Digital Commons Network^™

Correctional Discharge Planning & The Missing Linkages, D'Andre D. Lampkin

D'Andre Devon Lampkin

This research project explores correctional rehabilitation and disconnects between correctional facilities and linkage to follow up mental health treatment. One of the components to releasing inmates is providing them with services that help reintroduce them into society. For the mentally ill, linkage to mental health services after spending any amount of time in a correctional facility is heavily dependent on follow through by the former inmate and the expediency and capacity of the mental health departments’ outpatient facilities within the community the former inmate is released into.

What Should Law Enforcement Role Be In Addressing Quality Of Life Issues Associated With Section 8 Housing?, D'Andre D. Lampkin

D'Andre Devon Lampkin

The purpose of this research project is to discuss the challenges law enforcement face when attempting to address quality of life issues for residents residing in and around Section 8 federal housing. The paper introduces readers to the purpose of Section 8 housing, the process in which residents choose subsidized housing, and the legal challenges presented when law enforcement agencies are assisting city government to address quality of life issues. For purposes of this research project, studies were sampled to illustrate where law enforcement participation worked and where law enforcement participation leads to unintended legal ramifications.

The Second Dimension Of The Supreme Court, Joshua B. Fischman, Tonja Jacobi

Tonja Jacobi

Describing the justices of the Supreme Court as ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives’ has become so standard—and the left-right division on the Court is considered so entrenched—that any deviation from that pattern is treated with surprise. Attentive Court watchers know that the justices are not just politicians in robes, deciding each case on a purely ideological basis. Yet the increasingly influential empirical legal studies literature assumes just that—that a left-right ideological dimension fully describes the Supreme Court. We show that there is a second, more legally-focused dimension of judicial decision-making. A continuum between legalism and pragmatism also divides the justices, in ways …

Deployment Of Geoengineering By The Private And Public Sector: Can The Risks Of Geoengineering Ever Be Effectively Regulated?, Daniela E. Lai

Daniela E Lai

Geoengineering has been described as any large-scale environmental manipulation designed with the purpose of mitigating the effects of climate change without decreasing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Currently there are no specific rules regulating geoengineering activities particularly if geoengineering is deployed in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This article argues that, in order to mitigate the risks of geoengineering, there needs to be effective regulation of its deployment both in international and domestic law. The risks of geoengineering can only be effectively regulated if there is international cooperation between all levels of governments and private individuals involved in the research and development …

The Ncaa's Transgender Student-Athlete Policy: How Attempting To Be More Inclusive Has Led To Gender And Gender Identity Discrimination, Elliot S. Rozenberg

Elliot S Rozenberg

No abstract provided.

Public Act 231 Of 2008: Proposed Policy Reform To Address The Ever-Increasing Obesity Rates In Michigan, Rachele M. Hendricks-Sturrup

Rachele M Hendricks-Sturrup

In order to address the growing problem of obesity in the state of Michigan, Michigan implemented Public Act 231 of 2008 (Senate Bill 294, Amendment to the Commercial Rehabilitation Act) (hereinafter referred to as “Public Act 231”). Public Act 231 introduces a property tax incentive that seeks to increase access to affordable, healthful foods in rural and low-income urban areas (S. 294, 2008). Given recent facts stating that obesity rates in Michigan have steadily increased between years 2008-2013, it is apparent that the tax incentive under Public Act 231 has had very little impact in effectively tackling the obesity problem …

How Do Gamblers Maintain And Illusion Of Control?, Elizabeth Cowley, Donnel A. Briley, Colin Farrell

Donnel A Briley

Gamblers' enduring illusions of control (IOC) may be one reason why they continue to gamble in the face of sustained losses. If gamblers persist in the belief that they have special skills, knowledge and other advantages when gambling, they may be able to convince themselves it is worth doing again. Maintaining an IOC requires selective attention of the illusion supporting moments during the construction of an evaluation of a gambling session.Objective: Test the hypothesis that selected moments, specifically the moment of the highest win and the last moment of the gaming session, explain the retrospective evaluation of the session for …

Nuclear Chain Reaction: Why Economic Sanctions Are Not Worth The Public Costs, Nicholas C.W. Wolfe

Nicholas A Wolfe

International economic sanctions frequently violate human rights in targeted states and rarely achieve their objectives. However, many hail economic sanctions as an important nonviolent tool for coercing and persuading change. In November 2013, the Islamic Republic of Iran negotiated a temporary agreement with major world powers regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The United States’ media and politicians have repeatedly and incorrectly attributed Iran’s willingness to negotiate to the effectiveness of economic sanctions.

Politicians primarily focus on immediate domestic effects and enact sanctions without a thorough understanding of the long-term effects on the United States economy and the public within a targeted …

Industrial Hemp: Canada Exports, United States Imports, Courtney N. Moran Ll.M.

Courtney N. Moran LL.M.

Industrial hemp, a non-psychoactive variety of Cannabis sativa L., (C. sativa) is the greatest renewable resource available to mankind. Industrial hemp is an environmentally friendly crop that does not require herbicides or pesticides and can clean up toxins in soil. Manufacturers can produce hemp into over 25,000 products.

More than 30 industrialized nations, including Canada, cultivate industrial hemp for commercial purposes. Despite the fact that industrial hemp is a viable agricultural commodity, in the United States hemp is classified as marihuana, a Schedule I controlled substance, under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Therefore, it is illegal under U.S. federal law …

Planning Local Economic Development In The Emerging World Order, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

A new consensus is emerging around effective modes of government action in the economic sphere—in essence, a new approach to industrial policy—that has significant implications for the reform of the subnational economic development function currently underway in the UK and US. Leading edge local and regional economic development practise must be smarter, more flexible, more collaborative among stakeholders, more experimental and evaluative, and much less prone to generic diagnoses of economic challenges and the application of universal strategies. In turn, good planning scholarship is needed to help design the organisations and practises the new model requires and to train the …

Evaluation Of Malaysian Retail Service Quality, Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor, Zalina Ibrahim, Linda Dana, Ahmad Faisal Mahdi, Mohamad Zaid Mohd Zin, Mohd Anuar Ramli

Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor

In retailing different requirement of service quality in product or services environment required. Some of the retail stores have lack on service quality whereas the salesperson is not well trained, unknowledgeable and rude. This study aims to evaluate the retail service quality from a supermarket in Kuching, Malaysia and sets out to determine what influence customers to shop. This research looks at the five dimensions of retail service quality: the physical aspect, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving and policy. A survey of 200 respondents was conducted and reliability test is measured to represent the dimensions whereas regression test and Pearson …

Symposium Report: Findings From The Research Roundtable On The Economic And Community Impact Of Broadband, Edward Feser, John Horrigan, William Lehr

Edward J Feser

In December 2012, a group of experts spanning disciplines and practice in the field of broadband policy met to discuss how the research community can better serve state and local policymakers and other stakeholders. This group of subject matter experts was convened to examine how best to measure the economic impact of state and national broadband deployment and capacity/adoption building efforts. The impetus for the symposium stemmed from the widespread view that there is a deficit of research, standards, and measurements to adequately inform the widely acknowledged view that broadband Internet is a driver of sustainable economic and community development. …

Watch The World "Burn": Copyright, Micropatent And The Emergence Of 3d Printing, Matthew A. Susson

Matthew A Susson

Where the Industrial Revolution introduced the notion of mass production of goods — and thereby upended previous economic models — 3D printing now “makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce thousands,” which “may have as profound an impact on the world as the coming of the factory did.” In short, a new fabrication revolution is coming.

3D printing is, put simply, a technology that allows one to transform a digital file into a physical product — in other words, we can now print actual objects. Technology that allows users to manufacture complex objects at …

Factors Influencing The Implementation Of Health Care Reform: An Examination Of The Concurrent Care For Children Provision, Lisa C. Lindley, Sheri Edwards, Don J. Bruce

Lisa C Lindley

In the wake of the 2013 Presidential reelection, states now face the reality of implementing the healthcare reform, including ACA section 2302 (Concurrent Care for Children). The purpose of our study was to examine the influence of economic, political, and legal factors on state implementation of ACA 2302. Using data from 2010 to 2012, our analysis revealed that for early implementers economic, political or legal factors did not influence implementation of ACA 2302. In 2011, states that were engaged in Medicaid cost containment efforts were more likely to implement ACA 2302 and in 2012, states experiencing a budgetary crisis were …

Deciphering Pakistan's Investment Policy: A Review Of Pakistani Bits, Nida Mahmood, Ahmad Ali Ghouri

Nida Mahmood Ms

This study presents the first ever comprehensive analysis of Pakistani foreign investment treaty regime, which consists of 47 BITs as of 15 June, 2012. This study provides a provision by provision comparison of all 47 Pakistani BITs. The objective is to identify similarities and differences in these BITs, explaining legal implications of their individual provisions and suggesting policy changes for future BITs in the light of existing and emerging state practices. The overall purpose is to identify policy implications of the BITs regime for Pakistan. Looking forward, the study inquires how to enhance foreign investors’ confidence and to promote and …

How Government Guarantees In Housing Finance Promote Stability, David Min

David Min

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, major reforms of the U.S. housing finance system are likely. One of the key issues facing policy makers in this area is whether and to what extent the federal government should maintain its current role in the residential mortgage markets. Since the New Deal, the federal government has guaranteed the primary sources of housing finance in the United States—bank and thrift deposits, and the obligations of the mortgage securitization conduits Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.

The prevailing view of government guarantees is that they increase financial instability because they encourage excessive …

"Roads? Where We're Going We Don't Need Roads:" The Transformation Of The Roadless Rule Into An American Carbon Sink, Sam W. Gieryn

Sam W. Gieryn

Abstract “Roads? Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads:” The Transformation of the Roadless Rule into an American Carbon Sink. By: Sam Gieryn Climate change continues to become a global problem, but for the United States, part of the solution is closer than we think. In the search for an effective means to halt the adverse effects of global warming, scientists discovered the benefits of carbon sequestration from forests. The United States contains nearly 750 million acres of forest, which this paper proposes the nation uses to combat climate change. In 2001, the Clinton Administration took notice of the importance …

A Turbulent Adolescence Ahead: The Icc’S Insistence On Disclosure In The Lubanga Trial, Christodoulos Kaoutzanis

Christodoulos Kaoutzanis

The completion of the first trial at the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’), against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, was a great milestone for international criminal justice. Despite this obvious accomplishment, this paper argues that the Trial Chamber’s solutions to two evidentiary problems will restrict the ICC’s potential to effectively hear future cases. First, this paper presents the details behind the two evidentiary problems of disclosure, that of exculpatory confidential information and that of the identities of the Prosecutor’s intermediaries. This analysis is undertaken in an exhaustive manner, in order to highlight the challenges that the Prosecutor faced and the manner in which …

A Role For Policymakers In Improving The Status Of Black Male Students In U.S. Higher Education, Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D., Frank Harris Iii, Ed.D.

Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D.

Given the systemic nature of racial achievement and opportunity gaps in education and their disproportionate impact on Black men, postsecondary institutions alone cannot close them. Participation from multiple stakeholder groups is necessary. This report calls for greater involvement by federal and state policymakers, high school counselors, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, the policymaking organization for intercollegiate athletics), community–based organizations, and other groups in ongoing efforts to improve the status of Black undergraduate men. In support of this goal, this report presents policy–relevant data from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, NCAA Federal Graduation Rates Database, and …

Course Outline, Contemporary Issues In Human Development And Policy, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This is the course outline for 'Contemporary Issues in Human Development and Policy: A New Millennium Perspective' January-May 2012, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.

Unhu/Ubuntu And Education For Reconciliation In Zimbabwe, Oswell Hapanyengwi-Chemhuru, Edward Shizha

Edward Shizha

The paper examines the concept, strengths and shortcomings, role and implementation of the reconciliation policy as Zimbabwe emerged from periods of conflict crisis soon after independence in the 1980s, and the current crisis in the 2000s and how the policy can be introduced in schools through „education for reconciliation‟. The authors argue that education can be used to cultivate reconciliation and national healing in the evidently „wounded‟ people of Zimbabwe who bear scars of colonial times and war, and the post-independence conflicts. Reconciliation through education for “diversity” and tolerance makes a compelling argument in so far as we understand how …

Political Considerations In The Sports Establishment, Marios Papaloukas

Marios Papaloukas

There is a sui generis situation that needs to be further examined. Independent countries are not recognised as countries by Sports authorities while non-independent entities are. The sports establishment and the Olympic Movement are supposed to be politically independent. In the IOC’s view, its members do not represent their countries but rather the Olympic Movement within their countries. This is how their political independence from their respective governments is explained. One question remains unanswered though. Is it political considerations or a complete disregard for them, that has led sports authorities to take these decisions? The situation is further complicated since …

Smoked Success? Social, Cultural, And Legal Changes In The United States, Japan, And France Have Led To A Decline In Tobacco Use. Yet, Teenagers Refuse To Budge!, Dalila V. Hoover

Dalila V Hoover

Once considered a part of everyday life, tobacco consumption has become a global public health crisis that has transcended national borders. By the end of 2011, tobacco will have killed nearly six million people, including more than 600,000 of people exposed to tobacco smoke. If current smoking patterns continue, the toll will nearly double by 2030 with more than 8 million deaths. To safeguard the public’s health, the United States, Japan, and France have taken action to change the acceptability of smoking. Although they have adopted a different approach, they have successfully altered and redefined their cultural perception of tobacco …

The Taxpayer’S Burden From Product-Related Harm, W. Jonathan Cardi, Ruth Ruttenberg, Estye Ross

W. Jonathan Cardi

Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent every year in the public sector as a result of death, injury, and illness associated with products. The taxpayer takes on this burden, a reality that ought to be considered by courts and policy makers when setting the standards for liability and levels of regulation governing products. Yet, to date, the government has made no attempt to trace specific government expenditures to product-related injuries. Indeed, due to the dearth of government data on the subject, no one to the authors’ knowledge has even constructed an estimate of product-related public expenditures. This article attempts …

A New Policy For Management Of Double-Crested Cormorants In The United States And An Example Of Its Implementation., Shauna L. Hanisch, Brian S. Dorr, Peter H. Butchko

Brian S Dorr

In the fall of 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in cooperation with USDA-Wildlife Services (USDA-WS), completed an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the management of Double-crested Cormorants (DCCOs) in the United States. The USFWS subsequently published new regulations to implement the EIS proposed strategy. One part of the new regulations, a “public resource depredation order” (PRDO), allows state wildlife agencies, tribes, and USDA-WS to control DCCOs on a localized level to protect fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats in 24 states. We’ll discuss this new policy and will highlight the management activities, including monitoring and evaluation efforts, …

Ending Corruption In Africa Through United Nations Inspections, Stuart S. Yeh

Stuart S Yeh

Evidence suggests that a lack of effective checks and balances against corruption undermines the rule of law, the protection of human rights, and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. This article suggests the need for an international treaty to establish an African Commission Against Corruption, involving United Nations inspectors to investigate and prosecute corruption. A range of evidence is reviewed suggesting that pressure from constituents as well as international organizations may be effective in compelling African leaders to sign this type of protocol.

Participatory Rural Appraisal, Ganesh Chandra

Ganesh Chandra

Participation, empowerment and inclusion have become the new development buzzword. There has been a range of interpretations of the meaning of participation in development. Participatory development starts from the premise that it is important to identify and build upon strengths already present in communities. Perhaps the most widespread appearance of participation in mainstream development has been seen in the form of participatory methodologies of research, intended to gather a wide range of information from local people at their livelihoods, needs, and strengths, at the same time as 'empowering' them through a process of collaborative analysis and learning. PRA is a …

Attitudes, Advocacy And Polarization: The New Iron Triangle Of American Public Policy, Roger L. Conner, Patricia Jordan

Roger L Conner

Electoral politics in the U.S. have always been nasty and brutish. Pervasive polarization in public policy disputes is a new an worrisome trend that has attracted considerable attention recently. Using insights gleaned from social psychology, this article finds that “strong", negative "attitudes," once attached to an “attitude object” such as the “other side” in a policy conflict, will operate subconsciously to distort cognition in ways that generate extreme and polarized thinking. Scholars from a different field, public policy studies, find that conversations about public policy increasingly occur inside of “advocacy coalitions,” vast and networks of people and groups that are …

International Law & Politics: The Same Under Another Name?, Ana M. Nacvalovaite

Ana M Nacvalovaite

ABSTRACT: The Article examines the perceived dichotomy between international law and international politics from a legal perspective. It presents a brief over-view of the sources of international law and shows how and why the perceived legal/political dichotomy has been prevalent in the academic discourse surrounding the sources and nature of international law. Consequences of legal truth as to whether treaty bodies are analogous with political bodies will serve as a practical lens through which to ground the relevance and importance of this topic today. From this, one will be able to establish that such a distinction between a legal system …

Power And Law, Bait And Switch: Debunking “Law” As A Tool Of Societal Change The Disappearing Act Of Affordable Housing In The District Of Columbia, Samuel Jefferson

Samuel Jefferson Jr.

ABSTRACT

POWER AND LAW, BAIT AND SWITCH:

DEBUNKING “LAW” AS A TOOL OF SOCIETAL CHANGE

The Disappearing Act of Affordable Housing in the District of Columbia

by Samuel L. Jefferson, Jr.

I. Introduction

“It was a typical sunny, hot and hazy July afternoon in Washington, D.C. when I, as a 17-year-old, walked down the hill towards my apartment complex. As I approached, I noticed people gathered in the street in front of my building. I also noticed that someone had been evicted. As I moved closer, I noticed that the belongings were mine and my family’s. That’s when, at least …