ACCESS TO JUSTICE: A CALL FOR PROGRESS

The civil justice system must discharge its responsibility to preserve and advance the rule of law for all members of society. It is incumbent upon the system to recognize the needs of all who seek access to justice, and ensure that entry points and services exist commensurate with those needs. In this Article, the Author discusses what is meant by access to justice; reflects on the challenge to access in the civil justice system and the various efforts underway to address that challenge; describes the continuum of resources that exist to ensure access to justice; and explores an approach for connecting those in need of legal assistance with the appropriate resource to meet that need

Irreversible Thermodynamics

Contains reports on one research project

Helping Adult Learners Plan For Success

We recognize there are significant external and internal barriers to effective planning and goal pursuit that are particular concerns for adult learners. Often, these barriers arise from conflicting adult roles (e.g. parent and adult learner), as well from a real or perceived lack of resources. We begin this session by reviewing common barriers to goal pursuit within the adult education environment, and we will explain how these barriers serve as a starting point for the ideas presented in this session

Industrial Engineering and the Law

BOOM BACKLASH made recent headlines in the May 26th issue of The Wall Street Journal. The sub-heading, Efficiency Falls and Pay Training Costs Increase as Labor Supply Shrinks delves into the heart of industrial engineering. This represents, also, an expansive and enigmatic economic problem which is now confronting employers in northern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. It is the job of the industrial engineer to deal with the resulting problems of decreased productivity, contract erosion, and unbalanced labor relations

Integrating theories of alcohol consumption: how do drinking motives influence self-efficacy?

Integrating theories regarding alcohol consumption can create complementary explanations and reduce unexplained variance in drinking behaviour prediction. This study investigated the utility of integrating the Motivational Model of Alcohol Use (MMAU) with the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). A cross-sectional study was conducted to test the mediation of HAPA self-efficacy between episode-specific drinking motives and drinking frequency/quantity

Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants and the Pursuit of Justice for All in the Massachusetts Courts

The Honorable Ralph D. Gants served as an Associate Justice and later as the Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for over eleven years, until his untimely death in September 2020. During most of that time, he also served as Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. His work in these two settings enabled him to recognize and combat many of the problems experienced by the most vulnerable participants in our legal system, especially pro se litigants. This Article analyzes how Ralph Gants used his dual roles as Chief Justice and as Commission Co-Chair to promote access to counsel and court services, and to advocate for justice for all in the Massachusetts courts

Health behaviours and health literacy: Hepatitis B regarding Sub-Saharan African migrants living in Queensland

Introduction: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is becoming an increasing health burden worldwide. Previous research indicates that lack of HBV awareness is a key contributing factor regarding individuals not engaging in preventative health behaviours, nor seeking medical treatment. A particular target group whom have higher rates of HBV are people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds; including migrants from Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries which are known to have higher rates of HBV infection. This study identified gaps in health literacy and HBV knowledge, and investigated how these factors influence related health behaviours among SSA migrants in Queensland. Methods: Cultural workers from a community organisation recruited 187 SSA migrant participants via ‘awareness stalls’ in Queensland. Participants answered self-report surveys regarding HBV knowledge, health literacy and health-protective behaviours; utilising quantitative cross-sectional surveys. The research also replicated previous methodology and compared findings to previous studies conducted with other cultural groups. Results: Preliminary findings indicated HBV knowledge significantly mediated health literacy and HBV screening. Health literacy (regarding self-efficacy) significantly predicted health behaviours (HBV screening, vaccinations). Participants with higher education and participants aged under 40 years of age, reported higher health literacy and engaged in more health-protective behaviours. Conclusions: Preliminary findings indicate significant associations between health-protective behaviours, HBV knowledge and health literacy. Greater awareness of the relationships between these constructs may assist in creating more informed prevention and health promotion strategies for identified target communities to reduce health disparities