The Tenth Circuit: Playing by the Rules

[Excerpt] In 1994, the Tenth Circuit published more than four dozen opinions construing the guidelines and joined the majority of circuits in adopting the One- Book rule. The Court continued to refrain from interfering with the exercise of discretion by district judges, but made clear that it does not give district courts carte blanche. Four issues in decisions covered in this review are the retroactive application of amendments to the guidelines; the standards used in characterizing a defendant as a major or minor player for purposes of increasing or decreasing the sentence; the impact of post-arrest efforts at rehabilitation on sentencing-at least in drug cases; and the elements of obstruction of justice for purposes of increasing a sentence

Playing by the rules: using games to study social norms

In this article, classic game theory and evolutionary game theory are used to explain how social norms might come into existence. The norm of distributive fairness is taken as a case in point, and illustrated by a simple example of dividing a cake

Playing by the Rules

The Matriculation Convocation is the traditional start of the academic year. President Warch used many of his Convocation addresses to articulate the values and virtues of liberal learning

Playing By the Rules?

Can you undermine and even get rid of democracy while ostensibly playing by its rules? The answer is a blindingly obvious yes as has been shown by a long line of demagogues and manipulators from the ancient Greeks via 1930’s Europe to contemporary Eastern Europe. The question is pertinent and urgent because of all those who are now trying to dismemberWestern democracy, whether out of their own self-interest or because it aligns with campaigns initiated by the world’s various authoritarian regimes. It touches on many aspects of Western life, from Brexit politics to Twitter

Not Breaking the Rules. Not Playing the Game. International Assistance to Countries at War

Why do humanitarian principles, human rights and other ‘rules’ espoused by aid organisations apparently fail to influence the reality of assistance delivery, whilst reality does not dint these objectives? Not breaking the rules, not playing the game investigates the international assistance given in countries at war. Presenting evidence from Sierra Leone, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan, it finds that appeal to a morality based on rights and principles allows aid staff to justify their operational weaknesses by blaming or discrediting others. The terminology used casts political and military activity as illegitimate, forestalling dialogue, limiting aid organisations’ perception of the contexts in which they work, and ultimately questioning the sincerity of the assistance. The book concludes that people in countries at war are not ‘breaking the rules’ of assistance – as assistance is not meaningfully ‘ruled’ by rights or principles – they are more fundamentally ‘not playing the game’

Challenging aid in Africa. Principles, Implementation, and Impact

Why do humanitarian principles, human rights and other ‘rules’ espoused by aid organisations apparently fail to influence the reality of assistance delivery, whilst reality does not dint these objectives? Not breaking the rules, not playing the game investigates the international assistance given in countries at war. Presenting evidence from Sierra Leone, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan, it finds that appeal to a morality based on rights and principles allows aid staff to justify their operational weaknesses by blaming or discrediting others. The terminology used casts political and military activity as illegitimate, forestalling dialogue, limiting aid organisations’ perception of the contexts in which they work, and ultimately questioning the sincerity of the assistance. The book concludes that people in countries at war are not ‘breaking the rules’ of assistance – as assistance is not meaningfully ‘ruled’ by rights or principles – they are more fundamentally ‘not playing the game’

Strategies for Implementing Change: An Experiential Approach

An attitude survey and a role-playing case were used to identify the typical approaches people use to implement important changes in organizations. This typical strategy, suggested or used by over 90% of the subjects, was not successful in producing change in any of the fourteen role-playing trials. However, with ten minutes of instruction in the ”Delta Technique,” 86% of the subjects were successful in introducing change in another fourteen role-playing trials. The ”Delta Technique” consists of simple rules drawn from half a century of research

Wireless Local Number Portability: New Rules Will Have Broad Effects

After a delay of over seven years, wireless local number portability rules ( WLNP ) finally went into effect on November 24, 2003. These rules, promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission, allow wireless subscribers to change service providers within a given location while retaining the same phone number. The rules also allow consumers to transfer a land-based telephone number to a cellular provider. These new choices will likely have a significant impact on the wireless industry and increase competition in an already intense playing field. This iBrief provides a summary of the new rules, looks at the history and litigation, and predicts how increasing wireless options will benefit consumers and promote competition in local telephony