Patching Old Wineskins: Heightened Deference Towards Saiban-In Findings of Fact on Koso Appeals Is Not Enough

The successful introduction of the saiban-in seido—the Japanese lay assessor system—was a tremendous step towards creating meaningful exchange between the public and the judiciary and democratizing the criminal justice system in Japan. To preserve the quality of this exchange, judges must conscientiously solicit and respect lay assessor input during deliberations, and saiban-in decisions must retain their force on appeal. Under current appellate procedure, however, saiban-in findings of fact may be replaced on koso appeal. Koso appeals threaten to eviscerate lay participants’ contributions in the individual case being reviewed and, in the long term, will discourage judges from taking lay assessors’ contributions seriously during jury deliberations. Although the Supreme Court of Japan has affirmed the unique capacity of saiban-in panels to assess credibility and make factual determinations, a 2012 Supreme Court decision threatened the panels’ responsibility by failing to impose a higher standard of review for reviewing the factual findings of saiban-in trials. Even if it had adopted a higher standard, such standards are subject to erosion over time as judges apply them in individual cases. To ensure the vitality of the saiban-in’s contribution to the Japanese criminal justice system, the Supreme Court of Japan should eliminate koso appeals courts’ ability to replace saiban-in findings of fact on appeal

Reporting interventions in trials evaluating cognitive rehabilitation in people with Multiple Sclerosis: a systematic review

Objective: To determine the quantity and quality of description of cognitive rehabilitation for cognitive deficits in people with Multiple Sclerosis, using a variety of published checklists, and suggest ways of improving the reporting of these interventions. Data sources: Ten electronic databases were searched, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO, from inception to May 2017. Grey literature databases, trials registers, reference lists and author citations were also searched. Review methods: Papers were included if participants were people with multiple sclerosis aged 18 years and over, and if the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in improving functional ability for memory, attention or executive dysfunction, with or without a control group, was being evaluated. Results: Fifty-four studies were included in this review. The reporting of a number of key aspects of cognitive rehabilitation was poor. This was particularly in relation to content of interventions (reported completely in 26 of the 54 studies), intervention procedures (reported completely in 16 of the 54 studies), delivery mode (reported completely in 24 of the 54 studies) and intervention mechanism of action (reported completely in 21 of the 54 studies). Conclusion: The quality of reporting of cognitive rehabilitation for memory, attention and executive function for multiple sclerosis, across a range of study designs, is poor. Existing reporting checklists do not adequately cover aspects relevant to cognitive rehabilitation, such as the approaches used to address cognitive deficits. Future checklists could consider these aspects we have identified in this review

School-related subjective well-being promotes subsequent adaptability, achievement, and positive behavioural conduct.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that subjective well-being and adaptability are linked to adaptive educational outcomes, including higher achievement and lower anxiety. It is not presently clear, however, how school-related subjective well-being and adaptability are related, or predict behavioural outcomes such as student conduct. AIM: The aim of the present study was to test a bidirectional model of school-related subjective well-being and adaptability, and how they relate to achievement and behavioural conduct. METHOD: Data were collected from 539 Year 12 students over four waves. Achievement and behavioural conduct were measured in the first wave of data collection (T1 ), school-related subjective well-being and adaptability at the second and third waves (T2 and T3 ), and achievement and behavioural conduct again in the fourth wave of data collection (T4 ). RESULTS: A structural equation model showed that T2 school-related subjective well-being predicted higher T3 adaptability, but not vice versa. T3 school-related subjective well-being predicted greater T4 achievement and positive behavioural conduct, and T3 adaptability predicted greater T4 positive behavioural conduct. CONCLUSION: School-related subjective well-being promotes adaptability, achievement, and positive behavioural conduct, and adaptability is also related to positive behavioural conduct. Attempts to foster well-being and adaptability could show educational gains for students

CONSORT-SPI 2018 Explanation and Elaboration: guidance for reporting social and psychological intervention trials.

BACKGROUND: The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement was developed to help biomedical researchers report randomised controlled trials (RCTs) transparently. We have developed an extension to the CONSORT 2010 Statement for social and psychological interventions (CONSORT-SPI 2018) to help behavioural and social scientists report these studies transparently. METHODS: Following a systematic review of existing reporting guidelines, we conducted an online Delphi process to prioritise the list of potential items for the CONSORT-SPI 2018 checklist identified from the systematic review. Of 384 international participants, 321 (84%) participated in both rating rounds. We then held a consensus meeting of 31 scientists, journal editors, and research funders (March 2014) to finalise the content of the CONSORT-SPI 2018 checklist and flow diagram. RESULTS: CONSORT-SPI 2018 extends 9 items (14 including sub-items) from the CONSORT 2010 checklist, adds a new item (with 3 sub-items) related to stakeholder involvement in trials, and modifies the CONSORT 2010 flow diagram. This Explanation and Elaboration (E&E) document is a user manual to enhance understanding of CONSORT-SPI 2018. It discusses the meaning and rationale for each checklist item and provides examples of complete and transparent reporting. CONCLUSIONS: The CONSORT-SPI 2018 Extension, this E&E document, and the CONSORT website ( www.consort-statement.org ) are helpful resources for improving the reporting of social and psychological intervention RCTs

Annonce de la BPCO : étude qualitative sur le vécu des patients

International audienceIntroductionThis qualitative study aimed to explore the real life experience of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the time they receive the diagnosis.MethodsData were collected using face to face interviews in general practice as well as focus groups in a pulmonary rehabilitation centre.ResultsThirty-four patients participated in the study. Most of them were made aware of their disease by a pulmonologist during hospitalisation for an acute exacerbation. Several terms were used to name the disease including emphysema, asthma, chronic bronchitis and COPD (acronym often not explained). At the time of the announcement, patients expressed responses which included for some a sense of stupefaction associated with anxiety and for others guilt and an attitude of denial. If the need for smoking cessation was mentioned by doctors, a lack of information at the time of the announcement was general. The chronic and potentially serious aspects of COPD were not understood or rarely mentioned.ConclusionThe announcement of the disease did not always appear to have been of good quality. Ideally, the diagnosis of COPD should be conveyed to people after its identification in a dedicated consultation, combined with better information and a proposal for psychological support.IntroductionÉtude qualitative ayant pour but d’explorer le vécu des patients atteints de bronchopneumopathie chronique obstructive (BPCO) au moment de l’annonce de la maladie.MéthodeLe recueil des données a été réalisé par entretiens individuels et focus groups de patients BPCO. Le recrutement a eu lieu en médecine générale et en structure de réadaptation.RésultatsTrente-quatre patients ont participé à l’étude. La plupart des patients ont appris leur maladie par un pneumologue au cours d’une hospitalisation pour exacerbation. Plusieurs termes ont été utilisés pour dénommer leur maladie : asthme, emphysème, bronchite chronique ou asthmatiforme et BPCO (acronyme pas toujours expliqué). Au moment de l’annonce, les patients ont exprimé pour certains une stupéfaction associée à une inquiétude et pour d’autres de la culpabilité et une attitude de déni. Si la nécessité d’un sevrage tabagique a été évoquée par les médecins, une carence d’information au moment de l’annonce était générale. L’aspect chronique et potentiellement grave n’était pas compris ou rarement évoqué.ConclusionL’annonce de la maladie ne semblait pas toujours de bonne qualité. Idéalement, l’annonce de BPCO devrait être envisagée après un repérage précoce en consultation dédiée, associée à une meilleure information et à une proposition de soutien psychologique