Eyewitness Testimony in Occupational Accident Investigations: Towards a Research Agenda

Accident investigation is frequently cited as the cornerstone of an effective occupational health and safety program. We suggest that the literature on accident investigation is based on a model of witnesses as neutral and accurate recording devices. The literature on eyewitness testimony and criminal investigation offers strikingly different conclusions. We review these findings and point to their implication for research on accident investigation in occupational health and safety contexts.     

Chewing the fat over the High Court's judgment on the world's best-selling drug

The English Patents Court has recently refused a declarationof non-infringement in relation to the compound patent coveringAtorvastatin (Lipitor), the world's best-selling drug, but founda patent relating to its hemicalcium salt invalid for lack ofnovelty and obviousness; this decision is seen as a victoryfor Pfizer since the invalidation of the hemicalcium salt patenthas not shortened its period of exclusivity.     

Introduction: the Political Consequences of Non-state Social Welfare in the Global South

Throughout the Global South, diverse non-state actors have historically played critical roles in enabling populations to meet their basic needs, whether by providing or mediating access to social benefits and programs. To date, little research explores non-state social welfare, particularly in the Global South, and existing studies tend to focus on technical and administrative concerns while neglecting the potential political ramifications. This introductory essay aims to conceptualize and theorize the politics of non-state social welfare. We highlight three dimensions of the political consequences of non-state social welfare, including the implications for state capacity, equity of access to social welfare, and experiences of citizenship. Based on this framework as well as the findings of the empirical contributions to the special issue, the essay concludes that non-state provision may pose more political challenges than proponents recognize, but its effects are ultimately contingent on the types of relationships between state and non-state providers.     

Assessing Cognitive Bias in Forensic Decisions: A Review and Outlook

In recent years, a number of studies have demonstrated that forensic examiners can be biased by task-irrelevant contextual information. However, concerns relating to methodological flaws and ecological validity attenuate how much the current body of knowledge can be applied to real-life operational settings. The current review takes a narrative approach to synthesizing the literature across forensic science. Further, the review considers three main issues: (i) primary research on contextual bias within forensic science; (ii) methodological criticisms of this research; (iii) an alternative perspective that task-irrelevant contextual information does not always lead to error. One suggestion for future research is outlined, which is that studies on contextual bias in forensic decisions should be conducted in collaboration between forensic scientists and cognitive psychologists. Only then can rigorous and ecological valid experiments be created that will be able to assess how task-irrelevant contextual information influences forensic analysis and judgments in operationally valid settings.     

Human justice: An elegy

Kwantlen University College