Sexually violent predators and civil commitment laws

This article analyzes the civil commitment models for treating sexually violent predators (SVPs) and analyzes recent civil commitment laws. SVPs are commonly defined as sex offenders who are particularly predatory and repetitive in their sexually violent behavior. Data from policy literature, a survey to all states, and a review of law review Websites identify 16 states that have civil commitment statutes to address the problem and treatment of SVPs, four states that are in the process of passing such laws, six states that failed to enact proposed statutes, six states that lack SVP legislation, and 18 states that do not have relevant data available. The majority of such laws have created a false sense of safety because they address only convicted sex offenders. New approaches to the civil commitment of sexually violent predators have created multifaceted demands, controversy, ethical dilemmas, and learning opportunities. It is advised that research should be focused on the parameters of sexually violent behaviors, program flexibility, and treatment effectiveness.     

The use of multi-state capture-recapture models to address questions in evolutionary ecology

Multi-state capture-recapture models can be used to estimate survival rates in populations that are stratified by location or by state variables associated with individual animals. In populations stratified by location, movement probabilities can be estimated and used to test hypotheses relevant to population genetics and evolutionary ecology. When the interest is in state variables, these models permit estimation and testing of hypotheses about state-specific survival probabilities. If the state variable of interest is reproductive activity or success, then the multi-state modeling approach can be used to test hypotheses about life history trade-offs and a possible cost of reproduction.     

Missing discourses: concepts of joy and happiness in disability

This paper analyses a series of representations of disability and rehabilitation taken from research and policy settings in Australia. The purpose of the analysis is to (a) identify the presence or absence of discourses of happiness and joy in the contexts analysed and (b) to analyse the various treatments and interpretations of happiness and joy that are present. Through this analysis we show that while official professional and public discourses on disability and rehabilitation exhibit predominantly negative discursive patterns and features (i.e. aspirations to achieve ‘normality’ and a negative lexicon, such as disability, coping, rehabilitation, burden, abnormality, etc.) there are many other potentially positive and empowering discursive and narrative patterns and features that remain hidden beneath negatively oriented ways of seeing, being, acting and describing in academic, policy and practice settings. We argue that policy‐makers and academics alike need to be sensitive to the dynamics of discourse when constructing research and developing policy.     

On the use of secondary capture-recapture samples to estimate temporary emigration and breeding proportions

The use of the Cormack-Jolly-Seber model under a standard sampling scheme of one sample per time period, when the Jolly-Seber assumption that all emigration is permanent does not hold, leads to the confounding of temporary emigration probabilities with capture probabilities. This biases the estimates of capture probability when temporary emigration is a completely random process, and both capture and survival probabilities when there is a temporary trap response in temporary emigration, or it is Markovian. The use of secondary capture samples over a shorter interval within each period, during which the population is assumed to be closed (Pollock's robust design), provides a second source of information on capture probabilities. This solves the confounding problem, and thus temporary emigration probabilities can be estimated. This process can be accomplished in an ad hoc fashion for completely random temporary emigration and to some extent in the temporary trap response case, but modelling the complete sampling process provides more flexibility and permits direct estimation of variances. For the case of Markovian temporary emigration, a full likelihood is required.     

On the use of secondary capture-recapture samples to estimate temporary emigration and breeding proportions

The use of the Cormack-Jolly-Seber model under a standard sampling scheme of one sample per time period, when the Jolly-Seber assumption that all emigration is permanent does not hold, leads to the confounding of temporary emigration probabilities with capture probabilities. This biases the estimates of capture probability when temporary emigration is a completely random process, and both capture and survival probabilities when there is a temporary trap response in temporary emigration, or it is Markovian. The use of secondary capture samples over a shorter interval within each period, during which the population is assumed to be closed (Pollock's robust design), provides a second source of information on capture probabilities. This solves the confounding problem, and thus temporary emigration probabilities can be estimated. This process can be accomplished in an ad hoc fashion for completely random temporary emigration and to some extent in the temporary trap response case, but modelling the complete sampling process provides more flexibility and permits direct estimation of variances. For the case of Markovian temporary emigration, a full likelihood is required.     

The value of job safety for railroad workers

The value of reducing job risk is estimated using a hedonic wage model and a risk variable that is matched by occupation and state of residence. This study is the first to use the hedonic wage approach to estimate the value of safety in a single industry. Industry-specific estimates will help researchers and labor policymakers better understand the distribution of compensating wage differentials across industries. Our estimated value of job safety for railroad workers is between $21,000 and $26,000 (1980 dollars) per statistical disabling injury, which is somewhat larger than the average of values estimated in previous studies that use cross-industry or crossoccupation aggregate risk data.     

Design optimisation for pharmacokinetic modeling of a cocktail of phenotyping drugs

Our paper proposes a methodological strategy to select optimal sampling designs for phenotyping studies including a cocktail of drugs. A cocktail approach is of high interest to determine the simultaneous activity of enzymes responsible for drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, therefore useful in anticipating drug–drug interactions and in personalized medicine. Phenotyping indexes, which are area under the concentration‐time curves, can be derived from a few samples using nonlinear mixed effect models and maximum a posteriori estimation. Because of clinical constraints in phenotyping studies, the number of samples that can be collected in individuals is limited and the sampling times must be as flexible as possible. Therefore to optimize joint design for several drugs (i.e., to determine a compromise between informative times that best characterize each drug's kinetics), we proposed to use a compound optimality criterion based on the expected population Fisher information matrix in nonlinear mixed effect models. This criterion allows weighting different models, which might be useful to take into account the importance accorded to each target in a phenotyping test. We also computed windows around the optimal times based on recursive random sampling and Monte‐Carlo simulation while maintaining a reasonable level of efficiency for parameter estimation. We illustrated this strategy for two drugs often included in phenotyping cocktails, midazolam (probe for CYP3A) and digoxin (P‐glycoprotein), based on the data of a previous study, and were able to find a sparse and flexible design. The obtained design was evaluated by clinical trial simulations and shown to be efficient for the estimation of population and individual parameters. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Significance of Information Systems Research on Emerging Technologies: Seven Information Technologies that Promise to Improve Managerial Effectiveness*

Emerging information technologies are those excitingly novel advances that decision makers are just beginning to notice. These emerging products or processes may have been invented some time ago, but are only now beginning to reveal practical applications. This paper examines this collection of seven studies exploring emerging technologies, classifying them so the context of their results can be related to other emerging technologies. Once the research is classified and the contribution and managerial significance of the research is identified, it becomes apparent that certain barriers exist, holding back the technology from wider use and appreciation. Common obstacles include resistance to, or difficulty with, using the technology; uncertainty concerning the value of the technology; and the complexities involved with implementation. This paper concludes with recommendations for future research aimed at breaking down the barriers in order to move from the technological emergence phase to the technological sublime phase in which decision makers and other end users understand the technology, realize and appreciate its value, and put the technology to its best use.     

Organic coasts? Regulatory challenges of certifying integrated shrimp–mangrove production systems in Vietnam

The Vietnamese government aims to expand the scale of Naturland certified organic production in integrated shrimp–mangrove farming systems across the coast of Ca Mau province by 2015. In doing so the division between public and private regulation has become blurred. We analyze the government's goal by examining the regulatory challenges of using organic certification as a means of linking farm-level management to the sustainability of coastal (mangrove) landscapes. The results show the importance of farmer perceptions of sustainable farm and landscape management, fair benefit sharing mechanisms in the certified value chain, and legitimate private sector-led auditing. We conclude that in order to overcome conflicts of interest and legitimate representation in organic certification, the social and economic conditions of production require regulatory intervention from provincial and local level government. To achieve benefits beyond the scale of the farm, the role of shrimp producers should be redefined as partners in rather than targets of regulation.     

Does Horizontal Inequality Matter in Vietnam?

This paper examines the issue of horizontal inequalities in Vietnam over the past 20 years. Using data from three recent Vietnam population censuses (1989, 1999, and 2009) and three Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys (1998, 2008, 2012), we estimated numerous measures on inequalities between five groups against four welfare indicators. Our results show that horizontal inequality matters in Vietnam, in particular for ethnicity, region, and rural/urban groups. While there has been an improvement in horizontal inequality in education, this paper shows little change in other welfare indicators, in particular poverty. We also found that horizontal inequality does matter for poverty reduction in Vietnam and it needs more attention when designing poverty policies in the future.