Wild dreams and realistic visions: what restorative justice could look like in the next decade

In an ideal world, restorative justice could be the "main system" for dealing with crime and the harm it causes, with traditional court systems operating "as backup", one of the world\u27s leading scholars of restorative justice has argued. In a lecture to the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Howard Zehr of the US’s Eastern Mennonite University said restorative justice in its fullest form offered the chance to create "a new physics of how we live together". He defined restorative justice as " a value-based , relational approach to problems, conflicts and harms that focuses on needs and responsibilities and puts a premium on dialogue among stakeholders". It was already used in practices such as victim-offender dialogue and family group conferencing, which allowed different parties to come together to talk about the impact of crime, share stories, learn from the oth er people and discuss restitution. The traditional justice system , Zehr said, asked questions such as: what rule has been broken, who did it, and what do they deserve? In contrast, restorative justice was based on key concepts such as harm, which created certain needs, especially for victims; this in turn led to obligations, which had to be resolved through engagement. Setting out his "ideal" world, Zehr described a justice system "pyramid", with restorative justice making up the broad base of the system, deterrence a smaller second section and "incapacitation" (including prison) a very small apex. &nbsp

Restorative Justice and the Gandhian Tradition

Gandhi Award Comment

Development and characterisation of a large diameter decellularised vascular allograft

The aims of this study were to develop a biological large diameter vascular graft by decellularisation of native human aorta to remove the immunogenic cells whilst retaining the essential biomechanical, and biochemical properties for the ultimate benefit of patients with infected synthetic grafts. Donor aortas (n = 6) were subjected to an adaptation of a propriety decellularisation process to remove the cells and acellularity assessed by histological analysis and extraction and quantification of total DNA. The biocompatibility of the acellular aortas was determined using standard contact cytotoxicity tests. Collagen and denatured collagen content of aortas was determined and immunohistochemistry was used to determine the presence of specific extracellular matrix proteins. Donor aortas (n = 6) were divided into two, with one half subject to decellularisation and the other half retained as native tissue. The native and decellularised aorta sections were then subject to uniaxial tensile testing to failure [axial and circumferential directions] and suture retention testing. The data was compared using a paired t-test. Histological evaluation showed an absence of cells in the treated aortas and retention of histoarchitecture including elastin content. The decellularised aortas had less than 15 ng mg¯¹ total DNA per dry weight (mean 94% reduction) and were biocompatible as determined by in vitro contact cytotoxicity tests. There were no gross changes in the histoarchitecture [elastin and collagen matrix] of the acellular aortas compared to native controls. The decellularisation process also reduced calcium deposits within the tissue. The uniaxial tensile and suture retention testing revealed no significant differences in the material properties (p > 0.05) of decellularised aorta. The decellularisation procedure resulted in minimal changes to the biological and biomechanical properties of the donor aortas. Acellular donor aorta has excellent potential for use as a large diameter vascular graft

Neural adaptations to electrical stimulation strength training

This review provides evidence for the hypothesis that electrostimulation strength training (EST) increases the force of a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) through neural adaptations in healthy skeletal muscle. Although electrical stimulation and voluntary effort activate muscle differently, there is substantial evidence to suggest that EST modifies the excitability of specific neural paths and such adaptations contribute to the increases in MVC force. Similar to strength training with voluntary contractions, EST increases MVC force after only a few sessions with some changes in muscle biochemistry but without overt muscle hypertrophy. There is some mixed evidence for spinal neural adaptations in the form of an increase in the amplitude of the interpolated twitch and in the amplitude of the volitional wave, with less evidence for changes in spinal excitability. Cross-sectional and exercise studies also suggest that the barrage of sensory and nociceptive inputs acts at the cortical level and can modify the motor cortical output and interhemispheric paths. The data suggest that neural adaptations mediate initial increases in MVC force after short-term EST

Doing life : Reflections of and women serving life sentences

Intercourse124 p.; 24 cm

The Little Book of restorative justice

Intercourse74 p.; 21 cm

Transcending : Reflections of crime victims

Intercourse202 p.; 24 cm