Methods and Severity: The Two Tracks of Section 12

This paper argues that there are two main routes – two tracks – by which one can arrive at the fundamental wrong at the heart of section 12 of the Charter. On the “methods track”, the state can run afoul of section 12 by using intrinsically unacceptable methods of treatment or punishment. For historical reasons, jurisprudence on this track is not well developed in Canada, though it would clearly prohibit the death penalty and most methods of corporal punishment. On the “severity track”, the concern is with excessive punishment. Here, even where the state has chosen a legitimate method of punishment, like fines or imprisonment, the amount of punishment may be grossly disproportionate in light of factors like the gravity of the offence and the circumstances of the offender. To date, the distinction between the two tracks, and its implications for section 12 analysis, has gone unrecognized in the caselaw and scholarship alike. Carefully drawing this distinction, and identifying the particular inquiry appropriate to each track, not only sharpens our understanding of section 12, but will assist reviewing courts tasked with analyzing the constitutionality of a range of carceral practices, including mandatory penalties, life imprisonment without the prospect of parole, and solitary confinement

Alcohol mixed with energy drinks: Expectancies of use and alcohol-related negative consequences among a young adult sample

Objective: Energy drinks are a popular mixer with alcohol among college-aged young adults. Few studies to date have examined the relationships between expectancies of alcohol mixed with energy drink (AmED) use, AmED use and AmED-related negative consequences. Methods: Eighty college-aged young adults were surveyed regarding their alcohol and AmED use, related negative consequences and AmED expectancies. Associations were assessed using chi-square tests and Cramér\u27s V. A simple mediational model also was used to explore the potential relationships between AmED expectancies, AmED use and AmED-related negative consequences. Results: AmED use was associated with more types of related negative consequences than heavy alcohol use alone, and where AmED use and heavy alcohol use were mutually associated with a related negative consequence, the strength of association was stronger for AmED use. While several AmED-related negative consequences were associated with AmED expectancies, unwanted sexual contact and getting into a verbal argument were associated with the greatest number of expectancies. The mediational model identified a statistically significant indirect effect of AmED expectancies on AmED-related negative consequences mediated by AmED use. Conclusions: The study results contribute to the evidence that AmED use may confer additional risk for related negative consequences beyond heavy alcohol use and suggest that AmED expectancies may have a role in AmED use, which, in turn, is associated with AmED-related negative consequences. AmED expectancies may be targets for intervention to reduce AmED use considering the possible subsequent related negative consequences, especially those involving negative interpersonal experiences

Methods and Severity: The Two Tracks of Section 12

The story of section 12 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects against cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, is overwhelmingly told — by judges and scholars alike — as a tale about proportionality. This is an artefact of the prominence of one problem that Canadian courts have famously employed a muscular approach to section 12 to address: the problem of mandatory minimum sentences. Since Nur, the analytical path for evaluating the constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentences has been firmly and clearly set. In Lloyd, the Court summarized the jurisprudence: “The question, put simply, is this: In view of the fit and proportionate sentence, is the mandatory minimum sentence grossly disproportionate to the offence and its circumstances? If so, the provision violates s. 12.” In this article, we argue that this focus on comparison and proportionality as the analytic heart of cruel and unusual treatment and punishment blurs a crucial distinction within section 12, and thereby enervates the courts’ capacity to respond to the range of wrongs that the section should be able to address

Utilizing Short- and Long-Term Evaluation to Measure the Impact of a Long-Standing, Multi-State Educational Venue

The purpose of this program evaluation was to utilize short- and long-term surveys to measure the impact of a multi-state Range Beef Cow Symposium on knowledge change and changes in beef cattle production practices. Symposium participants completed end-of-session surveys and ranked their degree of knowledge change, with a 36% return rate. Follow-up surveys were mailed to past symposium participants who noted changes made to their production practices, with a 23% return rate. For symposium survey respondents, 70% were male, a majority were white, over 60% were under 50 years, and they represented 16 states. The estimated annual increase in profitability was positively associated with symposium attendance. Participants gained knowledge across all topics presented. For follow-up survey respondents, 86% were male, a majority were white, 62% were between 50-69 years old, and they represented 9 states. The estimated annual increase in profitability was positively associated with the likelihood to make operational changes, as well as notable changes made to genetics and selection, marketing options and plans for cattle, risk management, and time of calving. Over 70% made notable changes to cattle genetics, nutrition, health, marketing, replacement heifer development, and range management

Das Pressegesetz von 1966 in seiner Anwendung auf katalanische und kastilische Publikationen

Die Diplomarbeit zum Thema Das Pressegesetz von 1966 in seiner Anwendung auf katalanische und kastilische Publikationen soll mittels der Analyse statistischer Daten des Instituto Nacional de Estádistica über katalanische und kastilische Publikationen aus den Jahren 1965-1976 evaluieren, ob das genannte Gesetz direkten Einfluss auf die Textproduktion in Spanien genommen hat oder nicht. Dieser praktischen Untersuchung geht allerdings die Erarbeitung des theoretischen Umfelds in Bezug auf Zensur, Zensurpolitik sowie Sprachpolitik voraus. Der Beginn der Arbeit stellt den Definitionsversuch der Begrifflichkeit Zensur, auch im Zusammenspiel mit Propaganda und Meinungsfreiheit, dar. Besonderes Augenmerk wird auf die Erarbeitung der Begriffe Selbstzensur und Sprachzensur gelegt, da diese in direktem Zusammenhang mit der Ergebnisermittlung stehen. In weiterer Folge wird die spanische Geschichte von der Zeit des Bürgerkrieges bis zum Ende der Franco-Diktatur mit Schwerpunkt auf die Zensurpolitik erläutert. Es soll so demonstriert werden, dass die jeweilige politische Konjunktur starken Einfluss auf den Zensurapparat und seine Maßnahmen sowie Kriterien nahm. Auch General Francos Sprachpolitik wird ein eigenes Kapitel gewidmet, da es wichtig erscheint, zu erklären, welche Auswirkungen die Repression einer Sprache, in diesem Fall des Katalanischen, auf die kulturelle Produktion, aber auch auf die Sprecher und die Sprache selbst haben kann. Im Anschluss erfolgt eine detaillierte Analyse des Ley de Prensa e Imprenta von 1966, wobei versucht wird mittels kritischer Bewertung die Widersprüchlichkeiten und den freien Interpretationsrahmen des Gesetzestextes aufzuzeigen. Seine Auswirkungen, mit Schwerpunkt auf die Buchzensur, werden im Zusammenhang mit der weiteren politischen Entwicklung Spaniens dargestellt. Als letzter Punkt der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit erfolgt die quantitative Analyse der literarischen Produktion in Spanien im relevanten Untersuchungszeitraum auf Basis von Studien des Zensurforschers M.L. Abellán, welche der eigentlichen Bewertung der Zahlen aus dem spanischen Statistikinstitut vorausgeht. Neben der so erneut möglichen Erfassung der quantitativen Auswirkungen wird mit Hilfe weiterer statistischer Daten der Jahre 1965-1968 auch die der inhaltlichen Veränderungen von katalanischen und kastilischen Publikationen möglich sein