Book review: a practical guide for policy analysis: theeightfold path to more effective problem solving

Presenting a concrete plan of action for anyone who needs to perform a policy analysis, Eugene Bardach’s fourth edition is full of helpful tips and case studies written to enthuse and appeal to undergraduate students. Jennifer Miller finds that the book steers clear of technocratic jargon and ideological bias, and believes that it will continue to play an important role in the professional development of policy analysts

Festo: Blessing to Patent Holders or Thorn in Their Sides?

The Supreme Court makes another attempt to strike a balance between protecting an inventor\u27s patent rights and ensuring adequate notice to the public of what constitutes patent infringement. This iBrief discusses the Supreme Court ruling in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd. and its foreseeable effects on the practice of patent law

Book review: Social policy as a magpie : applying ruthlesspragmatism to real-world problems

Introducing social policy as a broadly conceived study of human wellbeing, Hartley Dean’s revised and updated Social Policy examines the ways in which governments and peoples throughout the world attend to, promote, neglect or even undermine the things that make life worth living

Festo: Blessing to Patent Holders or Thorn in Their Sides?

The Supreme Court makes another attempt to strike a balance between protecting an inventor\u27s patent rights and ensuring adequate notice to the public of what constitutes patent infringement. This iBrief discusses the Supreme Court ruling in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd. and its foreseeable effects on the practice of patent law

Should Juries Hear Complex Patent Cases?

A debate has arisen within the legal community over the existence and constitutionality of a so-called complexity exception to the Seventh Amendment. This exception would give a judge the discretion to deny a jury trial in a civil case if he or she feels that the issue is too complex for a jury to decide properly. This iBrief discusses the constitutionality of the complexity exception and the arguments for and against its implementation, with particular emphasis on the application of the exception to patent infringement cases. The iBrief then postulates that, while a blanket exception for patent infringement cases may not be the solution, at a minimum some restructuring of the adjudication process needs to occur in order to ensure that judicial holdings are more than a mere roll of the dice

Pfaff Revisited: How the Federal Circuit Has Elaborated on the “Ready for Patenting” Standard

In Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc., the Supreme Court established a two-part test to determine when an invention is on sale for purposes of Title 35 U.S.C. §102(b). In addition to being the subject of a commercial offer for sale, an invention must be ready for patenting in order to be considered on sale. Since Pfaff, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has had numerous opportunities to expound upon how inventors can fulfill the latter condition. This iBrief will discuss the factors the Federal Circuit has determined are indicative of an invention\u27s ready for patenting status

The Adolescent Substance Use Risk Continuum: A Cultural, Strengths-Based Approach to Case Conceptualization

Many theories are used to conceptualize adolescent substance use, yet none adequately assist mental health professionals in assessing adolescents’ strengths and risk factors while incorporating cultural factors. The authors reviewed common adolescent substance abuse theories and their strengths and limitations, and offer a new model to conceptualize adolescent substance use: The Adolescent Substance Use Risk Continuum. We posit that this strengths-based continuum enables clinicians to decrease stigma and offer hope to adolescents and their caregivers, as it integrates relevant factors to strengthen families and minimize risk. This model is a tool for counselors to use as they conceptualize client cases, plan treatment and focus counseling interventions. A case study illustrates the model and future research is suggested

Voices from Urban Africa: The Impact of Urban Growth on Children

Urban poverty -- and its impact on children -- is often overlooked and misunderstood. More than half of the world's population now lives in cities. Each year the number of urban residents increases by nearly 60 million.1 By 2050, it is projected that two thirds of the global population will be living in urban areas.2 It is estimated that 94 percent of urban growth will take place in less developed countries.3Africa, though it is the least urbanized continent today, is predicted to have one billion urban dwellers by 2040, with a substantial youth majority. Over the next 40 years, 75 percent of urban population growth in Africa will take place in Africa's secondary cities.4 Currently, over half of the African urban population lives in slum conditions. These figures alone demonstrate the growing importance of prioritizing the urban context in development work.Coupled with this growing urban population, the development community's reliance on aggregate data, which generally compares development indicators for urban and rural areas within a country, means that children and adults living in urban areas appear to be better off than those living in rural areas.Citywide statistics and the 'urban advantage' allow the wealth of some urban individuals to obscure the hardships faced by those living in urban poverty and the vast inequalities present within urban communities. The absence of detailed data means that the depths of urban poverty are often missed and children living in urban poverty are at risk of not being reached by development efforts