in Australia as seen through government legislation, year books, newspapers and personal papers. It argues that despite changing political and social circumstances, contradictions in the approach to government drought response, as well as in public and personal reactions to those policies, have remained remarkably consistent. We further suggest that lack of consensus over the inherent nature of drought is not sufficient to explain the dilemma.     

BARRIERS TO REUNIFICATION FOR INCARCERATED PARENTS—A JUDICIAL PERSPECTIVE

Within the child welfare system, going to jail does not automatically mean losing your children. As the number of incarcerated parents rises, California dependency bench officers are looking at the effects incarceration has on parents seeking to reunify with their children. The California legislature passed legislation allowing a dependency judicial officer to consider the effect incarceration has on parents' performance and to grant additional reunification if a parent's progress is hindered by incarceration. In Los Angeles County, the Incarcerated Parents Working Group was specifically created in 2009 to look at the services available to incarcerated parents and what barriers these parents face in their efforts to reunify. Additionally, the working group has created judicial training on this subject for their bench officers and for other judicial officers throughout the state.