El presente número monográfico “Desafíos sociales y jurídicos del nuevo paradigma de la discapacidad intelectual. Un compromiso con los derechos humanos, la inclusión y la igualdad”, encuentra su origen en el marco de un proyecto de investigación multidisciplinar en el que participan investigadoras de tres universidades, a saber: la Universidad de Deusto, la Universidad Pontificia Comillas, y la Universitat Ramon Llull. La investigación cuyos resultados se presentan sitúa el foco en los derechos de las personas con discapacidad intelectual, y aborda con una mirada interdisciplinar las diferentes realidades y dificultades que plantea el denominado modelo social y de derechos de la discapacidad intelectual, interpretado a la luz de los derechos humanos. La aprobación de la Convención de Nueva York sobre los derechos de las personas con discapacidad en 2006 despertó a los legisladores nacionales del largo letargo en el que se hallaban, y visibilizó el abandono legislativo en el que hasta entonces se encontraban sumidos los derechos de las personas con discapacidad. Y así, la idea de la discapacidad vinculada a necesidades asistenciales y de salud, reflejo de un modelo médico de discapacidad, ha dado paso al paradigma social y derechos de la discapacidad.
D. I. Cherkasov, Yu. E. Dementyeva, I. V. Mkrtumova
The purpose of the study is to analyze redomiciliation process as one of the most effective digital formats for overcoming sanctions restrictions, to show the economic risks and social issues associated with companies’ registration in offshore zones, as well as to characterize the latest trends in the state deoffshorization, which are observed under sanctions restrictions. The factors of increasing popularity of domestic offshore zones and the most pressing issues faced by international holding companies with Russian upbringing have been revealed. The main reasons for the demand for of domestic offshore zones growth under the Russian jurisdiction have been shown, and the main social risks for entrepreneurs have been studied. The research methodology is based on the provisions of taxation concepts presented in the works of A. Smith, D. Ricardo, J.M. Keynes, and A. Hansen. The deoffshorization concept is based on the ideas of A.S. Zakharov, I.Z. Yarygina, B.A. Heifetz et al. The analysis of legislative acts of the tax system has been carried out, tax regimes, corporate structures, and requirements to organizations management have been studied. Reporting documents of investment funds, IT companies, and banking organizations, as well as sociological, economic, and legal scientific publications were used as the study materials. On the basis of regulatory legal acts of the Russian legislation, the authors analyze the conditions offered to companies by tax institutions within the framework of re-registration in domestic offshore zones in comparison with the conditions offered by the authorities of other countries. A tendency of increasing inflow of a number of companies to offshore zones has been revealed, among which there are primarily IT corporations, which can ensure the Russian economy growth in the next few years. The main social risks associated with digital formats of overcoming sanctions restrictions have been identified: social inequality, reputational risks, and consequences of illegitimate circumvention of sanctions restrictions. The study touches upon the situation of Russian organizations registered abroad.
Biomedical technologies have advanced rapidly in recent decades, impacting human nature itself and reshaping the surrounding social environment according to new principles. These developments carry significant implications for law and public policy, highlighting the importance of legal research in regulating biomedical innovation. This article explores the transformation of traditional legal principles in family and inheritance law, focusing primarily on surrogacy under the influence of reproductive technologies. The concept of biolaw is introduced as an integration of law and biomedicine, alongside the emerging interdisciplinary field of neurolaw, which studies how advances in neurobiology influence jurisprudence. Key areas of interaction between neurobiology and law include the development of judicial practice, legislative reform informed by neuroscience evidence, and shifts in the general theory and philosophy of law. Philosophical ideas about constructing future societies grounded in biomedical achievements - proposed by thinkers such as F. Fukuyama, E. Toffler, A. Bard, and J. Söderqvist - are discussed. The article highlights certain central public concerns: social control, biologically based hierarchies, renewed eugenics, and discriminatory practices. It identifies biomedical technologies with potential to fundamentally transform society, the emerging risks they pose, and possible legal ramifications. Examples discussed include the creation of artificial wombs and genome editing, both of which may have applications beyond biomedicine for broader social purposes. The article also points out gaps in Russian legal regulation and presents the results of a comparative legal study, culminating in general recommendations for improving Russian legislation.
In recent years, cannabis has sparked both curiosity and controversy due to its purported benefits and risks. Cannabis remains the most widely used drug globally, and its use is increasing, possibly due to greater access, changing cultural perceptions, and evolving legislation. The National Household Survey of Drugs in India reveals that approximately 3% of the Indian population are current cannabis users. Across 16 Asian countries, cannabis use prevalence ranges from 0.30% to 19.10%. Cannabis continues to be a widely used recreational drug in India and across Asia. Notably, Thailand became the first country in Asia to legalize the use and purchase of cannabis leaves in February 2021, followed by the legalization of the whole plant in June 2022. While India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 permits cannabis use for medical and scientific research, recreational use remains prohibited. There are concerns about the potential gateway effect of cannabis use, which could lead to the consumption of more harmful substances. With cannabis legalization spreading globally and its influence extending to Asian countries, it is crucial to evaluate whether the perceived benefits outweigh the risks. In fact, multiple petitions have been filed in High Courts advocating for the decriminalization of cannabis use, highlighting its medicinal, industrial, ecological, and economic potential. However, it is important to assess with longitudinal research the potential benefits and risks of recreational cannabis use in Indian and Asian countries. The current evidence does not strongly support significant health benefits. However, factors such as social perception, economic considerations, religious beliefs, and cannabis’s cultural role make it difficult to clearly determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks.
In recent years, violence against women and children has markedly increased in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Numerous cases underscore a significant potential for sexual violence against children, particularly those enrolled in non-formal education institutions. This pressing issue necessitates a thorough examination of current implementation practices, the identification of existing constraints, and the formulation of prospective criminal policies aimed at protecting children from sexual violence in these educational settings. This study utilises a socio-legal framework with a normative-empirical approach, drawing on data from Bantul Regency and Yogyakarta City. It also critically reviews pertinent regulatory frameworks and implementation practices within this context. Findings indicate that both preventive and repressive measures have been enacted to combat sexual violence against children, primarily through the empowerment of law enforcement officials and related government officers at the district, city, and provincial levels. However, the effectiveness of preventive measures is impeded by current regulations and prevailing social norms. Future initiatives to protect children from sexual violence in non-formal education institutions should prioritise non-penal approaches, including the enhancement and harmonisation of the Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence legislation at both national and regional levels. Furthermore, it reveals that local government agencies have yet to establish effective coordination mechanisms to promote better norms for preventing sexual violence in these institutions. Enhancing community empowerment and bolstering the coordination and roles of stakeholders will be pivotal in mitigating the stigma faced by child victims of sexual violence.
Law in general. Comparative and uniform law. Jurisprudence
João Araújo Monteiro Neto, Nestor Eduardo Araruna Santiago
We use a sociolegal perspective to critically analyze how narratives supporting the need to reduce and punish corruption in Brazil, particularly the ones deployed in the course of the Car Wash Operation (CWO), influenced the weakening of the presumption of innocence rule. Originally deployed to investigate a criminal organization using a network of gas stations and car wash companies to “clean” illicit resources, the CWO was rapidly transformed in a major law enforcement operation, and it was used to unravel endemic corruption found in private and state-owned companies. Using a variety of communication resources, the Prosecutor office in charge of the operation developed a set of strategic tactics to promote the discourse that the rule of presumption of innocence was one of the main motives behind the high levels of corruption and impunity in Brazil. This narrative influenced the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court during the judgment of the case involving Brazilian former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The social pressure caused by the use of strategic communication tools were crucial to lead the court to overrule the meaning of presumption of innocence. The paper examines how these tools were able to promote social traction and how they can be used to influence and shape the meaning and effectiveness of legal rules.
Utilizamos una perspectiva socio-jurídica para analizar críticamente cómo las narrativas que respaldan la necesidad de reducir y castigar la corrupción en Brasil, especialmente las desplegadas en el curso de la “Operação Lava Jato” (LJ – Operación Autolavado), influyeron en el debilitamiento de la presunción de inocencia. Originalmente implementada para investigar a una organización criminal que utilizaba una red de estaciones de servicio y empresas de lavado de autos para el lavado de dinero, LJ se transformó rápidamente en una importante operación de aplicación de la ley y se utilizó para desentrañar la corrupción endémica en empresas privadas y estatales. Utilizando diversos recursos de comunicación, la Fiscalía Federal a cargo de la operación desarrolló un conjunto de tácticas estratégicas para promover el discurso de que la presunción de inocencia era uno de los principales motivos detrás de los altos niveles de corrupción e impunidad en Brasil. Esta narrativa, por ejemplo, influyó en el Tribunal Supremo Federal (STF) de Brasil durante el juicio del caso que involucra al expresidente brasileño Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. La presión social causada por el uso de herramientas estratégicas de comunicación fue crucial para llevar al tribunal a revocar el significado de la presunción de inocencia. El artículo examina cómo estas herramientas pudieron generar tracción social y cómo pueden utilizarse para influir y dar forma al significado y la efectividad de las normas legales.
The special issue addresses several overlapping though not exclusive themes: Foucault’s theorization of modern power and in particular, his thinking in relation to his lectures on governmentality, the politics of resistance, and processes of neoliberalism. The contributions are animated by several questions: How do citizens and marginalized (or stateless) people negotiate law and regulation from the margins through experiences of assimilation or exclusion?; What role does racialization play in these processes?; How has neoliberalism or new processes of globalization opened up questions of individualism, freedom, autonomy, responsibilization, empowerment, rights (in several different spheres): the environment, queer and sexual politics, policing and protest, governmental politics, migration, refugee protection, and humanitarianism?
Global action plans to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are the subject of ongoing discussion between experts. Community pharmacists have a professional responsibility to tackle AMR. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of antibiotic resistance and attitudes to promoting Antibiotic Smart Use (ASU) amongst part and full-time practicing community pharmacists across Thailand. An online mixed-method survey applying Appreciative Inquiry theory was validated and conducted in 2020. Non-probability sampling was used, with online survey dissemination via social networks. A total of 387 community pharmacists located in 59 out 77 provinces seemed knowledgeable about antimicrobial resistance (mean score = 82.69%) and had acceptable attitudes towards antibiotic prescribing practices and antimicrobial stewardship (mean score = 73.12%). Less than 13% of pharmacists had postgraduate degrees. Postgraduate education, training clerkship, preceptors, and antibiotic stewardship training positively affected their attitudes. The community pharmacists proposed solutions based on the Appreciative Inquiry theory to promote ASU practices. Among these were educational programmes consisting of professional conduct, social responsibility and business administration knowledge, up-to-date legislation, and substitutional strategies to compensate business income losses.
Environmental issues and relevant policy plans are steadily involving the circular economy (CE) concept into business development. Such significant approaches to achieve environmentally sustainable economic development, they are supported and reinforced by dissatisfaction with the linear traditional approach of “take-make-dispose” model. This traditional production model is bounded on large quantities of directly accessible resources and energy. Therefore, at this study the transition of the linear take-make-dispose model was investigated toward the circularity approach of cost-effectiveness over eco-efficiency. In this respect the study focused on, mainly European, environmental legislation at the industrial sector and the abiding legal practices and social planning regarding CE. The collective presentation of directives and regulations was accompanied by representing those research considerations, social reflections, and legal practices’ impacting. The challenging issues and the key developmental prospects for future researches have been conclusively denoted.
This text contains a comparative analysis of criminal policy in Brazil and Argentina based on their documents, studies and narratives about their electronic monitoring experiences. It starts from the most discussed aspects about electronic freedom controls to use them as a guide for exposing the research findings about the two studied realities. At the end, the result of the comparison is summarized and perspectives are presented so that the use of these devices can meet the public interests related to the criminal problem, as well as the management needs of contemporary control strategies, such as their costs and purposes.
The family is the basic cell of every society; in it the life of an individual rises, develops and disappears. Family relations are the basis of every social and state system. As a result, all state systems have been trying to keep family relations in peace for centuries. The death of a family member is one of the many factors that can disrupt family harmony, especially under the additional influence of property rights. Centuries ago, the issue of the testator's property was regulated by customary law, and then by legislation. The paper deals with the institute of bequest, as one of the forms of inheritance, with special reference to the types of bequests in the Republic of Serbia. For centuries, bequest has been the institutional of transferring the property and legal relations of the testator to the heirs. The will as we know it today in its form has its basis in Roman law, which had a great influence on the first European civil codes, the Civil Code and the Austrian Civil Code. These codes are still in use today, and their special significance is that they are a panda to all later adopted civil codes, ie to all later established civil legal bases. The Austrian Civil Code had a dominant influence on the settings of the regulation of civil law in the Republic of Serbia. Today, there are nine types of bequests. Each of them follows the life situations, circumstances and circumstances in which it arises.
AbstractTrade union institutions are historically and comparatively weak in the United States, and union membership has been in steady decline over several decades. Scholars thus question the contemporary relevance of organized labor to social policy. Yet, there is considerable state-level variation in social policy and union institutional strength that remains underexamined. Focusing on variability across US states, this paper uses mixed-methods analysis to examine relationships between organized labor and parental and family leave legislation under varying political conditions. Event history analysis of state-level leave policy adoption from 1983 to 2016 shows that union institutional strength, particularly in the public sector, is positively associated with the timing of leave policy adoption. These findings are robust to the inclusion of other factors, including Democratic control of state houses, which is also shown to facilitate leave policy adoption. Comparative case studies support event history findings and illustrate how state house partisanship informs the level of government that leave advocates target for policy change. The paper concludes by suggesting further attention to subnational policies and investigation into the social movement practice of target-shifting and its effects. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates the operation of power resources at the subnational level within a liberal market national context.
Aimê Oliveira, Jorge Otávio Maia Barreto, Sidclei Queiroga de Araújo
et al.
Abstract Background The “Mais Médicos (More Doctors) Program” established in 2013 by the Brazilian Government aimed to reduce inequalities by means of an emergency provision of physicians, the improvement of medical care service in the Brazilian Unified Health System, and the expansion of medical education training in Brazil. In this context, equity should be considered when defining priorities and allocating resources. This study describes the distribution of physicians for the Program in five Brazilian metropolitan regions (MRs) and analyses whether the most vulnerable areas within each one of these regions had been prioritized in compliance with the legislation framework of the program. Methods This is a quantitative cross-sectional study. Official secondary data was analyzed to verify the relationship between the Index of Social Vulnerability, set up by the Institute of Applied Economic Research, and the physician allocation provided by the Program. The data were organized into categories and quintiles. For spatialization purposes, the QGIS 3.4 Madeira software was used. Results There are 2592 primary health care units, (in Portuguese, UBS), within the five MRs studied; 981 of these hosted at least one physician from the Program. In the Manaus, Recife, and the DF MRs, the 4th and 5th quintiles (the most vulnerable ones) hosted physicians in more significant proportions than the other quintiles, namely, 71.4%, 71.4%, and 52.2%, respectively, exceeding the national average (51.7%). It is worth mentioning that in the São Paulo MR, the units located in the most vulnerable quintiles (4th and 5th) also hosted physicians in proportions significantly higher than others (45.8%); however, this proportion did not reach 50%. There was no significant difference in the allocation of physicians in the Porto Alegre MR, indicating that there was no prioritization of the UBS according to vulnerability. Conclusions These results appoint to the enormous gaps of vulnerability existing both between the analyzed MRs and internally in each one of them. It emphasizes the need for criteria for the allocation of physicians so as not to increase inequities. It also highlights the importance of the continuity of the “Mais Médicos (More Doctors) Program” in the metropolitan regions, above all, in areas of extreme vulnerabilities. On the other hand, they contribute to the national debate about the importance of public policies regarding constitutional rights related to access to health care and the relevance of primary care and the “Mais Médicos (More Doctors) Program” for the reduction of disparities regarding access to health care, especially for the citizens who live in regions of greater vulnerability, whether it is inside or outside large metropolitan regions.
The article analyzes the automated information system “Nalog”, which is used by the tax authorities to tackle various problems related to the functions of the Federal tax service. Automation of the processes, carried out by the tax authorities allows to improve the efficiency of the tax system by improving the efficiency and quality of decisions; to improve the efficiency and productivity of tax inspectors; to provide tax inspections at all levels with complete and timely information on changes in tax legislation; to provide reliable data on the counting of taxpayers and on the effectiveness of control over compliance with tax legislation; to improve the quality and efficiency of accounting; to obtain data on the receipt of taxes and other payments to the budget; to analyze the dynamics of the receipt of tax amounts and the possibility of forecasting this dynamics; to reduce the volume of document circulation in paper form. However, the existing architecture of the automated information system “Nalog” was formed more than 10 years ago and during its existence underwent only minor changes. The development of information technologies, including in the field of public administration, as well as significant changes in the system of tax administration determines the relevance of the development of approaches to the modernization of the existing information system of tax authorities. The article proposes the directions and principles of modernization of the automated information system “Nalog”, reveals the main directions of construction of a new automated system and the parameters to control the level of achievement of goals as a result of modernization of the existing system in the following areas: centralization of processing and storage of information of tax authorities; the development of electronic interaction of public administration with taxpayers, the development of information means of interaction with external users; creation of operational and support systems and subsystems of tax administration; results of formation and development of information and analytical system in the activities of tax authorities; automation of administrative and economic activities of tax authorities; social performance criteria.
While working in healthcare has always carried an inherent amount of danger, I can tell you with certainty that the last time I was a staff nurse (in the spirit of transparency—it’s been a while) I never once feared going to work. The worst thing that might happen to me on my shift was a patient spitting their applesauce at me while I tried to give them their medications. I never worried about getting shot, stabbed, beaten, or raped.
Violence toward our workforce is unacceptable and is one of the most pressing issues of our time. The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety Foundation’s (IAHSSF) 2019 Healthcare Crime Survey showed assault rates of 11.7 per 100 beds, the highest since IAHSSF began collecting this data in 2012. The report also showed an all-time high rate of disorderly conduct (e.g., disturbing the peace, use of profanity) of 45.2 per 100 beds.1 The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported that 16,890 private industry workers experienced nonfatal trauma from workplace violence in 2016, with 70% of these workers from the healthcare and social assistance industry.2
Keep in mind, this is only what gets reported. One study in Michigan showed the rate of injury among healthcare workers was up to three times higher than what was reported by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.3 Another study from two large health systems in North Carolina and Texas showed 50.4% of respondents experienced type 2 violence—physical assault, physical threat, and verbal abuse—during their careers, and 39% of respondents experienced the same in the previous 12 months. Only 19% of these incidents were reported into their formal reporting structure, and 38% of thesthese workplace violence victims feared for their safety.4
Think about that for a moment—38% of respondent victims are working in fear. If staff are constantly worried about their own physical safety, and that of their coworkers and patients, how can they be expected to concentrate during a 12-hour shift? Studies show exposure to violence impacts healthcare workers and leads to missed time, burnout, decreased productivity, and an overall reduction in job satisfaction.5,6,7 This is nothing less than a crisis.
Tackling Violence
So, what can we do? There are no easy answers. Violence in our society is a multifactorial problem that requires broad-based intervention. Research on reducing workplace violence is limited or difficult to find. One recent study, conducted by the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University, examined seven hospitals’ efforts to standardize workplace violence reporting and prioritize areas of risk using a risk matrix strategy.10 The next phase observed the ability of specific interventions to reduce workplace violence. Key takeaways included: specific unit-level data was provided to each intervention group; unitlevel action planning reflected guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC, NIOSH); and, while the incidence rate of events and injuries did not show a decrease from baseline in the intervention group, the control group did show a significant increase in incidence rate of post-intervention events and injuries.11 While this study makes an important contribution to the field, more research must be done. A lot more. This, however, cannot be an excuse for inaction.
Hospitals, communities, and legislators will have to work together to even begin to make a dent. There are numerous resources available for hospitals through sources such as OSHA, professional societies, and local and state law enforcement agencies, but their use isn’t mandated. Federal bills H.R. 1309 and S. 851, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, which would require certain healthcare facilities to develop and implement workplace violence prevention plans, were introduced on February 19, 2019, and March 14, 2019, respectively; despite bipartisan support, both sit in committee.8,9
Several bills to prohibit violence against healthcare practitioners are also currently pending in Pennsylvania. These include Senate Bill 351 and House Bill 1879, which would expand current legislation to upgrade penalties for assault against all healthcare practitioners,12,13 and House Bill 39, Senate Bill 842, and House Bill 1880, which would allow healthcare employees to omit their last names from hospital ID badges.14-16
To reduce violence in healthcare, we must also address violence in the community. Just as healthcare doesn’t stop at the hospital exit, our societal problems don’t stop at the entrance. One relatively simple but critical starting point may be partnering with key stakeholders and conducting community health needs assessments (CHNAs). Interestingly, in a study of the CHNAs of 77 hospitals in 20 high-violence U.S. cities, only 32% identified violence as a high priority, and 26% of the CHNAs made no mention of violence at all. This study concludes that hospitals may not see violence as an actionable item that they can address.11 We must resolve this disconnect.
Unfortunately, not all dangerous situations are avoidable. There are times that involuntary mental impairments prohibit a person from knowing they are committing an act of violence. The patient who spit their applesauce on me had advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Some patients have terrible, uncontrollable, and unpredictable reactions to general anesthesia that make them hallucinate and become violent as they awaken. Others can experience episodes of acute delirium due to disease process or medications. Those situations are not the same as willfully harming staff, including when under the influence of illegal drugs and alcohol. Someone’s accountability for their actions doesn’t stop at the point of intoxication just because they are in a hospital, the same as accountability doesn’t stop when they are behind the wheel of a car. Those patients may no longer be in control, but that should not absolve them of the consequences of their actions. We need to support our staff and hold perpetrators accountable to the full extent that the law allows.
Clearly, our work is cut out for us.
What practices have you put in place to reduce violence? We would love to read about your studies, your stories, and your opinions related to this critical issue. Send them to PatientSafetyJ@pa.gov.