Gambling Addiction Defence on Trial: Canadian Expert Witness Perspectives

The American Psychiatric Association's evolving recognition of pathological gambling as a behavioral addiction (DSM-III, 1980; DSM-V, 2013) has occasioned increased use of the gambling addiction defence in criminal trials. Reflecting upon our experiences as expert witnesses in criminal and civil liability proceedings where gambling addiction was a significant factor, we a) describe the expert witness role; b) examine the links among frequent and intense EGM play, gambling addiction, and financially-based crimes; c) review how revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual influenced the Canadian judicial system response to such crime; and d) explore prospects for reducing criminal activity by addicted EGM players. We discuss how and why gambling addiction has become generally accepted as a mitigating factor in Canadian criminal trials. In this commentary we also analyze how the plight of addicted gamblers who resort to criminal behavior might be remediated by a) gambling-specific consumer protection measures; b) tighter regulatory control over the addictive elements of EGM play; c) the implementation of gambling courts; and d) a legislated duty of care owed by gambling providers to EGM players

The prevalence of AGN feedback in massive galaxies at z~1

We use the optical--infrared imaging in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey field, in combination with the new deep radio map of Arumugam et al., to calculate the distribution of radio luminosities among galaxies as a function of stellar mass in two redshift bins across the interval 0.4<z<1.2. This is done with the use of a new Bayesian method to classify stars and galaxies in surveys with multi-band photometry, and to derive photometric redshifts and stellar masses for those galaxies. We compare the distribution to that observed locally and find agreement if we consider only objects believed to be weak-lined radio-loud galaxies. Since the local distribution is believed to be the result of an energy balance between radiative cooling of the gaseous halo and mechanical AGN heating, we infer that this balance was also present as long ago as z~1. This supports the existence of a direct link between the presence of a low-luminosity ('hot-mode') radio-loud active galactic nucleus and the absence of ongoing star formation.Comment: 10 pages, MNRAS, in pres

Working with attention and distraction in leadership development

Bion’s theory of groups is used to explore the dynamics of learning on a leadership development programme. The dynamic of a group is influenced by the capacity of its members to negotiate, consciously and unconsciously, the tension between the opposed tendencies of attention and distraction, which is related to the tension between a desire to learn and a hatred of the process of development. Bion’s model of work-group and basic-assumption mentalities, which we equate with the dynamics of attention and distraction, is used to reflect on a two-month period of a development programme in a UK public service organisation. In related literature there is a tendency to focus on the pathology of basic-assumption mentality with limited interest in the healthy functioning of work-group mentality. Basic-assumption mentality contributes to understanding a group that is distracted from its purpose, but a focus on this, without comparable attention to work-group mentality, can lead to an inappropriately negative view of group process. This is contrary to Bion’s essential optimism about the powerful psychological structure of work-group mentality. The paper demonstrates the importance of combining an analysis of both attention and distraction to fully appreciate the complex dynamic of groups engaged in a developmental process

Vernacular Knowledge and Water Management - Towards the Integration of Expert Science and Local Knowledge in Ontario, Canada

Complex environmental problems cannot be solved using expert science alone. Rather, these kinds of problems benefit from problem-solving processes that draw on ‘vernacular’ knowledge. Vernacular knowledge integrates expert science and local knowledge with community beliefs and values. Collaborative approaches to water problem-solving can provide forums for bringing together diverse, and often competing, interests to produce vernacular knowledge through deliberation and negotiation of solutions. Organised stakeholder groups are participating increasingly in such forums, often through involvement of networks, but it is unclear what roles these networks play in the creation and sharing of vernacular knowledge. A case-study approach was used to evaluate the involvement of a key stakeholder group, the agricultural community in Ontario, Canada, in creating vernacular knowledge during a prescribed multi-stakeholder problem-solving process for source water protection for municipal supplies. Data sources – including survey questionnaire responses, participant observation, and publicly available documents – illustrate how respondents supported and participated in the creation of vernacular knowledge. The results of the evaluation indicate that the respondents recognised and valued agricultural knowledge as an information source for resolving complex problems. The research also provided insight concerning the complementary roles and effectiveness of the agricultural community in sharing knowledge within a prescribed problem-solving process

Building and implementing knowledge: research and innovation inspired by the evolution of modern stadia.

This paper summarises how the evolution and advancement in sports stadia design within Arup, over the last 10 years, has been used as a catalyst for applied research programmes. The North West Structures Group has collaborated with several universities (UK and US based) to advance technical knowledge and understanding, and to ensure on-going innovation. Five doctoral research programmes have been produced focussing on critical issues such as crowd induced vibration, robustness of cable supported structures subjected to high velocity fragment impact, structural and geometrical optimisation and, design management. This paper will highlight some of the results obtained from each of these research programmes and how they have and can be filtered back into design. The primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate how opportunities can be seized when working on design projects to collaborate with universities and provide a platform for project based innovation in the construction industry

A General Framework for Sound and Complete Floyd-Hoare Logics

This paper presents an abstraction of Hoare logic to traced symmetric monoidal categories, a very general framework for the theory of systems. Our abstraction is based on a traced monoidal functor from an arbitrary traced monoidal category into the category of pre-orders and monotone relations. We give several examples of how our theory generalises usual Hoare logics (partial correctness of while programs, partial correctness of pointer programs), and provide some case studies on how it can be used to develop new Hoare logics (run-time analysis of while programs and stream circuits).Comment: 27 page

The Enforcement of Moral Boundaries Promotes Cooperation and Prosocial Behavior in Groups

The threat of free-riding makes the marshalling of cooperation from group members a fundamental challenge of social life. Where classical social science theory saw the enforcement of moral boundaries as a critical way by which group members regulate one another’s self-interest and build cooperation, moral judgments have most often been studied as processes internal to individuals. Here we investigate how the interpersonal expression of positive and negative moral judgments encourages cooperation in groups and prosocial behavior between group members. In a laboratory experiment, groups whose members could make moral judgments achieved greater cooperation than groups with no capacity to sanction, levels comparable to those of groups featuring costly material sanctions. In addition, members of moral judgment groups subsequently showed more interpersonal trust, trustworthiness, and generosity than all other groups. These findings extend prior work on peer enforcement, highlighting how the enforcement of moral boundaries offers an efficient solution to cooperation problems and promotes prosocial behavior between group members

The cost-effectiveness of neonatal screening for Cystic Fibrosis: an analysis of alternative scenarios using a decision model

BACKGROUND: The use of neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis is widely debated in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, but the evidence available to inform policy is limited. This paper explores the cost-effectiveness of adding screening for cystic fibrosis to an existing routine neonatal screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria, under alternative scenarios and assumptions. METHODS: The study is based on a decision model comparing screening to no screening in terms of a number of outcome measures, including diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, life-time treatment costs, life years and QALYs gained. The setting is a hypothetical UK health region without an existing neonatal screening programme for cystic fibrosis. RESULTS: Under initial assumptions, neonatal screening (using an immunoreactive trypsin/DNA two stage screening protocol) costs £5,387 per infant diagnosed, or £1.83 per infant screened (1998 costs). Neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis produces an incremental cost-effectiveness of £6,864 per QALY gained, in our base case scenario (an assumed benefit of a 6 month delay in the emergence of symptoms). A difference of 11 months or more in the emergence of symptoms (and mean survival) means neonatal screening is both less costly and produces better outcomes than no screening. CONCLUSION: Neonatal screening is expensive as a method of diagnosis. Neonatal screening may be a cost-effective intervention if the hypothesised delays in the onset of symptoms are confirmed. Implementing both antenatal and neonatal screening would undermine potential economic benefits, since a reduction in the birth incidence of cystic fibrosis would reduce the cost-effectiveness of neonatal screening

Parsnips in ELT: stepping out of the comfort zone (Vol. 2)

The PARSNIP is, as many of you will know, a reference to all those topics that are commonly left out of the standard ELT coursebook: Politics, Alcohol, Religion, Sex, Narcotics, -Isms, Pork. And it is easy to understand why these things are not included - in simple terms coursebooks are written for the largest possible market and therefore can only ever concentrate on the safest common denominator in terms of topics. You might be able to get away with a discussion on the differences between democratic governments and dictatorships in Portugal, but the chances are you might find it more difficult in Belarus. So if you want to sell a coursebook in both Portugal and Belarus, you have to make sure that the topics are not going to prove overly contentious or possibly lead to the arrest and deportation of the teacher and closing of the school. The result though, is what Mario Rinvolucri described as ““the soft, fudgey, sub-journalistic, woman’s magaziney world of EFLese course materials” - endless worthy discussions about the environment, the role of technology in life and how to have a healthy lifestyle. The Parsnips in ELT project is an attempt to provide resources and support for teachers who do want to engage their classes in more meaningful topics and discussions. Or at the very least to do something different! It is however, up to you and your own personal and professional judgment whether you choose to use these lesson plans in your context and with your classes, or even if you choose to read them at all! Inevitably, there will be some lessons that you will feel are inappropriate to use and some that you feel will really get the class engaged in the topic and the discussion