Characterizing Environmental Harm: Developments in an Approach to Strategic Risk Assessment and Risk Management

Environmental policymakers and regulators are often in the position of having to prioritize their actions across a diverse range of environmental pressures to secure environmental protection and improvements. Information on environmental issues to inform this type of strategic analysis can be disparate; it may be too voluminous or even absent. Data on a range of issues are rarely presented in a common format that allows easy analysis and comparison. Nevertheless, judgments are required on the significance of various environmental pressures and on the inherent uncertainties to inform strategic assessments such as “state of the environment” reports. How can decisionmakers go about this type of strategic and comparative risk analysis? In an attempt to provide practical tools for the analysis of environmental risks at a strategic level, the Environment Agency of England and Wales has conducted a program of developmental research on strategic risk assessment since 1996. The tools developed under this program use the concept of “environmental harm” as a common metric, viewed from technical, social, and economic perspectives, to analyze impacts from a range of environmental pressures. Critical to an informed debate on the relative importance of these perspectives is an understanding and analysis of the various characteristics of harm (spatial and temporal extent, reversibility, latency, etc.) and of the social response to actual or potential environmental harm from a range of hazards. Recent developments in our approach, described herein, allow a presentation of the analysis in a structured fashion so as to better inform risk‐management decisions.     

Protecting children in Scotland: examining the impact of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995

This paper discusses findings from a small‐scale study of the impact on child protection practice following implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The Act introduced three new measures to allow the state to intervene in families to protect a child where there is a risk of significant harm. These include the child protection order, the child assessment order and the exclusion order. The child protection order provides for the removal of a child to (or his or her retention in) a place of safety. In the first two years of the operation of the 1995 Act fewer applications were made for this order compared with similar provisions under the previous legislation. This reduction in applications appears to be related to unfamiliarity with new legislation; greater scrutiny resulting from the more formal application to the sheriff court; and the introduction of a new legal criterion for intervention, the presence or likelihood of ‘significant harm’. The introduction of the ‘no order’ principle into Scottish child care law is also likely to be a factor.     

论反向假冒商标行为的刑法规制--兼论假冒注册商标罪的立法完善

反向假冒商标行为是指在他人的商品上擅自使用自己商标的行为.该行为具有极大的隐蔽性和严重的社会危害性,情节严重的,应认定为犯罪.基于罪刑法定原则,反向假冒不能定假冒注册商标罪,实属立法之缺陷.鉴此,应完善假冒注册商标罪的立法假冒注册商标罪是指违反国家商标管理法规,未经注册商标所有人许可,在同一种商品上使用与其注册商标相同的商标或在他人的商品上擅自使用自己的商标,情节严重的行为.     

野生动物致害的国家补偿及其法制完善

我国现行野生动物致害补偿的法律制度存在严重的缺陷和不足,既不利于弥补受害人的损失,也不利于对野生动物的保护。因此,必须尽快完善相关的法律制度,促进野生动物的有效保护以及人与动物的和谐相处。     

Iwi community justice panels reduce harm from re-offending

ABSTRACT

The effect of iwi community justice panels is assessed using data from seven years of implementation. Panel participants of 1013 are compared to a control group drawn from 73,000 offenders charged with similar offences and propensity-matched by age, gender, ethnicity, offending history and location. The dependent measure is re-harm from offending calculated using the NZ Crime Harm Index. Panel participants did not reduce their rate of offending compared to matched controls. However, there is a significant reduction in harm from post-panel offending, on average by 26.9 ± 21.05 equivalised prison days. The relative reduction is 22.25% of the harm committed by matched controls. Iwi panels are an effective alternative justice resolution. Panel participants are found to re-offend with minor offences and thus any focus on rates of offending would miss the complexity of the restorative justice process that reduces the harm of re-offending.     

会计信息失真的现实与思考

会计信息失真,是指会计给其使用者提供虚假信息,未真实反映客观经济活动,从而给决策者制定相关决策带来不利影响的一种现象。我国会计信息失真的现象十分普遍,危害十分严重。文章阐述了企业会计信息失真的危害,分析了企业会计信息失真的原因,提出了会计信息失真的治理对策。     

Effectiveness of a Web-based Alcohol-Misuse and Harm-Prevention Course Among High- and Low-Risk Students

Objective: In the current study, the authors assessed whether a new online alcohol-misuse prevention course (College Alc) is more effective at reducing alcohol use and related consequences among drinkers and nondrinkers. Participants: The authors compared incoming college freshmen who reported any past 30-day alcohol use before the beginning of the semester with those who did not. Method Summary: The authors randomly assigned students who completed a precollege baseline survey to either complete a 3-hour noncredit version of College Alc or serve as members of a control group. The authors conducted a follow-up survey 3 months later. Results: Findings indicated that among freshmen who were regular drinkers before college, College Alc appeared to reduce the frequency of heavy drinking, drunkenness, and negative alcohol-related consequences. Among freshmen who did not report any past-30-day alcohol use before college, College Alc did not appear to have any beneficial effects. Conclusions: Results suggest that College Alc may be an effective program for students with a history of alcohol use.     

Non-Abstinence-Based Supportive Housing for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders: A Human Rights Perspective

Surveys of providers of social services in Portland, Oregon, in 2003 and 2007 revealed a significant policy shift in meeting the housing needs of chronically mentally ill, homeless persons with ongoing substance-abuse problems. The shift in policy, taking place in Portland, Seattle, Washington, Minneapolis, and other U.S. cities, from a sobriety-first requirement to a housing-first philosophy has occurred largely because of cost-effectiveness. Only when such housing is provided as a human right can we say that a true paradigm shift has occurred.     

Clinical and Practical Considerations in Private Practice with Lesbians and Gay Men of Color

Abstract

The clinical and practical needs of people of color who come to private practitioners are diverse. Issues of coming out, spirituality, multiple identity, and gender role take on unique characteristics with persons of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. This chapter covers practical considerations clinicians are encouraged to stay mindful of when working with clients of different racial and cultural backgrounds, including social class, race, and boundary issues.     

From Community Organization to Direct Services: The Street Trans Action Revolutionaries to Sylvia Rivera Law Project

ABSTRACT

The literature on transgender social services is limited. Taking a case study approach, this article examines the needs of chronically underserved lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations, particularly homeless transgender street youth, and efforts of community-based organizations to address them. To consider their needs, this article considers the legacy of transgender activist Sylvia Rivera along with four organizations that grew out of her work: the Street Trans Action Revolutionaries, Sylvia's Place, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and New Alternatives for LGBT Youth. These organizations show the promise for using multiple methods, from direct action to direct services, while connecting the lessons of social movements with social services. Future recommendations for improving research and services are highlighted.