\u27White Collar Crime\u27: Still Hazy After All These Years

With a seventy-five year history of sociological and later legal roots, the term “white collar crime” remains an ambiguous concept that academics, policy makers, law enforcement personnel and defense counsel are unable to adequately define. Yet the use of the term “white collar crime” skews statistical reporting and sentencing for this conduct. This Article provides a historical overview of its linear progression and then a methodology for a new architecture in examining this conduct. It separates statutes into clear-cut white collar offenses and hybrid statutory offenses, and then applies this approach with an empirical study that dissects cases prosecuted under hybrid white collar statutes of perjury, false statements, obstruction of justice, and RICO. The empirical analysis suggests the need for an individualized multivariate approach to categorizing white collar crime to guard against broad federal statutes providing either under-inclusive or over-inclusive examination of this form of criminality

\u27White-Collar Crime : Still Hazy After All These Years

With a seventy-five year history of sociological and later legal roots, the term white collar crime remains an ambiguous concept that academics, policy makers, law enforcement personnel and defense counsel are unable to adequately define. Yet the use of the term white collar crime skews statistical reporting and sentencing for this conduct. This Article provides a historical overview of its linear progression and then a methodology for a new architecture in examining this conduct. It separates statutes into clear-cut white collar offenses and hybrid statutory offenses, and then applies this approach with an empirical study that dissects cases prosecuted under hybrid white collar statutes of perjury, false statements, obstruction of justice, and RICO. The empirical analysis suggests the need for an individualized multivariate approach to categorizing white collar crime to guard against broad federal statutes providing either under- inclusive or over-inclusive examination of this form of criminalit

Geographical variations in the benefit of applying a prioritization system for cataract surgery in different regions of Spain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Spain, there are substantial variations in the utilization of health resources among regions. Because the need for surgery differs in patients with appropriate surgical indication, introducing a prioritization system might be beneficial. Our objective was to assess geographical variations in the impact of applying a prioritization system in patients on the waiting list for cataract surgery in different regions of Spain by using a discrete-event simulation model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A discrete-event simulation model to evaluate demand and waiting time for cataract surgery was constructed. The model was reproduced and validated in five regions of Spain and was fed administrative data (population census, surgery rates, waiting list information) and data from research studies (incidence of cataract). The benefit of introducing a prioritization system was contrasted with the usual first-in, first-out (FIFO) discipline. The prioritization system included clinical, functional and social criteria. Priority scores ranged between 0 and 100, with greater values indicating higher priority. The measure of results was the waiting time weighted by the priority score of each patient who had passed through the waiting list. Benefit was calculated as the difference in time weighted by priority score between operating according to waiting time or to priority.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean waiting time for patients undergoing surgery according to the FIFO discipline varied from 1.97 months (95% CI 1.85; 2.09) in the Basque Country to 10.02 months (95% CI 9.91; 10.12) in the Canary Islands. When the prioritization system was applied, the mean waiting time was reduced to a minimum of 0.73 months weighted by priority score (95% CI 0.68; 0.78) in the Basque Country and a maximum of 5.63 months (95% CI 5.57; 5.69) in the Canary Islands. The waiting time weighted by priority score saved by the prioritization system varied from 1.12 months (95% CI 1.07; 1.16) in Andalusia to 2.73 months (95% CI 2.67; 2.80) in Aragon.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prioritization system reduced the impact of the variations found among the regions studied, thus improving equity. Prioritization allocates the available resources within each region more efficiently and reduces the waiting time of patients with greater need. Prioritization was more beneficial than allocating surgery by waiting time alone.</p

Indicators of "Healthy Aging" in older women (65-69 years of age). A data-mining approach based on prediction of long-term survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prediction of long-term survival in healthy adults requires recognition of features that serve as early indicators of successful aging. The aims of this study were to identify predictors of long-term survival in older women and to develop a multivariable model based upon longitudinal data from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We considered only the youngest subjects (<it>n </it>= 4,097) enrolled in the SOF cohort (65 to 69 years of age) and excluded older SOF subjects more likely to exhibit a "frail" phenotype. A total of 377 phenotypic measures were screened to determine which were of most value for prediction of long-term (19-year) survival. Prognostic capacity of individual predictors, and combinations of predictors, was evaluated using a cross-validation criterion with prediction accuracy assessed according to time-specific AUC statistics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Visual contrast sensitivity score was among the top 5 individual predictors relative to all 377 variables evaluated (mean AUC = 0.570). A 13-variable model with strong predictive performance was generated using a forward search strategy (mean AUC = 0.673). Variables within this model included a measure of physical function, smoking and diabetes status, self-reported health, contrast sensitivity, and functional status indices reflecting cumulative number of daily living impairments (HR ≥ 0.879 or RH ≤ 1.131; P < 0.001). We evaluated this model and show that it predicts long-term survival among subjects assigned differing causes of death (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease; P < 0.01). For an average follow-up time of 20 years, output from the model was associated with multiple outcomes among survivors, such as tests of cognitive function, geriatric depression, number of daily living impairments and grip strength (P < 0.03).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The multivariate model we developed characterizes a "healthy aging" phenotype based upon an integration of measures that together reflect multiple dimensions of an aging adult (65-69 years of age). Age-sensitive components of this model may be of value as biomarkers in human studies that evaluate anti-aging interventions. Our methodology could be applied to data from other longitudinal cohorts to generalize these findings, identify additional predictors of long-term survival, and to further develop the "healthy aging" concept.</p

\u27White-Collar Crime : Still Hazy After All These Years

With a seventy-five year history of sociological and later legal roots, the term white collar crime remains an ambiguous concept that academics, policy makers, law enforcement personnel and defense counsel are unable to adequately define. Yet the use of the term white collar crime skews statistical reporting and sentencing for this conduct. This Article provides a historical overview of its linear progression and then a methodology for a new architecture in examining this conduct. It separates statutes into clear-cut white collar offenses and hybrid statutory offenses, and then applies this approach with an empirical study that dissects cases prosecuted under hybrid white collar statutes of perjury, false statements, obstruction of justice, and RICO. The empirical analysis suggests the need for an individualized multivariate approach to categorizing white collar crime to guard against broad federal statutes providing either under- inclusive or over-inclusive examination of this form of criminalit

Criminal Law: Concepts and Practice, 4th edition

Criminal Law: Concepts and Practice is a leader in providing materials that match the skills and values emphasized for developing practicing lawyers. The Fourth Edition incorporates over fifty problems that allow the law professor to explore the practical impact of the theoretical concepts underlying criminal law. The book challenges students to consider issues of race in the criminal justice system. It retains its international and comparative notes and now includes several new cases and problems. The authors support a website, criminallawbook.com, that offers podcasts, syllabi, PowerPoints, and other teaching materials that complement the book. In short, the text combines theory and practice and is compact, student-friendly, flexible, and high-tech.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bks/1181/thumbnail.jp

The Biological Evidence Preservation Handbook: Best Practices for Evidence Handlers - Technical Working Group on Biological Evidence Preservation

Criminal Law: Concepts and Practice is a leader in providing materials that match the skills and values emphasized for developing practicing lawyers. The Fourth Edition incorporates over fifty problems that allow the law professor to explore the practical impact of the theoretical concepts underlying criminal law. The book challenges students to consider issues of race in the criminal justice system. It retains its international and comparative notes and now includes several new cases and problems. The authors support a website, criminallawbook.com, that offers podcasts, syllabi, PowerPoints, and other teaching materials that complement the book. In short, the text combines theory and practice and is compact, student-friendly, flexible, and high-tech.https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_bks/1181/thumbnail.jp