In Washington State, Open Courts Jurisprudence Consists Mainly of Open Questions

Issues of public trial and the open administration of justice have been an intense focus of the Washington State Supreme Court in recent years. In its December issue, the Washington Law Review surveyed U.S. and Washington State public trial and public access jurisprudence, and made recommendations for clarifying the constitutional issues involved when a courtroom “closure” occurs. Just before that issue went to press, the Washington State Supreme Court decided four important public trial cases: State v. Sublett, State v. Wise, State v. Paumier, and In re Morris. The court issued fourteen separate opinions, clearly demonstrating deep divisions among the justices. This follow-up article examines the principal arguments of the new opinions, identifies what areas appear settled, and discusses the important questions that remain unresolved

Intercampus : administració i docència compartides entre universitats catalanes a través d'Internet

Intercampus és un projecte de vuit universitats catalanes que té el suport del Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Forma part del projecte Universitat digital de la Secretaria de Telecomunicacions i Societat de la Informació. A Intercampus, a través de la utilització de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació (TIC), es comparteixen de forma virtual processos universitaris que van des de l'administració (Administració Oberta) fins a la docència d'assignatures (Docència Compartida entre universitats)Intercampus is a project involving eight Catalan universities enjoying the backing of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia's Department of Universities, Research and the Information Society. It forms part of the Secretary for Telecommunications and Information Society's Digital University project. With Intercampus, via the use of information and communications technologies (ICT), shared online are university processes ranging from administration (Open Administration) to the teaching of subjects (Shared Teaching between universities

Positive messages may reduce patient pain: A meta-analysis

Introduction Current treatments for pain have limited benefits and worrying side effects. Some studies suggest that pain is reduced when clinicians deliver positive messages. However, the effects of positive messages are heterogeneous and have not been subject to meta-analysis. We aimed to estimate the efficacy of positive messages for pain reduction. Methods We included randomized trials of the effects of positive messages in a subset of the studies included in a recent systematic review of context factors for treating pain. Several electronic databases were searched. Reference lists of relevant studies were also searched. Two authors independently undertook study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and analyses. Our primary outcome measures were differences in patient- or observer-reported pain between groups who were given positive messages and those who were not. Results Of the 16 randomized trials (1703 patients) that met the inclusion criteria, 12 trials had sufficient data for meta-analysis. The pooled standardized effect size was −0.31 (95% confidence interval [CI] −0.61 to −0.01, p = 0.04, I2 = 82%). The effect size remained positive but not statistically significant after we excluded studies considered to have a high risk of bias (standard effect size −0.17, 95% CI −0.54 to 0.19, P = 0.36, I2 = 84%). Conclusion Care of patients with chronic or acute pain may be enhanced when clinicians deliver positive messages about possible clinical outcomes. However, we have identified several limitations of the present study that suggest caution when interpreting the results. We recommend further high-quality studies to confirm (or falsify) our result. FUNDING Alexander Mebius research has been funded through the ERC grant "Philosophy of Pharmacology: Safety, Statistical Standards, and Evidence Amalgamation" (GA: 639276

The Development of the European Administration: Fundamental Concepts and Approaches

The study approaches in an unitary manner, the fundamental concepts of the theoretical and practical accomplishment of an European public administration: the European Administrative Space, the convergence and the administrative dynamics and the Europeanization. In the absence of a specific acquis communautaire, the European administration includes all the experiences and evolutions with relevant impact at national level, connected to the principles of a responsible and transparent administration, founded on the grounds of efficiency and efficacy. Particularly agreed upon within the constituent treaties of the European Union, these principles might form the general standards not only for the process of acceding to the European Union, but also for the convergence towards an European model of public administration. The efforts of analysts and specialists to describe the real evolution process of national administrations are with no doubt, extremely important, even though at some point, contradictory. The model of European administration makes use of the systemic analysis and offers the conceptual framework needed for covering the diverse problematic it encompasse

Improved 1000-m running performance and pacing strategy with caffeine and placebo effect: a balanced placebo design study

Purpose: To investigate the placebo effect of caffeine on pacing strategy and performance over 1000-m running time-trials using a balanced placebo design. Methods: Eleven well-trained male middle-distance athletes performed seven 1000-m time-trials (one familiarisation, two baseline and four experimental). Experimental trials consisted of the administration of four treatments: informed caffeine/received caffeine (CC), informed caffeine/received placebo (CP), informed placebo/received caffeine (PC), and informed placebo/received placebo (PP). Treatments were randomized. Split times were recorded at 200-, 400-, 600-, 800- and 1000-m and peak heart rate (HRpeak) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded at the completion of the trial. Results: Relative to baseline, participants ran faster during CC (d = 0.42) and CP (d = 0.43). These changes were associated with an increased pace during the first half of the trial. No differences were shown in pacing or performance between baseline and the PC (d = 0.21) and open administration of placebo (d = 0.10). No differences were reported between treatments for HRpeak (η2 = 0.084) and RPE (η2 = 0.009). Conclusions: Our results indicate that the effect of believing to have ingested caffeine improved performance to the same magnitude as actually receiving caffeine. These improvements were associated with an increase in pace during the first half of the time-trial

L'Administració Oberta de Catalunya

Presentem el projecte Administració Oberta de Catalunya, un dels més ambiciosos que s’està desenvolupant a Europa en l’àmbit d’allò que es coneix habitualment com a E-government. És un projecte en el qual són protagonistes les administracions públiques catalanes i que pretén establir un nou model de relació entre els ciutadans i les administracions i entre aquestes mateixes per a aconseguir una administració més àgil i eficient al servei d’una nova Societat. | Presentamos el proyecto Administració Oberta de Catalunya, uno de los más ambiciosos que se está desarrollando en Europa en el ámbito de lo que se conoce habitualmente por E-government. Es un proyecto en el cual son protagonistas las administraciones públicas catalanas y que pretende establecer un nuevo modelo de relación entre los ciudadanos y las administraciones y entre estas mismas para conseguir una Administración más ágil y eficiente al servicio de una nueva Sociedad. | We present the Open Administration of Catalonia project, one of the most ambitious launched in Europe in the field of what has become widely known as e-Government. The objective of this project, whose main participants are the Catalan public administrations, is to establish a new model for relations between citizens and the public authorities and amongst the authorities themselves in order to build a more flexible and efficient administration at the service of a new society

Justice and security in the United Kingdom

This paper outlines the ways in which the United Kingdom manages civil litigation concerning sensitive national security material. These are: the common law of public interest immunity; the use of closed material procedure and special advocates; and the secret hearings of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. With these existing alternatives in mind the paper analyses the background to, the reasons for, and the controversies associated with the Justice and Security Act 2013, enacted in the wake of the UK Supreme Court’s 2011 ruling in Al Rawi v Security Service

Managing Transitions: Coping Strategies for New Principals in Colleges of Education, Ghana

Principals’ transition in Colleges of Education in Ghana is critical to quality teacher education and training, but it comes with complexities and challenges to newly appointed principals. However, there is a seeming absence of research on strategies for smooth transitions in Colleges of Education in Ghana. This study was therefore conducted to establish strategies that promoted the College of Education principals’ transition management in Ghana. Phenomenological research design was used for the study. Ten (10) newly appointed principals of public colleges of education were purposively sampled for the study. Interview protocol was the research instrument used. The data collected was analyzed using content analysis method. The study established that capacity building, relationship building, appropriate leadership style and maintenance of discipline were key among the coping strategies for smooth transitions. This study then provides a guide for new principals. It was recommended that this area should be further explored and a model for managing transition designed to support College of Education principals’ in transitio