Restorative Justice and Recidivism: Investigating the impact of victim-preference for level of engagement.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact ofoffering victims choice in their level of engagement with restorative justice interventions. Consequently, this study compared the expected risk for reconviction, calculated using the Offender Group Reconviction Scale and actual reconviction rates for completers and non-completers of three different restorative justice (RJ) initiatives: conference, letter of apology and victim-empathy work. Where reconvictions were evident the comparative level of harm between the initial and subsequent offences was examined. This was a risk-band analysis of 253 offenders who had received an RJ sentence between September 2007 and September 2011. Data analysis began after September 2012, to allow at least a one-year follow-up. The analyses revealed statistically significant differences between expected and actual reconviction rates for all three interventions. The choice offered to victims regarding their degree of involvement in the RJ sentence appears to do no harm; indeed it is still associated with lower rates of reconviction and a relatively high likelihood of a reduction in harm where reoffending occurs

POVRAT RAVNOTEŽE: LEKCIJE IZ SLUČAJEVA U OKVIRU PILOT-PROJEKTA KOJI FINANCIRA EU U BRITANSKOJ REGIJI THAMES VALLEY, KOJI OMOGUĆUJE RESTORATIVNU PRAVDU NA ZAHTJEV ŽRTVE

This article describes lessons learned from a pilot project that delivers Restorative Justice (RJ) to victims of crime referred by agencies supporting victims and victim self-referrals. The project involves a partnership of agencies in the Thames Valley, working as part of a wider European Collaboration, to extend RJ services to victims at the post-sentencing level. We provide access to RJ for victims, whilst protecting their rights and preventing re-victimisation, in accordance with EU directive 2012/29/EU (European Commission, 2012). The context and methodology of our pilot project are explained. Lessons learned from practice through team case discussion and supervision are then identified and described. The cases are then summarised in a table which outlines their key features and acts as a point of reference in relation to the lessons learned. Cases are ongoing at the time of writing. The lessons may not always be clear cut and finalised. We hope that this approach will demonstrate the process of learning from experience and practice as the project develops. Whilst ours is not a rigorously scientific approach, we hope it offers readers a chance to understand the dilemmas and issues presented by a model which starts from a victim’s request for RJ. The authors are the project manager and the RJ Facilitators involved in delivering the service. Independent evaluation, involving interviews with victims, referrers and offenders who have participated in the pilot project, follows at a later stage.Ovaj članak opisuje lekcije naučene iz pilot-projekta koji restorativnu pravdu omogućuje žrtvama zločina na koje upućuju agencije za pomoć žrtvama te žrtvama koje se same prijave za takav program. Projekt uključuje partnerstvo agencija u regiji Thames Valley, koje djeluju u sklopu šire europske suradnje, kako bi se usluge restorativne pravde za žrtve proširile na razini nakon izricanja kazne. Žrtvama omogućujemo pristup restorativnoj pravdi, dok štitimo njihova prava i sprečavamo ponovnu viktimizaciju, u skladu s Direktivom 2012/29/EU (Europska komisija 2012.). Objašnjeni su kontekst i metodologija našeg pilot-projekta, a potom su kroz timske rasprave o slučajevima i nadzor identificirane i opisane lekcije naučene iz prakse. Slučajevi su zatim sažeti u tablici koja navodi njihove ključne značajke i djeluje kao referentna točka u vezi s naučenim lekcijama. U vrijeme pisanja članka, slučajevi su u tijeku. Lekcije se ne mogu uvijek jasno definirati i finalizirati. Vjerujemo da će ovaj pristup pokazati proces učenja iz iskustva i prakse kako se projekt bude razvijao. Iako naš pristup nije strogo znanstven, nadamo se da čitateljima nudi priliku da razumiju dileme i pitanja predstavljene modelom koji počinje zahtjevom žrtve za restorativnom pravdom. Autori su voditelj projekta i voditelji restorativne pravde uključeni u izvršavanje usluga. Neovisna procjena, koja uključuje intervjue sa žrtvama, posrednicima i počiniteljima koji su sudjelovali u pilot-projektu, slijedi u kasnijoj fazi

The simplest demonstrations of quantum nonlocality

We investigate the complexity cost of demonstrating the key types of nonclassical correlations-Bell inequality violation, Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen (EPR)-steering, and entanglement-with independent agents, theoretically and in a photonic experiment. We show that the complexity cost exhibits a hierarchy among these three tasks, mirroring the recently discovered hierarchy for how robust they are to noise. For Bell inequality violations, the simplest test is the well-known Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt test, but for EPR-steering and entanglement the tests that involve the fewest number of detection patterns require nonprojective measurements. The simplest EPR-steering test requires a choice of projective measurement for one agent and a single nonprojective measurement for the other, while the simplest entanglement test uses just a single nonprojective measurement for each agent. In both of these cases, we derive our inequalities using the concept of circular two-designs. This leads to the interesting feature that in our photonic demonstrations, the correlation of interest is independent of the angle between the linear polarizers used by the two parties, which thus require no alignment

Victims in Restorative Justice at Post-sentencing level. A Manual

The content of this manual evolved from the research project ‘Restorative Justice at post-sentencing level; supporting and protecting victims’ carried out by an international European team from Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. This manual is one of several project publications. The target group of this manual consists of those who are, in the widest sense, related to the work with victims of crime but also those, who are interested in Restorative Justice. This manual describes how victims of crime and therewith offenders and the community can be supported in various different ways. Therefore, the awareness of their needs is central at the outset. Furthermore, it aims to provide understanding of the individual process of coping and may therefore also lead to more self-awareness. If the victim is interested and prepared, it is possible to carry out Restorative Justice procedures in all types of crime and at all levels of seriousness, as long as it fits the person’s needs. The different steps to gain understanding of the situation of a victim and to provide support, as well as to empower in order to deal with what has occurred, are described in this manual. The different phases, before, during and after a restorative process, will be outlined as well as various RJ-procedures, from indirect victim-offendermediation to conferencing and possible techniques to apply during these procedures. That an atmosphere of trust is essential during the whole process appears evident as it is a basic principle of all Restorative Justice procedures. In order to provide better orientation, each sub-section is initiated with a number of key issues, which are then elaborated in a short text and concluded with a precise recommendation for practitioners to apply in the work with victims. More experienced practitioners can use this manual as a book of reference and concentrate on the recommendation whereas those, who have had less contact with victims in their work, can use it as an additional guide. In the final section, some case studies from the project partners England, Schleswig-Holstein, Portugal and Croatia give an exemplary insight into the restorative work carried out, from the victim perspective only

Semiquantitative Analysis of Clinical Heat Stress in Clostridium difficile Strain 630 Using a GeLC/MS Workflow with emPAI Quantitation.

<div><p><i>Clostridium difficile</i> is considered to be the most frequent cause of infectious bacterial diarrhoea in hospitals worldwide yet its adaptive ability remains relatively uncharacterised. Here, we used GeLC/MS and the exponentially modified protein abundance index (emPAI) calculation to determine proteomic changes in response to a clinically relevant heat stress. Reproducibility between both biological and technical replicates was good, and a 37°C proteome of 224 proteins was complemented by a 41°C proteome of 202 proteins at a 1% false discovery rate. Overall, 236 <i>C. difficile</i> proteins were identified and functionally categorised, of which 178 were available for comparative purposes. A total of 65 proteins (37%) were modulated by 1.5-fold or more at 41°C compared to 37°C and we noted changes in the majority of proteins associated with amino acid metabolism, including upregulation of the reductive branch of the leucine fermentation pathway. Motility was reduced at 41°C as evidenced by a 2.7 fold decrease in the flagellar filament protein, FliC, and a global increase in proteins associated with detoxification and adaptation to atypical conditions was observed, concomitant with decreases in proteins mediating transcriptional elongation and the initiation of protein synthesis. Trigger factor was down regulated by almost 5-fold. We propose that under heat stress, titration of the GroESL and dnaJK/grpE chaperones by misfolded proteins will, in the absence of trigger factor, prevent nascent chains from emerging efficiently from the ribosome causing translational stalling and also an increase in secretion. The current work has thus allowed development of a heat stress model for the key cellular processes of protein folding and export.</p></div

Assigning the source of human campylobacteriosis in New Zealand : a comparative genetic and epidemiological approach

Integrated surveillance of infectious multi-source diseases using a combination of epidemiology, ecology, genetics and evolution can provide a valuable risk-based approach for the control of important human pathogens. This includes a better understanding of transmission routes and the impact of human activities on the emergence of zoonoses. Until recently New Zealand had extraordinarily high and increasing rates of notified human campylobacteriosis, and our limited understanding of the source of these infections was hindering efforts to control this disease. Genetic and epidemiological modeling of a 3-year dataset comprising multilocus sequence typed isolates from human clinical cases, coupled with concurrent data on food and environmental sources, enabled us to estimate the relative importance of different sources of human disease. Our studies provided evidence that poultry was the leading cause of human campylobacteriosis in New Zealand, causing an estimated 58–76% of cases with widely varying contributions by individual poultry suppliers. These findings influenced national policy and, after the implementation of poultry industry-specific interventions, a dramatic decline in human notified cases was observed in 2008. The comparative-modeling and molecular sentinel surveillance approach proposed in this study provides new opportunities for the management of zoonotic diseases

Onset of illusory figures attenuates change blindness.

We examined whether the onset of a new object defined by illusory contours is detected with greater frequency than offset when neither is associated with a unique sensory transient. Observers performed a �one-shot� change detection task in which offsetting or onsetting elements of high luminance contrast circles generated the appearance or disappearance of a Kanizsa figure. Presenting �illusory figures� via this �flicker� method ensures that (1) any unique luminance transients associated with the two types of change are eliminated, and (2) the objects themselves can only be represented at a relatively high level. Results showed that offsets were detected more frequently than onsets only when they generated the onset of a Kanizsa figure. We argue that object appearance dominates object disappearance via mechanisms that operate at the level at which objects are constructed