Protection Decisions Research Articles

Child advocacy center multidisciplinary team decision and its association to child protective services outcomes

Limited studies exist evaluating the multidisciplinary team (MDT) decision-making process and its outcomes. This study evaluates the MDT determination of the likelihood of child sexual abuse (CSA) and its association to the outcome of the child protective services (CPS) disposition. A retrospective cohort study of CSA patients was conducted. The MDT utilized an a priori Likert rating scale to determine the likelihood of abuse. Subjects were dichotomized into high versus low/intermediate likelihood of CSA as determined by the MDT. Clinical and demographic characteristics were compared based upon MDT and CPS decisions. Fourteen hundred twenty-two patients were identified. A high likelihood for abuse was determined in 997 cases (70%). CPS substantiated or indicated the allegation of CSA in 789 cases (79%, Kappa 0.54). Any CSA disclosure, particularly moderate risk disclosure (AOR 59.3, 95% CI 26.50–132.80) or increasing total number of CSA disclosures (AOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.11–1.57), was independently associated with a high likelihood for abuse determination. Specific clinical features associated with discordant cases in which MDT determined high likelihood for abuse and CPS did not substantiate or indicate CSA included being white or providing a low risk CSA disclosure or other non-CSA disclosure. MDT determination regarding likelihood of abuse demonstrated moderate agreement to CPS disposition outcome. CSA disclosure is predictive of the MDT determination for high likelihood of CSA. Agreement between MDT determination and CPS protection decisions appear to be driven by the type of disclosures, highlighting the importance of the forensic interview in ensuring appropriate child protection plans.

Decision making in child protection: An international comparative study on maltreatment substantiation, risk assessment and interventions recommendations, and the role of professionals’ child welfare attitudes

Child welfare professionals regularly make crucial decisions that have a significant impact on children and their families. The present study presents the Judgments and Decision Processes in Context model (JUDPIC) and uses it to examine the relationships between three independent domains: case characteristic (mother's wish with regard to removal), practitioner characteristic (child welfare attitudes), and protective system context (four countries: Israel, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Spain); and three dependent factors: substantiation of maltreatment, risk assessment, and intervention recommendation. The sample consisted of 828 practitioners from four countries. Participants were presented with a vignette of a case of alleged child maltreatment and were asked to determine whether maltreatment was substantiated, assess risk and recommend an intervention using structured instruments. Participants’ child welfare attitudes were assessed. The case characteristic of mother's wish with regard to removal had no impact on judgments and decisions. In contrast, practitioners’ child welfare attitudes were associated with substantiation, risk assessments and recommendations. There were significant country differences on most measures. The findings support most of the predictions derived from the JUDPIC model. The significant differences between practitioners from different countries underscore the importance of context in child protection decision making. Training should enhance practitioners’ awareness of the impact that their attitudes and the context in which they are embedded have on their judgments and decisions.

Non-cancer effects: science and values aspects of protection decisions.

The Nuclear Energy Agency organised its third workshop on 'Science and values in radiological protection' in November 2012 in Tokyo. One of the issues addressed, non-cancer effects, had also been addressed in the first two science and values workshops (Helsinki, Finland, 2008; Vaux-de-Cernay, France, 2009), but presented several new elements of relevance to International Commission on Radiological Protection discussions of the evolution of the system of radiological protection. Radiological protection science, both epidemiological and biological, now suggests that stroke and heart disease may well be caused by radiation exposure at doses of the order of 0.5 Gy or less. Further, it is possible that such detriments may be caused by either chronic or acute exposures. While significant uncertainties remain, the need to consider non-cancer detriment in risk assessment and in the development of protection strategies is now a significant scientific and ethical question. This paper will present the results of the Nuclear Energy Agency science and values workshop discussion of non-cancer risks, and of the questions and possible future directions raised during the workshop.

The territorialization of environmental Governance. Governing the environment based on just inequalities?

The territorial/local level of action appears to be a key level for making environmental protection decisions, as well as a valuable level of sociological analysis. Based on two very different examples (France, Quebec) involving the protection of drinking water, this article looks at justice-related processes that enable reflection on environmental problems and the ways they are resolved on a territorial scale, in other words, justice as a process of normative judgment. The article therefore shows that environmental actions are permeable to social power relationships. It is in this context of environmental decision making that the justice–environment relationship plays out. However, if the local appears to be the level at which environmental issues are addressed, it rarely produces solutions in favour of nature or natural resource protection. To the contrary, it generates decisions based on ‘just inequalities’ associated with local political and economic arbitration. In this context, two generic models of environmental governance seem to emerge: one ‘by withdrawal’ and the other ‘by obstruction.’ Both underscore the persistence of an unjust sustainability with respect to natural resources.

A brief discussion on misdemeanor sanctions with special emphasis on their significance in environmental protection

In this paper, the authors deal with specific aspects of misdemeanour sanctions, with special emphasis on misdemeanour sanctions prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection and certain related decisions of lower legal power. Although misdemeanours are considered the least dangerous offenses, the authors strive to show that sanctions for certain misdemeanours should not be easily ignored, as sometimes they could be even more severe than criminal sanctions. One of the topics discussed in this paper is the forced collection of misdemeanour fines as well as the entry of convicts into the misdemeanour records. Since not only the law can prescribe misdemeanours, rather they could be prescribed by ordinance or even by some decision of local governing bodies, there is a huge number of existing misdemeanours in the area of environmental protection, which is the argument for special attention to the topic of this article. The authors would try to highlight certain inconsistencies in specific local governing bodies' decisions, as well as their misalignment with the Misdemeanour Law.

Innovations in air sampling to detect plant pathogens.

Many innovations in the development and use of air sampling devices have occurred in plant pathology since the first description of the Hirst spore trap. These include improvements in capture efficiency at relatively high air-volume collection rates, methods to enhance the ease of sample processing with downstream diagnostic methods and even full automation of sampling, diagnosis and wireless reporting of results. Other innovations have been to mount air samplers on mobile platforms such as UAVs and ground vehicles to allow sampling at different altitudes and locations in a short space of time to identify potential sources and population structure. Geographical Information Systems and the application to a network of samplers can allow a greater prediction of airborne inoculum and dispersal dynamics. This field of technology is now developing quickly as novel diagnostic methods allow increasingly rapid and accurate quantifications of airborne species and genetic traits. Sampling and interpretation of results, particularly action-thresholds, is improved by understanding components of air dispersal and dilution processes and can add greater precision in the application of crop protection products as part of integrated pest and disease management decisions. The applications of air samplers are likely to increase, with much greater adoption by growers or industry support workers to aid in crop protection decisions. The same devices are likely to improve information available for detection of allergens causing hay fever and asthma or provide valuable metadata for regional plant disease dynamics.

Child protection decisions to substantiate hospital child protection teams’ reports of suspected maltreatment

The present study focuses on the way child protection officers (CPOs) in Israel assess suspected abuse and neglect (SCAN) reports made by hospital child protection teams (CPTs), to determine whether the alleged maltreatment is substantiated. The study was conducted in six medical centers and included 358 reports investigated by CPOs for SCAN. A structured questionnaire was completed by hospital CPTs to capture all relevant information on each child referred to the CPTs. Structured phone interviews were conducted with each of the CPOs who received a CPT report. Bivariate associations and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to estimate the substantiation rate of cases reported by CPTs and the types of maltreatment substantiated, as well as to identify case characteristics of the child and the family that were associated with the CPOs’ substantiation decision. CPO follow-up investigations revealed a substantiation rate of 53.5%. The maltreatment type most commonly substantiated was neglect. The case characteristics associated with substantiation included socio-demographic background, parents’ health and functioning, previous contact with social services, characteristics of the hospital referral, medical findings and an assessment of the parents’ behaviors. The findings of the study highlighted the importance of cooperation between the health and welfare services and the policy makers. This cooperation is essential for identifying early signs of maltreatment. Enhanced cooperation and effective information transfer between various professionals would help prevent or at least reduce the recurrence of maltreatment and would ensure that the children and their families are treated appropriately.

USA Cyber Surveillance and EU Personal Data Reform: PRISM’s Silver Lining?

The paper covers the political and legal consequences of US deployed extensive cyber surveillance program, usually referred to with the codename PRISM. The author identifies the significant transnational legal challenges for privacy protection originated by US cybersecurity policy and the steps taken by other states aimed at limiting its consequences harmful to individual privacy. The author covers varying reactions to USimposed privacy intrusions, from Brazil’s plans to withdraw from the global network to some states’ suggestions of holding Washington internationally responsible for violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The paper’s focus however is on the European personal data protection thus far not providing effective transnational protection of privacy, primarily through the strongly criticised and ineffective EU-US Safe Harbor arrangement. The EU personal data reform, approved by the European Parliament in March of 2014, seems the most significant consequence of mass privacy violations committed by the US National Security Agency and its agents. The 2012 proposed Data Protection Regulation, which, together with the new personal data Directive, are to replace the 1995 Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC put strong emphasis on the effectiveness of transboundary privacy protection, although cover also many other significant changes, such as introducing the right to be forgotten or centralising the personal data protection decisions thus-far distributed among national Data Protection Authorities, often varying in their interpretations of community law. The reform is to oblige all companies, regardless of their country of incorporation, to meet EU privacy laws as it introduces high financial responsibility for those who fail to do so, making it a trigger for a significant change in the way the online markets operate. The European approach seems significant for the entire international community not only because European citizens are an important element of the online markets, but also because personal data protection as a tool for safeguarding individual privacy has been adopted in over 100 out of the roughly 190 world’s countries. Including an element of transnational data protection in EU law is therefore certain to influence the approach to privacy in other continents.

Synchronised data‐based adaptive backup protection for series compensated line

Metal oxide varistor (MOV) protected series capacitor, when present in a fault loop, modulates the impedance seen by the relay. With series capacitor placed away from the relay, the information on the level of compensation is required for proper protection decision by distance relay. In this study, synchronised data obtained at both ends are applied to calculate the compensation level which is used to adapt the relay setting for backup protection of adjacent line. The mutual coupling in the compensation portion is also considered in the apparent impedance computation. The status of capacitor during fault (bypassed or not) is obtained through impedance calculation during fault and the relay setting is adapted accordingly. Using data simulated through EMTDC/PSCAD for a series compensated line the technique is tested and found to be accurate.

Atmospheric dispersion and impact modeling systems: How are they perceived as support tools for nuclear crises management?

This paper focuses on the use of Atmospheric Dispersion and Impact Assessment Modeling (ADIAM) in nuclear emergency management. As a complement to field measurements, these tools participate in emergency decision support regarding the assessment of impacted areas and population protection countermeasures. This paper aims to study how this expertise is used during crisis situation and question the notion of “decision support”.Semi-structured interviews have been conducted in 2012–2013 with representatives of the French civilian protection community taking part in the emergency response. Analysis is based on a conceptual framework that assesses how individuals and group of individuals make sense and react to a situation in difficult conditions.Results suggest that if ADIAM systems are used as main emergency support tools by scientific organization to assess areas affected by the release and their potential health impact, their use as a support to civilian protection decision makers is still seeking its place regarding current organization and practices. Results suggest that the main challenge in further integration of ADIAM cartographic results to support population protection decisions needs to take into consideration efforts of the nuclear crisis organization to preserve the balance between different stakeholders’ expertise. We argue that in this context, ADIAM cartographic results may find their place as a communication support between scientific advisors and decision makers contributing to favor a shared radiological situation assessment.

Information graphs for binary predictors.

Binary predictors are used in a wide range of crop protection decision making applications. Such predictors provide a simple analytical apparatus for the formulation of evidence related to risk factors, for use in the process of Bayesian updating of probabilities of crop disease. For diagrammatic interpretation of diagnostic probabilities, the receiver operating characteristic is available. Here, we view binary predictors from the perspective of diagnostic information. After a brief introduction to the basic information theoretic concepts of entropy and expected mutual information, we use an example data set to provide diagrammatic interpretations of expected mutual information, relative entropy, information inaccuracy, information updating and specific information. Our information graphs also illustrate correspondences between diagnostic information and diagnostic probabilities.

Questions of control in child protection decision making: Laypersons’ monitoring and governance in child protection committees in Sweden

Summary In Sweden, decision making in child protection is heavily dependent on laypersons appointed to municipal child protection committees (CPCs). These laypersons have the power to decide upon proposals coming from professionals. Members of the committees are appointed from among their political party’s members. In the committee, they are supposed to act as judicious laypersons equipped with sound judgement. In this study, 31 committee meetings in three municipalities were followed using observational techniques and audio recordings. The appointed CPC members’ decision-making processes and communicative strategies to influence social work practice were analysed. Findings The results show differences between the CPCs, indicating localized decision-making cultures. The representatives worked (not as party politicians, but) as a team with the professionals as counterparts. Communication strategies, most frequently questions, were used to govern the social work practice, over and above the decision making. Questions served both to obtain the information needed and also to exert normative influence by setting up a normative grid for ways to pass the committee. Applications This research shows that social work in Sweden has a long way to go until it is acknowledged full professional status. The study also suggests that improvements in the CPCs’ decision making need to be based on a closer look at the laypersons’ knowledge, values and common sense and how these aspects affect decision making.

The use of data mining to assist crop protection decisions on kiwifruit in New Zealand

Data mining algorithms were used to develop models to forecast the outcome of leafroller pest monitoring decisions on ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit crops in New Zealand. Using industry spray diary and pest monitoring data gathered at an orchard block level for compliance purposes, 80 attributes (independent variables) were created in three categories from the spray diary data: (1) individual insecticide applications applied during 2-week time windows, (2) groups of insecticide applications within time periods prior to or after fruit set and (3) orchard management attributes. Five machine learning algorithms (Decision Tree, Naïve Bayes, Random Forest, AdaBoost, Support Vector Machine) and one statistical method (Logistic regression) (classifiers) were used to develop models to forecast insecticide application decisions for leafroller control, by predicting whether pest monitoring results were above or below a spray threshold. Models to forecast 2011 spraying decisions were trained on 2008 and 2009 data and tested on 2010 data. Forecasts were made for spray and no-spray decisions based upon pre-determined acceptable rates of precision (proportion of correct decisions in test results). Orchard blocks in which a forecast could not be made to a prescribed degree of precision were recommended to be monitored, which is the normal practice. Spray decisions could not be forecast to an acceptable degree of precision, but decisions not to spray were successfully forecast for 49% of the blocks to a precision of 98% (AdaBoost) and 70% of the blocks to a precision of 95% (Naïve Bayes). Models with as few as four attributes gave useful forecasts, and orchard management attributes were the most important determinants of model forecasting accuracy. The potential for this methodology to assist with pest spray forecasting using customised data sets is discussed.

Sci-TEK: A GIS-Based Multidisciplinary Method for Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Louisiana's Coastal Restoration Decision-Making Processes

Bethel, M.B.; Brien, L.F.; Esposito, M.M.; Miller, C.T.; Buras, H.S.; Laska, S.B.; Philippe, R.; Peterson, K.J., and Richards, C.P., 2014. Sci-TEK: A GIS-based multidisciplinary method for incorporating traditional ecological knowledge into Louisiana's coastal restoration decision-making processes.Making more informed coastal restoration and protection decisions has become increasingly important given limited resources available for ecosystem restoration projects and the increasing magnitude of marsh and barrier island degradation, and associated land loss, across Louisiana's coast. An interdisciplinary team of physical and social scientists, coastal restoration managers, and fishers/resource harvesters of affected coastal Louisiana communities collaborated on this study, with the goal of enhancing restoration decision making by engaging local ecosystem knowledge holders in the process. Together they investigated the feasibility and benefits of integrating the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of a coastal population with geospatial technology and scientific data sets to assess how the resulting knowledge might inform project planning and implementation for coastal restoration. The primary goal was to provide coastal resource managers with a more comprehensive and transferrable method of assessing localized stakeholder priorities and translating that information into a format compatible with or comparable to products of existing coastal restoration decision-support tools for Louisiana. Through the Sci-TEK process, TEK is recorded in a natural, egalitarian setting and is converted into geographic information system (GIS) models that can facilitate incorporation into the existing restoration-planning process. This is achieved by using remote sensing, science-based data sets, and GIS to produce mapping products that represent the local fishers' and harvesters' TEK. The collaborative team developed a method for effective stakeholder engagement and a process for producing mapping products to aid in restoration location prioritization using information derived and prioritized with TEK. The current model of engagement via public meetings can generate extensive transcripts of public opinion, but it is limited in terms of scope and stakeholder representation. The information obtained with this model is also difficult to incorporate into the scientific toolbox used to make decisions about restoration. By mapping TEK we translated this knowledge into a usable data set layer that incorporates quality control and can be confidently used in combination with existing data sets. Moreover the researchers used the stakeholder engagement process to help address the general lack of understanding by physical scientists and managers/decision makers of the value of TEK, and to illustrate how this participatory process helps to bridge the communication gap that typically exists between scientists and traditional knowledge holders.

English

Harmful organisms affect the quality and quantity of food production. In a world of increasing changes in climatic, economic and social conditions, the design of effective measures against these organisms requires more accurate information. Mathematical models provide a scientific and quantitative language to describe the complex relationships that causes pest outbreaks. With the goal of analysing options to deal with this complexity, we discuss different mathematical approaches to modelling. The best model to support plant protection decisions will vary with each situation. Mathematical models range from very simple correlations between events to complex comprehensive systems of differential equations used to represent the dynamics of processes. Large-scale scenarios at the national or continental level can be supported adequately with simple, static and general models. Analytical or descriptive dynamic models are the best options to support pest management in well-defined regions or locations with little variation in external factors. Explanatory dynamic models are needed when great variations in pest behaviour are expected as a result of higher-order interactions with the host and the environment. If necessary, a quantitative analysis can be performed using mathematical modelling. In practice, the feasibility of such a quantitative analysis will depend on the time available for decision-making and data collection concerning the problem. Key words: Mathematical models, plant health, predictive models.

Analysis of fission and activation radionuclides produced by a uranium-fueled nuclear detonation and identification of the top dose-producing radionuclides.

The radiological assessment of the nuclear fallout (i.e., fission and neutron-activation radionuclides) from a nuclear detonation is complicated by the large number of fallout radionuclides. This paper provides the initial isotopic source term inventory of the fallout from a uranium-fueled nuclear detonation and identifies the significant and insignificant radiological dose producing radionuclides over 11 dose integration time periods (time phases) of interest. A primary goal of this work is to produce a set of consistent, time phase-dependent lists of the top dose-producing radionuclides that can be used to prepare radiological assessment calculations and data products (e.g., maps of areas that exceed protective action guidelines) in support of public and worker protection decisions. The ranked lists of top dose-producing radionuclides enable assessors to perform atmospheric dispersion modeling and radiological dose assessment modeling more quickly by using relatively short lists of radionuclides without significantly compromising the accuracy of the modeling and the dose projections. This paper also provides a superset-list of the top dose-producing fallout radionuclides from a uranium-fueled nuclear detonation that can be used to perform radiological assessments over any desired time phase. Furthermore, this paper provides information that may be useful to monitoring and sampling and laboratory analysis personnel to help understand which radionuclides are of primary concern. Finally, this paper may be useful to public protection decision makers because it shows the importance of quickly initiating public protection actions to minimize the radiological dose from fallout.

‘Strict’, yet ineffective: legal protection of breeding sites and resting places fails with the Siberian flying squirrel

AbstractLack of evaluation of the effectiveness of conservation practices as well as the challenge of converting scientific knowledge into conservation legislation and policy are persistent problems in conservation biology. European Union's Habitats Directive obliges member states to establish and implement a system of strict protection of animal species listed in Annex IV(a). This implies for example, that the deterioration or destruction of breeding sites or resting places of these species is prohibited. Here, we evaluate the effectiveness of the protection procedure aimed at conserving sites occupied by the Siberian flying squirrel Pteromys volans from destruction as a consequence of timber harvesting. We assess the potential effectiveness of the protection procedure by combining survey data with a simulation approach, showing that c. 97% of forests occupied by the species are harvested without authorization, as a result of inadequate information on the occurrence of the species. We assess forest structure around our study sites, visited both at the time of the protection decision and 1–6 years later, and show that clear‐cut areas within 150 m of breeding sites and resting places substantially increase the risk of abandonment. In spite of this, typically only areas of radius 10–30 m are protected from logging. As the territory is abandoned in c. 50% of the cases in spite of protection of breeding sites and resting places, the total effectiveness of this conservation measure is only c. 1.5%. Therefore, the current protection measure is inadequate against the threats that forestry poses for the species in Finland, and the focus should be turned to habitat and population level solutions. We suggest that researchers and decision‐makers should pay more attention to the overall effectiveness of different conservation measures, as this information is crucial for developing effective conservation policies.

Wide area measurement based protection support during power swing

Oscillation in power system occurs following fault, tripping of generator or load change. Such oscillation causes relay maloperation which may further lead to cascade tripping. This paper proposes a method to prevent maloperation of relays during power swing condition using wide area measurements system (WAMS). Features derived from WAMS data are used for assessing power swing condition to help network protection decision. It classifies a power swing according to its severity and its effect on the operation of relays in the system. Integration of information obtained from the features using fuzzy logic based algorithm is applied to derive the decision. Relaying strategy in the system can be adjusted depending on the state of the area (safe, alert, high-alert and unstable). The performance of the algorithm is tested on an Indian power system.

Trade-Diverting Free Trade Agreements, External Tariffs, and Feasibility

There has been a proliferation of preferential trade agreements within the last two decades. This paper analyzes the effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) on external tariffs in small economies where protection decisions are made politically. Our model determines tariff rates endogenously instead of assuming they are fixed during or after the formation of FTAs as commonly done in the literature. We show that when an FTA is established, the tariff rates that apply to non-members essentially decline. More importantly, we investigate the interaction between endogenous tariff determination and the feasibility of an FTA. We find that the expectation of tariff reductions under endogenous tariffs could make an otherwise feasible FTA if tariffs were fixed become infeasible. However, if domestic import-competing sectors are relatively smaller and the government places a significant weight on political contributions relative to social welfare, an FTA with endogenous tariffs may be more likely to be feasible than ...

Trade-diverting free trade agreements, external tariffs, and feasibility

There has been a proliferation of preferential trade agreements within the last two decades. This paper analyzes the effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) on external tariffs in small economies where protection decisions are made politically. Our model determines tariff rates endogenously instead of assuming they are fixed during or after the formation of FTAs as commonly done in the literature. We show that when an FTA is established, the tariff rates that apply to non-members essentially decline. More importantly, we investigate the interaction between endogenous tariff determination and the feasibility of an FTA. We find that the expectation of tariff reductions under endogenous tariffs could make an otherwise feasible FTA if tariffs were fixed become infeasible. However, if domestic import-competing sectors are relatively smaller and the government places a significant weight on political contributions relative to social welfare, an FTA with endogenous tariffs may be more likely to be feasible than an FTA assumed to fix external tariffs.