Showing papers on "Settlement (litigation) published in 2010"

Political Settlements and the Governance of Growth-Enhancing Institutions

Abstract: It is well known that institutions work very differently across countries because their political contexts are different. It is also understood that this has important implications for the design of governance priorities in different countries. This paper develops an analysis of the ‘political settlement’ to provide an analytical framework for analysing institutions and governance in developing countries. Central to this analysis is an understanding of the distribution of power. We define this as the relative holding power of different groups and organizations contesting the distribution of resources. Holding power is partly based on income and wealth but also on historically rooted capacities of different groups to organize. A political settlement emerges when the distribution of benefits supported by its institutions is consistent with the distribution of power in society, and the economic and political outcomes of these institutions are sustainable over time. In advanced countries, the distribution of power is largely based on the distribution of incomes generated by formal institutions and rights. The correspondence between power and formal institutions explains why Weberian states in advanced countries can effectively enforce formal institutions. In contrast, the distribution of power in developing countries draws significantly on organizational abilities based in non-capitalist sectors. In many cases, the historical roots of these capabilities go back to colonial history or earlier. Here, formal institutions alone cannot support distributions of benefits consistent with these distributions of power. Informal institutions like patronclient allocative rules, and informal adaptations to the ways in which particular formal institutions work play a critical role in bringing the distribution of benefits supported by the institutional structure into line with the distribution of power. Differences in the political settlement can therefore explain why developing country institutional structures are different and similar formal institutions also perform differently. The political settlement also defines the ‘growth-stability trade-off’ facing particular institutional changes: institutional changes cannot be implemented if their implementation pushes political stability below the tolerance limit of that society. An understanding of the political settlement can therefore provide a framework for looking at institutional performance and evolution across countries. While all developing countries have variants of ‘clientelist’ political settlements, there are significant differences between these clientelist settlements. Differences between countries are examined along two dimensions: the organization of the ruling coalition and its relationship to the emerging productive sector. The analytical framework is applied to the case study countries studied in this series of papers to outline how their political settlements evolved over time in terms of these characteristics. The evolution of their political settlements is shown to be closely related to changes in their formal growth-enhancing institutions and the performance of these institutions. This analysis can therefore help to identify governance changes that can be sufficiently enforced to make a developmental difference in particular countries as well as providing a framework for understanding the paths along which the political settlement is changing in different countries.

Ending Civil Wars: A Case for Rebel Victory?

Abstract: Since 1990, negotiated settlements have become the preferred means for settling civil wars Historically, however, these types of settlements have proven largely ineffective: civil wars ended by negotiated settlement are more likely to recur than those ending in victory by one side or the other A theoretical and statistical analysis of how civil wars end reveals that the type of ending influences the prospects for longer-term outcomes An examination of all civil war endings since 1940 finds that rebel victories are more likely to secure the peace than are negotiated settlements A statistical analysis of civil wars from 1940 to 2002 and the case of Uganda illustrate why rebel victories result in more stable outcomes Expanding scholarly and policy analysis of civil war termination types beyond the current default of negotiated settlement to include victories provides a much larger set of cases and variables to draw upon to enhance understanding of the conditions most likely to support long-term stability, democracy, and prosperity

The Material of Knowledge: Feminist Disclosures

Abstract: Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The First Settlement: Philosophy of Science 2. The Second Settlement: Analytic Philosophy 3. The Third Settlement: Foucault--We Have Never Been Postmodern 4. The Fourth Settlement: Feminism--From Epistemology to Ontology 5. From Construction to Disclosure: Ontology and the Social Notes References Index

Transnational Families: Ethnicities, Identities and Social Capital

Abstract: 1.Theorising Transnational Families 2.Social Capital Joins the Trinity: Families, Ethnicities, Communities 3.Methodological Issues and Challenges 4.Migration, Transnational Families and Communities 5.Migrants, Offspring, and Settlement 6.Families, Needs and Caring Practices 7.Continuity and Invention Of Identities Within Families and Communities 8.Problems of Belonging and 'Return' 9.Alienation and Escape from the Family and Community 10.Crossing Boundaries: Problems and Opportunities in 'Mixed' Families 11.Conclusion: Transnational Families, Policy, and Research Challenges

Multiagent Systems and the Dynamics of a Settlement System

Abstract: In order to simulate the evolution of a system of settlements with a dynamic model, many processes must be integrated: the spatial aggregation of population, the complexification of urban activities, and the increasing hierarchical differentiation of settlements. The model must also simulate the progressive structuration of the settlement system through a growing variety and enlarged range of interactions between its elements. “Multiagent systems” provides a flexible modeling method for dealing with the multiple spatial interactions of cooperation and competition and relations that generate and regulate the evolution of a settlement system. Its principles are described and applied to building an evolutionary model, including a simulation tool. The model combines economic and spatial rules to produce birth, growth, decline, and functional diversification of the towns. The “urban transition” from an agrarian settlement system toward a hierarchical system of trade- and manufacturing-oriented towns and cities can be simulated.

Individual Justice or Collective Legal Mobilization? Employment Discrimination Litigation in the Post Civil Rights United States

Abstract: This article analyzes the outcomes of employment discrimination lawsuits filed in federal court from 1988 to 2003. It goes beyond previous research by examining case filings rather than published opinions and by treating case outcome as a sequential variable. Our analysis is informed by four theoretical models: formal legal, rational action/economic, legal mobilization, and critical realist. We employ a discrete-time event-history model with random effects to estimate whether a case will end at a particular stage. We find that employment discrimination litigation consists overwhelmingly of individual cases, a majority of which end in a small settlement. The outcomes of cases are difficult to predict at the outset of litigation. Legal representation and collective legal mobilization have powerful effects on outcome, but collective legal mobilization is rare. These results are most consistent with the critical realist perspective. Our analysis suggests that employment discrimination litigation maintains law's jurisdiction over claims of workplace discrimination while not providing a significant remedy or an authoritative resolution in most cases.

Transnational family relationships, social networks and return migration among British-Caribbean young people

Abstract: The study explores the issue of transnational family relationships and return migration among British-Caribbean second generation young people.1 It describes how transnational family ties and social networks are utilized as social capital resources to facilitate these young people's migration from Britain to the Caribbean, their parents' country of origin. A combination of internally formed and externally imposed understandings of ethnic identity, home and belonging are also important factors influencing these young people's decision to migrate to the Caribbean, alongside other pragmatic and practical reasons. Drawing on in-depth interviews with a qualitative sample of second generation return migrants residing in Jamaica, the discussion reflects on how these young people manage their adjustment and settlement. It also explores the gendered nature of their experiences of return migration.

Strengthening International Courts and the Early Settlement of Disputes

Abstract: We construct a formal model of interstate disputes and nd that increasing the probability that a court will review cases on their merits reduces incentives for states to reach early settlements and increases the likelihood that costly litigation will take place. Similarly, we nd that strengthening the enforcement of court rulings also increases the use of the court in equilibrium. We evaluate the plausibility of our results by examining the use of the International Court of Justice.

Settlement area migration in England and Wales: assessing evidence for a social gradient

Abstract: This paper uses a commissioned table based on data from the 2001 Census of Population to explore differentials in migration by ethnic group and occupational class. Employing an area classification based on the minority ethnic population and international and internal migration history of districts in England and Wales, it is hypothesised that those most likely to migrate from ‘immigrant settlement areas’ are those with the greatest economic resources. It is suggested that if migration does vary by level of affluence, then a social gradient may be apparent with respect to migration propensity and occupational class membership. Furthermore, if such ‘affluent flight’ can explain ‘racial’ migration patterns, then a similar social gradient would be expected for each ethnic group, and a similar probability of migrating for people of common socio-demographic characteristics, irrespective of ethnic group. Three main questions relating to these themes were proposed, namely: Does a social gradient exist for the residential mobility of those who live in settlement areas of England and Wales? Is a social gradient associated with moves away from settlement areas and in particular towards other areas to which minorities have dispersed? Is the social gradient, such as it exists, similar for each ethnic group? Clear evidence is presented for a social gradient with respect to movement from settlement areas. It was found that for those who originated in settlement districts, the probability of moving was greater if in higher than lower occupational classes and this was consistent for all ethnic groups. In addition, migrants were more likely to move outside their own (settlement) district, and to a non-settlement district, if in professional forms of employment. Settlement areas in London were modelled separately, and London was shown to have a distinct pattern of migration. London professionals were less likely to move to a non-settlement district than those in less skilled employment.

Organizing Bronze Age Societies: The Mediterranean, Central Europe, and Scandanavia Compared

Abstract: 1. Introduction: theory and practice in the late prehistory of Europe Timothy Earle and Kristian Kristiansen 2. The palaeo-environment of Bronze Age Europe Charles French 3. Regional settlement pattern Magnus Artursson 4. Settlement structure and organization Timothy Earle and Michael J. Kolb 5. Households Marie Louise Sorensen 6. Subsistence strategies Maria Vretemark, Hans-Peter Stika and Brigitta Berzsenyi 7. Technology and craft Joanna Sofaer 8. Organizing Bronze Age societies: concluding thoughts Timothy Earle and Kristian Kristiansen.

Pounding at the tip of the iceberg: the dominant politics of informal settlement eradication in South Africa

Abstract: This article traces the evolution of the South African target to eradicate informal settlements by 2014 within the political position of the Ministry of Housing. It shows an interaction as well as a disjuncture with the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and with South African policy and legislation. In so doing, the article differentiates between an indirect engagement in policy with the causes of land invasion, and a direct (iceberg-pounding) approach in politics and practice to doing away with informal settlements. It associates the non-implementation of the national Programme on Upgrading of Informal Settlements with the widely practised direct approach to slum elimination, which includes eviction and relocation to transit areas. The article points to the centralized political approach in South Africa but does not analyse the reasons for the narrow political agenda on informal settlements. It seeks to expose a trend that is in need of political scientific debate and analysis.

Academic Author Objections to the Google Book Search Settlement

Abstract: This Article explains the genesis of the Google Book Search (GBS) project and the copyright infringement lawsuit challenging it that the litigants now wish to settle with a comprehensive restructuring of the market for digital books. At first blush, the settlement seems to be a win-win-win, as it will make millions of books more available to the public, result in new streams of revenues for authors and publishers, and give Google a chance to recoup its investment in scanning millions of books. Notwithstanding these benefits, a closer examination of the fine details of the proposed GBS settlement should give academic authors some pause. The interests of academic authors were not adequately represented during the negotiations that yielded the proposed settlement. Especially troublesome are provisions in the proposed settlement are the lack of meaningful constraints on the pricing of institutional subscriptions and the plan for disposing of revenues derived from the commercialization of “orphan” and other unclaimed books. The Article also raises concerns about whether the parties’ professed aspirations for GBS to be a universal digital library are being undermined by their own withdrawals of books from the regime the settlement would establish. Finally, the Article suggests changes that should be made to the proposed settlement to make it fair, reasonable, and adequate to the academic authors whose works make up a substantial proportion of the GBS corpus. Even with these modifications, however, there are serious questions about whether the class defined in the PASA can be certified consistent with Rule 23, whether the settlement is otherwise compliant with Rule 23, whether the settlement is consistent with the antitrust laws, and whether approval of this settlement is an appropriate exercise of judicial power.

Indigenous challenges to enhance freshwater governance and management in Aotearoa New Zealand - the Waikato river settlement

Abstract: Co-management of environmental resources is an idea that has been developing for some time in Aotearoa New Zealand as a strategy that recognises Indigenous interests in the environment, and the different ways that people view the world. The contest for control of New Zealand's rivers has generally arisen from successive governments purporting to secure rights based upon English common law. Precepts of that law were completely foreign to the Indigenous MaÅori who had their own conceptions of rivers. Through the eyes of the MaÅori, rivers have their own life force, their own spiritual energy and their own powerful identities. Rivers are inextricably linked to tribal identities. Over time a raft of policies was employed and legislation passed by parliament in the name of development and the national interest which did not take into account MaÅori understandings of the river and its ecosystems, nor their rights, interests, or authority. Excluded from decision-making processes, MaÅori have long brought matters to the attention of courts by using any basis to assert our rights and interests, and to have our concerns about the deteriorating health and wellbeing of our rivers taken seriously. The search for redress has been relentless. The Resource Management Act 1991 formalised a range of legal rights, but such rights can be meaningless if presented as just one of many other considerations that decision-makers have to take into account. This article explores the notion of collaborative management and the development of co-management models as a background to the emergent Waikato River settlement ± a legal solution embedded in the Waikato-Tainui Raupatu Claims (Waikato River) Settlement Act 2010 that generates a more robust opportunity to bring to an end a paradigm of exclusion and usher in a new era that promises enhanced governance and management of a significant waterway.

The empire in Syria, 705–763

Abstract: Syria is usually where empires end, not where they begin. Like its Seleucid ancestor, the Marwanid experiment in Syria showed that a far-flung Middle Eastern empire was still possible without Iraq or Egypt to serve as its centre. Despite the tensions surrounding succession within the Marwanid family, the territorial expansion of the caliphate proceeded apace without any noticeable slowing until the eve of the third fitna. In keeping with the imperial vision established by the time of Abd al-Malik, Marwanid imperial designs were in theory limitless. For all that the Marwanid caliphs saw themselves as God's caliphs, from France to Farghana it was the Syrian tribal armies who were the real world conquerors. The Hijaz and Yemen were excluded from the superprovinces, no doubt because they lacked any active military fronts or waves of settlement. Nowhere can the aspirations of the Marwanid elites be better glimpsed than in the qusur built by caliphs and ashraf throughout the caliphate.

Executive compensation, earnings management and shareholder litigation

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of executive compensation and potential for earnings management on the incidence of shareholder class action lawsuits and their outcomes. Although damage measurement factors, managerial option intensity, and earnings management all significantly affect the probability of lawsuits, they differ in their influence on the likelihood of positive settlement and on settlement amount: Damage factors do not affect the likelihood of settlement versus dismissal. High option intensity raises the probability of positive settlement, but does not affect its amount. High earnings management, on the other hand, does not affect the likelihood of settlement, but does increase settlement amount. These findings suggest that factors typically used to explain shareholder lawsuits should be interpreted with care.

An Empirical Study of Class Action Settlements and Their Fee Awards

Abstract: This article is a comprehensive empirical study of class action settlements in federal court. Although there have been prior empirical studies of federal class action settlements, these studies have either been confined to securities cases or have been based on samples of cases that were not intended to be representative of the whole (such as those settlements approved in published opinions). By contrast, in this article, I attempt to study every federal class action settlement from the years 2006 and 2007. As far as I am aware, this study is the first attempt to collect a complete set of federal class action settlements for any given year. I find that district court judges approved 688 class action settlements over this two-year period, involving nearly $33 billion. Of this $33 billion, roughly $5 billion was awarded to class action lawyers, or about 15% of the total. Most judges chose to award fees by using the highly discretionary percentage-of-the-settlement method, and the fees awarded according to this method varied over a broad range, with a mean and median around 25%. Fee percentages were strongly and inversely associated with the size of the settlement. The age of the case at settlement was positively associated with fee percentages. There was some variation in fee percentages depending on the subject matter of the litigation and the geographic circuit in which the district court was located, with lower percentages in securities cases and in settlements from the Second and Ninth Circuits. There was no evidence that fee percentages were associated with whether the class action was certified as a settlement class or with the political affiliation of the judge who made the award.

Litigating Toward Settlement

Abstract: Civil litigation typically ends when the parties compromise. While existing theories of settlement primarily focus on information exchange, we instead examine how motion practice, especially non-discovery motions, can substantially shape parties’ knowledge about their cases and thereby influence the timing of settlement. Using docket-level federal district court data, we find a number of strong effects regarding how motions can influence this process, including that the filing of a motion significantly speeds case settlement, that granted motions are more immediately critical to settlement timing than motions denied, and that plaintiff victories have a stronger effect than defendant victories. These results provide a uniquely detailed look at the mechanism of compromise via information exchange and motion practice in litigation while simultaneously yielding evidence that this effect goes well beyond the traditionally studied discovery process.

Labour and Industry in Australia, from the First Settlement in 1788 to the Establishment of the Commonwealth in 1901

Abstract: Part VI continued: 10. Trade and finance in South Australia 11. Trade and finance in Western Australia and Tasmania 12. The formation of a political Labour Party in Australia Part VII. From the Financial Crisis of 1893 to the Establishment of the Commonwealth in 1901: 1. Introduction to the seventh period 2. Land legislation and settlement 3. Immigration 4. Labour and wages 5. Factory and shop legislation and the settlement of industrial disputes 6. Prices 7. Trade and banking after the crisis 8. The Labour Party: continuation of its history 9. White Australia 10. Events leading up to the Federation of Australia Index.

Google Book Search and the Future of Books in Cyberspace

Abstract: The Google Book Search (GBS) initiative once promised to test the bounds of fair use, as the company started scanning millions of in-copyright books from the collections of major research libraries The initial goal of this scanning was to make indexes of the books’ contents and to provide short snippets of book contents in response to pertinent search queries The Authors Guild and five trade publishers sued Google in the fall of 2005 charging that this scanning activity was copyright infringement Google defended by claiming fair use Rather than litigating this important issue, however, the parties devised a radical plan to restructure the market for digital books, which was announced on October 28, 2008, by means of a class action settlement of the lawsuits Approval of this settlement would give Google – and Google alone – a license to commercialize all out-of-print books and to make up to 20 per cent of their contents available in response to search queries (unless rights holders expressly forbade this) This article discusses the glowingly optimistic predictions about the future of books in cyberspace promulgated by proponents of the GBS settlement and contrasts them with six categories of serious reservations that have emerged about the settlement These more pessimistic views of GBS are reflected in the hundreds objections and numerous amicus curiae briefs filed with the court responsible for determining whether to approve the settlement GBS poses risks for publishers, academic authors and libraries, professional writers, and readers as well as for competition and innovation in several markets and for the cultural ecology of knowledge Serious concerns have also been expressed about the GBS settlement as an abuse of the class action process because it usurps legislative prerogatives The article considers what might happen to the future of books in cyberspace if the GBS deal is not approved and recommends that regardless of whether the GBS settlement is approved, a consortium of research libraries ought to develop a digital database of books from their collections that would enhance access to books without posing the many risks to the public interest that the GBS deal has created

La población infantil de la Motilla del Azuer: Un estudio bioarqueológico Children in the Motilla del Azuer: A bioarchaeological analysis

Abstract: Our main goal in this paper is the analysis of children through funerary record at the archaeological Bronze Age site of La Motilla del Azuer, Daimiel, in La Mancha area. We have chosen a settlement with high-quality archaeological and anthropological data, and a precise methodology of excavation, documentation and contextualization allow us to formulate cultural hypothesis and understand the roles of different members of the social group, not only due to sex and age identities but also to economic and social positions.

‘So Presumably Things Have Moved on Since Then?’ The Management of Risk Allegations in Child Contact Dispute Resolution

Abstract: Over the past decade, considerable efforts have been made to ensure that domestic violence and child protection issues are identified, assessed, and managed appropriately within the family justice system. These efforts follow sustained criticism that allegations of harm have been previously overlooked or marginalised within court processes, including in private law cases concerning residence and contact disputes following parental separation. In this article, however, we argue that allegations of harm continue to be marginalised in court-based dispute resolution. Our findings are based on a detailed study of 15 in-court conciliation or court-based dispute resolution sessions. We use conversation analysis to examine in detail precisely how allegations are overlooked or downgraded. We find that conciliators routinely ignore, reframe, or reject allegations unless there is an existing external evidence to support the claim. However, the precise way in which marginalisation occurs is contextual and interactional, shaped not least by the specificity or persistence of allegations presented by parents. We suggest that the conciliator's handling of allegations reflects a particular understanding of their institutional role and tasks that centre upon settlement, contact, and case processing seemingly at the expense of risk management. Language: en

The Influence of Climate on the First European Settlement of Australia: A Comparison of Weather Journals, Documentary Data and Palaeoclimate Records, 1788–1793

Abstract: This essay introduces a new technique to improve the reliability of the interpretation of how weather and climatic factors have influenced past societies. Using the case of first European s...

Prehistoric Timbuktu and its hinterland

Abstract: Timbuktu, an iconic destination for medieval caravans crossing the Sahara, has a prehistoric phase, here before AD 1000, which shows varying urban traits. The author's new project examines the context of Timbuktu's prehistoric urbanism by mapping the settlement patterns in its hinterland, and seeks to understand the social impacts of the Sahara's changing climate.

Conflicts of Interest and Analyst Behavior: Evidence from Recent Changes in Regulation

Abstract: Regulation FD made analysts less dependent on insider information and diminished analysts’ motives to inflate their forecasts. The Global Research Analyst Settlement had an even bigger impact on analyst behavior: The mean forecast bias declined significantly, whereas the median forecast bias essentially disappeared. These results are similar for all analysts.