bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Article 33(2) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Another Role for National Human Rights Institutions?
Authors: de Beco Gauthier
Published: April 2017

This article concerns Article 33(2) of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or Convention) which provides that States should designate or establish one or more independent mechanisms to promote, protect and monitor the implementation of the Convention taking into account the Paris Principles. It analyses the content of Article 33(2) with a view to determining if national human rights institutions (NHRIs) should be designated independent mechanisms. The article adopts a two-pronged approach by explaining the functions of NHRIs and by evaluating their suitability to play the role of independent mechanisms. After explaining the importance of national monitoring, the article discusses the Paris Principles and the role of NHRIs and examines whether these institutions should exercise the functions of independent mechanisms. It also deals with cooperation between these mechanisms and the other actors mentioned in Article 33. Finally, the article analyses the consequences for NHRIs of the reference to the Paris Principles in Article 33(2) of CRPD.
Power, Politics and Participation: The Russian Federation's National Minorities and Their Participatory Rights
Authors: Prina Federica
Published: April 2017

Participatory rights are essential in the formulation of effective minority policies, but they are probably the most complex rights to delineate and regulate. Difficulties in implementing participatory rights exist in all countries: there are logistic difficulties in the establishment of effective mechanisms enabling the involvement of the whole spectrum of stakeholders in decision-making. This article reveals obstacles to Russia's implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, with a focus on participatory rights (Article 15). It is argued that Russia does not meet the requirements of Article 15, owing to the fact that the form of participation offered to minorities is devoid of guarantees that it will be ‘effective’. An analysis of the two forms of participation – representation in elected bodies and consultative mechanisms, with a particular reference to National Cultural Autonomy – reveals an over-reliance on informal networks and practices in the management of majority-minority relations. Mechanisms for participation are locked into a system that has features partly originating from the Soviet period and partly from policies introduced by former Russian President Vladimir Putin. The article concludes that international standards on minority participation are unlikely to induce a substantial shift in minority policies in Russia given the international standards' own flexibility and the Russian leadership's commitment to its own approach to nationality issues in the context of its plans for a ‘managed democracy’. Despite this, it is argued that international standards should not be dismissed as irrelevant in Russia.
The Changing Nature of the Relationship between the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and National Preventive Mechanisms: In Search for Equilibrium
Authors: Steinerte Elina
Published: April 2017

The unique aspect of the mandate of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) lies in the relationship that the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) puts in place between the SPT and National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) established by State Parties at their national levels. However, at least initially, the SPT struggled to find its feet in its engagement with NPMs: faced with crippling budgetary problems and uncertainty over the best ways for interaction with NPMs, the SPT spent its initial five years nearly side-lining its national counterparts. The Fifth Annual Report of the SPT indicates a turning point in the way it intends to engage with NPMs. Introducing new type of visits, changing its attitude towards engagement with NPMs outside its visiting mandate and reshuffling its internal structure are all signs of the change in the nature of the relationship between the SPT and NPMs. After five years, the SPT is finally signalling its readiness to embrace the relationship with its colleagues at national levels and this is a relationship that all those engaged with the prevention of torture have every right to have high expectations of.

This article will examine the relationship between the SPT and NPMs to date and the way it has been changing over the past year. It will argue that the changes introduced by the SPT vis-à-vis NPMs are promising signs of the Subcommittee finally establishing some equilibrium in its relationship with its national counterparts, NPMs. It is submitted here that without such equilibrium the premise of torture prevention encapsulated in OPCAT cannot be achieved.
Reparations at the Human Rights Committee: Legal Basis, Practice and Challenges
Authors: David Valeska
Published: April 2017

The Human Rights Committee (HRC) has succeeded in asserting its capacity to afford reparation in spite of the silence of the norms regulating its activity. The HRC has correctly interpreted the right to an effective remedy as enabling it to provide redress. Moreover, it has developed significant practice in reparations, which has gradually evolved. The HRC's remedies have grown in variety and definition, as well as in the coverage of victims. Notwithstanding that, this article argues that this evolving process encompasses some problematic aspects in need of rectification. This research discusses the ambiguity in the formulation of certain reparations, their inconsistency and insufficiency to repair discrimination, as well as the under-utilisation of guarantees of non-repetition and some satisfaction measures. Moreover, the article addresses some of the difficulties in defining the beneficiaries of reparations, and seeks to elucidate what has been achieved, which challenges are faced and how the HCR's reparations should develop.
The Right to Inclusive Education According to Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Background, Requirements and (Remaining) Questions
Authors: de Beco Gauthier
Published: April 2017

This article deals with the right to inclusive education. Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides not only that children with disabilities should not be discriminated against but also that they should be able to participate in the general education system. Children with disabilities should therefore be educated in mainstream schools. The article begins by studying the right to education in international human rights law (Section 2). It continues with a general introduction to the CRPD (Section 3). After discussing its drafting history, the article goes on to analyse Article 24 of the CRPD, examining the concept of inclusive education, the duty to provide reasonable accommodation and the obligation to adopt support measures and asking the question whether special schools should still be available (Section 3).
Advancing the Rights of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples: Getting UN Attention via the Universal Periodic Review
Authors: Higgins Noelle
Published: April 2017

Having been neglected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),1 minority rights, and even more so, the rights of indigenous peoples, have developed in quite an ad hoc and indolent manner. The rights of minorities were recognised in Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)2 in 1966, but as yet no binding UN instrument on minorities exists. Indigenous peoples fared worse under the UN system as their rights, apart from labour rights,3 were not codified in a legal instrument until the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)4 in 2007. Over the years a complex framework of mechanisms was established within the UN to support the rights of these groups,5 but their concerns and entitlements were still sidelined to an extent due to the lack of binding instruments and the absence of comprehensive and compulsory State reporting requirements on these issues. However, in 2007 the newly created Human Rights Council developed a novel method of overseeing the implementation of universal human rights standards in the form of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR allows for discussion on all human rights issues and is not bound by the subject matter limitations of the UN treaty body regime, thus encompassing minority rights and indigenous peoples' rights within its rubric. This article seeks to analyse how the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples were dealt with during the first cycle of the UPR and to assess the impact of this mechanism on these rights.
Accountability for the Human Rights Implications of Natural Disasters
Authors: Cubie Dug , Hesselman Marlies
Published: April 2017

The practical and operational challenges of responding to disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes are well known. The recent decision by the UN Human Rights Council to commission research on best practices and challenges in the promotion and protection of human rights in post-disaster situations therefore reflects the increasing acknowledgement of the human rights implications of natural and human-made disasters. This article analyses the approach taken by existing international accountability mechanisms concerning humanitarian preparations for and responses to major natural disasters, before advancing proposals for more effective and systematic oversight of human rights protection in disasters. Such systemic approaches are intended to promote greater legal clarity for States and humanitarian actors confronted with the uncertainty and devastation resulting from major natural and human-made disasters, and as a means of spurring redress for those affected.
Strengthening the Protection of Human Rights of Persons Living in Poverty under the ECHR
Authors: Lavrysen Laurens
Published: April 2017

In recent years, the European Court of Human Rights has developed a significant jurisprudence which illustrates the added value of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the field of poverty. Building on the findings of Amartya Sen's “capability approach”, the article examines the extent to which the Court has grasped the nature of poverty as “capability deprivation”. It is argued that, due to polycentric concerns and a reluctance to overcome the negative / positive obligations and civil and political / social and economic rights dichotomies, the Court has only, to a limited extent, done so. Subsequently, three approaches are examined that could allow it to better take into account the findings of the “capability approach” and that could allow for enhanced protection of the human rights of persons living in poverty under the ECHR: endorsing a more complex perspective on the responsibility of the state; analysing poverty as a failure to provide substantive equality; and recognising the vulnerability of persons living in poverty.
Human Rights after the Cold War
Authors: Forsythe David P.
Published: April 2017

The central thesis in this article is that international concern with human rights will remain what it has already become: one of the major issues on international law. The end of the Cold War has had a dual impact on international human rights, contributing both to violations of rights and renewed efforts to ameliorate those violations. The complexities of the subject are discussed according to these paradoxes and a synthesis. The first paradox is general: the increasing consensus not only on the notion and core definition of universal human rights, but also on the propriety of certain types of international action to push for their implementation is joined by the fact that human rights remains one of the most controversial aspects of world affairs. The next two paradoxes are derived from, but more specific manifestations of the first. The second paradox consists of: while the international community continues to confer legitimacy on public authorities through bilateral and multilateral political acceptance, it also flirts with awarding legitimacy because of moral factors. The third paradox is that the territorial state retains the most power and legal authority relative to other actors on public policy, but at the same time its jurisdiction is being penetrated and its operative authority weakened.

The dominant principle of present concern is the traditional emphasis in world affairs on state independence, combined with pursuit of state security and wealth. The competing principle is on international emphasis on universal human rights. The resulting synthesis entails an advance for human rights and a concomitant reduction in the absolute values of national independence especially as translated into state security and economic policies, but in a very uneven and ‘ragged’ way that does not completely undermine the territorial state and its sovereignty.
An International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; An Act of Powerlessness or a New Challenge for the International Community?
Authors: von Hebel Herman
Published: April 2017

The decision of the Security Council of the United Nations to establish an ad hoc tribunal for the prosecution of persons responsible for violations of humanitarian norms in the former Yugoslavia forms the basis for this article. The author starts by putting this decision in a historic perspective and elaborates subsequently on several legal issues involved. These issues inter alia concern the legal foundation on the Statute of the Tribunal and the competence of the Tribunal ratione materiae. Furthermore, some information is provided about the organisation of the Tribunal and the procedures to be followed. The author finally enters into some preliminary observations on the prospects of this Tribunal.
Is the European Convention on Human Rights Sufficiently Equipped to Cope with Gross and Systematic Violations?
Authors: Kamminga Menno T.
Published: April 2017

This article first examines the response of the supervisory system of the European Convention on Human Rights to gross and systematic violations of human rights during the past four decades. In the light of this rather disappointing experience, it then considers whether the institutional reforms of the supervisory system that are currently being implemented are likely to ensure a more adequate response to such violations in the future. It concludes that in particular the new Protocol No. 11 to the Convention is likely to have a positive impact because it eliminates the judicial role of the Committee of Ministers and it renders compulsory the jurisdiction of the new single Court. However, the strengthened judicial character of the new system may also make states more reluctant to use the inter-state procedure. Further reforms are therefore needed to enable the Court to act proprio motu.
Beyond Parapraxes: Right and Wrong Approaches to the Universality of Human Rights Law
Authors: Heinze Eric
Published: April 2017

Human rights law draws its legitimacy from the distinctiveness of the cultures that comprise the world community. Yet its intrinsic respect for cross-cultural difference does not condemn it to an intractable relativism. Even if significant cross-cultural disagreement about the meaning of specific rights is likely to persist, such disagreement takes place within a legal and normative framework that already presupposes a fundamental universality of human rights. Many relativist critiques contain nothing specific about human rights. Rather, they amount to little more than indictments of law, indeed of all normative thinking, as such. Others arise from conceptual misunderstandings and imprecise use of terms. Although the universality of human rights will remain controversial for the foreseeable future, its normative basis is more secure than its relativist critics would suggest.
Video Technology and Human Rights Fact Finding
Authors: Cowie Matthew
Published: April 2017

There is an ambivalent relationship between technology and human rights. Film and video technology not only have the power to control but also to frame accounts of human suffering, protest and attempts to promote human rights. The history of ideologically motivated film making has testified to the plasticity of forms of visual representations. Non-Governmental Organisations in the human rights field should consider the potential and the philosophical limitations of video to their work.
Human Rights Training for United Nations Peace-Keepers: Lessons from Mozambique
Authors: de Rover Cees , Gallagher Anne
Published: April 2017

Peace-keeping by the United Nations has become a central tool of international diplomacy and conflict resolution. In contrast to its previous emphasis on providing a passive buffer between antagonists, modern-day United Nations peace-keeping is increasingly directed towards establishing the conditions under which respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms can be maintained or restored. This shift in emphasis is reflected in the tasks which are assigned to peace-keepers. Military and civilian police components of United Nations peace-keeping operations are now called upon to perform a variety of specialized tasks including monitoring of the human rights situation, investigation of allegations of violations and even provision of guidance and training to local authorities. The effective performance of such tasks presupposes a sound knowledge of the relevant international human rights standards as well as the necessary skill to translate these standards into practical behaviour. An understanding of human rights is also essential to guide the personal and professional behaviour of peace-keepers themselves, and to provide a measure against which this behaviour can be evaluated. In June and July, 1994, the United Nations Centre for Human Rights conducted, in Mozambique, the first-ever on-site training programme in human rights for peace-keepers. This article provides an overview of that Programme and evaluates its success relative to its stated objectives. The experience in Mozambique is then used as a starting point from which to examine the place which human rights training could or should have in the preparation of United Nations peace-keepers.
Tumor Differentiation as a Prognostic Factor for Major Salivary Gland Malignancies
Authors: Rayess Hani M. , Dezube Aaron , Bawab Ibrahim , Raza S. Naweed , Yoo George H. , Lin Ho‐Sheng , Jacobs John R.
Published: April 2017

Objective

The effect of tumor differentiation on prognosis of major salivary gland malignancies is controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of tumor differentiation on prognosis by stage in patients with major salivary gland malignancies and to analyze which patient factors are associated with tumor differentiation.

Study Design and Setting

Cross‐sectional analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

Subjects and Methods

In total, 9810 patients who had a major salivary gland malignancy from 2004 to 2012 were identified using the SEER database. Patients with no staging information or no information on histologic differentiation were excluded. A total of 5366 patients were included in the study. For analysis, patients were categorized by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage and subdivided by tumor differentiation. Multivariate analysis was used to analyze the impact of tumor differentiation on survival, tumor location (parotid, submandibular, sublingual), and sex within each AJCC stage of disease.

Results

Data analysis demonstrated a significant difference in histologic differentiation by stage, with P <. 0001. Within stages II, III, and IV, tumor differentiation was significantly associated with a decrease in survival. There was no significant difference in tumor differentiation between the parotid and submandibular gland.

Conclusion

For patients with stage II, III, and IV disease, tumor differentiation was an independent predictor of survival. This information can be useful when discussing prognosis and can potentially influence management of disease.
Preparation and characterization of flax, hemp and sisal fiber-derived mesoporous activated carbon adsorbents
Authors: Dizbay-Onat Melike , Vaidya Uday K , Balanay Jo Anne G , Lungu Claudiu T
Published: April 2017

The first aim of this study was to investigate mesoporous activated carbon adsorbents from sisal, hemp, and flax fibers by cost-effective methods. Fibers were impregnated with low concentration (20 wt.%) phosphoric acid. Carbonization temperatures were defined by thermal analysis. Bast fibers (hemp, flax) decompose at lower temperatures (419.36℃, 434.96℃) than leaf fibers (sisal, 512.92℃). The second aim was to compare bast and leaf fibers-derived activated carbon adsorbents by determining physical adsorption properties, chemical compositions, scanning electron microscope, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Results showed that natural fibers have good candidates to prepare mesoporous activated carbon adsorbents with high surface area (1186–1359 m2/g), high mesopore percentage (60–72%), and high C content (80–86%). Even though leaf-derived activated carbon developed more mesoporous structure (72%), bast-derived activated carbons provided higher surface areas (Shemp = 1359 m2/g; Sflax = 1257 m2/g) and C content. Fourier transform infrared spectra for bast fibers-derived activated carbon adsorbents were quite similar while leaf fiber-derived activated carbon adsorbent had a different spectrum.
Teaching communication aid use in everyday conversation
Authors: Sigurd Pilesjö Maja , Norén Niklas
Published: April 2017

This Conversation Analysis study investigated how a speech and language therapist (SLT) created opportunities for communication aid use in multiparty conversation. An SLT interacted with a child with multiple disabilities and her grandparents in a home setting, using a bliss board. The analyses demonstrated a practice where the SLT employed sequential and multimodal methods to open up interactional spaces for board use. The board was used within this space either by the child, or by the SLT. The space was then closed by the SLT’s attentive checking for confirmation or rejection of the meaning of the board indication. The meaning-making processes were actively initiated, supported, and closed by the therapist, using a variety of linguistic and bodily methods such as questions, non-finished turns, indication modeling, and adjusting the board’s position. The child confirmed or rejected the therapist’s moves using board indications, vocalizations, gaze, head movements, and smiles. The analysed practice creates opportunities for teaching and possibly also for learning how to use a communication aid.
Understanding the Value of Individualized Information: The Impact of Poor Calibration or Discrimination in Outcome Prediction Models
Authors: Olchanski Natalia , Cohen Joshua T. , Neumann Peter J. , Wong John B. , Kent David M.
Published: April 2017

Background. Risk prediction models allow for the incorporation of individualized risk and clinical effectiveness information to identify patients for whom therapy is most appropriate and cost-effective. This approach has the potential to identify inefficient (or harmful) care in subgroups at different risks, even when the overall results appear favorable. Here, we explore the value of personalized risk information and the factors that influence it. Methods. Using an expected value of individualized care (EVIC) framework, which monetizes the value of customizing care, we developed a general approach to calculate individualized incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as a function of individual outcome risk. For a case study (tPA v. streptokinase to treat possible myocardial infarction), we used a simulation to explore how an EVIC is influenced by population outcome prevalence, model discrimination (c-statistic) and calibration, and willingness-to-pay (WTP) thresholds. Results. In our simulations, for well-calibrated models, which do not over- or underestimate predicted v. observed event risk, the EVIC ranged from $0 to $700 per person, with better discrimination (higher c-statistic values) yielding progressively higher EVIC values. For miscalibrated models, the EVIC ranged from −$600 to $600 in different simulated scenarios. The EVIC values decreased as discrimination improved from a c-statistic of 0.5 to 0.6, before becoming positive as the c-statistic reached values of ~0.8. Conclusions. Individualizing treatment decisions using risk may produce substantial value but also has the potential for net harm. Good model calibration ensures a non-negative EVIC. Improvements in discrimination generally increase the EVIC; however, when models are miscalibrated, greater discriminating power can paradoxically reduce the EVIC under some circumstances.
From Data to Improved Decisions: Operations Research in Healthcare Delivery
Authors: Capan Muge , Khojandi Anahita , Denton Brian T. , Williams Kimberly D. , Ayer Turgay , Chhatwal Jagpreet , Kurt Murat , Lobo Jennifer Mason , Roberts Mark S. , Zaric Greg , Zhang Shengfan , Schwartz J. Sanford
Published: April 2017

Background. The Operations Research Interest Group (ORIG) within the Society of Medical Decision Making (SMDM) is a multidisciplinary interest group of professionals that specializes in taking an analytical approach to medical decision making and healthcare delivery. ORIG is interested in leveraging mathematical methods associated with the field of Operations Research (OR) to obtain data-driven solutions to complex healthcare problems and encourage collaborations across disciplines. This paper introduces OR for the non-expert and draws attention to opportunities where OR can be utilized to facilitate solutions to healthcare problems. Methods. Decision making is the process of choosing between possible solutions to a problem with respect to certain metrics. OR concepts can help systematically improve decision making through efficient modeling techniques while accounting for relevant constraints. Depending on the problem, methods that are part of OR (e.g., linear programming, Markov Decision Processes) or methods that are derived from related fields (e.g., regression from statistics) can be incorporated into the solution approach. This paper highlights the characteristics of different OR methods that have been applied to healthcare decision making and provides examples of emerging research opportunities. Examples. We illustrate OR applications in healthcare using previous studies, including diagnosis and treatment of diseases, organ transplants, and patient flow decisions. Further, we provide a selection of emerging areas for utilizing OR. Conclusions. There is a timely need to inform practitioners and policy makers of the benefits of using OR techniques in solving healthcare problems. OR methods can support the development of sustainable long-term solutions across disease management, service delivery, and health policies by optimizing the performance of system elements and analyzing their interaction while considering relevant constraints.
Association between sleep time and depression: a cross-sectional study from countries in rural Northeastern China
Authors: Mohan Jiang , Xiaofan Guo , Yingxian Sun
Published: April 2017

Objective

To investigate the current situation of sleep status and examine its association with depression among counties in rural areas of Liaoning Province, China.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2012 to August 2013 in Northeast China. A total of 11,276 subjects aged ≥35 years were surveyed and completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9; each participant answered questions about their sleep duration.

Results

For individuals with a sleep time of ≤6, 6–7, 7–8, 8–9, and ≥9 h, the respective risk of depression was 10.8%, 3.7%, 2.6%, 2.7%, and 5.7% in subjects younger than 65 years old and 15.2%, 5.4%, 3.2%, 6.5%, and 8.6% in those 65 years old or older.

Conclusion

In the rural population of Liaoning Province, sleep duration and depression are closely related. Both short sleep and long sleep are risk factors for depression. Optimizing sleep status may contribute to good physical and mental health.
Association of hepatic vein Lipiodol tram-track sign during transcatheter arterial chemoembolization with perioperative death
Authors: Zhao Hongwei , Liu Fuquan , Yue Zhendong , Wang Lei , Fan Zhenhua , He Fuliang
Published: April 2017

Objective

To assess the relationship between the hepatic vein Lipiodol tram-track sign during transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and perioperative death.

Methods

Patients treated for hepatic carcinoma at the Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2010 to December 2015 were retrospectively evaluated. The patients underwent hepatic TACE with Lipiodol. The incidence of the hepatic vein Lipiodol tram-track sign, prognosis, and possible risk factors were analyzed.

Results

A total of 5372 patients underwent hepatic TACE and had complete available intraoperative imaging data. Among them, nine patients showed the hepatic vein Lipiodol tram-track sign, including five who died intraoperatively. The patients who died had liver metastasis from hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, or breast cancer and had previously received doxorubicin. The survivors had metastasis from gastric or colorectal cancer and had not received doxorubicin.

Conclusion

Occurrence of the hepatic vein Lipiodol tram-track sign during hepatic TACE is likely to result in perioperative death.
Fields of green: Corporate sustainability and the production of economistic environmental governance
Authors: Wilshusen Peter R , MacDonald Kenneth Iain
Published: April 2017

This article critically examines the production of economistic fields of environmental governance in the context of global summits like Rio + 20. It focuses on the constitutive work performed by diverse actors in extending corporate sustainability logics, social technologies, and organizational forms initially enacted at the 2012 Corporate Sustainability Forum (CSF). Fields are defined as dynamic, relational arenas featuring particular logics, dynamic actor positions, and organizational forms. Corporate sustainability exemplifies how the language and practices of economics have reshaped approaches to environmental protection and sustainable development. Although numerous studies have looked at the implementation of market-oriented approaches, less attention has been focused on the constitutive processes that animate and expand economistic fields of governance over time. Our analysis emphasizes diffuse processes of economization as central to the reproduction and extension of fields. The article addresses three key issues: (1) how global corporate sustainability networks help to constitute economistic fields of governance, (2) the extent to which major events contribute to field configuration, and (3) the processes through which field elements—logics, social technologies, and organizational forms—transpose onto related fields of governance. Field configuration produces economistic environmental governance by solidifying business logics, enabling new actor-networks, launching new global-scale initiatives, and enhancing the role of UN agencies in promoting corporate sustainability. We illustrate field configuration with two examples: the Natural Capital Declaration and the Green Industry Platform. Our analysis highlights the diffuse power of field dynamics in which discursive and social entanglement and transposition reproduce and extend corporate sustainability beyond current institutional boundaries.
Cognitive Biases in Performance Appraisal: Experimental Evidence on Anchoring and Halo Effects With Public Sector Managers and Employees
Authors: Belle Nicola , Cantarelli Paola , Belardinelli Paolo
Published: April 2017

A systematic literature review of performance appraisal in a selection of public administration journals revealed a lack of investigations on the cognitive biases that affect raters’ evaluation of ratees’ performance. To address this gap, we conducted two artefactual field experiments on a sample of 600 public sector managers and employees. Results show that anchoring and halo effects systematically biased performance ratings. For the former, average scores were higher when subjects were exposed to a high rather than a low anchor. For the latter, higher ability on one performance dimension led participants to provide a higher average score on another performance dimension. Halo effect was moderated by rater’s gender. We conclude by discussing the study limitations and providing suggestions for future work in this area.
Cultural Correlates of DUI Risk Perceptions Among Documented and Undocumented Recent Latino Immigrants in South Florida
Authors: Sanchez Mariana , Romano Eduardo , Dawson Christyl , Rojas Patria , Martinez Marcos , Li Tan , Cyrus Elena , De La Rosa Mario
Published: April 2017

Latinos do not drink and drive more often than non-Latino Whites, yet are disproportionately involved in alcohol-related arrests and fatal crashes. These disparities have been linked to a failure in recognizing the impairing effects of alcohol on driving psychomotor abilities and low risk perceptions of being caught or prosecuted by law enforcement for DUI (driving under the influence). However, little is known about the role that cultural factors play in shaping drinking and driving risk perceptions among Latino immigrants. This study examines associations between cultural factors and DUI risk perceptions in a sample of 467 documented and undocumented recent Latino immigrants. Results revealed cultural risk factors were associated with higher alcohol use and decreased DUI risk perceptions. Cultural protective factors were linked with less drinking behaviors. Undocumented immigrants reported higher rates of alcohol use, lower levels of cultural protective factors, and higher levels of cultural risk factors. Findings contribute to the limited knowledge of drinking and driving among Latino immigrants early in the immigration process and suggest a need for greater attention to cultural factors in developing DUI prevention programs tailored toward Latino immigrants.
Diagnostic Accuracy of Multivariate Universal Screening Procedures for Reading in Upper Elementary Grades
Authors: Klingbeil David A. , Nelson Peter M. , Van Norman Ethan R. , Birr Chris
Published: April 2017

We examined the diagnostic accuracy and efficiency of three approaches to universal screening for reading difficulties using retrospective data from 1,307 students in Grades 3 through 5. School staff collected screening data using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a curriculum-based measure (CBM), and running records (RR). The criterion measure was a high-stakes state accountability test aligned with the Common Core State Standards. We examined the diagnostic accuracy of the tests in isolation, as multivariate batteries, and via a simulated gated-screening approach. CBM and RR data resulted in unacceptable diagnostic accuracy across all three grades. In the fourth grade, the MAP alone resulted in the best balance of sensitivity and specificity. Among third- and fifth-grade students, the multivariate combination of MAP and CBM demonstrated the best balance between diagnostic accuracy and efficiency. Gated-screening increased specificity but lowered sensitivity. Results highlight the need for population-specific considerations in universal screening.
The Incidence of and Risk Factors for Postintubation Hypotension in the Immunocompromised Critically Ill Adult
Authors: Smischney Nathan J. , Seisa Mohamed O. , Cambest John , Wiegand Robert A. , Busack Kyle D. , Loftsgard Theodore O. , Schroeder Darrell R. , Diedrich Daniel A.
Published: April 2017

Objectives:

Our primary aim was to ascertain the frequency of postintubation hypotension in immunocompromised critically ill adults with secondary aims of arriving at potential risk factors for the development of postintubation hypotension and its impact on patient-related outcomes.

Methods:

Critically ill adult patients (≥18 years) were included from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2014. We defined immunocompromised as patients with any solid organ or nonsolid organ malignancy or transplant, whether solid organ or not, requiring current chemotherapy. Postintubation hypotension was defined as a decrease in systolic blood pressure to less than 90 mm Hg or a decrease in mean arterial pressure to less than 65 mm Hg or the initiation of any vasopressor medication. Patients were then stratified based on development of postintubation hypotension. Potential risk factors and intensive care unit (ICU) outcome metrics were electronically captured by a validated data mart system.

Results:

The final cohort included 269 patients. Postintubation hypotension occurred in 141 (52%; 95% confidence interval: 46-58) patients. Several risk factors predicted postintubation hypotension on univariate analysis; however, only Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score in the first 24 hours, preintubation shock status, and preintubation hemodynamic instability remained significant on all 4 multivariate analyses. Patients developing postintubation hypotension had higher ICU and hospital mortality (54 [38%] vs 31 [24%], P = .01; 69 [49%] vs 47 [37%], P = .04).

Conclusion:

Based on previous literature, we found a higher frequency of postintubation hypotension in the immunocompromised than in the nonimmunocompromised critically ill adult patients. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score in the first 24 hours, preintubation shock status, and preintubation hemodynamic instability were significant predictors on multivariate analyses. Postintubation hypotension led to higher ICU and hospital mortality in those experiencing this complication.
Biological Evidence in Adult and Adolescent Sexual Assault Cases: Timing and Relationship to Arrest
Authors: Cross Theodore P. , Alderden Megan , Wagner Alex , Sampson Lisa , Peters Brittany , Lounsbury Kaitlin
Published: April 2017

This study examined the timing of the crime laboratory report relative to arrests in sexual assault cases and explored the relationship between biological evidence and arrest in those cases in which the crime laboratory report came first and thus could have influenced the arrest decision. A random sample ( N = 528) of cases that occurred between 2008 and 2010 and included a report to police was drawn from a Massachusetts statewide database of medical reports on sexual assault cases. Data from medical providers were merged with data abstracted from crime laboratory reports and with data requested from police departments. The vast majority (91.5%) of arrests took place before crime laboratory analysis could be conducted. The crime laboratory report was available before or near in time to the arrest in 11 cases. These cases were significantly more likely than other cases to have DNA profiles of the assailant, DNA matches to the suspect, and a match to another investigation in the FBI’s CODIS DNA database. Given that the probable cause needed to make an arrest in these cases was presumably established only after crime laboratory analysis was available, DNA may have helped lead to the arrest in these cases. However, these results should be interpreted very cautiously, because statistically significant results in early, small studies can have inflated effect sizes and often do not replicate in future studies. Because most arrests occur well before biological evidence is available, improvements in recovering biological evidence may have modest effects on arrest rates, though they may impact arrest rates by identifying more serial offenders. Future research on the relationship of biological evidence to arrest should use methods to increase sample size of relevant cases, such as oversampling cases with later arrests and using case control study designs. Future studies should also use case abstraction and interview methods to explore how police use biological evidence to make arrests.
PTSD as a Risk Factor for the Development of Violence Among Juvenile Offenders: A Group-Based Trajectory Modeling Approach
Authors: Wojciechowski Thomas W.
Published: April 2017

Violent offending is a public health problem disproportionately perpetrated by adolescents. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been identified as a risk factor that increases an individual’s odds of engaging in violent behavior. Juvenile offenders are a population indicated to be at high risk of the development and perpetuation of violent behavior across the life course. Despite the fact that PTSD also has a high prevalence among juvenile offenders, there has yet to be any research examining PTSD as a risk factor for violent offending among juvenile offenders. Furthermore, very little research has examined the development specifically of violent offending across adolescence among juvenile offenders. Using group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM), this research found four distinct violence trajectories that juvenile offenders followed through adolescence (Abstaining, Moderate Stable, Desisting, High Chronic). Using multinomial logistic regression, PTSD was found to more than double the risk of assignment to all three trajectory groups that demonstrated violent behavior at some point in adolescence relative to the Abstaining reference group. This research adds to the limited research conducted on the development of violent behavior through adolescence among juvenile offenders using the GBTM method. Furthermore, results indicate that PTSD is a risk factor for the perpetration of violent behavior. These results suggest that juvenile offenders may desist from violence even after high rates of violence have already been achieved and that screening of trauma victims may be important for providing juvenile offenders suffering from PTSD with proper treatment to mitigate risk of violent behavior.
Past, Present and Future Compensation Research: Economist Perspectives
Authors: Gibbs Michael
Published: April 2017

At the 2016 Academy of Management Conference, a group of distinguished compensation researchers held a panel discussion on the future of compensation research. Their remarks were compiled into an article published recently in this journal. This article presents a similar panel of leading economists doing compensation research – Michael Gibbs, Kevin Hallock, Edward Lazear, Kevin J. Murphy, and Canice Prendergast – commissioned by editor Charles Fay.
The two faces of secondary headship
Authors: Guihen Laura
Published: April 2017

Men continue to outnumber women at the secondary head teacher level. This article reports on some of the preliminary findings of a larger study exploring the ways in which women deputy head teachers, as potential aspirants to headship, perceive the secondary head teacher role. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants. The data revealed that, while making decisions about their professional futures, the majority of the women held dual, contradictory images of secondary headship. One image consisted of a role plagued by risk, performativity and stress, whereas the other focused on the agentic capacity head teachers have to transform lives and communities. The article highlights the ways in which a belief in the power of headship to make a meaningful difference to the lives of young people can encourage some women to aspire towards headship regardless of the precarity they perceive as being ingrained within the head teacher role.
Why are there so few female leaders in higher education
Authors: Shepherd Sue
Published: April 2017

A significant gender imbalance remains at executive management level within higher education despite a number of initiatives to increase the number of women in the leadership pipeline and ensure they are better prepared for these roles. This article presents findings from a recent study on the appointment of deputy and pro vice-chancellors in pre-1992 English universities that provide fresh insights into why this might be the case. These findings challenge the notion of women’s missing agency - characterized by a lack of confidence or ambition and a tendency to opt out of applying for the top jobs – as an explanation for their continued underrepresentation. Rather, they highlight the importance of three structural factors associated with the selection process: mobility and external career capital, conservatism, and homosociability. An approach of ‘fixing’ the women is therefore unlikely to be sufficient in redressing the current gender imbalance within university executive management teams.
Mastery and Depressive Symptoms: How Does Mastery Influence the Impact of Stressors From Midlife to Old Age?
Authors: Nicolaisen Magnhild , Moum Torbjørn , Thorsen Kirsten
Published: April 2017

Objective: The objective of this research is to study depressive symptoms (DS) among adults aged 40 to 79 years and examine how mastery influences the impact of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health factors on DS. Method: We used a sample of the Norwegian Life Course, Generation, and Gender (LOGG) study ( N = 6,879) and analyzed how mastery influences the independent variables on DS via regression analyses. Results: Mastery affected DS directly and influenced the effects of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health factors on DS. There was a stronger relationship between stressors and DS among respondents with low than high mastery. DS were most prevalent among people aged 70 to 79 years. When mastery was also controlled for, the oldest group (70-79 years) had significantly fewer DS than those aged 40 to 49 years. Discussion: The influence of mastery and stressors on DS seems to vary along the life span. The result that mastery was a relatively stronger buffer against DS in midlife than in old age is discussed.
Managing Dual Identities in Nonprofit Rebranding: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Lee Zoe , Bourne Humphrey
Published: April 2017

Nonprofit organizations that engage in rebranding strategies face challenges reconciling normative (social or mission driven) and utilitarian (business driven) identities of their organizations. This research examines the interplay between rebranding processes and dual identities of 10 rebranded charitable organizations, in particular how these identities are reflected in managers’ narratives and subsequently shape rebranding strategies. The study reveals four types of rebranding strategies and the potential drivers for their adoption. Pressure to secure resources can lead nonprofit organizations to emphasize utilitarian identities in rebranding, and so surface hidden tensions among stakeholders reluctant to relinquish established normative identities. In managing the process of rebranding, senior managers engage in practices of justifying, re-visioning, and influencing to reduce emerging tensions. The research suggests that both utilitarian and normative identity concerns need to be addressed during the process.
Nudging Art Lovers to Donate
Authors: Lee Boram , Fraser Ian , Fillis Ian
Published: April 2017

Many nonprofit organizations face revenue uncertainty due to funding cuts. It is crucial for them to supplement existing revenue streams by private donations, and apply thoughtful market segmentation in their pursuit of donors. We introduce the behavioral concept of “nudge” based on the possibility of loss aversion affecting willingness-to-donate, and investigate its implications for fund-raising strategies. Potential donors are nudged to donate by the hypothetical scenario of “losing” an existing exhibition, and also by that of “gaining” an additional exhibition. We observe significant loss aversion effects as frequent gallery-goers donate more to avoid losing an exhibition. While both prospective gain and loss scenarios are effective in nudging nonfrequent gallery-goers, the prospect of enjoying “one more” event is observed to be stronger. We argue that there may be scope to increase support for nonprofit organizations, particularly in the cultural sector, by exploiting the psychological characteristics of prospective donors.