Review of \u3ci\u3eThe Encyclopedia of Native American Legal Tradition\u3c/i\u3e

Native American law has been traditionally and accurately characterized as one of the most complex and contradictory realms of American jurisprudence. Today it is also, of course, one of the most dynamic areas of legal activity, as questions of renewed tribal sovereignty, often centering on Indian gaming issues, reverberate in statehouses and the halls of Congress. The Encyclopedia of Native American Legal Tradition appears, then, at a particularly propitious time. Bruce E. Johansen has produced a valuable and accessible reference work, useful to academic researchers but largely free of legal jargon. More significantly, he has filled a gap left by similar recent works such as the American Indian Law Deskbook by placing special emphasis on the impact of aboriginal legal traditions on Anglo-American legal doctrine

Challenges for Good Government Reformers in California: Shadow Lobbying & Astroturfing

Lobbying reform in California’s capital presents a complex policy problem for good government advocates and policymakers. Lobbyists have a large influence on political and policy matters in the state legislature and executive branch. Reform proponents naturally see the oversized influence of lobbyists as a problem. However, how big of a problem is lobbying? Further, what efforts underway now address lobbying? Lobbyists are defined in California law with a monetary and time limit requirement. We can look at current law to understand the failings of regulatory bodies and how the law fails to properly oversee lobbying activity. While there is not one particular solution to combat the loopholes in state law surrounding lobbyists, every option should be considered given the fortunate policy windows facing reformers due to the California Strategies scandal and recent news stories about astroturfing. The ongoing problem with the definition of a lobbyist is the practice of shadow lobbying. The issue of shadow lobbying arises when individuals operate in the grey area of what the legal definition is so they do not register with the Secretary of State and are not overseen by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). Shadow lobbying prevents the public from understanding what legislation or executive action that individual is attempting to influence or alter. In order to properly maximize good government reform on lobbying activity, Lobbyists should be defined as an individual receiving compensation by an employer for attempting to influence regulatory, executive or legislative action. Further, if an individual is being paid by a third party to speak out on an issue not as that individual, then they should register with the Secretary of State. Current regulatory requirements also allow employers to not fully disclose spending activities, shrouding the complete financial priorities and actions by special interest groups in Sacramento. Out of the top ten lobbying spenders during the first six months of 2013, 68 percent of expenditures were not itemized and disclosed to the public (See Appendix 1). The staggering amount of undisclosed money, totaling over $10 million, presents reformers an opportunity to publicize an issue that does not get a lot of attention. The lack of disclosure is not a partisan issue. SEIU-UHW and Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association hid 98 percent of their expenditures for the first six months of 2013 (See Appendix 1). Without the full disclosure of expenditures, the public is not able to determine if an employer is spending monies to influence policy and whether that employer is hiring strategists, media personnel, and political staff to sway public officials indirectly. The appearance of ordinary community support could cause legislators and staff to infer that a bill is popular or must be stopped based on the outpouring of constituent engagement, that currently could be funded by corporate or special interests not disclosed to the public. While this paper does not focus on the strategic actions taken by good government groups, focusing on pragmatic and possible reforms is crucial to regulating lobbying. Competing reform concepts often overwhelm advocates as they search for solutions to reform and regulate campaign finance and lobbying laws. Reformers often focus on larger case studies to pinpoint the problem and solution to a good government issue, such as the Citizens United ruling and the upcoming McCutcheon case before the United States Supreme Court. While those reformers do have a point about focusing on Citizens United, their aims are not realistic given the immense difficulty in amending the U.S. Constitution and that money is considered free speech. This paper reviews possible strategies ranging from the ballot box to policy solutions based in Sacramento to determine if another narrative is possible for reformers in California to latch onto for lobbying reform, rather than just looking at campaign finance reform and federal issues.Reformers and policymakers face a challenge on how to tackle a diverse and complex policy -- the Political Reform Act (PRA). In addition, examining previous legislation in the state legislature that addressed lobbying reform gives this paper guidelines for current solutions to the policy problems examined here. A multi-dimensional approach to tackle the problems of astroturfing and shadow lobbying is necessary to restore regulatory oversight -- already enshrined in state law -- for the FPPC to remain committed to protecting California’s democratic principles. The FPPC, with a limited budget and staff resources, must be given every available tool and regulatory authority to properly oversee how public policy is affected by the lobbying community. The law currently allows loopholes to exist to allow shadow lobbying and astroturfing by employers and lobbyists. Closing these loopholes now could address the shortfalls in regulatory oversight and ensure disclosure is prominent, accessible and clear. While focusing our attention just to the FPPC would be easier, reformers must look at how lobbyists are defined and if a strategy based outside of Sacramento is worth pursuing

Professional Identity of Counseling: A Template for Action

Dialogue regarding the professional identity of professional counseling continues to increase and momentum continues to build around efforts to promote broader recognition of the counseling profession. This article outlines a template for action by which the profession may continue to move forward in its quest to be fully recognized as a viable force in mental health treatment. The authors recommend five methods to comprehensively promote professional counseling. These methods include: Capitalizing on faculty hiring practices to transmit professional identity, harnessing legislative strength, reconciling our humanistic roots, promoting title ownership, and conducting research that articulates the profession’s strengths

2017 Menino Survey of Mayors Final Report

Report on research findings.The 2017 Menino Survey of Mayors represents the fourth scientifically rigorous and nationally representative survey of American mayors released by the Boston University Initiatives on Cities. The Menino Survey, based on interviews with 115 sitting mayors conducted in 2017, provides insight into mayoral priorities, policy views and relationships with their key partners, including other levels of government. Researchers spoke with mayors about a range of topics including affordable housing, climate change, city-to-city networks, and data-driven decision-making

Influencing Prevention Policy Through Effective Communication with Advocates and Legislators

Despite being largely preventable, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of pediatric mortality in the state of South Carolina, USA. Deliberate policy is needed to encourage transformative change in preventing childhood injuries. However, injury prevention advocates across the state have yet to formalize a collective message to effectively engage policymakers regarding injury prevention issues. To address this concern, this study surveyed Safe Kids South Carolina child injury prevention advocates as well as state legislators and legislative staff with the goal of assessing and growing current knowledge of injury prevention and capacity to engage in legislative advocacy. One hundred seventy-four advocates and fifteen state legislators and legislative staff completed a survey of knowledge of injury prevention, perceptions on the importance of various injury prevention issues, organizational capacity to engage in advocacy activities, the impact of advocacy efforts, and legislative action taken as a result of injury prevention advocacy. In addition to the survey, structured interviews of legislators and staff were also conducted, and findings were compiled to inform advocacy and capacity-building activities for Safe Kids coalition members. Activities included a training session on effective advocacy techniques, child passenger safety laws, and legislative talking points for advocates to use during a structured advocacy event at the South Carolina statehouse.  From those activities, Safe Kids coalition members received pledges from policymakers to introduce or co-sponsor child passenger safety guidelines.&nbsp

Influencing Prevention Policy Through Effective Communication with Advocates and Legislators

Despite being largely preventable, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of pediatric mortality in the state of South Carolina, USA. Deliberate policy is needed to encourage transformative change in preventing childhood injuries. However, injury prevention advocates across the state have yet to formalize a collective message to effectively engage policymakers regarding injury prevention issues. To address this concern, this study surveyed Safe Kids South Carolina child injury prevention advocates as well as state legislators and legislative staff with the goal of assessing and growing current knowledge of injury prevention and capacity to engage in legislative advocacy. One hundred seventy-four advocates and fifteen state legislators and legislative staff completed a survey of knowledge of injury prevention, perceptions on the importance of various injury prevention issues, organizational capacity to engage in advocacy activities, the impact of advocacy efforts, and legislative action taken as a result of injury prevention advocacy. In addition to the survey, structured interviews of legislators and staff were also conducted, and findings were compiled to inform advocacy and capacity-building activities for Safe Kids coalition members. Activities included a training session on effective advocacy techniques, child passenger safety laws, and legislative talking points for advocates to use during a structured advocacy event at the South Carolina statehouse.  From those activities, Safe Kids coalition members received pledges from policymakers to introduce or co-sponsor child passenger safety guidelines.&nbsp

Working Towards a Solution to the Obesity Epidemic: A Marketer\u27s Perspective

The obesity epidemic is a social issue in that critics are quick to blame business and government for failing the consumers. The truth is that all three parties have failed each other by allowing such a cultural change to occur. The issue is similar to the tobacco public health crisis following the spike in lung cancer in the 1950s and 60s. The tobacco companies were blamed entirely for their unhealthy products and the government still spends millions today regulating their products. In order to improve upon this course of action, I believe that a more cooperative solution exists in order to decrease obesity and increase the position of all three parties. Businesses have a market opportunity to provide products and services that are appealing and conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Consumers have the ability to spur social change by preparing more foods inside the home and incorporating physical activity into daily routines. Governmental agencies have the ability to streamline their programs to create a more clear and efficient program that offers educational tools and resources to communities to support the social change. The solution to the obesity epidemic is social change from which all parties can literally and figuratively profit. Il

The Cowl - v.37 - n.16 - Feb 8, 1984

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 37 - No. 16 - February 8, 1984. 12 pages

When Are Capitalization Exceptions Justified?

It is a widely accepted general principle that a taxpayer should capitalize an expenditure that produces a benefit lasting beyond the current tax period. Yet rules putting this principle into practice are among the most controversial in all of federal income taxation. Many argue that a retreat from the general principle is warranted when designing capitalization rules, and even those who argue that capitalization rules ought to be sweeping usually conclude that exceptions are necessary or desirable. For instance, most commentators accept uncritically that expenses incurred to procure certain intangible capital should be expensed, as under current law, without exploring whether expensing of intangibles costs is inevitable, although some have considered the implications of excepting intangibles costs from capitalization. Although the arguments with respect to exceptions to capitalization for tangible assets have received more attention, no consensus view has emerged regarding whether many of the exceptions are desirable as a matter of policy. This Article is a systematic analysis of the arguments in favor of departing from the normative or first-best capitalization rule