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The Carbon Tax Vacuum and the Debate about Climate Change Impacts: Emission Taxation of Commodity Crop Production in Food System Regulation
Get PDFThe scientific consensus on climate change is far ahead of U.S. policy on point. In fact, the U.S. has a legal vacuum of carbon taxation while climate change continues to impact the codependence of agriculture and the environment. As this Article shows, carbon taxes follow the polluter-pays model, levying taxes on the highest greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions—and contributions to climate change. But this is not only unsustainable; it would also undermine agricultural production and, thus, food security. This Article describes how the law can regulate climate change contributions and promote adaptation and mitigation supported through carbon taxes in the agricultural sector, twenty percent of GHG contributions will be left untouched, jeopardizing the future of U.S. food production at the environment’s expense. This Article reveals new avenues of climate change adaptation and mitigation through carbon taxation of genetically modified (“GMO”) commodity crops to bring the carbon tax to a previously overlooked contributor to climate change: intensive agriculture. However, adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change, such as extreme weather events, droughts, and floods, can only be accomplished through concerted efforts of various industries, governments, and the public like cap-and-trade or carbon tax schemes imposing blanket limits on GHG emissions
A Gap in Causation? Punishing Polluters for Contributing to Climate Change & Increasing Violent Crime
Get PDFClimate change will lead to an increase in violent crime. More rapes and violent felonies occur during the warm summer months than in cooler temperatures. As climate change progresses, there will be longer summers, higher temperatures, and thus, more violent crime. This Note examines whether American sanctions of environmental crimes that contribute to climate change should become more stringent given what we now know about the violent consequences of climate change. Part II of this Note describes the history and scientific evidence which proves that rising temperatures increase the rate of violent crimes. Part III reviews current regulations that deal with environmental crimes. Part IV suggests alternatives for how the government can combat environmental crimes that contribute to climate change and damage the public well-being. There is a causal link between environmental crimes and climate change. Further, climate change increases the rate of violent wrongdoings. Thus, the perpetrators of environmental crimes must be punished for the long-term effects of their actions: the increased rates of violent crimes. Part V analyzes the most realistic regulations and punishment schemes to promote conservation and public health. While there are many causes of climate change and greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, this Note refers to the every-day use of aerosol cans as an example when proposing how to handle the global problem of climate change. Finally, Part VI acknowledges some difficulties and consequences of the author’s analysis, but still presents an alternative framework for further inquiry into these issues
Life Cycle Costing and Food Systems: Concepts, Trends, and Challenges of Impact Valuation
Get PDFOur global food systems create pervasive environmental, social, and health impacts. Impact valuation is an emerging concept that aims to quantify all environmental, social, and health costs of food systems in an attempt to make the true cost of food more transparent. It also is designed to facilitate the transformation of global food systems. The concept of impact valuation is emerging at the same time as, and partly as a response to, calls for the development of legal mechanisms to address environmental, social, and health concerns. Information has long been understood both as a necessary precursor for regulation and as a regulatory tool in and of itself. With global supply chains and widespread impacts, data necessary to produce robust and complete impact valuation requires participation and cooperation from a variety of food system actors. New costing methods, beyond basic accounting, are necessary to incorporate the scope of impacts and stakeholders. Furthermore, there are a range of unanswered questions surrounding realizations of impact valuation methods, e.g. data sharing, international privacy, corporate transparency, limitations on valuation itself, and data collection standardization. Because of the proliferation of calls for costing tools, this article steps back and assesses the current development of impact valuation methods. In this article, we review current methods and initiatives for the implementation of food system impact valuation. We conclude that in some instances, calls for the implementation of costing have outpaced available and reliable data collection and current costing techniques. Many existing initiatives are being developed without adequate consideration of the legal challenges that hinder implementation. Finally, we conclude with a reminder that although impact valuation tools are most often sought and implemented in service of market-based tools for reform, they can also serve as a basis for robust public policies
The Relationship Between Interpersonal Functioning and the Development and Growth of the Therapeutic Alliance
No full textThe therapeutic alliance is a powerful component of the therapeutic process, contributing to positive factors such as treatment compliance, higher attendance rates, patient satisfaction, and treatment outcome. Most of the research relies on self-report to identify patient correlates to the development of the alliance. The present study aimed to expand upon the current literature base by approaching this question differently, using the Rorschach Performance Assessment System, a performance-based measure of personality functioning, to identify patient variables related to the development of the alliance over time. Results demonstrate that the Rorschach has the capability to predict aspects of the therapists\u27 early ratings of alliance, but not patients\u27. Patients characterized by more oppositionality (SR) and aggressive interpersonal views (AGC), poorer object relations (MAP), and higher degrees of psychological impairment (EII-3) had lower therapist ratings initially. Patients with more interpersonal needs (T) and defensiveness (PER) had higher therapists\u27 ratings on certain alliance scales. At the three-month follow-up, initial Rorschach scores reflective of dependency (ODL%) and aggressive expectations (AGC) were associated with lower patient ratings, and there were no significant findings with therapists\u27 ratings. Greater understanding of self and others (Sum H and H) was associated with higher patient-rated alliance scores at the follow-up. Patients with initial Rorschach protocols depicting greater deficits in object relations (MAP), but more adaptive interpersonal capacity (H) experienced the greatest growth in certain aspects of patient-rated alliance at the follow up. Finally, ego impairment had mixed findings on patient-therapist agreement. Patients with higher degrees of ego impairment disagreed more with their therapists on the quality of the alliance, providing lower scores. These results are discussed for their implications to the field of school-clinical psychology, limitations, and indications for areas of future research
Self-Determination in Direct Support Professionals
No full textIndividuals with Developmental Disabilities (DD) have been largely marginalized in our society; this appears most evident from the dearth of research available on service provision that promote their development. In the current research Self-Determination theory (SDT) is used as a theoretical framework for investigating how perceptions held by Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) on autonomy-support in their workplace and their own motivation influences their felt sense of autonomy and competency. Based on data analyses from self-report questionnaires, a direct relationship was found between the reported DSPs’ sense of autonomy and competency. The perceived autonomy-support in the workplace had an impactful effect on said positive relationship. While mediation was not seen to be significant, the combination of intrinsic motivation and autonomy explained up to half of the variability with competency, and, therefore, can be used as a fairly accurate predictor of competency. This current research provides an SDT perspective on service provision offered by DSPs by featuring the essentiality of satiating DSPs’ basic psychological needs, and promotion of motivation as well as autonomy-supportive practices in these work environments. Consideration of SDT and its tenets should be integrated as theoretical buttresses organizing managerial practices and training offered to DSPs. Proliferative use of SDT in the DD field will not only assist agencies in satisfying mandated service provision regulations, but also enhance the quality of life for Individuals with DD
Ego Development Level and Individuation Experiences in Individuals Meeting Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder
No full textBorderline personality disorder has been an enigma among diagnoses for decades. Currently this disorder affects 1-2% of the population (ten Have, Verheul, Kaasenbrood, van Dorsselaer, Tuithof, Kleinjan & de Graaf, 2016), but accounts for at least 20% of psychiatric hospitalizations (Carlson et al, 2009). Current schools of thought understand borderline personality disorder in terms of emotional lability and observable behaviors. In contrast, early psychoanalytic schools of thought focused on internal psychic difficulties that were uniquely present in borderline individuals, such as impaired ego function and identity formation (Stern 1938; Kernberg, 1967, Knight 1953). There are two evidence-based practices to treat borderline personality disorder: Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which focuses on a series of observable behavior and symptoms (Linehan, 1993), and Transference-Focused Therapy, which focuses on reduction of symptoms through addressing underlying representations of the self and others (Levy et al, 2006). Previously, empirical research has not addressed whether individuals meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder based on current behavioral & symptomatic criteria also display the unique internal psychic difficulties described by psychoanalysts such as ego weakness and difficulties with separation-individuation, and whether these concepts can be integrated to promote more accurate diagnostic screening and treatment planning. The present study explored the differences between individuals meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder and individuals with no diagnosis in terms of ego development and individuation, as well as whether using diagnostic measures that address psychodynamic concepts such as ego development and individuation can lead to a more accurate diagnosis of borderline personality disorder than using symptom measures alone. It was hypothesized that individuals meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder would demonstrate less ego development and identity formation and more maladaptive outcomes of separation-individuation, such as depression and counter-depressive behaviors. It was also hypothesized that using measures addressing ego development and separation-individuation experiences in addition to symptom measures would lead to a diagnosis closer to a clinical interview than using symptom measures alone. The sample consisted of 755 participants who sought psychological services at a university based community clinic in downtown Manhattan. Participants completed the Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development, the Profile of Adolescent Depression and Individuation, the Personality Assessment Inventory, and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis II Disorders. Results confirmed the hypotheses that individuals meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder would demonstrate less ego development and identity formation and more maladaptive outcomes of separation-individuation, such as depression and counter-depressive behaviors. Results varied with regards to whether using measures addressing ego development and separation-individuation experiences in addition to symptom measures would lead to a diagnosis closer to a clinical interview than using symptom measures alone- as using the Profile of Adolescent Depression and Individuation and the Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development lead to a more specific diagnosis, but a less sensitive detection of borderline personality disorder
One Parcel Plus One Parcel Equals A Parcel As A Whole Murr v. Wisconsin\u27s Fluid Calculations for Regulatory Takings
Get PDFThe Court\u27s most recent major property law case, Murr v. Wisconsin, 137 S. Ct. 1933 (2017), tackles one of the thorny, recurring issues in regulatory takings jurisprudence: what is the proper “denominator” to use in determining whether a government regulation has so greatly diminished the economic value of a parcel of land that it effects a taking? More specifically, Murr looked at what constitutes the “parcel as a whole” when a landowner holds title to two contiguous lots. Should a court assess the economic impact on the value of each lot separately or the impact on the value of the two lots together? In answering that question, the Court added another multi-factored test to the already complex web of regulatory takings law
