Why does Environmental Policy in Representative Democracies Tend to be Inadequate? A Preliminary Public Choice Analysis

There is a widespread consensus among the most important players in developed countries (voters, politicians, producers, traditional and green interest groups and bureaucracies) that a shift towards an eco-social market economy is essential for sustainable growth. Nevertheless, market-based instruments have not been implemented satisfactorily in environmental policy yet. To identify the reasons for this insufficient implementation in the past decade the Public Choice theory is used. The players’ behavior is analyzed in order to show that their incentives for implementing market-based instruments in environmental policy instead of command-and-control measures are surprisingly weak. Knowing the obstacles to implementing market-based instruments provides valuable insights into how to overcome them.public choice and environmental policies, sustainability, voters, government, interest groups, tradeable permits, green taxes

Constraining modified theories of gravity with gravitational wave stochastic background

The direct discovery of gravitational waves has finally opened a new observational window on our Universe, suggesting that the population of coalescing binary black holes is larger than previously expected. These sources produce an unresolved background of gravitational waves, potentially observables by ground-based interferometers. In this paper we investigate how modified theories of gravity, modeled using the ppE formalism, affect the expected signal, and analyze the detectability of the resulting stochastic background by current and future ground-based interferometers. We find the constraints that AdLIGO would be able to set on modified theories, showing that they may significantly improve the current bounds obtained from astrophysical observations of binary pulsars.Comment: Results updated to match the version accepted on Phys. Rev. Let

Early intervention combined with targeted treatment promotes cognitive and behavioral improvements in young children with fragile x syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability due to an expansion in the full mutation range (>200 CGG repeats) of the promoter region of the FMR1 gene leading to gene silencing. Lack of FMRP, a critical protein for dendritic spine formation and maturation, will cause FXS. Early environmental enrichment combined with pharmacological intervention has been proven to rescue dendritic spine abnormalities in the animal model of FXS. Here we report on 2 young children with FXS who were treated early with a combination of targeted treatment and intensive educational interventions leading to improvement in their cognition and behavior and a normal IQ

Bargaining in the Shadow of (International) Law: What the Normalization of Adjudication in International Governance Regimes Means for Dispute Resolution

After examining the similar goals and values that drive the simultaneous increase in international trials and the decrease in U.S. trials, the article then examines the challenges international adjudication poses to dealing with human rights violations and transitional justice situations. Simplistically, these tensions can be viewed as the need to strike a balance between peace and justice, top-down implementation and bottom-up impact, and process efficiency and conflict customization. The good news is that these challenges have been slowly working themselves out as the next generation of international adjudication models continues to improve. This continued improvement and normalization leads to an even more interesting question - what are the possibilities for human rights adjudication in the future? What happens when countries and individuals are bargaining in the shadow of international law? The last part of this article, looking through the lens of dispute resolution theory, addresses at least two intriguing developments that could occur in the next ten years. The first development might be the normalization of consensual international processes that mirror, at least to some degree, U.S. process. After moving away from negotiation toward judicialization of international disputes, the pendulum might start to swing back toward negotiated settlements. Will individual defendants be more likely to plea bargain (as has already occurred)? Will states be willing to work out settlements with their human rights victims prior to trial? Given the potential risks involved in these developments, the international community needs to be vigilant so that the rule of law, rights, and equality are still protected through these consensual dispute resolution processes. Second, the shift to broad community reparations like health care and education ordered by tribunals and truth commissions opens up a new chapter in more appropriate remedies for human rights victims

Carrie Menkel-Meadow: Dispute Resolution in a Feminist Voice

The presence of women in the law has changed the law’s substance, practice, and process. Carrie Menkel-Meadow, whose scholarship centers on this theme, is one such revolutionary woman. Professor Menkel-Meadow, who I am proud to call my colleague, co-author, and friend (hereinafter referred to as Carrie), began her career in 1977 with a series of simple questions that sparked a breathtaking body of work. Carrie probed the depth of male domination in the realm of law and wondered what changes female representation might engender. In particular, she focused her inquiry on the value orientation each respective gender might bring to the law: To what extent are the legal institutions we deal with male-dominated, both in the values they reflect and the manner or means used to express those values? To what extent might the expression of feminine or female values, principles and qualities both in the ends desired and the means used to express those ends alter our legal institutions? How does the increased participation of women in these legal institutions move us toward or away from the realization of feminine values in the law? Over 40 years, Carrie elaborated on these questions to develop a thorough and wide-ranging feminist jurisprudence. This Essay attempts to do justice to her work. Part II recapitulates her account of the feminization of the law: the way that feminine values affect the substance of the law; the way that we practice and learn law; and the process of law, especially in the area of Carrie’s other love—dispute resolution. In particular, Carrie used a key narrative to illustrate competing approaches to problem-solving. Spurred by Carol Gilligan’s reanalysis of psychology studies, Carrie dove into the moral dilemmas used in psychology and recast the story of Amy and Jake (where they wrestle over the dilemma of whether to steal drugs to save a life) as a lesson in problem-solving. Throughout her writings, Carrie advocated for a feminine ethic of care to have equal footing with the more traditional (masculine) ethic of justice that has been hallowed in law. Part III of this Essay uses a different narrative from Carrie’s scholarship to illustrate the application of the feminization of the law. In the case of Ziba—a hypothetical mediation between an underage bride and her controlling husband, Ahmed—we see how Carrie’s own passions for feminism and dispute resolution collide in the mediation process she typically champions. Ultimately, Carrie’s treatment of the case puts into practice the ethic of care developed within her feminist jurisprudence

International Media and Conflict Resolution: Making the Connection

For conflict resolution scholars, the idea of focusing on the media is a logical one. After all, the media is the primary method through which the public and political leadership perceive and understand conflicts at home and abroad. If we are working to better handle these conflicts, the way that these conflicts are explained and understood is a crucial part of that process. Do the media have a responsibility to report all sides, even if one side is “wrong”? Do the media share in responsibility for escalation of a conflict if the reporting is incendiary? (The conviction of certain media figures involved in the Rwandan genocide and the use of “Tokyo Rose” during World War II are only two stark examples of how media can be directly involved in conflict.) And what of the responsibility of conflict specialists—are those of us in the conflict resolution field ignoring the media at our peril? Many commentators on the media—from journalists to lawyers to conflict resolution scholars—have argued about the proper role of journalists and decried the common “if it bleeds, it leads” approach to reporting. Can journalists play a different role in informing the public, moderating the debate, creating understanding? In answering this question, we wanted to take a broader approach and bring a variety of disciplines and experiences to bear. So, we start this symposium with four different disciplinary looks at the linkage between media and conflict. We then spread across the world, with case studies from five different continents to illuminate the concepts while providing important insight into the actual functions performed by the media. The case studies we include also raise interesting points on the types of media. As media have evolved from newspapers to three primary television stations to cable news to the Internet, we also need to understand how that evolution has impacted the reporting on conflict

Carrie Menkel-Meadow: Dispute Resolution in a Feminist Voice

The presence of women in the law has changed the law’s substance, practice, and process. Carrie Menkel-Meadow, whose scholarship centers on this theme, is one such revolutionary woman. Professor Menkel-Meadow, who I am proud to call my colleague, co-author, and friend (hereinafter referred to as Carrie), began her career in 1977 with a series of simple questions that sparked a breathtaking body of work. Carrie probed the depth of male domination in the realm of law and wondered what changes female representation might engender. In particular, she focused her inquiry on the value orientation each respective gender might bring to the law: To what extent are the legal institutions we deal with male-dominated, both in the values they reflect and the manner or means used to express those values? To what extent might the expression of feminine or female values, principles and qualities both in the ends desired and the means used to express those ends alter our legal institutions? How does the increased participation of women in these legal institutions move us toward or away from the realization of feminine values in the law? Over 40 years, Carrie elaborated on these questions to develop a thorough and wide-ranging feminist jurisprudence. This Essay attempts to do justice to her work. Part II recapitulates her account of the feminization of the law: the way that feminine values affect the substance of the law; the way that we practice and learn law; and the process of law, especially in the area of Carrie’s other love—dispute resolution. In particular, Carrie used a key narrative to illustrate competing approaches to problem-solving. Spurred by Carol Gilligan’s reanalysis of psychology studies, Carrie dove into the moral dilemmas used in psychology and recast the story of Amy and Jake (where they wrestle over the dilemma of whether to steal drugs to save a life) as a lesson in problem-solving. Throughout her writings, Carrie advocated for a feminine ethic of care to have equal footing with the more traditional (masculine) ethic of justice that has been hallowed in law. Part III of this Essay uses a different narrative from Carrie’s scholarship to illustrate the application of the feminization of the law. In the case of Ziba—a hypothetical mediation between an underage bride and her controlling husband, Ahmed—we see how Carrie’s own passions for feminism and dispute resolution collide in the mediation process she typically champions. Ultimately, Carrie’s treatment of the case puts into practice the ethic of care developed within her feminist jurisprudence