Writing the Circle: Judicially Convened Sentencing Circles and the Textual Organization of Criminal Justice

Trial court judges who work in remote Northern Canadian Aboriginal communities use judicially convened sentencing circles to gather information and develop sentencing recommendations in some intimate violence cases. Proponents claim that judicially convened sentencing circles are a restorative justice practice that heals the offender, his community, and the survivor of the violence. Proponents also look to sentencing circles as a tool to find a just outcome that minimizes Aboriginal men\u27s incarceration. We use a methodology developed by feminist sociologist Dorothy Smith to consider whether the institutional priorities being established and approved by courts in sentencing circle cases provide adequate protection for Aboriginal women against recurrent intimate violence in their communities. Finding that Aboriginal women\u27s experiences of violence are largely excluded from the realm of institutional concern, we suggest that judicially convened sentencing circles present a deceptively simple solution to the complex and longstanding problem of Aboriginal people\u27s experience with the Canadian criminal justice system. It is therefore important to counter the discourses that claim that judicially convened sentencing circles have the potential to restore Aboriginal communities. This article counters that discourse in two ways: first, by identifying that Aboriginal women\u27s experiences and knowledge are being excluded from the judicial construction of Aboriginal communities in these cases; and second, by reasserting that any solution to the problem of intimate violence must be part of a broader effort to overcome poverty and the legacy of colonialism within Aboriginal communities

Furthering Substantive Equality Through Administrative Law: Charter Values in Education

Recent decisions in the realm of Canadian public law have opened the door to Charter values. Administrative decision-makers must have regard to these values when making decisions. Through the use of a fictional example, this paper is intended provide a guide for laypersons, lawyers, judges, administrators, arbitrators and academics on how to further substantive equality through administrative law. The authors’ focus is on education law, but the proposed framework is capable of application across a wide range of areas. Those in other jurisdictions can replace Charter values with “constitutional values” and adopt a similar analysis. The obligation to educate children about a “diversity of opinions and cultures” is at the heart of the authors’ exploration of administrative decision-making in the education system. They argue, however, that the obligation to pay attention to Charter values provides the lifeblood of substantive equality in the administrative law context. The concept of applying Charter values as a juridical tool in decision-making, while not new, has been given a more dominant role in administrative decision-making by the Supreme Court of Canada in its 2012 Doré decision. While the exact meanings and practical applications of this concept are as yet unclear, this paper makes a small step towards imagining the contours of Charter values. In particular the authors attempt to establish, as a first principle, the role of substantive equality as Charter values begin to solidify and take shape in the jurisprudence. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part presents a fictional administrative law decision-making scenario located within the public school system. This scenario provides a concrete backdrop against which to imagine the function of substantive equality within Charter values. It also discusses the public school system in Canada as a key site for the application of Charter values, and the authors lay out the empirical evidence showing that GLBTQ students and the children of GLBTQ parents suffer an equality deficit in Canadian public schools, a deficit which, in the authors’ view, can be addressed through the proper application of Charter values by decision-makers within the education system. The second part develops an administrative law framework for furthering substantive equality. Specifically, it situates substantive equality within the existing framework of administrative law, and provides a blueprint for what substantive claims might look like under the authors’ proposed framework. The third part treats the precise role of substantive equality, outlining a methodology for blending existing equality jurisprudence with the Court’s decision in Doré, using the fictional scenario as a backdrop. The authors conclude with a demonstration of their proposed framework in the context of their fictional example

De-Anonymising Sperm Donors in Canada: Some Doubts and Directions

This paper addresses whether sperm donor anonymity should continue in Canada and what the effects might be of abolishing anonymity, particularly for marginalized groups such as lesbian mothers. The first part of the paper outlines the legislative and historical context surrounding the donor anonymity debate in Canada. The second part of the paper addresses the interests of the various social and legal stakeholders, including donor conceived offspring, the social and biological parents of those offspring, and sperm donors. The final segment outlines a twofold law reform agenda. First, it is proposed that Canada prospectively abolish donor anonymity in an effort to meet the health and psychological needs of donor conceived children. Second, it is recommended that legal parentage laws be simultaneously amended so that the legal vulnerabilities women-led families currently experience, and which would be exacerbated by the de-anonymizing of donors, are removed

Automation Anxieties: Perceptions About Technological Automation and the Future of Pharmacy Work

This study uses a sample of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians (N = 240) who differ in skill, education, and income to replicate and extend past findings about socioeconomic disparities in the perceptions of automation. Specifically, this study applies the skills-biased technical change hypothesis, an economic theory that low-skill jobs are the most likely to be affected by increased automation (Acemoglu & Restrepo, 2019), to the mental models of pharmacy workers. We formalize the hypothesis that anxiety about automation leads to perceptions that jobs will change in the future and automation will increase. We also posit anxiety about overpayment related to these outcomes. Results largely support the skillsbiased hypothesis as a mental model shared by pharmacy workers regardless of position, with few effects for overpayment anxiety

Ozone Inhalation Attenuated the Effects of Budesonide on Aspergillus fumigatus-Induced Airway Inflammation and Hyperreactivity in Mice.

Inhaled glucocorticoids form the mainstay of asthma treatment because of their anti-inflammatory effects in the lung. Exposure to the air pollutant ozone (O3) exacerbates chronic airways disease. We and others showed that presence of the epithelial-derived surfactant protein-D (SP-D) is important in immunoprotection against inflammatory changes including those induced by O3 inhalation in the airways. SP-D synthesis requires glucocorticoids. We hypothesized here that O3 exposure impairs glucocorticoid responsiveness (including SP-D production) in allergic airway inflammation. The effects of O3 inhalation and glucocorticoid treatment were studied in a mouse model of allergic asthma induced by sensitization and challenge with Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) in vivo. The role of O3 and glucocorticoids in regulation of SP-D expression was investigated in A549 and primary human type II alveolar epithelial cells in vitro. Budesonide inhibited airway hyperreactivity, eosinophil counts in the lung and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and CCL11, IL-13, and IL-23p19 release in the BAL of mice sensitized and challenged with Af (p < 0.05). The inhibitory effects of budesonide were attenuated on inflammatory changes and were completely abolished on airway hyperreactivity after O3 exposure of mice sensitized and challenged with Af. O3 stimulated release of pro-neutrophilic mediators including CCL20 and IL-6 into the airways and impaired the inhibitory effects of budesonide on CCL11, IL-13 and IL-23. O3 also prevented budesonide-induced release of the immunoprotective lung collectin SP-D into the airways of allergen-challenged mice. O3 had a bi-phasic direct effect with early (<12 h) inhibition and late (>48 h) activation of SP-D mRNA (sftpd) in vitro. Dexamethasone and budesonide induced sftpd transcription and translation in human type II alveolar epithelial cells in a glucocorticoid receptor and STAT3 (an IL-6 responsive transcription factor) dependent manner. Our study indicates that O3 exposure counteracts the effects of budesonide on airway inflammation, airway hyperreactivity, and SP-D production. We speculate that impairment of SP-D expression may contribute to the acute O3-induced airway inflammation. Asthmatics exposed to high ambient O3 levels may become less responsive to glucocorticoid treatment during acute exacerbations

All-age hospitalization rates in coal seam gas areas in Queensland, Australia, 1995–2011

Background: Unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) is expanding globally, with Australia expanding development in the form of coal seam gas (CSG). Residents and other interest groups have voiced concerns about the potential environmental and health impacts related to CSG. This paper compares objective health outcomes from three study areas in Queensland, Australia to examine potential environmentally-related health impacts. Methods: Three study areas were selected in an ecologic study design: A CSG area, a coal mining area, and a rural/agricultural area. Admitted patient data, as well as population data and additional factors, were obtained for each calendar year from 1995 through 2011 to calculate all-age hospitalization rates and age-standardized rates in each of these areas. The three areas were compared using negative binomial regression analyses (unadjusted and adjusted models) to examine increases over time of hospitalization rates grouped by primary diagnosis (19 ICD chapters), with rate ratios serving to compare the within-area regression slopes between the areas. Results: The CSG area did not have significant increases in all-cause hospitalization rates over time for all-ages compared to the coal and rural study areas in adjusted models (RR: 1.02, 95 % CI: 1.00-1.04 as compared to the coal mining area; RR: 1.01, 95 % CI: 0.99-1.04 as compared to the rural area). While the CSG area did not show significant increases in specific hospitalization rates compared to both the coal mining and rural areas for any ICD chapters in the adjusted models, the CSG area showed increases in hospitalization rates compared only to the rural area for neoplasms (RR: 1.09, 95 % CI: 1.02-1.16) and blood/immune diseases (RR: 1.14, 95 % CI: 1.02-1.27). Conclusions: This exploratory study of all-age hospitalization rates for three study areas in Queensland suggests that certain hospital admissions rates increased more quickly in the CSG study area than in other study areas, particularly the rural area, after adjusting for key sociodemographic factors. These findings are an important first step in identifying potential health impacts of CSG in the Australian context and serve to generate hypotheses for future studies

Sex and gender differences in caregiving burden experienced by family caregivers of persons with dementia: a systematic review

Objectives Much is known about the demands of caregiving for a person with dementia (PWD) and its effects on family caregivers, however sex and gender aspects have received less attention. We synthesized the evidence on sex and gender distinctions in: (1) the caregiving burden and (2) the impact of caregiving on the physical and mental health of family caregivers of PWD. Design Systematic review. Data sources Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature between January 2007 and October 2019 were searched Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Studies included in the review met the following criteria: (1) Examine experiences and/or impacts of caregiving among family caregivers of individuals with any form of dementia; (2) Report sex and/or gender distribution of study population and/or report results stratified by sex and/or gender, and (3) Include both male and female family caregivers. Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers extracted the data and assessed risk of bias using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist and National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional Studies. Data were synthesized using a narrative synthesis approach. Results A total of 22 studies were included. Caregiving burden was measured using various methods. A majority of studies reported higher burden among females. Most studies that did not report a sex and gender difference accounted for confounders. Findings on sex and gender differences on physical and mental health conditions were inconsistent with most studies failing to account for confounding variables in their analyses. Conclusions The current evidence on sex and gender differences in caregiving burden, mental and physical health is limited. Findings suggest the presence of sex and gender differences in caregiving burden. Given the variety of mental and physical health constructs that were examined, further research is required to substantiate the evidence

Sex and gender differences in technology needs and preferences among informal caregivers of persons with dementia

Background: Dementia is a major public health concern associated with significant caregiver demands and there are technologies available to assist with caregiving. However, there is a paucity of information on caregiver needs and preferences for these technologies, particularly from a sex and gender perspective. To address this gap in research, the objectives of this study are to examine (1) the knowledge of technology, (2) perceived usefulness of technology, (3) feature preferences when installing and using technology and (4) sex and gender influences on technology needs and preferences among family caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) across North America. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on an existing cross-sectional survey with family caregivers of PWDs. Respondents were recruited through the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the Victorian Order of Nurses and Adult Day Programs and other Canadian health care provision institutes. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to describe the study sample, uncover differences between male and female caregivers and examine sex and gender influences on caregivers’ technology needs and preferences. Results: A total of 381 eligible responses were received over a nine-month data collection period. The majority of respondents did not know much about and never used any technologies to assist with caregiving. “Being easy to install”, “easy to learn how to use” and “cost” were identified as the most important features when purchasing and setting up technology, while “reliability” was identified as the most important feature when using technology. Most respondents were willing to pay up to $500 to acquire individual technologies. Controlling for other socio-demographic variables, female respondents were more likely to have some or more knowledge about technology for caregiving while male respondents were more willing to pay higher amounts for these technologies compared to their female counterparts

Non-Coding RNA Sequencing of Equine Endometrium During Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy.

Maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) in the mare is not well defined. In a non-pregnant mare, prostaglandin F2α (PGF) is released on day 14 post-ovulation (PO) to cause luteal regression, resulting in loss of progesterone production. Equine MRP occurs prior to day 14 to halt PGF production. Studies have failed to identify a gene candidate for MRP, so attention has turned to small, non-coding RNAs. The objective of this study was to evaluate small RNA (<200 nucleotides) content in endometrium during MRP. Mares were used in a cross-over design with each having a pregnant and non-mated cycle. Each mare was randomly assigned to collection day 11 or 13 PO (n = 3/day) and endometrial biopsies were obtained. Total RNA was isolated and sequencing libraries were prepared using a small RNA library preparation kit and sequenced on a HiSeq 2000. EquCab3 was used as the reference genome and DESeq2 was used for statistical analysis. On day 11, 419 ncRNAs, representing miRNA, snRNA, snoRNA, scaRNA, and vaultRNA, were different between pregnancy statuses, but none on day 13. Equine endometrial ncRNAs with unknown structure and function were also identified. This study is the first to describe ncRNA transcriptome in equine endometrium. Identifying targets of these ncRNAs could lead to determining MRP