During a recent conference on physician health that was cosponsored by the CMA and American Medical Association, physicians learned that there had been an increase in the number of reported cases of abuse of patients by physicians in Ontario. The increase occurred after new legislation made the reporting of suspected sexual abuse mandatory in the province in 1994. Dr. Laurel Dempsey said there was ¿a considerable body of opinion¿ at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario that there would be a backlog of cases waiting to be reported once the new law took effect. However, it won't be possible to tell if this backlog actually exists until data have been gathered for at least a few more years.
Deliberative forms of governance are on the rise worldwide as governments, businesses and not-for-profit organisations seek to engage with their constituents. Empirical research on these deliberative experiments is beginning to emerge; with most studies focussing on how well deliberative practice lives up the ideals of deliberative democracy. Little, however, is known about how the practice of deliberative governance negotiates and accommodates different forms of power prevalent in the policy process. This is the subject of this special issue. This introductory piece provides an overview of how theories of deliberative democracy relate to both coercive ('power-over') and generative forms of power ('power-with'). Drawing on insights from the empirical research in this special issue, the paper argues that power is not necessarily a negative force for public deliberation. Indeed coercive forms of power may be needed by some marginalized groups to push their issue onto the agenda, while more generative forms of power can inspire actors to engage in collective thinking.
Deliberative forms of governance are on the rise worldwide as governments, businesses and not-for-profit organisations seek to engage with their constituents. Empirical research on these deliberative experiments is beginning to emerge; with most studies focussing on how well deliberative practice lives up the ideals of deliberative democracy. Little, however, is known about how the practice of deliberative governance negotiates and accommodates different forms of power prevalent in the policy process. This is the subject of this special issue. This introductory piece provides an overview of how theories of deliberative democracy relate to both coercive ('power-over') and generative forms of power ('power-with'). Drawing on insights from the empirical research in this special issue, the paper argues that power is not necessarily a negative force for public deliberation. Indeed coercive forms of power may be needed by some marginalized groups to push their issue onto the agenda, while more generative forms of power can inspire actors to engage in collective thinking.
The article analyzed the positive experience of the European Union, which formed a regulatory array of acts on alternative dispute resolution. The purpose of the study is to implement the theoretical and legal characteristics of the procedural features of the institute of alternative resolution of public law disputes in the administrative proceedings of the European Union, as well as to provide proposals for prospects for its improvement. The methodological basis of the study is a set of general scientific, philosophical, special methods of scientific knowledge, the use of which allowed to ensure the achievement of the stated goals and objectives of the study and comprehensive coverage of the research problem.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore professional perspectives on restorative approaches with families in elder abuse cases.
Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from 37 social workers in statutory and voluntary organisations through nine focus group sessions in one region of Northern Ireland. A thematic analysis was undertaken and themes were derived from the data using NVivo software.
Findings This paper reports main findings under the themes of engaging families and service users; managing risk in working with families in adult safeguarding; and challenges for professionals in practice. A key finding was that professionals felt challenged personally and professionally in managing the risks and working with families in these highly complex cases.
Originality/value Investigative approaches have their limitations in relation to adult abuse situations. This study adds to the existing knowledge base, identifies potential practice developments and discusses the challenges in adopting restorative approaches with families in elder abuse cases. The study highlights the need for further specialist training. Managers should consider the creation of specialist teams with a focus on alternative or restorative approaches with families.
It is argued that bureaucracy originated when primary (first-generation) states emerged in a context of interacting chiefdoms, without contact with pre-existing states. A model of the transition from chiefdom to primary state highlights the importance of territorial expansion in this evolutionary process. A related issue is how peoples who successfully resist incorporation can help shape the developmental trajectory of an expanding state. A model of the dynamic between an expanding polity and its neighbors suggests that the effectiveness of incorporation is positively related not simply to the size of the expanding polity, but rather to a positive rate of change in the expanding polity''s growth relative to that of resisting polities. Variable relationships of incorporation and resistance will cause the shape of the expanding state''s growth trajectory to be not regular and symmetric, but instead asymmetric and non-uniform. Empirical data from several cases of primary state formation are consistent with the expectations of the territorial-expansion model. Some practical implications of this model for contemporary considerations of international relations and global sustainability are considered.
The paper is focused on the immigrant integration policies within the European Union in terms of their aims and priorities, institutional design, and financing. Among the issues raised by the article are the criteria allowing evaluation the effectiveness of these policies. Special attention is given to good practices promoting social inclusion of the newcomers. This is, first of all, measures which help to build confidence between the locals and the migrants. In addition, the author addresses the question concerning the specific features of the Russian case. Up until the mid-2000s, the Russian political class assumed that immigration to our country is a temporary phenomenon, however in the last decade the high rank officials have repeatedly indicated that immigration is a condition for development. This implies that both politicians and civil society in Russia have to abandon looking at migrants as "guest workers." Many of them are here for good. They are permanent residents and potential citizens of Russia, so the future of the country depends on how successful they will be integrated. Along with the illusion of temporality there are other features of the Russian specificity. The author argues that this specificity is made by the over emphasis of the cultural dimension of the integration process and integration policies, at the expense of structural ones. A further feature of the Russian specificity is the absence of empowerment of local authorities. It is rather at the local than at the central level that the most salient integration problems arise and could be solved. So the author suggests moving from a super-centralized bureaucratic system to a more democratic one.
North Korea is an enigma. The United Nations (UN) states that it is "…without parallel in the contemporary world …" in terms of abuse, exploitation and lack of civil rights. No other rogue state commands the attention and mystique as the isolated nation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Despite an increasingly prevalent international front, including warming relations with South Korea and the threat of nuclear weapons, everyday citizens remain hidden. Public displays of Olympic cheerleaders or the admittance of "K-Pop" stars across the Korean Demilitarization Zone (DMZ) distract from the widespread human rights abuses and public indoctrination that is second nature in the country. But this is no surprise; In the DPRK, the leader is above all else. While marginalized groups in other countries may be granted a voice by international organizations, the vulnerable in North Korea are obscured in the shadow of the great leader's actions.
