R\u27 Blake Brown, A Trying Question: The Jury in Nineteenth-Century Canada

In a 1984 review essay on the inter-relationship(s) oflaw and society in English criminal law historiography, Doug Hay observed that in history, there is no \u27background, His point was that there are an infinite number ofbackgrounds, all of which are moving and changing, often in non-linear fashion, at different paces, either in counter-point or direct dialogue with the foreground which is the immediate subject ofexposition. Legal historians who put their topics in context by treating the background as static are now fortunately few, at least when this background is conceived of as social or economic. But as Hay observed, the most immediately significant context for any area of legal history is often itself legal, and it is this legal context-the institutions, the rules of procedure and evidence--of which legal historians need to be the most aware, but often take for granted. Not that this is entirely our fault: while we have ample secondary sources on many non-law aspects of nineteenth century Canadian society, the nittygritty of the system has not attracted the same interest. While there are compelling stories about eccentric judges, or the consequential narratives these individuals produced, to be celebrated, excoriated or otherwise deconstructed, it is a brave researcher who chooses to devote him or herself to the dry bones of statutory changes to faceless structures such as the jury. Popular culture may imbue juries with drama galore, but this is necessarily fictional, since where reasoning and communication are the duty of (modem era) high court judges, that ofjurors has been discretion and opacity

Law, Autonomy, and Local Government: A Legal History of Municipal Corporations in Canada West/Ontario, 1850-1880

The historiography of local government in mid-nineteenth century Canada West/Ontario is divided on the question of municipal autonomy. The more dominant thesis asserts that the Municipal Corporations (Baldwin) Act of 1849 ushered in a period of freedom for municipalities. The second depicts the Act as oppressive of autonomy in the interests of economic development. Both interpretations are based largely on extrapolation from earlier and later periods; there have been no direct examinations of local governance in Canada West/Ontario for what may be considered its formative period, from 1850 to 1880. In addition, much that has been written has been conceptually anachronistic, conflating local with urban in an era when the province was primarily rural. And, significantly, the legal dimension of the subject has been ignored or relied on uncritically. I begin with an examination of the Act and its consolidations to determine whether it was essentially permissive or mandatory, concluding that it can best be described as a constitution for low governance. I then consider case-law, focussing on enforcement of municipal duties by mandamus, restriction on municipal action by quashing of by-laws, and the imposition of liability for negligence. Next, I consider the communication of official sources of law to local government actors through commercial publications, all of which emphasized the lack of local autonomy. Because counties were the most populous local units, I use the archival records of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville to scrutinize the activities of one such local government in the shadow of the law. I then discuss the supervision of local government by the old-regime, soft law grand jury, and the new-regime hard law prison inspectorates. I investigate whether the newly created township councils were able to express community norms through the property tax appeal process. Finally, I consider the influence of municipal councils over their legal environment by means of petitions to the provincial legislature. I conclude that local governments in Canada West/Ontario during the years 1850 to 1880, while not without agency, were both too integrated in and too integral to the low governance of the province to be autonomous

Law, Autonomy, and Local Government: A Legal History of Municipal Corporations in Canada West/Ontario, 1850-1880

The historiography of local government in mid-nineteenth century Canada West/Ontario is divided on the question of municipal autonomy. The more dominant thesis asserts that the Municipal Corporations (Baldwin) Act of 1849 ushered in a period of freedom for municipalities. The second depicts the Act as oppressive of autonomy in the interests of economic development. Both interpretations are based largely on extrapolation from earlier and later periods; there have been no direct examinations of local governance in Canada West/Ontario for what may be considered its formative period, from 1850 to 1880. In addition, much that has been written has been conceptually anachronistic, conflating local with urban in an era when the province was primarily rural. And, significantly, the legal dimension of the subject has been ignored or relied on uncritically. I begin with an examination of the Act and its consolidations to determine whether it was essentially permissive or mandatory, concluding that it can best be described as a constitution for low governance. I then consider case-law, focussing on enforcement of municipal duties by mandamus, restriction on municipal action by quashing of by-laws, and the imposition of liability for negligence. Next, I consider the communication of official sources of law to local government actors through commercial publications, all of which emphasized the lack of local autonomy. Because counties were the most populous local units, I use the archival records of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville to scrutinize the activities of one such local government in the shadow of the law. I then discuss the supervision of local government by the old-regime, soft law grand jury, and the new-regime hard law prison inspectorates. I investigate whether the newly created township councils were able to express community norms through the property tax appeal process. Finally, I consider the influence of municipal councils over their legal environment by means of petitions to the provincial legislature. I conclude that local governments in Canada West/Ontario during the years 1850 to 1880, while not without agency, were both too integrated in and too integral to the low governance of the province to be autonomous

Method and Apparatus for Utilizing Amplitude-Modulated Pulse-Width Modulation Signals for Neurostimulation and Treatment of Neurological Disorders Using Electrical Stimulation

A computing device-controlled system is described for the generation of amplitude-modulated pulse-width modulation (AMPWM) signals for use in treating neurological dysfunction via cranial neurostimulation, where the AMPWM signal is specifically designed to minimize the electrical impedance of the tissues of the head. A low-frequency carrier signal is determined for the AMPWM signal by measuring EEG activity at a reference site or sites, generally corresponding with the location of suspected brain dysfunction. Carrier signal frequency is variably related to critical frequency components of the EEG power spectral density, determined from statistical analysis of amplitudes and variability, and dynamically changed as a function of time to prevent entrainment. The AMPWM signal is presented to a subject via a plurality of neurostimulation delivery modes for therapeutic use

The role of counselling in the education of the schoolgoing child

This study is an evaluation of counselling services in schools in Ireland. The use of counselling provides a potentially useful means by which education may better serve the needs young people attending secondary school in Ireland. The study examines the counselling provision in Irish schools in the context of the development of counselling theory and therapy both world wide and in the Irish context. The development of counselling throughout the ages is considered initially. This provides an historical perspective by which to understand the nature of counselling theory and therapy. Some progress in the area of educational theory was made during the middle ages, but counselling as we know developed only in the very late nineteenth century. Having considered the background to counselling, the definitions, types and theories which have evolved throughout this century are considered, working towards an understanding of counselling theory and therapy as it is today. The study then narrows down to examine the status of counselling In Ireland today. The types of training and services available are listed, giving an indication of the range of theories in use and considering the therapies which are available and relevant to Irish society. As the specific area under investigation is counselling in schools in Ireland, the status of counselling in Irish schools is studied, on an educational policy basis, and also considering the practical situation in schools and its implication for the counselling provision. The next chapter considers the person involved in the study, the school going child, this chapter attempts to resolve whether the nature of adolescence is such that a counselling service would be of particular benefit to this age group. The research is described, explaining the reasoning behind the type of methods used. The research used a questionnaire, completed by three-hundred and thirty pupils in fourteen Dublin schools. These questionnaires yeilded information by which the counselling provision in Irish schools was then assessed

Community context and individual factors associated with arrests among young men in a South African township.

BackgroundIn high-income countries, individual- and community-level factors are associated with increased contact with the criminal justice system. However, little is known about how these factors contribute to the risk of arrest in South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of arrests globally. We examine both individual- and community-level factors associated with arrests among young men living in the townships of Cape Town.MethodsData were collected from a stratified community sample of 906 young men aged 18-29 years old living in 18 township neighborhoods. Communities with high and low rates of arrest were identified. Logistic regression models were used to assess which individual-level (such as substance use and mental health status) and community-level (such as infrastructure and presence of bars and gangs) factors predict arrests.ResultsSignificant predictors of arrests were substance use, gang activity, being older, more stressed, and less educated. Living in communities with better infrastructure and in more recently established communities populated by recent immigrants was associated with having a history of arrests.ConclusionsWhen considering both individual- and community-level factors, substance use and gang violence are the strongest predictors of arrests among young men in South Africa. Unexpectedly, communities with better infrastructure have higher arrest rates. Community programs are needed to combat substance use and gang activity as a pathway out of risk among South African young men.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov registration #NCT02358226, registered Nov 24, 2014

Developing new approaches to measuring NHS outputs and productivity

The Centre for Health Economics and National Institute of Economic and Social Research have recently completed a project funded by the Department of Health to improve measurement of the productivity of the NHS. The researchers have suggested better ways of measuring both outputs and inputs to improve estimates of productivity growth. Past estimates of NHS output growth have not taken account of changes in quality. The CHE/NIESR team conclude that the routine collection of health outcome data on patients is vital to measure NHS quality. They also propose making better use of existing data to quality adjust output indices to capture improvements in hospital survival rates and reductions in waiting times. With these limited adjustments the team estimate that annual NHS output growth averaged 3.79% between 1998/99 and 2003/04.The research team has also developed improved ways of measuring NHS inputs, particularly by drawing on better information about how many people are employed in the NHS and by recognising that staff are becoming increasingly better qualified. There have been substantial increases in staffing levels, pharmaceutical use and investment in equipment and buildings since 1998/99. The net effect of this growth in both outputs and inputs is that, according to the research team’s estimates, NHS productivity declined by about 1.59% a year since 1998/99. This is not out of line with estimates of growth rates in other UK and US service sectors, including insurance and business services. Nor is it surprising that recent years have seen negative growth in the NHS. There are at least two reasons. First, there has been an unprecedented increase in NHS expenditure. The NHS has had to employ more staff to meet the requirements of the European Working Time Directive and hospital consultants and general practitioners, in particular, have benefited from new pay awards.Second, the NHS collects very little information about what actually happens to patients as a result of their contact with the health service. Until there is routine collection of health outcomes data, measurement of the quality of NHS output will remain partial and productivity growth is likely to be underestimated.

Misaligned or misheard?:Physical activity and healthy eating messaging to ethnic minority communities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study and scoping review

This mixed-methods study identified physical activity (PA) and healthy eating messages produced during the COVID-19 pandemic and explored how they were received by UK ethnic minority communities. A scoping review of research and grey literature identified categories of PA and healthy eating messaging targeted at ethnic minorities. Individual and group interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. There was active community engagement in all study phases to ensure relevance and co-production of findings. Interviews were held with 41 study participants aged 18-86 years (20 men) residing in England and Wales using digital conferencing and in person. The scoping review identified 24 records containing messages grouped into three categories: 1) PA messages; 2) healthy eating messages; 3) risk messages. Five themes described participants' views of these messages: 1) lack of awareness of messaging; 2) responses to PA messaging; 3) responses to healthy eating messaging; 4) perceptions of risk messaging and 5) perceptions of conflict in messages. The review revealed that physical activity and healthy eating messaging specifically targeting ethnic minority communities is limited. This limited messaging was almost entirely missed by these communities. When received, the messaging was not interpreted as intended, perceived to be conflicting and risk messaging was perceived as blaming. More work with ethnic minority communities needs to be done to co-produce meaningful and appropriate PA and healthy eating messaging in a timely manner.</p