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Mapping the export potential of East Java’s mangosteen as part of the Indonesia-Australia economic partnership
SURABAYA, 10 August 2022 – With the support of the IA-CEPA Economic Cooperation Program Katalis, a new study will soon commence to map the export potential of mangosteen from East Java to Australia or third countries. In addition to identifying opportunities and challenges along the supply chain, customs procedures and regulations related to export destination countries, the study will also explore the potential for Indonesia-Australia partnerships related to mangosteen derivatives.
Mangosteen production in East Java doubled between 2016 and 2020, placing the province as one of the largest mangosteen-producing regions in Indonesia, alongside West Java and West Sumatra. Although these achievements suggest an opportunity for increased production, there is still much work to be done to understand export capacity, potential destination markets, and challenges that may occur. Analysis and stakeholder engagement resulting from the study is expected to drive faster growth of the mangosteen industry.
“By identifying and prioritising specific opportunities for collaborations that could accelerate the exports of mangosteens and their derivatives from East Java to Australia or could leverage Australian capability to expand exports to third markets, Katalis hopes that the findings from the activity could be shared with other regions of Indonesia where mangosteens are produced and exported. Given the high proportion of women working in agriculture, efforts to strengthen mangosteen production and exports are also likely to have strongly beneficial impacts on women,” said Paul Bartlett, Director, ECP Katalis.
The export potential of the East Java mangosteen fruit was one of the topics discussed in a business forum co-hosted by Katalis and the Australian Consulate General in Surabaya (10/8), which was aimed at encouraging businesses in the region to tap into the benefits of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership (IA-CEPA).
In her remarks, the Australian Consul-General in Surabaya acknowledged the East Java Government’s commitment to building trade and investment links between Australia and East Java, Indonesia’s leading agricultural and industrial centre.
“This study was actually first conceptualised by East Java Deputy Governor, Dr Emil Dardak. As he said during his recent working visit to Australia, East Java province is strategically located to forge commercial partnerships with Australia across a range of sectors under the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. We encourage our partners in East Java to take advantage of the IA-CEPA Economic Cooperation Program Katalis,” said Fiona Hoggart, Australian Consul-General in Surabaya.
Different from other Australian-funded programs, Katalis’s focus and objectives are to maximise commercial benefits and create greater market access for Indonesian and Australian businesses, support better market integration and develop skills to take advantage of opportunities that arise as the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery continues. | https://iacepa-katalis.org/mapping-the-export-potential-of-east-javas-mangosteen-as-part-of-the-indonesia-australia-economic-partnership/ |
You are a self-starter with an entrepreneurial spirit who enjoys charting new directions, driving the needle moving results, and doing things that have never been done before. To quickly engage and leverage Viasat's portfolio, you will use your established relationships within the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, end-users and acquisition communities to directly collaborate with both existing Viasat customers and to expand and establish a new and diverse customer base over time. You will have a strong interest in creating business growth; including understanding and contributing to business area strategies, and developing a deep understanding of how to combine Viasat technologies and capabilities to address customer problems. You will use these skills to help define product roadmaps, to evaluate and expand business partnerships in Maritime surface and subsurface communications, unmanned surface vessels, naval expeditionary, and international communities, and to help drive other aspects of operating an innovative, results-driven business. You have a proven track record of developing and implementing strategic plans, building enduring relationships, and creating new business.
Some of the key responsibilities will include:
Team Player: We are looking for a person that understands how to adapt their style to be consistent with Viasat’s goals and values, and operate in the team environment, interfacing with engineers, program managers, and executive management in both the customer’s business, as well as at Viasat. We require a person that knows how to work well in cross-functional, geographically diverse teams, dividing responsibilities, and coordinating actions.
Business Growth: We are looking for an individual that can develop a deep understanding of customer needs and constraints, who works actively with his/her customers to influence requirement generation and acquisition strategies. Demonstrated ability to create new businesses and develop creative approaches to business growth, ranging from the creation of market strategies to strategic acquisition is essential.
Leadership: This position will require leading business development and business execution teams. Candidates must have a track record of building teams and providing a positive influence to drive business results. This role will have direct reports.
Requirements:
BS/BA degree or equivalent experience
10+ years of engagement at senior levels across U.S. Department of Defense leadership communities, particularly in the Maritime community
Proven ability to establish and cultivate strategic relationships while solving complex problems in a dynamic, multi-faceted operational environment
Experience collaborating with current and potential customers on applications for, and the use of, leading-edge communications, networking, information technology, and security solutions
An established network of contacts within the USN, USCG, and international Naval community
Familiarity with DoD missions and CONOPS and the federal purchasing/acquisition process in the US and in international defense markets
This position is a government position. US Citizenship required
Must be able to travel up to 50 percent (domestically and internationally)
Must be able to obtain and hold a DoD Security Clearance
Preferences:
Secret Clearance highly desired
Additional Requirements and information
Minimum education:
Years of experience:
Travel:
Citizenship:
Clearance:
Worker Classification:
Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic.
If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this on-line application, please click here. | https://careers.viasat.com/careers/FolderDetail/Account-Executive-Government-Maritime-Business-Development-SatComm/6055 |
Nippon Engineering Consultants Co., Ltd. and Dia Consultants Co., Ltd. have established a joint holding company, DN Holdings Co., Ltd., in anticipation of the merger in 2023.
Nippon Engineering Consultants, which has strengths in planning and designing structures centered on bridges, and Dia Consultants, which has strengths in geological and ground surveys and analysis, are to be merged to form a comprehensive construction consultant that can handle everything from surveys and analysis to design and maintenance. Based on mutual utilization of management resources and swift and agile decision-making, in addition to the growth of each business, we will expand the business domain and customer base and aim to improve productivity.
Specifically, we will promote management keeping in mind the following goals to be realized.
①Strengthening growth potential by expanding the scale of the company
We aim to further expand our business domain and profits by mutually utilizing management resources such as human resources, technology, and information owned by both companies, and by mutually complementing and utilizing the businesses of both companies. In addition, through this business integration, we aim to build a solid management base by achieving stable orders, reducing overhead costs, and improving operational efficiency.
②Expansion of orders by improving business execution ability
We will promote one-stop operation and efficiency improvement from survey to design and maintenance by fusing the fields that both companies are good at, and we aim to increase orders by improving business execution capabilities in the field of national land conservation, such as strengthening responsiveness in the event of a natural disaster, social contribution, etc.
③Improving the possibility of entering new businesses
By combining the expertise and technologies of both companies, we aim to enter and expand new businesses, and to develop new markets in energy and environment-related fields.
We would like to express our gratitude once again for the kindness we have received from our shareholders. We also look forward to your continued guidance and encouragement in the future. | https://www.dcne.co.jp/english/IR/information/ |
Cooperation: the defendable investigation
In simple terms, an investigation is all about finding the facts. This includes the identification of the who, what, where, when, why and how. But the reality for a company and their legal counsel to find the answers to these questions is usually complex, especially when a regulator is involved. While the underlying conduct that has caused the regulatory investigation to commence is a key point in deciding what action a regulator will take against a company, so too are self-reporting, cooperation and remedial efforts. This article deals with cooperation, and specifically, considerations for a company and their legal counsel in conducting a defendable internal investigation.
Whether the company is responding to a regulator for alleged breaches of anti-corruption laws like the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA) and the UK's Bribery Act 2010, sanctions, money laundering or violations of other white-collar crime regulatory concerns, cooperation is effectively built on the company's response to the regulator about its internal investigation methodology and protocol. In their co-publication with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), titled ‘A Resource Guide to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act', the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that cooperation means, among others, ‘providing SEC staff with all information relevant to the underlying violations'. With the DOJ, they specify that cooperation includes ‘the company's willingness to provide relevant information and evidence'.
In addition, the DOJ discuss cooperation in guidance for their FCPA enforcement pilot programme. Notably, they mention a company under investigation should demonstrate, among others, ‘Proactive cooperation, rather than reactive; that is, the company must disclose facts that are relevant to the investigation, even when not specifically asked to do so, and must identify opportunities for the government to obtain relevant evidence not in the company's possession and not otherwise known to the government.'
Although the scale of bribery differs, a contrast in cooperation is illustrated in two FCPA cases involving inappropriate conduct in Asia. The first involves a French power and transportation company, which in late 2014 paid a fine of over US$700 million to settle charges that it violated the FCPA in Indonesia, Taiwan and other countries. The criminal fine, which is the largest imposed to date in an FCPA case, was so large in part due to the company's refusal to fully cooperate with the DOJ's investigation for several years. It only began cooperating after the DOJ publicly charged several of its executives.
In the second case, a US technology company self-disclosed to both the SEC and DOJ that bribery had been committed by their China subsidiary in dealings with officials of state-owned entities. Despite the fact that bribery had been committed, the DOJ announced in 2016 that the company would not be subject to any penalty while the SEC announced a non-prosecution agreement. The DOJ noted the company's ‘prompt voluntary self-disclosure of the misconduct, the thorough investigation and fulsome cooperation' and the SEC stated they ‘cooperated extensively'.
So what does a thorough, and thus defendable, internal investigation look like? In the case of the US technology company, the DOJ specified it included ‘identifying all individuals involved in or responsible for the misconduct and by providing all facts relating to that misconduct'. While engaging legal counsel is a necessity to help the company navigate its interactions with regulators and other legal aspects, they will generally require assistance with identifying and reporting on the facts. Such assistance can be provided by incorporating a forensic response.
The forensic response
Fraud, bribery and many forms of misconduct associated with white-collar crime are usually identified in, and evidenced through, the financial and accounting records of a company. As such, forensic accountants are often engaged to assist with financial data analysis and other fact-finding tasks. The forensic accountants should work at the direction of counsel to maintain attorney-client privilege over the investigation so as to avoid involuntary disclosure of investigation findings. The in-depth and objective analysis that a forensic accountant performs will help uncover trends that bring to light the issues that have caught the attention of the regulator. This may involve reconstructing a series of transactions or checking the appropriateness of how any improper activity may have been reflected in the financial statements. Key witnesses and subjects will also need to be interviewed to provide information regarding the issues.
But the forensic accountant does not act alone. Other professionals will be involved to ensure evidence is identified, forensically collected and thoroughly analysed. An overview of the additional skillsets that round out the forensic response is provided below.
Computer forensics and e-discovery
The validity, defensibility and objectivity of evidence are crucial in responding to a regulator. Computer forensics specialists - experts in handling and analysing digital evidence - collect, analyse, and report on digital evidence in a forensically sound manner (ie, collected, analysed, handled and stored in a manner that is acceptable by the law).
Digital evidence is crucial in investigating key subjects and understanding their conduct that has seen the investigation arise. It also helps identify additional key players. Such digital evidence is obtained from multiple sources (eg, the company's email servers, from the cloud, or personal devices such as laptops, mobile phones or tablets for SMS and other messaging applications). This can be voluminous and unwieldly. Collecting digital evidence, which is volatile, can be challenging. Without proper care, data spoliation may occur. This in turn may open undesired regulator queries as to the validity and objectivity of the evidence being presented by the company. In proving or disproving key facts, utilising computer forensic specialists mitigates the risk of key digital evidence being discounted, providing defensibility.
What do you do with all the data that is collected? The use of a centralised review platform can expedite a company's obligations to identify the who, what, where, when and how. With potentially millions of records to review, utilising a platform that allows the ability to quickly search for key people, words and dates is mandatory. Applying analytics that are integrated into a review platform is also critical. Examples include:
- deduplication, near deduplication, email threading: the removal of duplicated emails or documents so that an investigation team is only reviewing one copy of an email. This also groups similar documents together, for example, multiple versions of a contract Word document, or groups a ‘back-and-forth' email chains. This saves time and costs;
- concept clustering: using the contents of communication between key players, concept clustering groups conceptually-like documents together. For example, all documents related to sales opportunities, expenses, transactions, or outliers - perhaps suspicious - are grouped together for review; or
- artificial intelligence and predictive coding: with the millions of records, a sample of this population is reviewed by senior members of the investigation or legal team for ‘hot' documents. That sample is then applied to the remaining population and the artificial intelligence system predicts and returns similarly ‘key' documents. This saves time and costs, whereby the entire population does not need to be reviewed, and in some instances, provides for greater accuracy.
Data analytics
Data analytics are an essential part of an investigation. Using targeted querying of the company's databases, patterns can be efficiently identified that may be signatures of improper activity.
Data analytics involves the transformation, analysis, and visualisation of complex data to reveal actionable insight in an investigation. It is used to provide a deep understanding of the company's financial data and how the data is collected and used by the company. This data will provide additional insight through complex analysis, data mining for specific transactional activity, and the ability to define relationships across multiple disparate data sources, both internal and from third parties.
Typically, data analytics in an investigation will involve:
- identifying, acquiring and normalising relevant data;
- identifying the relationships between multiple sources and data points;
- designing and implementing appropriate tests and triggers to identify suspected transactions; and
- providing a platform for the review and investigation of these transactions by the forensic accountants and potentially counsel and other stakeholders in the investigation.
Business intelligence
Not all investigations are created equal. At the early stages of a regulatory investigation, the investigation team will generally have good and quick access to internal data, financial and accounting records and other information. But there are many instances where they do not and other means are required in order to progress the investigation. One of the key components to help progress an investigation is the use of business intelligence.
Business intelligence effectively involves an investigator discreetly gathering actionable intelligence externally related to key subjects or entities without unnecessarily alerting employees and others. The discreet nature of the methodology used also lowers the risk of evidence being destroyed that could be material to the investigation. Such intelligence may include identifying corporate information (including key principals and shareholders or ultimate beneficiaries), track record, business reputation, business and political connections, financial health, business strategies, involvement in nefarious activities (money laundering and bribery and corruption), involvement in litigation and bankruptcy or at the very least verify the bona fide of the company. It could be crucial in identifying additional key subjects for the investigation.
Undertaking investigations in more challenging jurisdictions, where publicly available and reliable information is limited, requires a well-structured and often times creative intelligence gathering exercise to allow the investigator to identify any undisclosed business relationships or interests as well as ascertain the source of wealth and possibly assets if asset recovery is required.
Having experienced investigators with a good understanding of local cultural context as well as the necessary language capabilities cannot be over-emphasised. Experience has shown that such capabilities speed up the investigation process and allow the intelligence-gathering exercise to progress efficiently. It also allows the investigators to fully appreciate the context of the information identified and decide on its relevance before allocating the necessary resources.
Determining the scope and approach
A company's internal investigation requires more than just incorporating a forensic response in order to demonstrate proactive cooperation to a regulator. Thought must be applied in determining the scope to ensure the skillsets described above are deployed appropriately. Determining the scope may involve formulating theories to prove or disprove allegations and reaching appropriate conclusions. This should involve thinking outside the box to devise a thorough investigation work plan. In turn, this will enable the facts to be presented in a clear manner that is understandable and properly supported by the evidence.
Experience shows that if you are able to clearly articulate and demonstrate an innovative approach, especially one that is technology-driven, regulators will be more than willing to listen, as they know that this will bring greater clarity and new insights. Below are examples of innovative approaches involving a forensic response that have helped companies demonstrate their cooperation by conducting defendable internal investigations.
Just too big
A multinational pharmaceutical company was required to investigate whistleblower allegations of improper payments made in China. The nature of the allegations, along with the scale of the company - involving thousands of employees - and the duration of the investigation - spanning multiple years - created a vast population of millions of transactions. This was a clear situation where the volume of data would simply be overwhelming for a manual paper-based approach.
The solution developed focused on using technology to accelerate the review process. The investigation started with using data analytics to risk rank the employee expenses. For each employee selected for further review, a dashboard provided a detailed review of their respective transactions including trend lines of their expenses over time and the identification of specific transactions of risk that required further testing. Counsel was also able to incorporate the dashboards into their interview preparation process. The regulator understood the magnitude of the work required to complete a more traditional ‘paper' review and were able to support the alternative ‘data' approach.
Is there a problem
Media reports implicated the company in a major corruption scandal that was making headlines across the globe. The company wanted its investigatory response to consider expenditure at one of its overseas facilities to identify potential indicators of bribes being paid. Given the volume of transactions at this particular facility, it was not practical for every payment to be scrutinised. Accordingly, a risk categorisation was developed for each of the 1,500 vendors used by the facility in order to understand the relative risk for each respective company-vendor relationship. This risk ranking, developed by way of a Heatmap, included a review of the overall risk presented by each vendor and risks related to each of the specific payment transactions made to each respective vendor.
To build the Heatmap, data analytics were deployed. Tests across all transactions considered payments with round values, high-dollar and those that were with one-time vendors. They also considered whether payments to a particular vendor in total were below a certain threshold. In addition, tests considered keyword hits based on the payment description, the corruption risk that may be associated with the type of goods or services provided, and the reputation of each vendor identified through business intelligence analysis that considered any historical misconduct, fraud or corruption allegations. The vendors were then ranked according to their risk ranking. This relative risk ranking was used to understand which vendors should be subject to further scrutiny to assist with selecting the sample of transactions for forensic testing and thus ascertain whether bribes were being paid by the facility's management.
Spread out
In a US export compliance investigation, the regulators ultimately needed to understand the scale of the controlled parts that originated in the US that were shipped to sanctioned countries by a technology company. In this case, defining that vast scale proved challenging. The majority of the information needed by the regulators was not readily apparent by looking at the paper documentation. Instead, it was spread throughout the company's IT infrastructure. Furthermore, all of these resided in separate IT systems that did not speak to each other. Getting the answer required connecting customer, shipping, manufacturing, procurement, and compliance data.
Once the data from the various IT systems was able to be connected, the process was documented so the regulators could better grasp how the company operated and what it was doing. Following this, robust data analytics techniques were applied to generate the required insights into the shipments to sanctioned countries by the company and what these shipments contained. Finally, the methodology was validated using detailed testing by forensic accountants in order to confirm the data-driven approach. This was then followed up with a series of detailed presentations to educate and guide the regulators on the approach.
Determining the value
An oil and gas company received a ‘please explain' from a regulator after they became embroiled in a corruption scandal. Among others, the ‘please explain' requested the company to specifically quantify the amount of bribes that had been paid. This was challenging for two reasons. Firstly, the bribes paid were contained in line items of invoices from a subcontractor the company engaged. These line items were not individually captured in the company's accounting system and the supporting documents were stored in a warehouse in a remote location. Secondly, the line items on the subcontractor's invoices were described in both a mix of common words used to describe bribes and local slang equivalents.
The solution to respond to the regulator's request involved building a database that listed all of the subcontractor's invoices paid by the company while the supporting documents for each payment were scanned. In turn, forensic accountants reviewed the scanned documents and identified the line items in the invoices that likely reflected the bribes being paid. This information was then inputted in the database, including the words used to describe the bribes. The database allowed the company to not only quantify the bribes paid but also assist with determining how and when they were paid. This approach enabled the company to demonstrate to the regulator the effort it was making to respond to the question as accurately as possible given the circumstances.
Conclusion
Should the unthinkable happen and the company find itself subject to regulatory scrutiny, the contrasting examples of the investigation responses discussed earlier and how that impacted the penalties imposed demonstrates why a company should cooperate. Appropriately incorporating a forensic response under the direction of counsel can help with making the company's internal investigation be defendable. This will enable the company to demonstrate cooperation by responding to the regulator with appropriate analysis and relevant facts. In turn, this should assist the company in its efforts to minimise or avoid any penalty and assist with a swifter resolution of the regulatory issues that are under investigation.
The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Jason Liew, senior managing director, and Gino Bello, senior director, in drafting this article. | https://globalinvestigationsreview.com/review/the-asia-pacific-investigations-review/2018/article/cooperation-the-defendable-investigation |
Don’t bee-lieve everything you read; reports of the bumble bee’s death are greatly exaggerated. A new study from Simon Fraser University is adding to a growing body of work that suggests not all bee populations are in decline.
The plight of pollinators, such as bumble bees, has been the subject of high-profile studies, news reports, public awareness campaigns and corporate drives for years. One study reported that overall bumble bee populations have dropped 46 per cent in North America over the last century.
However, researchers at SFU have developed more accurate modelling that shows just a five per cent decline in North America overall. While some species of bees have seen alarming rates of decline, the findings, published in the journal Biological Conservation, suggest evidence gathering and modelling need to be improved so conservationists can prioritize the bee species most at risk.
“When we reconsidered the evidence, we found that it’s not all doom and gloom for bumble bees,” says Melissa Guzman, lead author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biological Sciences at SFU. “In a rare case of good news for biodiversity, we found there is no evidence of community-wide declines of bees. Many species are certainly declining dramatically, but many others seem to be doing fine.”
According to Guzman, scientists have had to rely on large datasets from museums, surveys and community science initiatives for their analysis of overall bee populations. But often the data is collected haphazardly and the analysis has focused on a limited number of bee species, without taking the ranges and detection records of other species into account. This has inadvertently led to reports that have over-estimated the decline of bee populations.
The estimates are especially skewed in North America, where historical data on bee visitation hasn’t been as reliable and consistent as in Europe. The new multi-species modelling done on European bumble bee populations was more in line with previous studies, but the estimated population decline is still lower than previously thought (six per cent instead of 17).
While researchers did not find major overall declines across all species, many individual species appear to be in trouble. One species of critically endangered North American bumble bee, B. bohemicus, is estimated to have seen a dramatic decline of 73 per cent based on the new modelling.
The research team also included SFU professors Leithen M'Gonigle and Arne Mooers, and graduate student Sarah Johnson.
CONTACT
BRADEN MCMILLAN, SFU Communications & Marketing 236.880.3459 | [email protected]
Simon Fraser University
Communications & Marketing | SFU Media Experts Directory
778.782.3210
ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
As Canada’s engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today’s problems. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities—Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey—SFU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 37,000 students. The university now boasts more than 165,000 alumni residing in 143 countries. | https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/media/media-releases/2021/06/bee-population-estimates-bumbled--sfu-researchers-find.html |
The last few years has seen a multiplicity of reports on the “worrying” and even “catastrophic” decline of insect population levels. Such claims must be thoroughly verified, partly because alarmism can lead to apathy. A recent report reviews the situation in a holistic fashion, and the picture is more complex than intially reported.
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One of the biggest questions today is whether we are witnessing (or causing) the 6th mass extinction. We know that previous mass extinctions did not happen in a decade or two, but rather over millions of years. There are billions of species on the planet, and for 70% or more to disappear, it takes some profound changes that occur over what seems like a long time for humans. Long enough a time that it could creep up on us unnoticed.
The latest Living Planet Report (WWF, 2020), the most comprehensive assessment of our wildlife’s wellbeing, has reported a 68% average decline in the population sizes of all monitored species since 1970. Of highest alarm are the amphibians, of which half the species are imperiled, and coral reefs which could all but disappear by mid-century.
A number of reports have also called attention to declines in insect numbers and variety, although it is harder to determine whether the rates are above or below those observed in larger species. Extreme declines were described in western Europe and California’s Central Valley, where humans are highly concentrated, but there is little information from the tropics, where far more insect species exist.
Entomologists from around the world gathered for a symposium in November 2019, aiming to gather the latest information in one place. They identified data gaps and inconsistencies, and ultimately attempted to determine the state of the insect world.
How are insects doing?
Reports from the past decade have described many cases of catastrophic loss, yet conflicting studies demonstrate vibrant proliferation and expansion. A 2018 article published in the New York Times called “The Insect Apocalypse is Here” received no less than six rebuttals and many blog posts denouncing the conclusions.
The issue is simply how difficult it is to assess insect population trends.
Nevertheless, two major metaanalyses concerning insects were published in 2020, gathering data from up to 166 reports spanning up to 91 years of observations. One found an overall decline in terrestrial insect abundance of 1% per year. The other said there was an increase in freshwater species diversity, though not abundance, while European terrestrial species showed stronger signals of decline. The results are still under review, but the conclusion is this: the greatest threat of the Anthropocene is the incremental loss of populations due to human activities. Such losses often go uncounted in studies, and this is why it is so elusive.
What is the Cause of Insect Decline?
From the evidence it seems that insects are suffering a slow death by a thousand cuts”. Depending on the location and species, causes of decline can include land-use change (deforestation in particular), climate change, agriculture, newly introduced species, nitrification (fertilizer use), pollution, insecticides, herbicides, urbanization and light pollution. They often experience multiple stressors simultaneously, and it is therefore difficult to identify the main culprit.
A good example is that of the US domesticated honey bee. Investigations into its decline have pointed to introduced mites, viral infections, microsporidian parasites, habitat loss, artificial foods used to maintain hives and inbreeding. Over 14 years later, we still do not know which was most damaging.
Where From Now?
First, issues with population trend assessment need to be addressed. This means collecting more data from places that aren’t the US or Europe, and standardizing monitoring techniques.
Encouragingly, funding to support insect conservation is on the rise, and there is a rise of non-academic interest in the topic. iNaturalist is an online resource for taxonomical identification with over 13,6 million entries added since 2010.
Regardless of the paucity of information, it is clear that we are driving a significant decline in biodiversity which affects all living things and the remedy is to fight for a more environmentally aware and sustainable future. The main thing for us to do as individuals is elect the right officials who will apply pressure to the large organizations which cause most of the damage.
In conclusion, the insect apocalypse is not yet here, and we thankfully still have time to turn things around. However, the next will be a key decade in determining how bad things get this century.
This article was written by Owen Mulhern. Cover photo by nutmeg66, on butterfly-conservation.org.
Reference: | https://earth.org/data_visualization/insect-decline-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/ |
High variation but no overall trend in abundance and diversity among sites and taxa is found, which could mask subtler changes in species composition that nonetheless endanger insect-provided ecosystem services.
Recent climate change is creating hotspots of butterfly increase and decline across North America
- Environmental ScienceGlobal change biology
- 2021
Great heterogeneity in butterfly species' abundance trends was found, aggregating near zero, but with a tendency toward decline, and a mosaic of butterfly decay and rebound hotspots appeared to largely reflect geographic variability in climate drivers.
Revisiting global trends in freshwater insect biodiversity
- Environmental ScienceWIREs Water
- 2020
It is concluded that the results of the meta‐analysis should not be considered indicative of an overall improvement in the condition of freshwater ecosystems, and total abundance and biomass alone are poor indicators of the status of freshwater insect assemblages.
Long-term abundance trends of insect taxa are only weakly correlated
- Environmental Science, GeographyBiology Letters
- 2022
Changes in the abundances of animals, such as with the ongoing concern about insect declines, are often assumed to be general across taxa. However, this assumption is largely untested. Here, we used…
Unravelling insect declines: can space replace time?
- Environmental ScienceBiology Letters
- 2022
Temporal trends in insect numbers vary across studies and habitats, but drivers are poorly understood. Suitable long-term data are scant and biased, and interpretations of trends remain…
Consistent signals of a warming climate in occupancy changes of three insect taxa over 40 years in central Europe
- Environmental ScienceGlobal change biology
- 2022
Recent climate and land‐use changes are having substantial impacts on biodiversity, including population declines, range shifts, and changes in community composition. However, few studies have…
Further evidence for a global decline of the entomofauna
- Environmental ScienceAustral Entomology
- 2020
Evidence is added that changes in species richness and diversity indices are inconsistent and do not reflect intraspecific population changes over time, although a lack of long‐term monitoring records prevents a proper assessment for tropical regions.
Changes in climate drive recent monarch butterfly dynamics.
- Environmental ScienceNature ecology & evolution
- 2021
Although data limitations prevent definitive evaluation of the factors governing population size between 1994 and 2003, breeding-season weather was similarly identified as an important driver of monarch population size, highlighting the increasingly important contribution of a changing climate to insect declines.
Nuanced changes in insect abundance
- Environmental ScienceScience
- 2020
A thorough global assessment of insect abundance and biomass trends is conducted and paints a more nuanced picture than that predicted by extrapolations.
Arthropods are not declining but are responsive to disturbance in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico
- Environmental ScienceProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 2021
It is demonstrated that responses to hurricane-induced disturbance and ensuing succession were the primary factors that affected total canopy arthropod abundances on host trees, as well as walkingstick abundance on understory shrubs.
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- Environmental ScienceConservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
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The findings suggest that the decline of insectivores is primarily associated with agricultural intensification and loss of grassland habitat, and the loss of both seed and insect specialists indicates an overall trend toward bird communities dominated by diet generalists.
Butterfly abundance declines over 20 years of systematic monitoring in Ohio, USA
- Environmental SciencebioRxiv
- 2019
These results from the most extensive, systematic insect monitoring program in North America demonstrate an ongoing defaunation in butterflies that on an annual scale might be imperceptible, but cumulatively has reduced butterfly numbers by a third over 20 years.
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- Environmental ScienceEcology
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It is concluded that population declines and extirpation, particularly in regions severely and recently impacted by anthropogenic alteration, might not be as predictable as has been suggested by other studies on the ecology of extinction.
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- Environmental SciencePloS one
- 2017
This analysis estimates a seasonal decline of 76%, and mid-summer decline of 82% in flying insect biomass over the 27 years of study, and shows that this decline is apparent regardless of habitat type, while changes in weather, land use, and habitat characteristics cannot explain this overall decline.
Decline of the North American avifauna
- Environmental ScienceScience
- 2019
Using multiple and independent monitoring networks, population losses across much of the North American avifauna over 48 years are reported, including once-common species and from most biomes, demonstrating a continuing avifaunal crisis.
Climate-driven declines in arthropod abundance restructure a rainforest food web
- Environmental ScienceProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 2018
While El Niño/Southern Oscillation influences the abundance of forest arthropods, climate warming is the major driver of reductions in arthropod abundance, indirectly precipitating a bottom-up trophic cascade and consequent collapse of the forest food web.
Complex long-term biodiversity change among invertebrates, bryophytes and lichens
- Environmental ScienceNature Ecology & Evolution
- 2020
By analysing changes in occupancy among >5,000 species of invertebrate, bryophytes and lichens in the United Kingdom over the past 45 years, the authors find substantial turnover in community composition among all groups, although average declines are evident only among terrestrial non-insect invertebrates.
Mitigating the precipitous decline of terrestrial European insects: Requirements for a new strategy
- Environmental ScienceBiodiversity and Conservation
- 2019
Severe decline in terrestrial insect species richness, abundance, flying biomass, and local extinctions across Europe are cause for alarm. Here, we summarize this decline, and identify species…
Long‐term species loss and homogenization of moth communities in Central Europe
- Environmental ScienceThe Journal of animal ecology
- 2017
A dramatic rate of regional species loss and homogenization of community compositions across sites was revealed and the contrasting effects of climate change and land use changes could explain why the predicted enriching effects from climate warming are not always realized.
Cross-realm assessment of climate change impacts on species’ abundance trends
- Environmental ScienceNature Ecology &Evolution
- 2017
Effectes of temperature preference were more consistent in terrestrial communities than effects of habitat preference, suggesting that the impacts of temperature change have become widespread for recent changes in abundance within many terrestrial communities of central Europe. | https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Meta-analysis-reveals-declines-in-terrestrial-but-Klink-Bowler/952275f9c2ba0080ef406eb0ca952133ef1f2521 |
Following the approach developed by Gregory and van Strien (2010), State of the Birds reports focus on composite summaries of population change for collections of species that share common characteristics such as a common primary habitat biome or taxonomic affinity. In this report, we provide composite indexes for biome obligate species as defined in earlier reports (Grassland, Aridland, Eastern Forest and Western Forest), for several taxonomic-based groups (Shorebirds, Waterbirds, Geese and Swans, Sea Ducks, and Dabbling/Diving Duck species), and for species on our Tipping Point list with adequate data. Lists of species included in each group, surveys used for their analysis, and summary trend estimates are presented as supplemental material.
This report describes population change for 259 species of North American birds summarized from 5 surveys: the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS, 176 species, Sauer et al., 2020), the Christmas Bird Count (CBC, 60 species, Meehan et al., 2020), the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS, 14 species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2021), the American Woodcock Signing-ground Survey (SGS, 1 species, Seamans and Rau, 2021), and International Shorebird Surveys (ISS, 9 species, Smith and Smith, 2022). All of these data sources were used in Rosenberg et al. (2019), and we refer readers to that publication for additional details on the surveys. For each species, annual indices of abundance were obtained from published sources (BBS, WBPHS, SGS) or from data managers (CBC, ISS). In this analysis, we used results from the time period 1970–2019 for all surveys except for the ISS, for which results were only available for 1980–2019.
Statistical analysis of composite summaries follows methods used in earlier State of the Birds reports. A quantitative description of the statistical model was published in Sauer and Link (2011). It employs a hierarchical model, for which input data are collections of estimates of population change for a species (at the survey-wide scale of summary) from a base year (1970 or 1980) to each subsequent year. For each year, the collection of actual population changes for all species from the base year to the year of interest are assumed to be normally distributed on the log scale, and the latent mean change for the collection is estimated. The model is fit to all years post-base year, and the resulting model-based means form the composite trajectories of change for the species group. The ratios of the annual indexes of each year, divided by the annual index of the base year, was used to estimate the cumulative change in the species population for that year. See Sauer and Link (2011) for additional details regarding the model and its fitting to BBS and other survey data.
On Alert and Tipping Point Species
Scientists for the Road to Recovery initiative have identified 90 On Alert bird species in need of strong and immediate scientific action to pinpoint causes of declines and to support practitioners dedicated to recovering their populations. These birds have high vulnerability to extinction and steep population declines as described below, with 50% or more of their populations lost during 1970–2019.
Of the 90 On Alert species, 70 are Tipping Point species that show continued or accelerated recent declines that if continued could lead to the loss of 50% or more of their populations in the next 50 years (high urgency)—or they have perilously small populations, high threats, and insufficient monitoring data (presumed high urgency/data deficient).
We relied first on data already available in the Avian Conservation Assessment Database (ACAD)—a database maintained by Partners in Flight (PIF) and housed at Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. We categorized the species based on high vulnerability to extinction, steep population decline, and high urgency, as described below.
High Vulnerability to Extinction
Vulnerability in the ACAD is assessed by carefully scoring a series of independent factors (Population Size, Breeding and Nonbreeding Distribution, Threats, and Trend) that are combined into a single Combined Conservation Score (CCS) that ranges from 4 to 20 (see the ACAD Handbook for a thorough description). Species that meet a threshold of CCS > 13 are considered to be highly vulnerable and are placed on the ACAD Watch List. Species with CCS ≥ 16 show high vulnerability across multiple factors and constitute the Red Watch List.
Steep Population Decline
Based on the latest long-term population trend data for 529 U.S./Canada species (Rosenberg et al., 2019), we identified those species that are estimated to have lost 50% or more of their total adult breeding population since 1970. This group of species are assigned a Population Trend (PT) score = 5 in the ACAD and include many Watch List species. Trend data have been updated through 2019 for this report.
Urgency
To assess urgency, we examined the most recent population trajectories for each species, based on the most recent analysis of BBS and other survey data. This analysis mirrors the survey data used to assess trends for 529 species in Rosenberg et al. (2019) and have been updated through 2019. Notably this analysis includes a complete re-analysis of shorebird trend data by Paul Smith (unpublished 2021). By comparing long-term trends (back to 1970 for most species; to 1980 for shorebirds) with the most recent population trajectories (using a 3-generation period to define “recent” period), and examining trend estimates in light of the 2022 State of the Birds composite results, we identified species in two urgency categories, as follows:
Species of High Urgency
species with large long-term population loss (>50%) and with continued or accelerated recent declines that exhibit a “half-life” < 50 years when projecting forward the most recent 3-generation trend.
Presumed High Urgency/Data Deficient
Poorly monitored species that are believed to be declining have been assigned PT scores of 5 or 4 in the ACAD via expert opinion; for some of these, the population trend is completely unknown. This additional set of species are defined by a combination of small population size (PS = 4, 5) and high threats (TB or TN = 4, 5) and have expert-assigned PT scores of 5, 4, or 3. These species are marked with an asterisk on the Tipping Point Species list. | https://www.stateofthebirds.org/2022/methodology/ |
What Is Cyber Forensics and Why Is It Important for Businesses?
Cyberattacks are increasing with each passing day costing billions of dollars to organizations all over the world. Therefore, to ensure that the same vulnerabilities are not exploited again, organizations need cyber forensics experts to investigate and determine the root cause of cyberattacks while implementing much-needed security measures to prevent such attacks from happening in the first place.
This article will discuss cyber forensics, different types of cyber forensics, and the importance of cyber forensics in cybercrime.
What Is Cyber Forensics?
In simple words, cyber forensics is gathering, analyzing, and investigating data from a computer or mobile device, which is then converted into proof to be presented in court. The primary goal of cyber forensics is to determine who is responsible for cyberattack while documenting the evidence and subsequently performing a thorough investigation.
Cyber forensics is a necessary and integral tool in the fight against cybercrime. The list of cyber threats has exponentially grown in the last decade and includes various acts such as identity theft, cyberbullying, terrorism, and much more. Cyber forensics experts’ responsibility is to use different cyber forensics tools to investigate such cyberattacks and present actionable insights that the organization can use to take corrective actions.
Types of Cyber Forensics
The following are the different types of cyber forensics that you must know about if you are interested in having a career in cyber forensics.
1. Network Forensics
Network forensics is one of the types of cyber forensics that deals with monitoring and analyzing computer network traffic to collect legal evidence and important information that can help with the investigation process.
2. Database Forensics
Database forensics is another type of cyber forensics related to the study and thorough investigation of databases and the related metadata.
3. Email Forensics
Another type of cyber forensics is email forensics, which deals with the recovery and analysis of emails. The investigation includes recovering deleted emails, contacts, and information from calendars as well.
4. Mobile Phone Forensics
Another type of cyber forensics is mobile phone forensics, which deals with analyzing and investigating mobile devices. It generally involves recovering SIM and phone contacts, incoming and outgoing SMS, audio, videos, and call logs, among other things.
5. Malware Forensics
Malware forensics is another type of cyber forensics that deals with identifying malicious code and involves the study of their viruses, payload, and worms, among other things.
Importance of Cyber Forensics in Cybercrime
Cyber forensics plays an important role in the identification of cybercrime. It is needed for the investigation of crime-related activities and law enforcement. There have been several instances such as hacking and denial of service wherein the computer system act as the crime scene. Therefore, in such scenarios, the proof of the crime is hidden inside the computer system. This proof can be emails, documents, browsing history, or anything else. Therefore, to investigate the crime scene and present proof in the court of law, cyber forensics plays a crucial role in eliminating cybercrime.
Growth of Cyber Forensics Jobs
Cybercrimes are only increasing by the day. Therefore, organizations need computer forensics or cyber forensics experts to solve various cybercrimes. Moreover, the future of the IT industry lies within cyber forensics. With people becoming more and more dependent on technology, cybercrimes will only increase in the future. Therefore, there will be a lot of demand and growth the cyber forensics jobs.
Certification Available – Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator Certification
If you are looking to work in the computer forensics or cyber forensics space, then EC-Council has the best certification available for you. The Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) Certification Program will prepare you to conduct computer investigations using ground-breaking cyber forensics tools. Moreover, the CHFI certification program will validate your credentials and will allow you to have a fruitful cyber forensics career with a well-established organization. | https://blog.eccouncil.org/what-is-cyber-forensics-and-why-is-it-important-for-businesses/ |
Turning back the demographic hands of time for an endangered species
Steve Beissinger discusses his and Zachariah Peery’s article “Reconstructing the historic demography of an endangered seabird” in the February 2007 Ecology (88(2): 296-305). Read the full article at https://www.esa.org/esablog/blog_docs/Beissinger_article.pdf.
It’s a simple question that I often get asked about an endangered species: “What caused it to decline?” but I find it to be one of the hardest to answer without giving a hand-waiving response. Determining causes of decline for a species based on data-driven conclusions rather than informed opinion is challenging because it first requires figuring out which demographic rate is depressed and then requires evidence linking it to one or more causes. Yet, to provide clear recommendations for recovering a threatened species, is there any more meaningful question to answer than what is causing it to decline?
I like to use an analogy with medicine to understand how ecologists can produce credible evidence to begin to diagnose the cause of population decline. Demographic rates are basic measures of population health for a declining population. Estimating demographic rates is equivalent to taking the temperature and blood pressure of a patient. Deviations from “healthy” birth and survival rates are symptoms that inform us how forces causing population declines are acting.
Unlike medicine, ecologists have no set of established reference points for healthy demographic rates for threatened species that have no thriving populations. Until about 30 years ago, systematic studies of the birth and death rates of wildlife species were rare. That changed after 1972 with the passage of the Endangered Species Act, which required biologists to assess a species’ risk of extinction. It would be incredibly useful if we could turn back the hands of time and estimate demographic rates for species when their populations were presumably healthy.
We tried to do exactly that in our paper ( Ecology 88:296-305) by using age ratios of museum specimens collected 100 years ago to reconstruct rates of reproduction and survival for the Marbled Murrelet ( Brachyramphus marmoratus ), an endangered seabird that flies inland to lay its single egg in depressions on mossy, platform-like limbs 50-120 m above the ground in old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska. Because nest sites are usually impossible to detect from the ground, this species was among the last North American birds to have its nest discovered in 1974. Thought to have declined from deforestation, the murrelet became a cause-celebre for conserving old growth forests, but oil spills, gill-netting, and nest predators were also considered to be limiting factors.
Over the past decade, studies in my lab on Marbled Murrelets were designed to determine why their populations have declined, examining both terrestrial and marine causes. My former Ph.D. students Ben Becker and Zach Peery deserve much of the credit overcoming considerable logistical difficulties involved with studying murrelets. They and their assistants launched a 4 m inflatable zodiac from beaches through the surf at night to catch, band, and attach telemetry units to murrelets in the ocean using spotlights and dipnets, and during the day to conduct population surveys. They tracked the movements of telemetered birds day and night from airplanes and trucks. They sampled prey and measured trees. Why do graduate students get to have most of the fun?
Results from our work provided evidence that murrelets were suffering from reproductive failure. Most telemetered birds did not nest apparently from food limitations, those that did nest had high rates of failure, and we saw few juveniles on the water during our surveys. Our models and comparisons with other species suggested reproductive rates were greatly depressed. Still, they were just models, and their assumptions and demographic estimators were subject to challenge. We lacked the smoking gun of the expected rates of reproduction for a healthy population. Age ratio analysis of museum specimens collected 100 years ago in our study area provided it.
Age-ratio analysis estimates birth and survival rates from ratios of the numbers of individuals in different age classes. It has fallen in and out of vogue in ecology, and recent applications in Ecology rekindled useful debate over the validity of demographic estimates derived from this approach because critical assumptions may be violated. So we knew we had to rigorously examine the potential for bias that could arise from errors in aging individuals, population fluctuations, and trapping or collecting bias, and to analyze our field data for evidence of differential habitat use or movements by age classes. We even dug out the notebooks and correspondences of the collectors to assess their methods and motivations. We wanted to set the bar high.
What strengthens our work is not just the comparison of historic estimates of birth and survival rates with contemporary estimates, but comparisons with predicted rates from life history theory using allometry, which also provides benchmarks for demographic rates under pre-decline conditions. When demographic estimates for murrelets from museum skins and life history theory showed strong concordance, and when most assumptions of age ratio analyses were upheld for murrelets, we developed confidence in the reliability of our conclusions. Evidence from multiple analyses triangulated on the result that birth rates for Marbled Murrelets were 8.5 times greater about 100 years ago than they are today, while adult survival has not changed substantially.
Reconstructing the demography of a threatened species prior to its decline using age-ratio analysis of museum specimens can provide unique insights for recovering threatened species. Although it can only work for species with identifiable ages or stages, museum collections for a broad array of taxa are available spanning time scales that could not be studied with conventional field techniques. The power of this approach is magnified when combined with habitat, genetic, isotope, disease, or other studies of museum specimens, which we have done and are currently doing for murrelets. Our confidence in the estimates derived from age-ratio analysis increases greatly when they are combined with ancillary data to support its assumptions.
With this information in hand, the next step is to diagnose the specific causes of decline. This involves testing mechanisms or limiting factors causing changes in demography (and population trends) by: (1) experimentally manipulating them and measuring demographic responses; (2) modeling how populations should respond to environmental changes that have occurred; (3) comparing the levels of candidate causes for populations with different demographic rates or population trends; (4) examining demography or population trends before and after changes in a limiting factor; or (5) assaulting sets of predicted impacts on behavior or demography of competing candidate factors with multiple forms of field data.
Contributed by Steven R. Beissinger, University of California at Berkeley
For additional stories on this paper, see also:
UC Press Release:
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/02/05_murrelet.shtml
Sidebar on murrelet conservation
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2007/02/08_habitat.shtml
TV coverage: | https://www.esa.org/esablog/research/turning-back-the-demographic-hands-of-time-for-an-endangered-species/ |
A new study provides compelling evidence that the arrival and subsequent spread of the invasive non-native Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis in mainland Europe has led to a rapid decline in historically widespread species of ladybird in Britain, Belgium and Switzerland. The analysis, published in the scientific journal Diversity and Distributions, is further evidence that Harlequin Ladybirds are displacing some native ladybirds, most probably through predation and competition. The research provides one of the first demonstrations of a strong link between the arrival of an invasive alien species and a decline in native biodiversity over a wide area. The study was led by Dr Helen Roy from the UK's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Tim Adriaens from the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) in Belgium. The research team included 20 scientists from 11 institutions located in five European countries.
Harlequin Ladybird (© Entomart).
Invasive alien species are internationally recognised as one of the five major drivers of biodiversity loss, but few causal relationships between their arrival in a new region and subsequent species declines have been documented in the scientific literature. The Harlequin Ladybird was first found in Belgium in 2001 and in Britain and Switzerland in 2004. Previously its arrival had been predicted to threaten native biodiversity but, until now, the effect on native species had not been quantified. By examining thousands of ladybird distribution records (presence in a 1km² grid cell) collected through public participatory surveys in Britain and Belgium the research team was able to show that five (Belgium) and seven (Britain) out of the eight species studied declined substantially since the arrival of the Harlequin Ladybird. One common species, the large Seven-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata, has retained a stable distribution and abundance across Europe despite the arrival of the Harlequin.
A particularly dramatic decline in the Two-spot Ladybird Adalia bipunctata was noted: the species' populations showed a decline of 30% in Belgium and 44% in Britain over the five years following the arrival of the Harlequin. Similar patterns of decline were found in ladybird abundance data (number of individuals) collated from systematic surveys of deciduous trees in Belgium, Britain and Switzerland. The Two-spot Ladybird is now near the threshold of detection in habitats in which it was previously common. The Harlequin Ladybird is a deciduous tree-dwelling species and its population increase has coincided with declines in species that share the same niche. Lead author Dr Helen Roy, of the UK's Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, said, "This study provides strong evidence of a link between the arrival of the Harlequin Ladybird and declines in other species of ladybird, a result that would not have been possible without the participation of so many members of the public gathering ladybird records across Britain, Belgium and Switzerland."
Seven-spot Ladybird (Photo: Fiona Barclay)
Co-author Tim Adriaens from the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) in Belgium noted that ladybirds provided an incredibly useful ecological function by keeping aphids in check. He continued, "At the continental scale the arrival of the Harlequin could impact on the resilience of ecosystems and severely diminish the vital services that ladybirds deliver." Co-author Dr Marc Kenis from CABI Europe-Switzerland, who is leading studies on the Harlequin in Switzerland, said, "It is essential that our long-term investigations on the decline of native ladybird species are continued, as we need to know whether this decline will persist and whether some species are at risk of local extinction. Furthermore, we need to find specific methods to better investigate the potential decline of rarer species, which were hardly noticed in our general surveys before the arrival of the invasive species." Co-author Dr Peter Brown from Anglia Ruskin University, UK, said, "Long-term datasets such as those used in this work (and our recent atlas of ladybirds of Britain and Ireland) are invaluable. We are extremely grateful to the thousands of volunteer recorders who have contributed their ladybird findings to the surveys." | https://www.birdguides.com/articles/invasive-predator-causing-rapid-declines-of-ladybirds |
Avoid Fumbling An Investigation As It Can Be Costly
A carelessly conducted investigation can lead to avoidable mistakes that in many cases compromise the investigation and in some instances aggravate circumstances. Although most Compliance Officers have a responsibility to conduct investigations as a result of “hotline reports” or for other reasons, the fact is that conducting a full investigation of potential violations of law, regulation, or policies is infrequent. Most issues from the hotline or other sources require only limited work and can be resolved within a day or two. However, all organizations will from time to time be confronted with a problem that must be resolved by some sort of fact gathering. The larger the organization, the more frequently this will happen and for many of the larger organizations, it is a frequent occurrence. The cases requiring investigation generally arise from allegations or complaints that someone has committed a wrongdoing. When this occurs, someone is tasked with conducting an investigation to establish the facts related to the allegation. In most cases, the predicating evidence for an investigation suggests violations of policies, procedures, rules, standards, etc. On relatively rare occasions, it may suggest potential violation of law, or potential civil liability. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for someone to fumble an investigation. The most common mistakes made in conducting an internal investigation include:
- Mishandling hotline callers or other complainants.
- Delaying the initiation of an investigation.
- Failing to plan the investigation to focus on specific objectives.
- Not using properly trained people to conduct the investigation.
- Not controlling the interview process to ensure you gather the best information available.
If the compliance office is going to step up and tackle something needing an investigation without fumbling, they must “be prepared.” A little forethought can avoid many problems. Failing to properly prepare will lead to bad results and in some cases potential liability.
Tips To Avoid Mishandling an Investigation
- First, thoroughly assessing the problem in determining the level of credence given to the allegations or complaint, as well as what laws, regulations, policies, or code provisions may be implicated.
- Determine what resources and people will be needed to resolve them and how quickly the matter must be resolved.
- Ensure the individual(s) assigned to conduct the investigation are properly trained and all able to prepare a proper written report at the end of the investigation.
- To avoid confusion and conflicts, define the respective roles of the Compliance Office and Legal Counsel in advance of any investigations by a written policy. In most cases it is not necessary to involve legal counsel, except in a consultative role. However, in some cases the investigation needs to be conducted under direction of Legal Counsel.
- Determine the scope of what needs to be done and develop an investigative plan that includes what information is known, who may have needed information, and any needed documents.
- Assemble needed documents and have them available before conducting interviews
- Plan for each interview, recognizing there are three significantly different types of interviews; the complainant, witnesses, and subjects of the investigation requiring different approaches to each.
- Understand the limitations on authority in conducting an internal investigation, including the absence of any government legal authority.
- Respect the rights of all employees and recognize that in those organizations that are unionized will have added defined limits on the authority of the investigator.
- Remain objective in conducting the investigation, not allowing personal feelings to interfere with gathering fact and evidence, as this could not prejudice the results.
- Understand witnesses can’t be relied upon to remember accurately details that may also be influence by personal prejudice or experience. As such, anything they provide needs to be verified.
- Avoid taking short cuts that might undermine the accuracy or completeness of the investigation.
- Document carefully all evidence acquired and interviews conducted.
- Keep all records of the investigation under lock and key in an area with limited to only authorized persons.
- The written report on the investigation Must include all relevant aspects of the inquiry and be presented in a thorough, accurate, objective, understandable, and logically organized manner.
In some cases, there may be a real need for a professional investigation by professional investigators who have in depth training and experience. Turning to attorneys for this may not be the right answer as few are professionally trained investigators. For health care cases, some of the best qualified people may be former Special Agents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) or the FBI (if they worked in the health care space). | https://www.compliance.com/resources/avoid-fumbling-an-investigation-as-it-can-be-costly/ |
Initial deadline for comments: 31 January 2012.
BirdLife species factsheet for White-winged Scoter (prior to the taxonomic change)
White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca has been split into M. fusca, M. deglandi and M. stejnegeri following a review of recent literature (Livezey 1995, Garner et al. 2004, Sangster et al. 2005, Collinson et al. 2006, AOU 2010) and museum specimens by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group. Prior to this taxonomic change, the polytypic species M. fusca was listed as being of Least Concern on the basis that it was not thought to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under any of the IUCN criteria.
Following the taxonomic change, all three species are still regarded as having extremely large ranges and hence do not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criteria (B and D2: EOO of less than 20,000 km2, combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality or population size, and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Their population sizes are also large (probably >500,000 individuals in M. deglandi, which has the smallest population; Wetlands International 2006), and hence do not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criteria (C and D1: fewer than 10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be at least 10% over ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure).
Therefore, the only relevant criterion is A, which relates to reductions in population size. Until recently, there was little evidence to suggest that any of these taxa were declining sufficiently rapidly to approach the threshold for listing as Vulnerable under criterion A (at least a 30% decline over ten years or three generations, whichever is longer).
M. fusca
This species breeds in Scandinavia and western Siberia to the River Yenisey, and winters mostly in the Baltic Sea and along the coasts of Western Europe (c.1 million birds; Wetlands International 2006), with only an estimated 1,500 birds wintering in the Black Sea and Caucasus (Wetlands International 2006). Since surveys in 1992-1993, when the estimate of the north-west European wintering population of M. fusca was updated to c.1 million birds, an apparent decline of c.60% (3.7% annually) has been detected in the Baltic Sea, with counts in 2007-2009 putting the wintering population at c.373,000 individuals, down from c.933,000 in 1992-1993 (Skov et al. 2011). Extrapolation of the data implies that this is equivalent to a decline of c.77% over three generations, estimated at 23 years (based on a generation length of c.7.5 years; BirdLife International unpubl. data).
The Baltic Sea is the most important wintering area in the world for this species, holding c.93% of the global population in 1992-1993. It seems unlikely that the proportion of the total north-west European wintering population present in the Baltic has dropped from 93% to 37% (see Skov et al. 2011), thus a rapid decline has probably taken place. This is supported by reports of probable declines elsewhere in its range, e.g. in the UK (Holt et al. 2011)
It is possible that the lower numbers recorded in the Baltic (and possibly elsewhere in north-western Europe) relate not to a population decline, but to changes in the species’s winter distribution. In recent decades, many waterfowl species have responded to global climate change by ‘short-stopping’, i.e. taking advantage of warmer conditions to winter closer to northern breeding areas than was previously possible. M. fusca may have been affected by this phenomenon, and there is some evidence for a partial northwards shift in the species’s distribution within the Baltic (Skov et al. 2011). However, this is not capable of explaining the whereabouts of the c.600,000 birds ‘missing’ from the Baltic. It is possible that some birds may now be wintering in the White Sea or Barents Sea off north-western Russia, but there is no evidence for this.
Assuming therefore that the decline recorded in the Baltic is genuine, then globally the species may be declining at a rate of more than 70% over three generations, which would qualify the species for uplisting to Endangered under criterion A. Comments would be welcomed.
M. deglandi
This species breeds in Canada, Alaska and the very north of the contiguous United States, and winters mainly off both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America, reaching farther south than when breeding. Most indices have indicated population declines; however, it has not been possible to reliably estimate the magnitude of the declines (Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). The species is said to have declined nearly to the point of extirpation in the prairie biome. However, the number of birds formerly occupying this portion of the range cannot be estimated. Data from the US Fish and Wildlife Service–Canadian Wildlife Service breeding waterfowl survey indicate that the combined population of all three scoter species along survey transects in the western boreal forest may have declined by as much as 75% since the 1950s. However, it is not possible to separate trends specific to M. deglandi and the magnitude of the decline for this species cannot be ascertained. Trends have not been apparent in other parts of the species’s breeding range. Mid-winter inventory data do not indicate any trends on the Pacific coast and only weakly show a decline on the Atlantic coast. However, these surveys are said to track scoter populations poorly and all three species are combined in one count (Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). Contrary to many other studies, analysis of Christmas Bird Count data overall indicates an annual increase of 1.20% between 1965-1966 and 2005-2006 across about half of its range (Butcher and Niven 2007), implying that this species may in fact qualify as Least Concern. Comments would be welcomed.
M. stejnegeri
This species breeds in central and eastern Siberia east of the River Yenisey, and winters along the coasts of East Asia. It is estimated to number 600,000-1,000,000 birds; however, population trends are apparently unknown (Wetlands International 2006). Information is requested on this species’s population trends to assist in the assessment of its threat status against criterion A.
Further information is requested and comments are invited on whether the population of M. fusca is likely to have declined at a rate equivalent to 50-79% over the past three generations, and thus whether it qualifies for listing as Endangered under criterion A. Under the same criterion a decline of at least 30% over three generations would qualify the species for Vulnerable, while a decline approaching 30% (typically 20-29%) would qualify the species for Near Threatened. Comments are also invited on the potential listing of M. deglandi as Least Concern.
References:
American Ornithologists’ Union (2010) Fifty-first Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 127: 726-744.
Butcher, G. S. and Niven, D. K. (2007) Combining Data from the Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey to Determine the Continental Status and Trends of North American Birds. Ivyland, PA: National Audubon Society.
Collinson, M., Parkin, D. T., Knox, A. G., Sangster, G. and Helbig, A. J. (2006) Species limits within the genus Melanitta, the scoters. British Birds 99: 183-201.
Garner, M., Lewington, I. and Rosenberg, G. (2004) Stejneger’s Scoter in the Western Palearctic and North America. Birding World 17: 337-347.
Holt, C. A., Austin, G. E., Calbrade, N. A., Mellan, H. J., Mitchell, C., Stroud, D. A., Wotton, S. R. and Musgrove, A. J. (2011) Waterbirds in the UK 2009/10: The Wetland Bird Survey. Thetford, UK: BTO/RSPB/JNCC.
Livezey, B. C. (1995) Phylogeny and Evolutionary Ecology of Modern Seaducks (Anatidae: Mergini). Condor 97: 233-255.
Sangster, G., Collinson, J. M., Helbig, A. J., Knox, A. G. and Parkin, D. T. (2005) Taxonomic recommendations for British birds: third report. Ibis 147: 821-826.
Sea Duck Joint Venture (2003) Species status report. http://www.seaduckjv.org/meetseaduck/species_status_summary.pdf
Skov, H., Heinänen, S., Žydelis, R, Bellebaum, J., Bzoma, S., Dagys, M., Durinck, J., Garthe, S., Grishanov, G., Hario, M., Kieckbusch, J. K., Kube, J., Kuresoo, A., Larsson, K., Luigujoe, L., Meissner, W., Nehls, H. W., Nilsson, L., Petersen, I. K., Roos, M. M., Pihl, S., Sonntag, N., Stock, A. and Stipniece, A. (2011) Waterbird Populations and Pressures in the Baltic Sea. TemaNord 2011: 550. Copenhagen, Denmark: Nordic Council of Ministers.
Wetlands International (2006) Waterbird population estimates. Fourth edition. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wetlands International. | https://globally-threatened-bird-forums.birdlife.org/taxonomic-changes-in-the-genus-melanitta-part-ii-suggestions-to-list-m-fusca-as-endangered-and-m-deglandi-as-least-concern-and-request-for-information-on-m-stejnegeri/ |
Justification of Red List Category
Although this species has a restricted range, it is does not meet the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 or Area of Occupancy <2,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation); and while the species has likely been extirpated from large areas of its historic range (especially on Negros), this damage was done more than 100 years ago and there is now no indication that forest loss is causing a continuing decline. The population size has not been accurately quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Population justification
There is approximately 1,650 km2 of forest cover at suitable elevations for the species (Global Forest Watch , using data from Hansen et al. and methods disclosed therein). Although no density data exist for R. rabori, a congener (R. mystacilis) has been estimated to occur at densities of 75 birds/km2 (Evans et al. 1991); consequently, it is considered highly unlikely, even accounting for this species' apparent comparative scarcity, that the population falls below 10,000 mature individuals.
Trend justification
The population was previously inferred to be in decline because of forest loss and fragmentation. While this species has undoubtedly lost habitat in its range in the past (especially on Negros, where almost all forest below 1,000 m was cleared by the 20th century), recent remote sensing data (Global Forest Watch , using data from Hansen et al. and methods disclosed therein) indicate that over the last 10 years, forest loss in this species' range has been c.0.5-1.0%, which is too slow to infer a continuing decline, especially considering its apparent tolerance of small-scale degradation. In the absence of any other identified threats to the species, the population is therefore suspected to be stable.
Rhabdornis rabori occurs on the islands of Panay and Negros in the Philippines, where it occupies (sub)montane forests between c.800-1,800 m (Allen 2020). The species occurs in the Central Panay Mountain Range (eBird 2021) and this is likely to be a particular stronghold for the species.
This species inhabits montane and submontane forest habitats, between 800 and 1,800 m, but will use forest edges and secondary growth (Allen 2020).
Deforestation has greatly affected the species’ habitat, particularly on Negros where only 4% of forest remained in 1988. This has now almost ceased, but it is unclear whether fragmentation and extinction debt processes are impacting this species.
Conservation Actions Underway
Mt. Canlaon National Park may offer this species some protection.
Conservation Actions Proposed
Increase protection of remaining forests. Conduct surveys to estimate the species' density and population size.
Text account compilers
Berryman, A., Ekstrom, J., Westrip, J.R.S., Butchart, S.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2022) Species factsheet: Rhabdornis rabori. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 01/12/2022. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2022) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 01/12/2022. | http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/visayan-rhabdornis-rhabdornis-rabori/text |
1.2 Thermal energy.
2.2 Sources of energy on Earth.
2.3 Earth's climate driven by the Sun.
Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines
Other materials addressing:
C) Collecting information.
Other materials addressing:
A) Processes that shape the Earth.
Other materials addressing:
C) Energy.
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Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy |
Technical Details
About the Science
- Activity takes two simple types of measurements and shows how they are important to both Earth's seasons and to the technical challenges for the MESSENGER mission to Mercury.
- While the experiments themselves are quite simple and well described, the extrapolations to Earth's seasons and the Mercury MESSENGER mission may prove a rewarding challenge to both educators and students.
- Since the MESSENGER spacecraft began orbiting Mercury in March 2011, this lesson could be related quite nicely to coverage of that event.
About the Pedagogy
- Thorough content piece for educators.
- A group investigation that allows for a differentiation of student roles - Time Keeper, Temperature Monitor, and Recorder.
- Some important mechanical skills are needed to understand and set up the apparatus and consider the design challenges for the Mercury MESSENGER mission.
- This resource engages students in using scientific data.
See other data-rich activities
Technical Details/Ease of Use
- Complete, ready-to-use, clearly presented activity.
- Most of the materials are basic, although not always available in a typical classroom. Assembling the materials and set up for all teams might consume some time.
- Educators have to download a number of materials like worksheets, etc.
Next Generation Science Standards See how this Activity supports:
Middle School
Disciplinary Core Ideas: 1
MS-ESS1.B2:This model of the solar system can explain eclipses of the sun and the moon. Earth’s spin axis is fixed in direction over the short-term but tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. The seasons are a result of that tilt and are caused by the differential intensity of sunlight on different areas of Earth across the year.
Cross Cutting Concepts: 5
MS-C1.2: Patterns in rates of change and other numerical relationships can provide information about natural and human designed systems
MS-C2.1:Relationships can be classified as causal or correlational, and correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
MS-C3.1:Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.
MS-C4.2: Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy, matter, and information flows within systems.
MS-C5.3:Energy may take different forms (e.g. energy in fields, thermal energy, energy of motion).
Science and Engineering Practices: 9
MS-P1.3:Ask questions to determine relationships between independent and dependent variables and relationships in models.
MS-P2.7:Develop and/or use a model to generate data to test ideas about phenomena in natural or designed systems, including those representing inputs and outputs, and those at unobservable scales.
MS-P3.1:Plan an investigation individually and collaboratively, and in the design: identify independent and dependent variables and controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and how many data are needed to support a claim.
MS-P3.2:Conduct an investigation and/or evaluate and/or revise the experimental design to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that meet the goals of the investigation
MS-P4.1:Construct, analyze, and/or interpret graphical displays of data and/or large data sets to identify linear and nonlinear relationships.
MS-P4.3: Distinguish between causal and correlational relationships in data.
MS-P6.3:Construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students’ own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
MS-P7.3:Construct, use, and/or present an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem.
MS-P8.4:Evaluate data, hypotheses, and/or conclusions in scientific and technical texts in light of competing information or accounts. | https://serc.carleton.edu/resources/41806.html |
Among the shellfish in the state’s marine waters is the pinto abalone, a species once found on dinner plates.
The pinto abalone is the only marine snail native to the Salish Sea, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. After decades of population decline due to overharvesting, it is getting some help from a group working to restore the species.
That restoration effort is largely being done in Skagit County.
Government agencies and organizations including the Puget Sound Restoration Fund and the Skagit Marine Resources Committee are involved with the effort.
Since the restoration project began in 2009, about 7,400 hatchery-raised pinto abalone have been introduced into Skagit County waters near Fidalgo and Guemes islands, and about 3,600 in neighboring San Juan County, according to the recent project report.
The report suggests the project is on the cusp of success.
It concludes that the pinto abalone released in Skagit County have up to a 23 percent survival rate.
“We’re seeing that survival has been good, growth has been good,” Puget Sound Restoration Fund project lead Josh Bouma said. “Now that we’re getting to the point where we are six, seven years after (the first releases) … it’s really exciting.”
Pinto abalone play a key role in the environment by keeping algae under control, which benefits kelp and other marine species.
“It all has to do with keeping the system in balance and healthy,” Skagit Marine Resources Committee project lead Paul Dinnel said.
If this restoration project is successful, it will likely be used as a model to restore the species in other parts of the state.
The decline
While pinto abalone populations have declined along the West Coast, the species is most imperiled in Washington.
Pinto abalone have been on NOAA’s species of concern list since 2004. Washington also considers it a species of concern.
Pinto abalone in the state’s waters declined rapidly when recreational harvesting was allowed between 1959 and 1994, according to the state Department of Fish & Wildlife. After harvesting was discontinued, the population continued to decline.
Since the 1990s, the state has intermittently surveyed pinto abalone at 10 sites around the San Juan Islands, including near Cypress and Fidalgo islands in Skagit County. Based on those surveys, Fish & Wildlife estimated in 2013 that the population had declined 92 percent during the previous 20 years.
A Fish & Wildlife dive team spent three days this week searching for wild pinto abalone at three of the survey sites. During that time, the team found two pinto abalone.
“It’s highly discouraging … when you’ve gone and seen abalone plastered all over the rocks and then come back and there is nothing,” said Fish & Wildlife shellfish biologist Michael Ulrich, who remembers seeing more of the abalone during his first dives in 2003.
The population is believed to still be imperiled primarily because of poaching.
“After the recreational fishery was closed there was a lot of poaching, and that just drove the populations down into oblivion essentially because they got to the point they couldn’t successfully reproduce,” Dinnel said.
Abalone of all kinds, including pinto abalone, are sought as a food delicacy and because their shells – which are multicolored and shimmer like pearls – are a popular material for jewelry and designs on guitars.
Restoration efforts
In an effort to bring the marine snails back to the area, Fish & Wildlife and the University of Washington partnered in 2002 to develop a hatchery program at a NOAA research lab in Seattle.
The following year, the Puget Sound Restoration Fund joined the effort, followed by the Northwest Straits Foundation, the Skagit Marine Resources Committee, Western Washington University, area tribes and shellfish companies.
The project partners began gathering adult pinto abalone from areas in San Juan and Skagit counties, then allowed them to spawn in the hatchery, said Bob Sizemore, lead research scientist for Fish & Wildlife’s shellfish dive team.
Because the wild population is sparse, it can take divers several days to locate a single adult pinto abalone to take to the hatchery, he said. If those pinto abalone were left in the wild, they would likely never reproduce.
Melissa Neuman, who handles pinto abalone recovery for NOAA, said figuring out how to raise the young abalone in the hatchery was a challenge.
Since that was mastered, hundreds of pinto abalone have been released each year at multiple sites.
When released at about 18 months old, the pinto abalone are as small as a human thumbnail, Ulrich said.
Divers have reported in recent years seeing pinto abalone at the release sites that now fill the palm of their hands.
The hope is to see the released pinto abalone produce young so that the population will grow on its own. Project partners said it will take time to see evidence of that because it takes several years before pinto abalone start reproducing.
“This is a grand experiment,” Dinnel said. “It’s going to take a lot of patience and persistence to see results. We’re hoping in the next few years to see juveniles outside of the area where they’ve been planted, which would indicate success.”
Project partners plan to continue raising, releasing and monitoring pinto abalone until the species is restored.
“It’s hard to know if that’s a process that’s going to take 10 years or 25 years or 60 years,” Bouma said.
Divers from Fish & Wildlife and the Puget Sound Restoration Fund have returned to the release sites over the years to conduct surveys.
Project partners recently estimated the released pinto abalone have had between a 7 percent and 23 percent survival rate.
“If we’re getting an estimated 20-something percent of survival, we’re doing quite well I would say,” Dinnel said.
The 7 percent survival rate is based on what divers have observed. The higher estimate takes into consideration the reclusive behavior of pinto abalone, which often hide between rocks and blend in with their surroundings.
Missing data
Although various government agencies have acknowledged the peril of pinto abalone, the species has not received formal protection.
NOAA determined in 2014 that the species did not qualify for federal Endangered Species Act protection, largely because of a lack of data about its population before its extreme decline was noted in the 1990s.
The agency concluded that without that data, it was difficult to determine just how imperiled the species was.
“It was pretty clear that we were really lacking a lot of information for a lot of areas. We certainly didn’t have good baseline data to tell us the historic abundance … It was tough to know whether what we were seeing (was unhealthy),” NOAA’s Neuman said.
Since then, the state and Canadian governments have taken their own steps to study and restore the species.
“We don’t know enough about this species, we need to learn more about it and we need to keep track of the status,” Neuman said.
When NOAA was considering federal protection for pinto abalone, the status of the species varied in different parts of the West Coast. That played a role in NOAA’s determination that the species overall was not likely at high risk of going extinct.
“We were all over the board with the species,” Neuman said. “We had areas where there was decline, we had some areas where there were signs of new recruitment (with sightings of young pinto abalone), and we had some areas where there was absolutely no information.”
The status review did reinforce how badly the population was doing in Washington, which was no surprise to state officials.
“The folks in the state of Washington knew well before we added the species to the species of concern list that things were going south for pinto abalone in the state,” Neuman said. “That work has been going on for a long time.”
A model project
For now, the restoration effort in the state is focused around the islands in Skagit and San Juan counties, where the species once thrived.
1 / 2span 3 / 41 / 2span 3 / 4”The heart of the pinto abalone population was here in Skagit and San Juan counties,” said Caroline Gibson, executive director of the Northwest Straits Foundation. “It was an overharvest issue. That population just plummeted.” 1 / 2/span 3 / 41 / 2/span 3 / 4
Project partners hope the work done here will encourage additional efforts throughout the area.
“We hope it’s kind of a prototype for other marine resource committees … to get involved with us in helping to restore this great resource,” Dinnel said.
Ulrich and Sizemore said Fish & Wildlife is interested in expanding the restoration effort to include releases in other parts of the state.
NOAA’s Neuman said the effort in Skagit and San Juan counties could also serve as a model for restoring other imperiled abalone species, such as the endangered white abalone found along the coast of Southern California.
How long it will take to restore the pinto abalone in Washington is unclear. However long it takes, the project partners plan to keep up the effort.
“We would like to recover pinto abalone populations, but to achieve that goal – we’re probably not going to see it happen in our careers or our lifetimes,” Ulrich said. | https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/state/washington/article132604659.html |
Justification:
|
The taxonomic status of this species is unclear and it is not currently possible to determine the precise limits of distribution and abundance of this species in the Caribbean part if its range. In addition, there has been very little research conducted on this species in Brazil. This species is listed as Data Deficient.
|Previously published Red List assessments:|
|Range Description:||The distribution of this species is reported to include the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and Brazil (Cairns et al. 1999). However, it is not yet confirmed that S. stellata is the form present in the wider Caribbean (E. Weil pers. comm.).|
In Brazil, this species has been reported from Fortaleza to Cabo Frio, and the oceanic Fernando de Noronha Archipelago and Atol das Rocas (Pires et al. 1992, Echeverria et al. 1997).
The taxonomic status of forms in the Caribbean requires further investigation.
|Countries occurrence:|
Native:Brazil; Guam
|FAO Marine Fishing Areas:|
Native:
Atlantic – southwest
|Additional data:|
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||This species is common in Brazil and unknown in the Caribbean.|
There is no species specific population information available for this species. However, there is evidence that overall coral reef habitat has declined globally.
The age of first maturity of most reef building corals is typically three to eight years (Wallace 1999) and therefore we assume that average age of mature individuals is greater than eight years. Furthermore, based on average sizes and growth rates, we assume that average generation length is 10 years, unless otherwise stated. Total longevity is not known, but likely to be more than ten years. Therefore any population decline rates for the Red List assessment are measured over at least 30 years. Follow the link below for further details on population decline and generation length estimates.
|Current Population Trend:||Unknown|
|Additional data:|
|Habitat and Ecology:||This species is found in shallow reefs, lagoons and intertidal pools (Goreau and Wells 1967). It is not known to which depth this species occurs.|
|Systems:||Marine|
|Major Threat(s):||
A potential future threat is sea-level rise, especially in areas where hard-bottom communities are replaced by soft substrates.
|
In general, the major threat to corals is global climate change, in particular, temperature extremes leading to bleaching and increased susceptibility to disease, increased severity of ENSO events and storms, and ocean acidification. In addition to global climate change, corals are also threatened by disease and a number of localized threats. The severity of these combined threats to the global population of each individual species is not known.
Coral disease has emerged as a serious threat to coral reefs worldwide and is a major cause of reef deterioration (Weil et al. 2006). The numbers of diseases and coral species affected, as well as the distribution of diseases have all increased dramatically within the last decade (Porter et al. 2001, Green and Bruckner 2000, Sutherland et al. 2004, Weil 2004). Coral disease epizootics have resulted in significant losses of coral cover and were implicated in the dramatic decline of acroporids in the Florida Keys (Aronson and Precht 2001, Porter et al. 2001, Patterson et al. 2002). Escalating anthropogenic stressors combined with the threats associated with global climate change of increases in coral disease, frequency and duration of coral bleaching and ocean acidification place coral reefs at high risk of collapse.
Localized threats to corals include fisheries, human development (industry, settlement, tourism, and transportation), changes in native species dynamics (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), invasive species (competitors, predators, pathogens and parasites), dynamite fishing, chemical fishing, pollution from agriculture and industry, domestic pollution, sedimentation, and human recreation and tourism activities.
|Conservation Actions:||
All corals are listed on CITES Appendix II. Parts of this species distribution fall within several Marine Protected Areas within its range.
|
Recommended measures for conserving this species include research in taxonomy, population, abundance and trends, ecology and habitat status, threats and resilience to threats, restoration action; identification, establishment and management of new protected areas; expansion of protected areas; recovery management; and disease, pathogen and parasite management. Artificial propagation and techniques such as cryo-preservation of gametes may become important for conserving coral biodiversity.
Having timely access to national-level trade data for CITES analysis reports would be valuable for monitoring trends this species. The species is targeted by collectors for the aquarium trade and fisheries management is required for the species, e.g., Marine Protected Areas, quotas, size limits, etc. Consideration of the suitability of species for aquaria should also be included as part of fisheries management, and population surveys should be carried out to monitor the effects of harvesting. | http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/132915/0 |
Laurel forest is often regarded as an ancient type of woodland as reflected in the ‘Tertiary relict’ hypothesis. The Canary Islands are one of the present day hotspots of laurel forest harbouring remarkable species richness and endemism. In recent decades there has been a rapid decline in and severe threats to the biodiversity of laurel forest populations worldwide.
Genetic assignment of Laurus AFLP data. Results from STRUCTURE analysis (Laurus novocanariensis) with K = 5 analysing the Tenerife only data set. The zone with the highest genetic admixture is indicated. Details in Betzin et al. (2016).
Betzin et al. undertake an extensive fine-scale sampling for genetic analysis of the laurel tree (Laurus novo-canariensis) and the endemic gentian Ixanthus viscosus. Through their extensive phylogeographic investigation of contemporary population dynamics for these archaic forest populations they find evidence indicating contemporary gene flow and dispersal on a micro/local scale.
Previous articleWhat does it take to run a botanical society? | https://www.botany.one/2016/10/phylogeographic-insights-enigmatic-laurel-tree-endemic-gentian-canary-islands/ |
Purpose of review With the rapid ageing of the world's population, investigating protective factors that may prevent or delay age-related disorders has become a new public health priority. Dementia is a common age-related disorder, affecting up to one in every two people reaching 80 years of age or above. Amongst the various potential 'protective factors' currently under investigation, physical activity seems to hold promise for the primary and the secondary prevention of dementia. This paper critically reviews the evidence in support of the association between exercise and cognitive decline/dementia, as reported by cohort studies or clinical trials.Recent findings The results of cohort studies show that physical activity is associated with better cognitive function and less cognitive decline in later life although there is only scant evidence suggesting that physical activity may in fact reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. In addition, data to support the systematic introduction of physical activity programmes to reduce the risk of dementia in later life are not as yet available from randomized clinical trials.Summary The results of observational studies are largely consistent with the hypothesis that physical activity reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in later life. These findings are, however, not as yet adequately supported by data from randomized clinical trials. | https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/physical-activity-and-cognition-in-old-age |
Once an alert has been verified, the on-site investigation should be undertaken within 24 hours.
2.3.1 Preparation of the investigation
Ideally the investigation team is composed of a doctor or nurse and a logistician and/or a water/sanitation specialist. Each team member should have determined tasks in the investigation. If creating such a team is not immediately possible, the investigation should not be delayed and a single person can conduct the investigation if s/he is experienced.
Prepare medical supplies for diagnosis (Appendix 1) and treatment of some cholera cases (Appendix 2).
Contact local Ministry of Health and governmental representatives. Explain the reason for the investigation and request authorization and assistance (access to all sites, persons and data necessary to complete the investigation).
Consider a visit to surrounding villages or health posts to help determine the extent of the problem.
2.3.2 Investigation inside the health facility
– Clinical examination (Section 2.4.1) and stool sample collection (Section 2.4.2) for diagnosis confirmation.
– Capacity of the health facility to respond immediately to the needs, and quality of care:
• Number of current beds and potential bed capacity;
• Available human resources (medical and non-medical) and prior experience with cholera case management;
• Use of standard case definition and treatment protocols;
• Hygiene practices (isolation, hand-washing, etc.);
• Stock of drugs and medical supplies, logistic materials, and supply chain;
• Water supply (quantity and quality, Appendix 17);
• Number of latrines and showers, solid waste and waste water management systems.
– Current data on cholera cases and deaths (and, if available, historical data; however these data may be available at the central level only).
– Accessibility of the treatment facility (location, transportation, security, fee for service, etc.).
2.3.3 Investigation outside the health facility
– Local demographic data (these data may be available at the central level only).
– Factors contributing to an epidemic:
• High population density (camps and slums);
• Gathering places (markets, transportation hubs, schools, and other congregate settings);
• Sources of drinking water potentially contaminated (unprotected wells, surface water, street vendors, etc.);
• Poor water quality (excessive turbidity and absence of free residual chlorine, see Section 3.3.3 and Appendix 17);
• Poor sanitation (open defecation, poorly maintained public latrines, broken sewer pipes, etc.);
• Current meteorological conditions (rain, flooding, drought, etc.).
– Presence, capacity and role of other actors (organizations, associations, etc.).
For each place visited, draw a map to locate settlements, health facilities, water sources (indicate whether they are treated/protected or not), gathering places, and major transportation routes.
2.3.4 Immediate actions
– If patients are deemed to be at risk due to gaps in:
• Supplies:
Essential medical material should be provided: as a minimum Ringer lactate (RL), catheters, infusion sets and other infusion supplies (compresses, tourniquet, antiseptic, tape, etc.) and oral rehydration salts (ORS), as well as doxycycline for prescription in appropriate cases.
• Case management:
The doctor or nurse of the investigation team should provide direct patient care and rapid bedside training.
– If suspected cases are not isolated, put them together in a separate area to prevent exposure to others.
– If there is no cholera-specific register, set one up (Appendix 3).
Note: as cholera outbreaks move with populations it is important to remain flexible. It will likely be necessary in most open settings to continue similar investigations in new neighbourhoods or villages throughout the epidemic. | https://medicalguidelines.msf.org/en/viewport/CHOL/english/2-3-initial-on-site-investigation-23448719.html?language_content_entity=en |
Studies in the United States and Europe suggest that contingent workers such as part-time, temporary, or contract workers are at higher risk for occupational injuries and illnesses than workers in traditional employment situations, NIOSH researchers report.
Several possible reasons for the higher risk are suggested in the increasing scientific evidence, and warrant further scientific investigation, the researchers stated. The article, "Contingent Workers and Contingent Health: Risks of a Modern Economy," by Kristin J. Cummings, M.D., M.P.H., and Kathleen Kreiss, M.D., was published in the Jan. 30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Among the evidence for higher risk among contingent workers, are the following data and reports from the United States, the researchers said:
"As the use of part-time, temporary, and contract work increases in today’s changing economy, it has become more and more important to understand the implications of the trend for occupational safety and health, and to address factors that may put these workers at unique risk," said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. "Studies such as these are important in suggesting evidence-based hypotheses in this complex area, and stimulating next steps in research to address unanswered questions."
While contingent workers are a diverse group, ranging from well-paid independent consultants to low-skilled construction workers, they are more likely to be young, female, or Hispanic, and to have lower incomes and fewer benefits than workers in traditional employment, the NIOSH researchers found.
As a concern that also involves issues of personal health, the unpredictable schedule of some contingent positions may contribute to poor eating and exercise habits -- factors in obesity and diabetes.
Studying a population of workers who are not affiliated with one single employer, a population that is transient and dynamic, poses challenges for researchers, the new study said.
However, it added, identifying potential risk factors and designing interventions for preventing injuries and illness, and promoting good health, are "of paramount importance to the health of the nation."
Is your company leveraging its safety data and analytics to maintain a safe workplace? With so much data available, where do you start? This downloadable guide will give you insight on helpful key performance indicators (KPIs) you should track for your safety program.
This guide includes details on how to conduct a thorough Job Hazard Analysis, and it's based directly on an OSHA publication for conducting JHAs. Learn how to identify potential hazards associated with each task of a job and set controls to mitigate hazard risks.
Learn from safety professionals from around the world as they share their perspectives on various “new views” of safety, including Safety Differently, Safety-II, No Safety, Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), Resilience Engineering, and more in this helpful guide.
As organizations digitalize and remote operations become more commonplace, the number of lone workers is on the rise. These employees are at increased risk for unaddressed workplace accidents or emergencies. This guide was created to help employers better understand common lone worker risks and solutions for lone worker risk mitigation and incident prevention.
Learn the keys to staying organized, staying sharp, and staying one step ahead on all things safety. This buyer’s guide is designed for you to use in your search for the safety management solution that best suits your company’s needs.
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Featuring: | https://ohsonline.com/articles/2008/02/temporary-contract-workers-at-higher-risk-for-injuries.aspx |
London (London weighting to be added as applicable).
Undertake tasks identified as being necessary for the support of predominately Motor Liability and
fraud investigations, including seizure and viewing of evidential material, taking
evidential statements from witnesses, policyholders and undertaking enquiries.
Secure the best evidence through thorough investigation and effective use of all available
resources and tools.
Attend court hearings and case conferences as required, giving evidence in relation to those
aspects of any investigation which the post holder has had any involvement during the
investigation process or are within their personal knowledge.
Liaise with insurer clients, internal units, police forces, external agencies and the public, in
relation to the gathering of evidence, identifying and tracing offenders and ensuring that all
aspects of the investigation are taken into account.
Provide high quality, technically accurate and timely reports to our insurer clients
The Successful Candidate will:
? Have a proven investigative background, ideally in motor insurance claims, who is willing
to be flexible in their working hours and have the ability to meet the challenges of a demanding
and complex workload.
? Hold a Full Driving License.
? Be an excellent communicator capable of dealing with a wide ranging demographic
? Be able to accurately record evidence, obtain written statements and complete other
administration.
? Be calm, adaptable and dynamic in ever changing situations.
? Have a working knowledge of civil law as they relate to insurance
Salary: £25,000
Benefits: 25 days holiday, plus Bank Holidays, company sick pay, pension, company vehicle,
comprehensive training and equipment provided. | https://www.thecotswoldgroup.co.uk/careers/motor-investigator.php |
Lawyers in Cincinnati and throughout Ohio must take an oath that they will represent their clients without compromise and conflict. The “Code of Professional Responsibility” and the “Code of Judicial Conduct” are used by the Supreme Court of Ohio to regulate the conduct of lawyers. Clements, Taylor, Butkovich & Cohen, L.P.A., Co. of Cincinnati outlines ethics rules below.
These codes outline the ethics that each lawyer must follow. For example, a lawyer in Cincinnati, Ohio may not:
- Knowingly mislead or lie to a client
- Reveal the client’s confidential information without the client’s permission
- Misuse or take the client’s money without the client’s permission
- Settle, file, or dismiss a case without the client’s permission
- Show negligence in the handling of the client’s case after he/she has agreed to represent the client
Limitations of Ethics Complaints
Not every complaint against a lawyer is grounds for an ethics complaint, according to Ohio legal malpractice law. For example, disputes over fees are not usually a basis for an ethics complaint. Also, an ethics complaint will not help you overturn the result of a civil or criminal case. Similarly, an ethics complaint will not lead to the recovery of monetary damages.
Filing an Ethics Complaint in Cincinnati
Do you have a complaint about lawyer ethics in Cincinnati? If so, you can file a written complaint against the lawyer.
- After filing the written complaint, there will be an investigation into the lawyer’s actions.
- The investigating committee or disciplinary counsel will gather the evidence of your complaint and determine if the lawyer violated ethics rules.
- If the investigating committee finds evidence of wrongdoing, then a formal complaint will be filed.
- The Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline will hold a public hearing, and you may need to testify.
- Based on the outcome of this hearing, the Supreme Court of Ohio may decide to limit or stop the lawyer from practicing law in the state of Ohio.
If you have a question about ethics laws in Cincinnati, you should check with a Cincinnati legal malpractice attorney. A legal malpractice law firm in Cincinnati will help you understand legal ethics and malpractice laws within your state. | https://ctbclawyers.com/faq/understanding-ethics-rules/ |
The document that initiates the filing of a bankruptcy proceeding, setting forth basic information regarding the debtor, including name, address, chapter under which the case is filed, and estimated amount of assets and liabilities.
Additional Sources
Duhaime Legal Dictionary
A formal, written document submitted to a court, and which asks for the court to redress what is described in the petition as being an injustice or an illegal act of some kind.
Petitions set out the facts, identifies the law under which the court is being asked to intervene, and ends with a suggested course of action for the court to consider (eg. payment of damages).
Encyclopedia Britannica
Written instrument directed to some individual, official, legislative body, or court in order to redress a grievance or to request the granting of a favour. Petitions are also used to collect signatures to enable a candidate to get on a ballot or to put an issue before the electorate. They are also used to pressure representatives and deputies to vote in a certain way.
Most governments allow citizens to petition in some form for redress of grievances, and, indeed, in many countries it is an established right. The history of its growth has been wide and varied. In England the right of petitioning the crown was recognized indirectly as early as Magna Carta (1215) and reaffirmed in the Bill of Rights of 1689. At first, petitions to the crown appear to have been for the redress of private and local grievances. Moreover, in Parliament many statutes were drawn up based on petitions sent from the House of Commons to the crown and the latter’s answers. Although the right to petition Parliament itself is not mentioned in the Bill of Rights, it is a convention of the constitution. In modern times the presentation of public petitions plays little effective part in parliamentary affairs because most fail to conform to very strict tests of technical validity.
In the United States, the right under the First Amendment to the Constitution to petition the government for redress of grievances is one of the basic guarantees of civil liberties. In the Revolutionary era, American political theorists emphatically asserted that the colonists were entitled to all the historic guarantees of English liberty, and Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence listed the flouting of “petitions for redress” as a major grievance against the British king. In 1789 the first U.S. Congress incorporated the right of petition along with other freedoms in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Thereafter, virtually all the states incorporated guarantees of petition in their own constitutions. Both Congress and the various state legislatures still have well-defined procedures for receiving and acting upon materials of this kind. Although the rules are not as stringent as those in England, individual officials often have wide discretion in interpreting the validity of petitions.
Law.com Dictionary
1) n. a formal written request to a court for an order of the court. It is distinguished from a complaint in a lawsuit which asks for damages and/or performance by the opposing party. Petitions include demands for writs, orders to show cause, modifications of prior orders, continuances, dismissal of a case, reduction of bail in criminal cases, a decree of distribution of an estate, appointment of a guardian, and a host of other matters arising in legal actions. 2) n. a general term for a writing signed by a number of people asking for a particular result from a private governing body (such as a homeowners association, a political party, or a club). 3) in public law, a writing signed by a number of people which is required to place a proposition or ordinance on the ballot, nominate a person for public office, or demand a recall election. Such petitions for official action must be signed by a specified number of registered voters (such as five percent). 4) v. to make a formal request of a court; to present a written request to an organization's governing body signed by one or more members. 5) n. a suit for divorce in some states, in which the parties are called petitioner and respondent.
The Free (Legal) Dictionary
A written application from a person or persons to some governing body or public official asking that some authority be exercised to grant relief, favors, or privileges.
A formal application made to a court in writing that requests action on a certain matter.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees to the people the right to petition the government for the redress of grievances. Petitions are also used to collect signatures to enable a candidate to get on a ballot or put an issue before the electorate. Petitions can serve as a way of pressuring elected officials to adhere to the position expressed by the petitioners
Wikipedia
A petition is a request to change something, most commonly made to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some official and signed by numerous individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written, and in this era may be transmitted via the Internet. The term also has a specific meaning in the legal profession as a request, directed to a court or administrative tribunal, seeking some sort of relief such as a court order.
A petition can also be the title of a legal pleading that initiates a case to be heard before a court. The initial pleading in a civil lawsuit that seeks only money (damages) might be titled (in most U.S. courts) a complaint; an initial pleading in a lawsuit seeking non-monetary or "equitable" relief such as a request for a writ of mandamus or habeas corpus, or for custody of a child or for probate of a will, would instead be termed a petition. | http://www.tollfree800legal.com/lawyer-glossary/petition-144.htm |
On April 15, 2019, our firm received a notice from the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) concerning our client’s I-140 petition under EB-1A Alien of Extraordinary Ability. Originally filed on January 3, 2017, this petition was denied by the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) despite our strong original petition and RFE (Request for Evidence) submission. Due to errors clearly evident in the RFE and denial decision, we submitted an appeal to the AAO and, after careful review of our arguments and the original petition, the AAO sustained the appeal.
Original Petition
Our client, an expert in the field of neurosurgery, is originally from India and is in the U.S. working as a professor and researcher. At the time of his case filing, his exceptional professional accomplishments included at least 34 peer-reviewed scientific articles (9 of which had been cited at extraordinary rates), one book chapter, one U.S. patent, and at least 233 citations according to Google Scholar. We further supported our client’s petition with evidence describing the nature of his field, statistical analyses discussing the prominence of his citation record and of the journals that published his work, and strong professional testimonials attesting to the impact of his work. One expert, for example, said the following: “[Client] has provided nothing short of a breakthrough in DBS surgery, significantly increasing the likelihood of achieving the optimal electrode placement the first time.”
Request for Evidence and Denial
In the initial RFE, the USCIS officer (NSC #0317) acknowledged that sufficient evidence had been submitted to demonstrate that our client satisfied two of the three claimed criteria, but the officer requested additional evidence to satisfy the criterion of original contributions of major significance. Based on the language of the RFE, however, it was clear that the officer had not carefully considered all the submitted evidence, as all the documentation requested had been included in the original filing. In our response, we therefore emphasized the previously-submitted record and supplemented it with additional citatory data and ranking information concerning our client’s impact and productivity, thus demonstrating that our client had both made outstanding contributions of major significance and obtained national/international recognition.
Despite our strong arguments and our client’s evidence, the USCIS answered our RFE response with a denial notice. In the notice, the officer did acknowledge that our client satisfied all three of the criteria claimed—modifying his/her initial stance in the RFE—but had failed to demonstrate sustained national/international acclaim at the Final Merits Determination (FMD) stage.
Appeal and Final Decision
The officer’s language and discussion of our client’s accomplishments in the denial decision displayed multiple violations of proper adjudication procedures. Based on this, we believed that we had a strong case to appeal with the AAO, and we prepared our appeal brief to submit for the AAO’s consideration. In this appeal, we focused primarily on two points in which we found the USCIS had improperly carried out its adjudication discretion: (1) the officer had inappropriately conducted the requisite field-wide comparison inherent to the EB-1A classification, and (2) the officer’s careless discussion of our client’s eligibility and evidence demonstrated a profound inattention to the full breadth of evidence submitted with our client’s case. We argue that, by arbitrarily comparing our client to a handful of selected individuals at the pinnacle of our client’s field, the officer improperly applied the EB-1A regulations and ignored countless non-precedent decisions in which the AAO indicated that EB-1A petitioners must be considered against their field as a whole. Similarly, by failing to acknowledge all but a fraction of the accomplishments submitted by our client, the officer again failed in his duty to examine each piece of evidence for relevance, probative value, and credibility, as is required by the regulatory statutes.
The AAO, having received our arguments, saw fit to reopen the case and conduct a de novo evaluation the submitted evidence. They acknowledged and confirmed the officer’s final position that our client satisfies at least three of the ten requisite EB-1 criteria and, in review of our client’s full record, concluded that our client is indeed internationally recognized in his field of expertise such as to qualify for the EB-1A designation. Thus, the AAO sustained our appeal and approved our client’s EB-1A case as a result of our effective legal strategies and the exceptional record of accomplishments held by our client.
The key to our success is the way in which we present supporting evidence and provide the highest quality petition letters. With over 16,000 I-140 EB-1 ( EB-1A Alien of Extraordinary Ability; EB-1B Outstanding Researcher or Professor), EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) and O-1 approvals, our firm has acquired substantial information about USCIS decisions, which gives us significant advantage over firms that only handle a small number of cases.
Based on hundreds of approvals every month and our close track of USCIS internal memoranda, AAO decisions, and judicial review decisions, we have unique insight into the USCIS adjudication trends. Not only do we apply this insight into our approaches to our clients' cases, but we also carefully review all RFEs (Requests for Evidence), NOIDs (Notices of Intent to Deny), approvals, and denials issued on our cases so that we can further increase our understanding of USCIS strategies and decision-making processes. With the insight, we are able to advise our clients on the best ways to proceed with their petitions.
While other petitioners and attorneys may still use templates to draft recommendation letters or petition letters, our clients' recommendation letters and petition letters are tailored to their individual credentials to best persuade a USCIS officer that our clients meet the requirements of the category they are applying under and therefore their petitions deserve to be approved. To provide the best EB-1 and EB-2 NIW services, our law firm only selects attorneys who have received their professional Juris Doctor degrees from the top law schools in the U.S. and who have garnered rigorous analytical skills through years of experience. | https://www.wegreened.com/AAO-Sustained-Our-EB-1A-Appeal-and-Overturned-the-Decision-of-an-NSC-officer |
Carequality Interoperability Framework
The Carequality Principles of Trust is the policy foundation for connecting health data sharing networks throughout the U.S. The Carequality Interoperability Framework is a collection of documents that are used to operationalize data sharing and includes:
Legal and Governance Documents
Carequality Connected Agreement (11/04/2019)
This document contains the standard legal terms agreed by all implementers of the Carequality Framework. It provides the foundation for trusted exchange among implementers, by establishing the “rules of the road” and defining an implementer’s rights and obligations. (Note – the document linked here is the CCA itself, without any exhibits or schedules. Prospective implementers should contact Carequality at [email protected] to obtain a complete legal package for execution.)
Carequality Connection (CC) Terms (11/04/2019)
This document contains the standard terms that implementers are required to make legally binding on their members, customers, or participants who engage in exchange activities through the Carequality Framework and are listed in the Carequality Directory.
Dispute Resolution Process
This document outlines the steps involved in addressing any formal disputes that may arise between implementers, or between implementers and Carequality.
Technical Trust Policy (08/05/2021)
This document outlines requirements that constitute technically enforceable evidence that the organization has met the associated criteria for being a Carequality Participating System, to ensure technical trust among any system that hosts an end point listed in the Carequality Directory, or directly originates a request to such an end point. Individual use case Implementation Guides may specify different requirements from those outlined in this policy and in such a case the Implementation Guide will take precedence.
Carequality Framework Policies
The purpose of this document is to establish overarching policies that exist within the Carequality Framework, but outside of specific Use Case Implementation Guides, the Carequality Connected Agreement (CCA), or other Carequality Elements. The policy requirements in this document apply broadly across the entire Carequality Framework. More specific policies defined for an individual Use Case take precedent over the general policies contained in this document to the extent it is not possible to comply with both.
Concise Consolidated CDA: Deploying Encounter Summary and Patient Summary Documents with Clinical Notes
This document contains the consolidated work of the Carequality and CommonWell Joint Document Content Workgroup. Version 2.0, now called “Concise Consolidated CDA: Deploying Encounter Summary and Patient Summary Documents with Clinical Notes”, includes guidance on new topics. While we suggest that you review the whole document, highlights of this update include further refinements to the content recommendations featured in version 1.0, guidance for laboratory orders and results, and the dynamic generation of documents (aka On Demand). Please note that while this document reflects best practices, it is not binding to the Carequality Implementer community at this time.
Carequality Policy on Full Participation During COVID-19 Emergency
This document outlines a temporary waiver with respect to some aspects of Carequality’s Full Participation requirements for the Query-Based Document Exchange Use Case. This was developed in recognition that access to patient medical records through the Carequality Framework will be beneficial to clinicians battling the COVID-19 outbreak within the United States, and the extraordinary situation the outbreak represents.
Carequality Policy on Public Health Queries During COVID-19 Emergency (Amended May 2022)
The Carequality Steering Committee recognizes that access to clinical information for public health agencies, and that the ability for public health agencies to leverage Carequality connectivity would be highly beneficial. This document addresses the existing barriers and outlines the temporary waivers to address these barriers in this policy.
Implementation Guides
Implementation Guides provide both technical specifications and requirements, as well as additional business and policy requirements, for a particular Carequality Use Case.
Query-Based Document Exchange Implementation Guide (Updated 2021) (PDF)
The initial Carequality Use Case is Query-Based Document Exchange.
Imaging Data Exchange Supplemental Implementation Guide (Updated 2019) (PDF)
This IG is an extension of the QBDE IG for Imaging Data Exchange purposes only. It is not its own Carequality element.
Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) Implementation Guide (Updated 2020) (PDF)
The second Carequality Use Case is Electronic Case Reporting. | https://carequality.org/resources/ |
Department of Safety and Professional Services
We have a successful track record of defending healthcare and business professionals in Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services investigations and disciplinary complaints. We understand the emotional turmoil and financial impact that disciplinary investigations and sanctions have on licensed professionals. We guide our clients in the early stages of the investigative process, prepare appropriate responses to the investigating agency, and continue until the best solution is achieved.
We aggressively defend our professional clients in any formal disciplinary proceedings, to achieve a dismissal or settlement satisfactory to our client. It is our job to
- ensure that all relevant facts favorable to our client are known,
- see that the appropriate law and standard of care are considered in evaluating whether or not a rule violation has occurred
- make sure that all factors in favor of our client and in mitigation of a potential sanction are made known to the investigating attorney and examining board
- communicate with our client at all stages to make clear all our client’s risks, available choices, and likely outcomes.
In other words, we are in our client’s comer from beginning to end in order to achieve the very best outcome.
Often we are able to achieve a closure of the investigation with a determination by the investigating examining board or Division of Enforcement that there is no violation or no grounds to seek discipline. If a potential ethical violation or practice violation is found to have occurred, we negotiate resolutions, including an outright dismissal or a stipulated settlement that minimizes potential adverse impacts on our client’s license.
If clients hire us soon after receiving notice of an investigation, we assume the primary responsibility for providing information to the Department of Safety and Professional Services and a response to the investigation. We consult with clients, review their records, consult with experts if necessary, and provide a response to the Department of Safety and Professional Services that explains our client’s conduct clearly, completely and in the most favorable light.
Often a complaint is initiated based on a miscommunication or misunderstanding between the licensed professional and their client. Sometimes the professional examining board or Division of Enforcement attorney prosecuting the case will misunderstand the law applicable to the allegations, or have a misunderstanding of the professional conduct required under the circumstances of the case. When applicable, and with our client’s permission, we will consult with experts to understand the appropriate standard of care and professional conduct rules applicable to the alleged rule violations.
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Overview of the Disciplinary Process
The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DRL) is the administrative agency for the State of Wisconsin that issues new licenses, renewal applications, and reinstatement of licenses for more than 100 professions. DRL investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct complaints. DRL and each profession’s examining board may discipline licensees who violate professional conduct rules or who have engaged in unprofessional conduct. The Department of Safety and Professional Services issues licenses to many professions, including physicians, chiropractors, veterinarians, nurses, and mental health professionals. Click to see full list
Many of the professions are regulated by examining boards whose members include licensees in that profession and members of the public. For example, physicians are regulated by the Medical Examining Board, nurses are regulated by the Board of Nursing, and psychologists are regulated by the Psychology Examining Board.
A number of professions do not have examining boards but still have their licenses issued by the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
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Unprofessional Conduct Complaints and Sanctions
The Division of Enforcement in the Department of Safety and Professional Services screens, investigates, and prosecutes complaints of unprofessional conduct in the professions. Each examining board establishes professional conduct rules. Professional misconduct complaints may include allegations of dishonesty, conflict of interest, substandard healthcare, improper or inadequate communications, sexual misconduct, inadequate record-keeping, etc.
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Opening of Investigative File
If the Division of Enforcement and the professional examining board believe there is a valid basis for a finding of unprofessional conduct, an investigative file is opened. A licensed professional may be contacted by a Division of Enforcement investigator or a Division of Enforcement attorney, or the licensed professional may receive a letter in the mail stating that there has been a complaint made against him or her, and that a response to the complaint is required. In most cases the specific allegations of misconduct are explained to the licensee and an opportunity is given to respond. After receiving information and records related to the matter, the Division of Enforcement attorney will meet with a member of the examining board and make a preliminary decision as to whether a rule of professional conduct has been violated, creating a reasonable basis to impose a sanction against the licensee.
If an investigative file is not dismissed after information is received from the licensee, or resolved with the licensee by stipulation, a formal disciplinary complaint is commenced. The formal disciplinary complaint process is an administrative proceeding in which an evidentiary hearing takes place in front of an administrative law judge (ALJ). After both sides have presented their evidence and arguments, the ALJ will submit a proposed decision to the professional examining board, with copies to the attorney for the Division of Enforcement and to the licensee’s attorney. Both the Division of Enforcement and the licensee have an opportunity to object to the proposed decision. The professional examining board then issues a final decision on whether or not professional misconduct has occurred, and may impose sanctions including, but not limited to, reprimand, suspension or revocation of the professional license.
An unfavorable decision by the professional examining board can be appealed to the circuit court, and the circuit court’s decision is subject to review by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and, ultimately, by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Additional questions you may have specific to your situation can be answered by one of our experienced attorneys. Please note that the information provided on this website is not legal advice, but is provided for information purposes only. For advice specific to your case, please contact our firm for a consultation. | https://www.rwelaw.net/madison-practice/professional-license-defense/ |
A research proposal is a document that outlines a proposed research project and seeks funding or support for that project. A well-written proposal should include the following elements:
Title: The title should be clear, concise, and descriptive of the proposed research.
Background: This section should provide the context and rationale for the proposed research, including a review of relevant literature and an explanation of why the research is needed.
Research Question: The research question should be clear and specific, and should state the main objective of the proposed research.
Methodology: This section should describe the methods that will be used to collect and analyze data, including the research design, sample size, and data analysis techniques.
Significance: This section should explain the potential contributions of the proposed research to the field, including the expected outcomes and implications of the findings.
Timeframe and Budget: The proposal should include a detailed timeline for the proposed research, including specific milestones and deadlines, as well as a budget that outlines the resources required to complete the project.
References: The proposal should include a list of relevant literature and sources that were used in the background and methodology sections.
It is important to keep in mind that a research proposal should be written in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner, and should be tailored to the specific requirements and guidelines of the funding agency or organization that will be reviewing the proposal.
It is also important to be realistic in your proposal, make sure that the proposed research is feasible within the given time and budget, and that you have the necessary skills and expertise to carry out the research.
Finally, it is important to proofread and edit your proposal carefully to ensure that it is free of errors and presents a polished and professional image. | https://www.perfectacademic.com/creating-an-effective-research-proposal/ |
This is a general overview of the disciplinary/contested case process. To the extent that its application in any given situation contradicts the Board’s Rules and Regulations, the Board’s Practice Act, the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act, any court order, federal or state law, the latter shall control.
The Board does not accept anonymous complaints. All complaints must name the individual the complaint is filed against, and must be signed by the person registering the complaint before the Board will proceed. A license or certificate holder has a property right to their registration under Wyoming Law and therefore they are afforded the right of due process. Part of this process requires that the license or certificate holder be given the opportunity to address the concerns raised in a complaint against them, and to present a defense to the allegations. This means that a copy of the complaint will be provided to the license or certificate holder.
The entire complaint review, investigation and legal review process may take an extended period of time depending on the complexity of the case and the pending caseload before the Board. During the investigation stage, all information is confidential and may not be discussed. This also applies to discussing the investigation with the person filing the complaint.
How Complaints are Processed
When a complaint is received it is assigned a complaint number. The complaint will be referred to by this number throughout the process. The Board will acknowledge receipt of the complaint with a letter. A Board Member will be assigned as the Investigative Member for the complaint. That Member will guide the investigation and review all of the information gathered. The Board’s professional investigator may contact you and your witnesses for further information. The investigator will identify themselves with a State of Wyoming Identification Card.
After fully reviewing all of the information gathered, the Investigative Member will make a recommendation to the full Board on how to proceed. With the concurrence of the Attorney General the Investigative Member may recommend any of the following actions:
a. Dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction;
b. Dismiss the complaint for lack of clear and convincing evidence of a violation;
c. Dismiss the complaint with an advisory letter (private communication);
d. Issue a Letter of Reprimand;
e. Settlement by conditional licensure with stipulations;
f. Suspension;
g. Revocation
Once the Board votes to accept the recommendation, the case proceeds as directed by the Board for disposition. After the Board action, the licensee and the complainant will be notified of the outcome in writing. If the client is a minor, the minor must complete a release form and the minor’s legal guardian (s) must complete a form. These records become part of the investigative report. | https://midwifery.wyo.gov/public/complaint-process |
The age-old adage that there are two sides (at least) to every story is clearly evident in litigation. Both parties believe that the applicable law, when applied to the facts, supports their position, or they likely would not be going to court. The parties and the lawyers are familiar with the facts and the law. Everyone fully understands the nuances of their position.
Everyone, that is, but the judge and jury who are hearing the case for the first time. It is these “novices to the case” who will ultimately decide which version of the facts or story is most persuasive.
For one day, I was a “novice to the case” in the courtroom as I helped our trial technician set up for a PowerPoint presentation in court. I observed both sides’ opening statements as well as the direct and cross-examinations.
Although I have been in the courtroom on numerous occasions, I had no prior knowledge of the substance of this matter and did not work on this presentation. Our client, the plaintiff in this case, delivered an opening statement that was enhanced with a PowerPoint presentation, while opposing counsel relied on typed or handwritten notes and an easel with a large paper tablet. After observing both approaches, I came away with what I think are interesting conclusions about the effect that the PowerPoint presentation had on my understanding of the case, the attorney’s arguments, and my initial impression of liability.
As a former paralegal, I know that preparation is one of the keys to success in litigation. And while I believe both sides were equally prepared, this was not the impression created in the courtroom by defendant’s counsel. What set the opening statements apart was the PowerPoint presentation used by our client. It served as a baseline of comparison for what followed.
The PowerPoint presentation not only emphasized key components of the opening statement, but it also added an air of competency and depth to the arguments being made. There was a clear, logical, and concise flow of information that was easy to follow. The visual presentation and callouts of relevant portions of emails and the employment contract clearly substantiated the verbal argument. This ultimately increased the impact of and the persuasive value of the opening statement. I have a clear visual picture of those emails and the contract that were the cornerstone evidence in the plaintiff’s case, even if I cannot recall the exact wording.
When defendant’s counsel did not use any visual or graphic presentations to support the opening statement, my first thought was, “Why is that?” My focus was not where it should have been; it was not on what he was saying. In fact, I was distracted by the numerous sheets of paper defense counsel brought to the podium and the yellow Post-it notes that were on it. It gave me the impression that they were less prepared than the plaintiff, which may or may not be the case. Nonetheless, this was my initial impression and I think ultimately influenced my view of their argument.
For me, the evidence presented had greater weight when I could actually see the email communications that were made and the contract that was signed by the defendant. The document exhibit callouts, in particular, which supported the plaintiff’s arguments, became visually imprinted on my mind. And I received no other visual images from the defendant to compare or contrast them with. When I look back on that day, it is the callouts that I recall. This is what I remember, more than three days later.
When you are sitting behind the bar in the courtroom, you have a limited view of the exhibits and evidence being presented. However, when the PowerPoint slides were tied into the court’s monitors, it was much easier to see the evidence being offered. I found that I paid closer attention to the arguments being made; I was actively engaged in “looking” at the evidence to see if I agreed with what the lawyer was saying. I could see that everyone, including the judge, was looking at the courtroom monitors.
On the other hand, when the defendant’s counsel was creating a live, hand-drawn organizational chart during cross-examination, not only could I not see it due to its orientation in the courtroom, I felt that it was too far away from the individual who was testifying and the judge. It was more difficult to follow the argument being made.
In conclusion, when I left court that day, I felt that the opening statement set the tone for everything that followed. The effective use of a PowerPoint presentation during the trial enhanced the arguments being made and, at the end of the day, our client prevailed. I can’t say I’m surprised at the outcome. They had me during opening statements.
How Long Before Trial Should I Begin Preparing My Trial Graphics? | http://www.a2lc.com/blog/the-effective-use-of-powerpoint-presentation-during-opening-statement-litigation-graphics |
Expert Services: Policies and Procedures
Layne T. Rushforth has been an expert consultant and an expert witness in cases involving trusts and estates, including issues related to estate planning and to the administration of trusts and estates. This memo outlines the procedures used when Mr. Rushforth is engaged as a expert, either as a consultant or as a witness.
A. INTENT OF THIS MEMO
This memo is intended for an attorney or firm that is representing a client in a trust- or estate- related dispute in which either (1) the client is an attorney or fiduciary who is being accused of wrongful conduct or (2) the client is a beneficiary of a trust or estate who believes the attorney or fiduciary is guilty of wrongful conduct. In this context, “wrongful conduct” generally refers to conduct (action or inaction) that falls short of a standard of conduct that the law expects the attorney or the fiduciary to abide by.
In this memo, references to “you” and other second-person pronouns are references to the advocating attorney. References to “the Firm” and references to “us” and other first-person pronouns are references to Rushforth Lee & Kiefer LLP, a professional limited-liability company doing business as Rushforth Lee & Kiefer LLP Up to now, the only member of the Firm who has been accepted as an expert witness in a case is Layne T. Rushforth, and all references to Mr. Rushforth are references to him.
B. EXPERTISE OF MR. RUSHFORTH
Mr. Rushforth has been licensed to practice law in Utah since 1978 and in Nevada since 1981. He was first admitted as an expert witness with respect to estate planning in the early 1980s in a criminal proceeding in the U. S. District Court in the District of Nevada. Since then, he has testified as an expert witnesses in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nevada and in the Second Judicial District Court in Washoe County, Nevada.
Mr. Rushforth has been qualified as an expert with respect to the fiduciary duties of personal representatives and trustee and with respect to attorneys, both as to the preparation of estate planning documents and as to their duties with respect to estate and trust administration. Mr. Rushforth has testified on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.
C. ENGAGEMENT OF MR. RUSHFORTH
C.1 Conflict-of-Interest Search. The initial step in a case is to determine whether Rushforth Lee & Kiefer LLP (“the Firm”) and any of its professionals has a conflict of interest with any of the parties involved in the case. A list of the names and mailing addresses of all parties involved in the case should be provided for the Firm to determine if it is even able to accept the engagement.
C.2 Initial Case Evaluation; Engagement. The second step is for us to review a synopsis of the case to get a sense of the factual and legal issues involved in the case. Unless Mr. Rushforth will never be engaged as an expert witness, no confidential information should be shared with anyone in the Firm.
C.3 Scope of Engagement. Even if the goal is to engage Mr. Rushforth as an expert witness, we recommend first engaging the Firm as your consultant because we cannot guarantee that our legal opinion will be favorable to your client. If the Firm’s research and evaluation of the case results in an opinion that is negative to the client, it is anticipated that the opinion will be considered confidential under the attorney-client privilege or attorney work-product privilege as long as Mr. Rushforth is never identified as an expert witness. If Mr. Rushforth is identified as an expert prior to the preparation of an opinion or a report, you assume the risk that the opinion ultimately rendered may not be consistent with your client’s position.
C.4 Preferred Genesis of Initial Opinion. The initial expert report usually consists of formal responses to specific questions that ask for opinions based on specific facts that are given. We request that you — the attorney or firm asking for the opinion — send a letter with the questions to be addressed (i.e., the opinions requested) and the facts that should be assumed to be true as the factual basis for the opinions.
(a) Most expert reports that we provide state one or more opinions as to whether or not specific conduct meets or fails to meet a standard of care or a duty that is applicable to the conduct of a fiduciary or an attorney. The questions asked should specifically address whether or not specific conduct is appropriate under the expected standard of care or specific duty that is perceived to have been violated. Examples:
(i) Was it proper for attorney Jones to prepare a trust in which he is named as one of the primary beneficiaries?
(ii) Was it proper for the trustee to invest trust assets in the trustee’s own company?
(iii) Did the trustee’s attorney violate a duty of care owed to the trust’s beneficiaries by not taking action when the trustee embezzled trust funds?
(iv) Did the trustee’s investment policy violate the “prudent investor” standard required under Nevada law or violate the trustee’s duty of impartiality to all beneficiaries?
(v) Did the trustee’s actions in response to the beneficiaries’ request for a trustee’s account violate any fiduciary duty owed by the trustee to the beneficiaries?
(b) Experts cannot testify as to the facts, except as to facts related to a standard of care or to generally accepted standards of practice. The expert report will be based on facts that are assumed to be true, but the advocating attorney or firm will have to convince the trier of fact as to the truth of those facts.
(c) Experts are not generally allowed to testify as to the law, and the questions asked should not directly ask questions about the applicable law. Several firms have asked us to opine as to legal issues in a case. While some judges who are not familiar with the laws relating to trust and estate issues may allow such testimony, arguments as to what the law is should be reserved to the advocating attorneys rather than to an expert witness. There is more latitude in federal-court cases that are to be decided under applicable state law. Even so, there are gray areas. For example, some courts have allowed expert testimony as to the legal meaning of trusts and wills and as to the admissibility of certain evidence, and some courts have not. We will leave it to you as the advocating attorney to deal with any objections to the scope of the expert’s report and testimony.
C.5 Rebuttal Report. If the opposition has provided the report of another expert on specific issues, we can prepare a rebuttal report upon written request. If you want the rebuttal report limited to specific issues, or if you want to have the report cover issues not covered in the other expert’s report, the request should be specific as to the issues to be covered (or ignored).
C.6 Facts to be Assumed. It is up to you, the advocating attorney, to provide us with the facts that can be relied upon by the expert.
(a) The facts can be stated as a part of hypothetical questions, but the response will be more persuasive if the facts presented are documented. For that reason, it is good to provide us with the pertinent documents that set forth the facts of the case. Those documents may include the pleadings, the relevant estate-planning documents (e.g., will, trust, asset-ownership documents, etc.), answers to interrogatories, admissions or assertions in pleadings, correspondence, notes, and excerpts from testimony given in depositions and evidentiary hearings.
(b) It is common for us to be provided with a significant number of documents. In the past, some firms have provided multiple storage boxes of documents, but that was rarely practical or helpful. Some firms have provided us with document binders that contained exhibits that will be offered as evidence, with tabs that are numbered or lettered and an index as to what document is behind each tab. Others have provided us with one or more CDs with a detailed index or table of contents referring to Bates-numbered pages. In most cases, we prefer computer files that contain searchable text and deposition transcripts in .ptx format, and we will provide you with an upload link or an invitation to a shared online folder so that you can send these to us securely and confidentially.1 To save time and money, it is imperative that the documents be organized, easy to access, and easy to reference.
(i) In most cases, it is unreasonable, both in terms of time and expense, to expect us to read voluminous documents. For that reason, we encourage you to provide only those things that we really need to look at, accompanied by a list of the documents that should be read in full (generally the pleadings and other key, brief documents) and specific instructions as to what other documents (or portions of documents) that should be considered.
(ii) To avoid having to read lengthy documents, it is best to provide excerpts from deposition transcripts and other long documents. Another alternative is to provide us with a list of specific pages (usually referring to Bates numbers) and paragraphs from specified documents to be reviewed.
(iii) It helps if key passages are bookmarked and highlighted.
(c) As a general rule, we will assume that the facts alleged in your pleadings are true. It is imperative that you let us know if your position has changed as to any allegation in your pleadings. It is also helpful to know if the position of any witness has changed during the course of the dispute.
C.7 Content of Expert Report. Unless you specifically instruct us otherwise, the expert report prepared by us will contain these elements:
(a) The following exhibits:
(i) The letter sent by you requesting an expert opinion on specific questions.
(ii) Mr. Rushforth’s curriculum vitae.
(iii) A list of recent cases in which Mr. Rushforth has been engaged as an expert.
(b) A listing of the parties involved and the names by which they will be referenced.
(c) A listing of the documents provided, identifying those that have been specifically reviewed and relied on.
(d) A recitation of the facts that are assumed to be true (or a reference to the letter stating the facts that we were told to rely on).
(e) A summary of the questions asked and a brief answer.
(f) A detailed answer to each question asked.
(g) A conclusion.
C.8 Attorney-Client Privilege. The attorney or law firm that represents the client in the underlying case is responsible to preserve the attorney-client privilege and the attorney work-product privilege.
(a) For that reason, we defer to that attorney or law firm to decide if and when Mr. Rushforth is to be identified as an expert witness and to decide the formalities of the engagement. We also defer to the client in the underlying case to decide whether the Firm will be engaged by the client directly or by the attorney or law firm representing the client.
(i) If Mr. Rushforth is never identified as a witness, we will disclose nothing without your permission unless compelled to do so by court order. It will be up to you to oppose any motion or petition for such an order.
(ii) If and when Mr. Rushforth is formally identified as an expert in the case, the Firm’s files will be subject to discovery, and we will assume that the attorney- client privilege does not apply to anything provided us or as to any correspondence or notes in the file.
(b) To minimize what must be disclosed, we employ the following policies unless and until you instruct us otherwise in writing:
(i) We will not take notes as to discussions that go beyond the facts and legal arguments that are found in the pleadings.
(ii) An unsigned draft of a written report will never be sent via e-mail or postal mail, but will be instead provided through a temporary download link or printed and provided for runner pick-up.
D. SUMMARY
(i) Once a draft of a written report has been superseded by another draft, all copies of the prior version — written and digital — will be destroyed, and any download links will be deactivated.
(ii) When a written report is signed, it will be the only version that is retained in our files or on our network file storage. Even our automatic backup files will be replaced with dummy files with the same name.
Our desire is to produce and submit a cogent report containing the expert opinions that you require. The process will be more efficient if you follow the following steps.
D.1 Send us a letter that:
(a) Clearly identifies the questions to be addressed and the opinions your are seeking; and
(b) Specifies the facts we should assume to be true.
D.2 To support the factual assumptions and legal arguments you are making, provide us with only the documents or excerpts of documents that we need to look at.
(b) Please provide documents in PDF format (or, for deposition or hearing transcripts, .ptx format) rather than printed paper. If each page of documents other than transcripts is Bates-numbered, it is more easy for you to identify the portions to be reviewed and for us to refer to in a written report.
(d) Consider uploading documents using ShareFile2 or another file-sharing service instead of sending us binders, storage boxes with files, USB drives, or CDs.
- We can use Google Drive or Dropbox, but we presently prefer Citrix ShareFile. Until we provide you with a custom weblink that is unique to a specific case, point your web browser to http://r4th.us/sharefile-trf to securely upload files to us.
- Until we provide you with a custom weblink that is unique to a specific case, point your web browser to http://r4th.us/sharefile-trf to securely upload files to us. | https://www.rlklegal.com/expert-services-2/ |
- Party -- An individual who is a participant in a legal action and whose names appears on the documents filed with the court. A party is sometimes referred to as a litigant.
- Action -- A court proceeding one party brings against another party. The term is used interchangeably with legal action, case, cause, suit or lawsuit.
- Domestic Case -- A legal action that involves a family law or related matter.
- Civil Case -- A legal action between the two individuals as opposed to a criminal action which is a legal action between the state and an individual.
- Filing -- The process of taking the pleadings to the courthouse and having them processed by the clerk of court.
- Clerk of Court-- The administrative personnel that processes the paperwork that is filed in the courtroom or at the courthouse. The person/office at the courthouse who processes the pleadings and schedules the court hearings.
- Plaintiff -- The party who files the action or lawsuit. The plaintiff may also be referred to as a petitioner, or complainant.
- Defendant -- The party who the action or lawsuit is being filed against. The defendant may also be referred to as respondent.
- Pro Se -- A party who handles his/her own legal action without the assistance of an attorney.
- Docket -- A list of all the cases that will be heard on a particular session or day in a particular courtroom.
- Complaint/Petition -- The document the plaintiff/petitioner files with the court in order to initiate the court action. For example, a complaint for custody will contain the facts and allegations the law requires to support a claim for custody.
- Answer -- The document the defendant/respondent files in response to the complaint/petition.
- Motion – A document that is filed with the court when the parties already have a case pending in the courts.
- Counterclaim -- An action a party files in response to a claim that has been filed against him/her.
- Pleadings - Any of the documents filed in order to initiate or respond to court action. The two most common pleadings in a divorce action are a complaint and an answer.
- Judgment -- This is the document that contains the judge's decision or ruling in a particular case. It is sometimes referred to as an Order.
- Summons -- The document the plaintiff/petitioner sends to the defendant notifying him/her that a lawsuit has been filed against him/her. It contains the information regarding how much time the defendant has to respond to the complaint/petition.
- Service of Process -- The formal process by which the plaintiff has the complaint and summons delivered to the defendant.
- Subpoena -- A formal request issued by court to a party or witness to appear in court or produce documents.
- Statutes -- The collection of the laws enacted by the state legislature. | https://jackiestanley.com/20-legal-terms-you-should-know/ |
The Laws of Defamation in Wisconsin
Defamation is a false or derogatory statement that is published to a third party with the intent to harm or damage that person’s reputation. The individual harmed can file a defamation lawsuit. It is important for the statement to be false and communicated to a third party without privilege.
Slander vs Libel
- Libel is a written or published defamatory statement that leaves a permanent record. It is commonly found in print media such as newspapers and magazines, and on the internet, on websites, and social media.
- Slander includes spoken defamatory statements that leave no permanent record. It is commonly found in public places, television programs, podcasts, by phone, or face-to-face conversations.
Wisconsin Defamation Law
Defamation laws in Wisconsin define the following elements:
- A person who communicates a defamatory statement to a third party without the consent of the person defamed with the intention to defame them is guilty of class A misdemeanor.
- A defamatory statement includes anything that exposes a person to contempt, hatred, disgrace, ridicule or degradation in society, or harm to that person’s business.
- A statement is not defamatory if it is true or communicated with good motives.
- A person cannot be convicted on the basis of slander unless two witnesses can testify that they heard and understood the statement as defamatory, or unless the defendant pleads guilty.
Defamation Per Se
Certain statements are so injurious that they are automatically considered defamation, and the plaintiff does not need to prove material damage so that they can succeed in the case. These statements fall under the four following categories:
- Allegations of committing a crime
- Allegations of a loathsome disease
- Allegations of unchastity
- Statements regarding the plaintiff’s ability to work
Defamation Per Quod
- If a statement does not fall under the “per se” categories, then it is considered defamation per quod.
- Defamation per quod requires the plaintiff to submit supporting evidence that the statement is defamatory
Evidence of damages to the plaintiff include:
In Wisconsin, if the statement published about you is not defamation per se, then you must be able to prove the damages you have suffered in order for your case to succeed. These damages could include:
- Loss of income
- Loss of business opportunities
- Loss of current and future clients
- Inability to gain new employment
- Loss of employment
- Emotional distress
- Anxiety disorders
- Mental health challenges caused by the defamatory statements
Wisconsin’s Pleading Standard for Defamation
Pleadings are formal written documents and statements that are first filed to initiate legal action. The plaintiff first files the pleadings, which generally include:
- A statement of the facts of the case
- The allegations and assertions
- The plaintiff’s main arguments of the case and its fundamental issues.
After filing the pleads, the defendant has an opportunity to respond to the allegations and issues that the plaintiff set forth
The most common pleading types in the U.S. are:
- Complaint: the first formal document filed by the plaintiff, where they outline their claims, arguments, and issues and request compensation for the damages.
- Answer: the defendant’s response to the complaint the plaintiff filed. The defendant usually rebuts and address the plaintiff’s allegations and arguments
- Reply: the plaintiff’s response to a defendant’s answer.
- Counterclaim: in certain cases, a defendant has the option to file a separate legal claim against the plaintiff to offset the plaintiff’s initial complaint.
Where can Wisconsin Plaintiffs Sue for Defamation?
- In the country where the claim arose
- In the country of residence of the defendants
- In a country designated by the plaintiff
Wisconsin Defamation Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations determines how long Wisconsin defamation plaintiffs have to bring their claim. The statute of limitations for libel and slander in Wisconsin is three years, which is one of the longest defamation statutes of limitation in the United States.
The statute of limitation varies according to state, the table below shows the statute of limitation for defamation for various states in the United States.
|State||Statute of Limitation for Defamation|
|Virginia||One Year|
|Michigan||One Year|
|Ohio||One Year|
|Texas||One Year|
|California||One Year|
|Florida||Two Years|
|Nevada||Two Years|
|Massachusetts||Three Years|
|Wisconsin||Three Years|
Should You Write a Defamation Cease and Desist Letter?
If you live in Wisconsin and you are a victim of defamation, then you can draft a defamation cease and desist letter before taking more drastic action.
Writing a defamation cease and desist letter on your own is not your best option. It is important to accurately prove the harm that you have suffered in a convincing letter, or you risk that it would be disregarded by the perpetrator, lowering its chance to succeed, even if the trial moves to court.
Let DoNotPay Draft a Cease and Desist Letter for You!
DoNotPay is a fast and reliable service that can draft a cease and desist letter. All you need to do is:
1. Search Defamation on DoNotPay.
2. Explain your situation, including whether the false statements made were libel or slander, listing the statements and explaining why they are false, and outline the consequences you have suffered as a result.
3. Based on your location, DoNotPay will generate a formal demand letter on your behalf with the most relevant state legislation regarding defamation.
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A proposal is a document written to persuade someone to do something. It could be used in business, for a project, or even for a research study. Whatever the case, the goal is always to convince the reader to do something. In this blog post, we’ll give you tips and tricks on writing effective proposals that will get you the desired results.
What is a Proposal?
A proposal is a document that outlines an idea, plan, or project. It is typically used to solicit support for the project from potential sponsors or investors. A good proposal should be clear, concise, and persuasive.
Types of Proposals
Proposals can be classified into two – Solicited and Unsolicited. Solicited proposals are those that are written as a reply to an RFP (request for proposal), RFQ (request for quotation), or RFT (request for tender). In these cases, the organization requesting the proposal will have specific guidelines that must be followed. Unsolicited proposals are those that are not a reply to a specific request. These proposals are generally more creative and innovative, as set parameters do not constrain them.
Proposal Writing – Step-By-Step Process
The first step in writing an effective proposal is to do your research. This means understanding your client’s or funder’s needs and being familiar with what they are looking for in a proposal.
Here are the key steps to follow:
- Write a Clear and Concise: Executive summary. This should give the reader an overview of what you are proposing and why it is needed.
- Outline the Problem: That you are solving. Be sure to address all key points your client or funder is interested in.
- Introduce Your Solution: This is where you will describe your proposed solution and how it will solve the problem.
- Provide Evidence to Support: Your claims. Be sure to include any data or research that supports your proposal.
- Make a Strong Case: For funding. Include a detailed budget and explain how the funds will be used to implement your solution.
- Conclusion Summarize everything you have covered in the proposal and reiterate why you believe your solution is the best option.
Tips for Effective Proposal Writing
There is no one-size-fits-all template for proposals, but there are some tips to make your proposal writing more effective:
- Start with a strong title that accurately reflects the content of your proposal.
- Make sure your executive summary is clear, concise, and interesting.
- In the main body, be clear and brief and address all the key points you want to communicate.
- Use persuasive language throughout your proposal to convince readers that your solution is the best one possible.
- End it with a strong call to action that tells the reader what you want them to do next (e.g., contact you for further information, provide funding for your project, etc.).
You can also choose the best professional development courses to get the most out of them.
Pros and Cons of Writing a Proposal
There are a few key things to keep in mind when writing a proposal: what you want to achieve, who will be reading it, and what they need to know. A proposal can be a very effective way to get what you want, but there are also some potential drawbacks to consider.
Pros:
- A well-written proposal can be very persuasive and can help you get what you want.
- It can be a good way to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely.
- A proposal can make complex issues more understandable.
Cons:
- Writing a proposal takes time and effort.
- There is no guarantee that your proposal will be accepted, no matter how well it is written.
- If your proposal is not accepted, you may have wasted your time and effort.
How to Write an Effective Proposal
Assuming you have been asked to write a proposal, the first step is understanding what a proposal is. A proposal is simply a document that offers a solution to a problem. It presents your idea or plan and tries to convince the reader that it is the best solution. Now that you know what a proposal is, you need to understand how to write one effectively. Here are some tips:
- Keep it simple: Your proposal should be easy to read and understand. Use short sentences and straightforward language.
- Be clear about what you’re proposing: Make sure your proposal states exactly what you’re proposing. Be as specific as possible so that there is no confusion about your idea.
- Convince the reader your solution is the best one: In order to make your proposal convincing, you need to show that your solution is the best option available. Explain why your solution is better than other potential solutions.
- Include all the details: Be sure to include all the important details in your proposal so that the reader has everything they need to decide.
- Edit and proofread: Before you submit your proposal, be sure to edit and proofread it carefully for any mistakes or typos.
Conclusion
If you’re looking to improve your proposal writing skills, Cudoo’s online course is a great option. With over 100 hours of content and practical exercises, you’ll be able to learn all that you need to know about writing winning proposals from a proposal writing certificate online. So why not give it a try? You might surprise yourself with what you’re capable of! | https://zophra.com/education/6668/proposal-writing-how-to-write-them-effectively/ |
Given that by law architects in Australia need to be registered in a given state or territory if they legally wish to either use the title ‘architect’ or offer their services to the public as an architect in the jurisdiction in question, it's crucial to maintain one’s registration.
One way through which registration can be cancelled or suspended is where the architect in question has a formal complaint lodged against them. Accordingly, it is important to understand what can lead to a complaint, how the complaints process works and what architects can do to avoid having a complaint filed against them.
At the outset, it should be acknowledged that the incidence of formal complaints against architects is extremely low. Whereas around 10 per cent of lawyers in NSW receive a complaint against them on an annual basis, Registrar of the NSW Architects Registration Board Registrar Tim Horton says, the equivalent for architects is 0.2 per cent.
In Victoria, Adrian Magee, head of compliance at the Architects Registration Board of Victoria, says the board on average receives around 10 formal complaints from a register which contains around 3,500 architects. In NSW, which had 4,672 registered architects as at June 30, 2015 (although 832 of these were non-practising), Horton says complaint numbers generally average between seven and 10 per year, though the Board received 57 enquiries last year from a less formal enquiry based mechanism which it has adopted as an alternative form of resolution.
Horton and Magee both say complaints arise primarily from individual residential customers and that the most common form of complaint involves cost overruns. This occurs where the architect designs to a budget and it is subsequently found when the project goes out for tender that in fact the cost substantially exceeded expectations – a scenario which leaves the client having paid for a design which in fact could not be delivered within the allowed budget.
Clients, Magee said, expect their architect to be able to create designs which are reasonably able to be delivered within budget. Where budgets are not realistic, he says, clients expect architects to advise them of this.
Speaking of NSW and in particular Sydney, Horton says problems are occurring whereby favourable market conditions are enabling tradespeople and builders to be more selective in the type of work they take on and are generating upward pressure on trade prices and tender prices. In one case about which he is aware, Horton says the client talked to their architect about a $500,000 renovation which the architect duly advised could not be delivered for less than around $800,000. When tenders came in, however, the final price was $1.4 million.
In terms of actual complaints processes, basic principles are generally similar across jurisdictions but differences remain at the detailed level.
In New South Wales, Horton says architects should allow around four to six months for the process to take place. Once a complaint is received, it is forwarded to the architect who is given 28 days to respond. This response is circled back to the complainant who is given 14 days to respond and make further comments or submissions before it finally goes back to the architect for a final submission.
At this point, the complaint will come back to the board, who will make a call as to whether or not a complaints committee needs to be formed. After that, a leading member of the board will chair a committee of three who will consider all of the submissions. The Act is extremely broad in how what the committee is able to do in terms of seeking interviews or further submissions in order to satisfy itself in whatever manner it chooses.
After that, the committee will issue a draft determination. Where the architect is essentially found ‘guilty’ they are then given a further 28 days in which to make submissions in relation to the penalties which can be imposed, after which time the decision will be finalised.
In terms of penalties, there are a couple of options. An architect in New South Wales can be found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct. In the latter case, the board has no option but to refer them up to the NSW Civil Administrative Tribunal. If on the other hand, they are found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct, they can be dealt with by the board. Penalties can include fines of up to $20,000, requirements for training (for instance, doing a financial management course), limits or constraints on their registration (which prevent them from practising in certain ways) or in extreme cases, removal from the register.
In NSW’s case, Horton said one initiative which is working well entails setting up an alternative form of dispute resolution which revolves around informal enquiries as opposed to the formal complaints process. Last year, he said, more than 50 cases of concern had been resolved through this process in a manner which was faster, and less adversarial in nature.
In Victoria, Magee says architects need to understand that it is a formal process which is largely document based and relates largely to the architect’s professional conduct. When lodging complaints, complainants must complete a specific form and supply copies of any documents which are relevant to their areas of complaint, with all of the documents together making up the complainant’s submission. The architect is then notified of the complaint, provided with a copy of the submission and given an opportunity to respond to the Board within a month.
These submissions are reviewed by two board members who report to the board, which subsequently makes a decision about whether or not to refer a professional conduct inquiry to an external body known as the Architects Tribunal. Where that happens, there is a notice of enquiry that contains the specific allegations. Where the Tribunal finds that any of these are in fact proven, it is able to make determinations, which can range from cautions or reprimands through to suspension or cancellation.
When it comes to avoiding complaints, Horton says it is important for architects to ensure that their client/architect agreement meets the requirements outlined in the Architects Code of Professional Conduct and contains each of the elements outlined in Section 7 of the Code. Casual or verbal agreements which the board sometimes came across were inadequate and unacceptable, he said.
Second, he said it is important for architects to maintain written communication with clients throughout the multi-year duration of the project. A number of issues which the board had come across involved cases whereby changes had been made during the course of the project without adequate documentary evidence of these being communicated to the client, who often still believed that they were getting what was originally agreed upon.
Magee says it is important to have a complete understanding of the Victorian Architects Code of Professional Conduct along with the information on the Board’s web site surrounding disciplinary procedures and how these work. It was also important to undertake relevant CPD requirements and to remain current in their understanding of consumer led practice, he said. Clear and effective communication with clients was critical, and it was important for architects to be able to lead clients in terms of understanding what to expect and what is involved at various stages of the process.
Finally, Magee said it is advisable to give careful thought and consideration before entering into engagements with friends or relations. This seems to cause more problems than usual in terms of misunderstandings and things going wrong, he said.
“Obviously, if there are common sense parameters, it would not be something that you would rule out,” Magee said.
On a rare occasion, architects might find themselves the subject of complaints to state registration boards.
By adopting a few simple strategies, this need not cost them their legal right to identify themselves as an architect. | https://sourceable.net/avoid-fined-losing-registration/ |
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United States District Court, D. Hawaii
January 11, 2018
NATALIE DE ALCANTARA aka NATALIE SPEEDRACER, Plaintiff,v.DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, MILIAMA ILOILO, HINDA DIAMOND, CHAD KOJIMA, LAURA BAILEY, HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT, DOMINIC QUIACUSAN, Defendants.
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION TO GRANT DEFENDANTS
DOMINIC QUIACUSAN AND HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT'S
PETITION FOR APPROVAL OF GOOD FAITH SETTLEMENT
Kevin
S.C. Chang, United States Magistrate Judge.
Before
the Court is Defendants Dominic Quiacusan (“Officer
Quiacusan”) and Honolulu Police Department
(“HPD”) (collectively, “City
Defendants”) Petition for Good Faith Settlement
(“Petition”), filed on November 16, 2017. The
Petition seeks approval of the settlement entered on November
7, 2017, between City Defendants and Plaintiff Natalie De
Alcantara aka Natalie Speedracer (“Plaintiff”)
pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”)
§ 663-15.5. On November 29, 2017, Plaintiff filed a
filed a Statement of No Opposition. On December 13, 2017,
Defendants Department of Human Services (“DHS”),
Miliam Iloilo, Hinda Diamond, Chad Kojima, and Laura
Bailey's (collectively, “State Defendants”)
filed a Position Statement, stating that they take no
position regarding the Petition other than to insist that
City Defendants be placed on the verdict form as nominal
parties for the purpose of apportioning liability and/or
damages at trial, and that State Defendants' right to
introduce evidence on the fault of others, including of City
Defendants, be preserved.
This
matter came on for hearing on December 20, 2017. Deputy
Corporation Counsel Curtis E. Sherwood appeared for City
Defendants, Deputy Attorney General Stanley M. Chow appeared
for State Defendants, and Anthony “T.J.” Quan
appeared for Plaintiff. After carefully considering the
parties' submissions, the relevant legal authority, and
the arguments presented by counsel at the hearing, the court
FINDS and RECOMMENDS that the City Defendants' petition
be GRANTED for the reasons set forth below.
BACKGROUND
The
court recites only the background necessary for disposition
of the instant motion. On May 31, 2016, Plaintiff filed a
Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights
(“Complaint”) with the court. The Complaint
alleged that on August 7, 2015, Plaintiff's three (3)
minor children were removed from class at MaeMae Elementary
school and questioned without parental consent and without
notice of their rights. The Complaint also alleged that on
September 1, 2015, Defendant Iloilo attempted to force her
way into Plaintiff's home under the pretext of a monthly
check. The Complaint further alleged that on November 23,
2015, Officer Quiacusan, Defendant Iloilo, and numerous
unidentified officers and DHS employees entered her home
without a warrant and removed the children from her custody,
that DHS employees have since made defamatory statements
against her in child custody proceedings, and that her
parental rights have otherwise not been respected.
Plaintiff's Complaint sought custody of her children,
damages from all defendants, and certain equitable relief
against DHS.
On
November 7, 2017, City Defendants and Plaintiff agreed to
settle Plaintiff's claims against City Defendants. Said
agreement was served on State Defendants and filed under
seal.
DISCUSSION
A
finding of good faith settlement discharges the settling
party of liability for contribution to joint tortfeasors, and
reduces a plaintiff's claims against joint tortfeasors by
the "amount stipulated to in the release, dismissal, or
covenant, or in the amount of the consideration paid for it,
whichever is greater." Haw. Rev. Stat. §
663-15.5(a). A determination by the court that a settlement
was made in good faith bars other joint tortfeasors from any
further claims against the settling tortfeasor for
contribution or indemnity. Haw. Rev. Stat. §
663-15.5(d).
In
determining whether parties have entered into a good faith
settlement, the court must consider the “totality of
the circumstances” including:
(1) the type of case and difficulty of proof at trial . . .;
(2) the realistic approximation of total damages that the
plaintiff seeks;
(3) the strength of the plaintiff's claim and the
realistic likelihood of his or her success at trial;
(4) the predicted expense of litigation;
(5) the relative degree of fault of the settling ...
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The following guidelines are intended to help facilitate what the judges of this court collectively believe are best practices in appellate advocacy before the Second District Court of Appeal. They are arranged under headings that reflect three subject areas within appellate practice: (i) Notices, Motions, and Records; (ii) Briefs and Brief Writing; and (iii) Oral Argument.
These are, of course, simply suggestions. Nothing within this publication can create any enforceable rights—for or against anyone. And nothing in this publication is intended to supplant or modify any promulgated rule or law. Rather, proper appellate practice in this court remains rooted in adherence to the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, and this court's administrative orders. Thus, it is assumed that the reader will have familiarized himself or herself with all of the applicable procedural rules and administrative orders.
Notices, Motions, and Records
A notice of appeal should always identify the date and the nature of the order being appealed within the notice itself.
In civil and family law cases: (a) the appellant also must include a copy of the order under appeal in its entirety, as well as any orders on motions that would toll the rendition of the order under appeal (i.e., orders on timely and authorized motions for rehearing); (b) prior to filing, counsel should carefully review the order and applicable law to ensure that the order being appealed is indeed an appealable order. For example, not infrequently, our court receives notices that attempt to initiate appeals of orders simply granting a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment, which are not, ordinarily, appealable final orders (to be appealable, such an order would need to actually enter judgment or dismiss the case with finality).
In criminal proceedings: (a) the appellant, if appealing from an order denying a motion to withdraw a plea, should identify in the notice of appeal the nature of the motion that preceded it (e.g., a Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.170(l) motion or a rule 3.850 motion); (b) if counsel in a criminal proceeding has failed to file a timely notice of appeal within thirty days of the judgment or order, the attorney may file a late notice of appeal along with an affidavit explaining the reasons for the delay (which presumably were not attributable to the client), rather than immediately filing a petition for belated appeal.
Absent emergency circumstances and when appropriate, counsel should confer with opposing counsel regarding the subject of the motion before filing it. When a certificate of conferral (indicating when and how counsel conferred and whether consent was obtained) is included, counsel should furnish specific details on the timing and means of communication that were utilized. A generic statement that an unsuccessful attempt to contact opposing counsel was made will not satisfy the requirement to confer.
Consistent with principles of professionalism and a lawyer's duties to his or her client, consent on administrative matters, such as a motion to continue oral argument, should be extended whenever possible.
The court recognizes that some cases may require additional time to fully prepare the record and the briefs than what is allowed under the Rules of Appellate Procedure. While initial requests for an extension of time to file an initial or answer brief will often be granted (particularly if it is stipulated or unopposed), counsel should avoid multiple, seriatim requests for extensions of time.
The filing of a motion for extension of time is a request, which may or may not be granted. An order from this court setting a deadline in which to file a brief, or stating that no further motions for extension will be considered, should (like all court orders) be followed scrupulously.
Pursuant to this court's administrative order 2013-1, parties may file a stipulated notice for a specific extension of time for filing briefs. In the alternative, if a motion for extension of time is filed, counsel must confer with opposing counsel before filing it and must include a certificate of conferral. The moving party should include a specific due date on which the brief or response will be due if the extension is granted.
Because an order granting an extension of time for the preparation of the record or index or filing of transcripts automatically extends the time for service of a brief (Fla. R. App. P. 9.300), it is not necessary to file a separate motion for extension of time for that purpose. Also, an appellee need not request an extension of time to file an answer brief when the initial brief has not been served.
Motions to withdraw as counsel that do not conform to Fla. R. App. P. 9.440(b) will ordinarily be denied without prejudice. Motions to withdraw filed by counsel in criminal appeals must also comply with Fla. R. App. P. 9.140(d). A practitioner in a criminal case who files a notice of appeal and fails to comply scrupulously with the applicable rules and/or directions of the court may be subject to sanctions.
The need to file a notice of supplemental authority should be rare. The procedure should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances or situations where a new case or legal authority has just been published that might impact a fully briefed (but not yet decided) appeal. Preferably, notices of supplemental authority should not be used to include citations to cases or authorities that had been decided, published, and available prior to the briefing. In no event should a notice of supplemental authority be utilized to attempt to avoid the page limits of a brief.
If it appears that an order on appeal may not be subject to appellate review, the clerk may issue an order to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed. Counsel are encouraged to carefully review any authorities cited within the show cause order. If a show cause order is issued, it is often necessary (and more expedient) for the appellant to obtain an amended order from the lower tribunal rather than attempting to convince the appellate court that the order under appeal is sufficiently final or amenable to appeal.
Briefs and Briefwriting
Appellate arguments are often more honed, more focused, and perhaps more persuasive, when they are shorter than the rules' limitations. Appellate judges must read and process thousands of pages of legal arguments and appellate records. Succinctness in the recitation of facts, in argument, and in word choice, wherever practicable, is not only appreciated, it will likely improve the quality of the appellate brief.
In a brief's statement of the facts section, it is important to distill the recitation down to only those facts that are relevant to the brief's legal arguments. An appellate judge should not be put in a position of having to speculate why a party described a series of facts or events from the record that have little to do with the issues argued on appeal. Ideally, the statement of the facts should be in the form of a narrative instead of a page-by-page condensation of the witnesses' testimony.
Every recitation of fact must include a citation to the specific page or pages in the record that support that recitation. Citing to a broad range of pages for discrete factual or procedural points is discouraged.
Rule 9.210(b)(5) requires initial briefs to include "argument with regard to each issue" raised within the appeal. Though not explicit in the text, we find that the best way of fulfilling the rule's mandate is for appellants and petitioners to separately address each issue they wish to raise in the argument section of their appeal. While there may be some overlap, litigants and counsel should make every effort to separate the issues they wish to argue and then strive to keep them separate as the argument is developed in the brief.
In furtherance of point #4, appellees and respondents are strongly encouraged to follow the appellant/petitioner's order and categorization of the issues within their answer and response briefs. Many judges in our court prefer to review the sequence of arguments raised by the parties issue by issue. If an appellee or respondent does not draft a brief or response to correspond with the issues raised by the appellant or petitioner, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for the judges to consider the arguments in sequence.
The summary of argument section serves as a roadmap of the arguments on appeal. A carefully crafted summary of the argument section should be a concise and persuasive overview of the arguments that does more than simply recite the various headings or subheadings within the brief. It should set forth the best reasons a party should prevail under the particular standards of review, law, and facts.
If the statement of the case and facts begins with an introduction about the nature of the case, the introduction should be limited to a very brief, non-argumentative statement about the case and the issue or issues presented on appeal. Outlines of substantive arguments are more proper in a brief's summary of argument section. See point #6.
Appellate briefs ought to convey concise factual recitations and legal arguments in a format that should be relatively easy to read and follow. Generally speaking, the use of footnotes undermines these goals. With the advent of personal electronic devices, which most of the judges of our court now utilize for reading, footnotes are especially problematic and distracting. Moreover, using footnotes for citations to the record or to a legal citation, as is the common practice with scholarly legal writing, hampers our ability to effectively use hyperlinks to directly access the case or record citations provided in your brief.
Be extremely sparing with your use of footnotes in briefs. Under no circumstances should a party ever attempt to use footnotes as a means of exceeding the page limits of a brief (a violation of which may result in the court's striking the brief).
Oral Argument
The Second District Court of Appeal has historically extended oral argument to most litigants who have made a proper request for it. Because the scheduling of oral argument is a function of the clerk's office, it is important to make any request for oral argument in a separate filing "not later than 15 days" after the last brief or reply is due to be served. Fla. R. App. P. 9.320.
If an attorney who will present oral argument has not been listed previously on a brief, petition, response, or reply, please inform the court as soon as possible by filing a notice of appearance.
Oral argument affords counsel and pro se litigants an opportunity to directly interface with the three-judge panel assigned to their appeal. Our court generally allows twenty minutes of time to each side for oral argument in an appeal. Ideally, oral argument will be somewhat akin to a question-and-answer session. Thus, the allotted time should not be used to make a speech but to address the panel's questions or issues.
With that in mind, we would offer these general observations about how counsel and pro se litigants can maximize their oral argument opportunity: (a) always introduce yourself and who you represent (for example: "May it please the court. My name is , and I represent the _."); (b) if you are the appellant/petitioner, indicate whether you wish to reserve any rebuttal argument time (no more than five minutes); (c) if multiple parties will be arguing for a side, indicate how you would like to divide the time before proceeding into argument; (d) have an outline of your key points, as well as transition points, prepared in some form; (e) speak slowly and clearly, at a proper volume; (f) always answer a judge's question forthrightly, candidly, and completely; (g) try not to delay answering a question; (h) never interrupt the judge who is asking the question; (i) try to avoid simply reading notes or prepared remarks in response to a question; (j) do not ask a panel judge a question unless it is for clarification; (k) always be conscious of your remaining time.
Because any issue that has been raised in the briefs might be the subject of a concern or question from the panel, it is imperative for counsel to thoroughly know the case, the record, and the procedural development of the underlying litigation. Equally important, anyone presenting oral argument should have a thorough mastery and recollection of all of the arguments contained in the briefs. Finally, counsel should be thoroughly familiar with and prepared to discuss any aspect of the cases and legal authorities that were cited in the briefs.
An appeal is assigned to a three-judge panel who will be referencing a written record and briefs. Thus, oral argument before an appellate panel is categorically different from closing argument before a jury: dramatically raising or lowering voice volume, facial gestures, pausing for effect, waving a "key" piece of evidence, thumping the podium, and the like are often more irritating than persuasive.
It is always a good idea to practice oral argument with a colleague prior to appearing before the court. This can help sharpen counsel's responses to likely questions, as well as help to identify questions that might be raised during oral argument. Using a timer or a clock to track the allotted time constraints can also be a useful part of this exercise.
Never make personal attacks on the trial judge, the lawyers, the parties, or the witnesses, whether directly, indirectly, or sarcastically, during oral argument. While opposing counsel or an opposing party is presenting argument, remain dignified and avoid making any facial gesture, heaving a sigh, shaking the head, and the like, all of which are distracting and unprofessional. Attorneys should counsel their clients about appropriate courtroom behavior if they anticipate a client's attending oral argument.
There is almost never any reason to interrupt or object when the other side is presenting their argument. Ordinarily, the judges assigned to your panel will readily recognize arguments that are outside of the record or otherwise improper.In the rare instance where a demonstrative aid will be utilized during oral argument, counsel should, prior to the date of oral argument, notify opposing counsel to disclose the demonstrative aid and contact the court marshal's office.
Finally, be extremely sparing with attempts at humor during oral argument; more often than not, it will be inappropriate given the seriousness of legal proceedings in general.
Similar to the page limits of written briefs, it is not necessary to utilize every minute of allotted time in oral argument. If you have adequately touched upon the points needed to be considered and fully answered all of the panel's questions, it is perfectly acceptable to inquire if there are any further questions and conclude oral argument.
Recognize that the judges fully prepare for oral argument and are open to thoroughly considered arguments that are supported by the record and the law. Do not assume that a question necessarily reflects a judge's final conclusion as to the case. Listen to questions and respond as directly as you can. The judges want to make a correct legal decision, and their questions are intended to help them achieve that goal.
Conclusion
It is our hope that this list of practice preferences will provide helpful guidance to litigants and their counsel. We anticipate keeping this web link updated and possibly expanding it over time. | https://www.2dca.org/Practice-and-Procedures/Practice-Preferences |
Denver Township Supervisor John Pedjac could face a recall in November after the Isabella County Election Commission approved the language of one resident’s petition to remove him from office.
Petition filer Louise Ann Mogg now has until Aug. 3 to obtain at least 83 signatures from registered Denver Township voters in order to ensure the recall measure appears on the ballot.
The recall effort was one of two heard by election commission members Judge William Ervin, Clerk Minde B. Lux and Treasurer Steve Pickens Thursday morning.
A petition against Isabella Township Trustee Robert Walton was denied for a second time.
It is not the job of the commission to decide the facts of the recall petition but rather determine if the language itself would be clear to voters, Ervin explained at the start of the hearings.
“Ultimately, the recall question is political and to be decided by the people,” Ervin said.
In other words, if the language is determined to be of sufficient clarity, and enough signatures are collected, the recall appears on the ballot for voters to decide.
Mogg’s recall reads, “Failure to make a motion for board to vote on whether or not to adopt an ordinance creating a township planning commission.”
In a letter to the board that he read during the hearing, Pedjac argued that the language was not clear and concise, and that the word “failure” would give the false impression that there was a legal violation of meeting procedure.
“There is no legal requirement for the township supervisor to make a motion to establish a planning commission,” he wrote. “Currently, Denver Township is governed by the Isabella County Planning and Zoning ordinances.”
Further, Pedjac argued that by singling him out, petition signers and later voters could get the impression that the township supervisor alone has the sole responsibility of making motions when in fact any board members can do so.
Finally, Pedjac acknowledged that establishing township-based planning and zoning is an issue many rural Isabella County voters will decide on in the August primary, which may confuse voters in November who would already have decided on the issue at hand.
To that point, he noted that Mogg herself circulated the petition for Denver Township’s upcoming August vote on an independent planning board.
“At the same time Mrs. Mogg has asked the public to vote (on establishing a township planning board) she is also wanting me to ask the Denver Township Board to make this decision for them. Does Mrs. Mogg want the public to have a say or not? To this point, I also am confused,” he said.
While Lux felt the recall language would confuse November voters —in particular because the planning issue will be on the August ballot— Ervin found the language to be clear.
“Reading the language, personally i think it’s clear what the person is saying,” he said. “It may or may not be true...that’s not our job here as I see it.”
Ultimately, the commission voted 2-1 with Lux as the dissenting vote to approve the recall petition language.
Mogg, who did not attend the hearing, now has until August 3 to obtain signatures equaling 25 percent of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election to ensure the petition makes it onto the November ballot.
Pedjac —who has served as Denver Township Supervisor since 2005— has 10 days to appeal the decision on the language of the petition in Isabella Circuit Court, a process he said he’s looking into this week.
However, evidence and arguments of fact can only be made to the voting public.
In essence, he will need to run a campaign of sorts to present his side to Denver Township voters.
A second attempt at a recall petition — filed both times by Marjorie Horan — against Isabella Township Trustee Robert Walton was ultimately denied unanimously by the commission.
The amended language of the recall accusing Walton of, “Promoting the Apex/Isabella Wind project to help further the progress of the project while having a financial interest in the form of a wind lease with Isabella Wind LLC.,” was still not specific enough for the election commission.
Walton argued that as a landowner in the county he has a right to enter into agreements as he sees fit and that his actions have not impacted any township decisions.
“As you may know, the ‘Apex-Isabella wind project’ is now a conceptual proposal that may be (but has not yet been) filed with the county under it’s zoning ordinance. Isabella Township does not have a zoning ordinance...I have not been called upon to make or participate in any governmental decisions regarding this project,” Walton wrote in a letter to the commission that he also read during the hearing
All three members agreed that the recall language was not specific, did not clarify what action Walton may have taken that warranted a recall and that it would confuse voters if it appeared on the ballot.
Isabella joins Denver and three other county townships — Nottawa, Gilmore and Vernon— where voters will decide whether zoning and planning should be a local endeavor rather than county-wide.
Those ballot initiatives come at an emotional time for communities that are divided over the proposed Isabella Wind energy project. | https://www.themorningsun.com/news/nation-world-news/isabella-wind-controversy-prompts-one-recall-approval-one-denial/article_1abb6731-bfe6-55d6-ab13-ae2c1a4cfa8c.html |
Psychedelic medicine is an emerging field of research and practice that examines the psychotherapeutic effects of substances classified as hallucinogens on the human mind, body, and spirit. Current research explores the safety and efficacy of these substances for mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although current studies explore psychotherapeutic effects from a biomedical perspective, gaps in awareness around cultural issues in the therapeutic process are prominent. African Americans have been absent from psychedelic research as both participants and researchers, and little attention has been paid to the potential of psychedelics to address traumas caused by racialization. This paper examines cultural themes and clinical applications from the one-time use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as part of an US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved clinical trial and training exercise for three African American female therapists. The primary themes that emerged across the varied experiences centered on strength, safety, connection, and managing oppression/racialization. The participants' experiences were found to be personally meaningful and instructive for how Western models of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy could be more effective and accessible to the Black community. Included is a discussion of the importance of facilitator training to make best use of emerging material when it includes cultural, racial, and spiritual themes. A lack of knowledge and epistemic humility can create barriers to treatment for underserved populations. Implications for future research and practice for marginalized cultural groups are also discussed, including consideration of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) as an adjunct to the psychedelic-therapy approaches currently advanced. As women of color are among the most stigmatized groups of people, it is essential to incorporate their perspectives into the literature to expand conversations about health equity.
In recent years, the study of psychedelic science has resurfaced as scientists and therapists are again exploring its potential to treat an array of psychiatric conditions, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction. The scientific progress and clinical promise of this movement owes much of its success to the history of indigenous healing practices; yet the work of indigenous people, ethnic and racial minorities, women, and other disenfranchised groups is often not supported or highlighted in the mainstream narrative of psychedelic medicine. This review addresses this issue directly: first, by highlighting the traditional role of psychedelic plants and briefly summarizing the history of psychedelic medicine; second, through exploring the historical and sociocultural factors that have contributed to unequal research participation and treatment, thereby limiting the opportunities for minorities who ought to be acknowledged for their contributions. Finally, this review provides recommendations for broadening the Western medical framework of healing to include a cultural focus and additional considerations for an inclusive approach to treatment development and dissemination for future studies.
Abstract
Equity and diversity are essential to the development of inclusive psychedelic research. However, oversights and misattributions are common, particularly when it comes to accounts of important psychedelic moments and key figures. Dr. Valentina Pavlovna Wasson is an important early contributor to the growth of Western psychedelic science but remains under-recognized. Psychedelic researchers must continue to address the glaring need to ask questions and examine the foundations of what we think we know about psychedelic studies—to question our assumptions with a critical and intersectional eye to resist replicating social and cultural inequalities in psychedelic research and history. | https://akjournals.com/search?f_0=author&q_0=Jamilah+George&print |
Sleep may be important in the effectiveness of psychedelic psychotherapy.
Posted Dec 27, 2020
As we near the end of a challenging year, I have been thinking about the tools we have to address psychological suffering. Psychological difficulties always exist but years with pandemics and wars have even greater stress and more anxiety, depression, and insomnia. There have been worse years than 2020, such as 1918 with both World War I and the influenza pandemic or 1945 with the Holocaust and atomic bomb. Still, 2020 stands out with so many things going wrong. Examples include massive wildfires worsened by climate change, demonstrations against systemic racism, and a pandemic that reached every continent. The demand for mental health services has stretched providers thin even as they cope with the pandemic themselves.
The search for more effective treatments for psychological disorders has continued. New therapies and medications have been developed. Recent psychiatric medications, however, are no more clinically effective than the medications developed decades ago. They have different and more benign side effect protocols than earlier medications but do not generally achieve significantly better results. New psychotherapies are promising but it is difficult to show greater effectiveness than older therapies.
As a result, there has been a reassessment of the clinical potential of the hallucinogens. There is evidence of use since prehistoric times and from the 1950s into the 1970s, these drugs were extensively researched for clinical use. Clinical research was stopped by the backlash against the use of these substances by the counterculture of the 1960s.
Scientific studies resumed in 1990. Most research has been done on the psychedelics (primarily psilocybin), the dissociative anesthetics (ketamine), and the entactogens (MDMA). Ketamine is used as a standalone pharmacotherapy or with psychotherapy, while the psychedelics and entactogens are used to assist psychotherapy. All of these substances occasion experiences that have strong phenomenological similarity to the dream state.
The serotonergic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, have powerful effects on perception, mood, and cognition while being physiologically safe with low dependency liability (Froese et al, 2018). They can, however, be very challenging psychologically and therapeutic benefit is best achieved with psychologically competent support.
A recent literature review (Breeksema et al, 2020) found that these substances have been examined for the therapeutic potential for a wide range of disorders including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and substance abuse. There are, for example, studies at Yale currently investigating the use of psilocybin in the treatment of OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, major depression, and several types of headache. (I am a therapist for one of these studies and information about them can be found here.)
Within a psychotherapeutic setting, these medicines affect insight and self-perception, cause feelings of connectedness, and occasion transcendent experiences and expanded emotional states. These contribute to symptom relief, increased self-awareness, and improved mood and quality of life. While promising, more research will be needed before it can be definitively proven that psychedelic therapy offers more rapid, powerful, and lasting benefits than current treatments.
Froese et al (2018) argued that these substances may interact with sleep in ways that produce therapeutic benefits. In work with neural networks, it has been found that intermittently setting activity to random states leads to structural reorganization so that more effective neural coordination is facilitated by allowing the system greater space to explore. Likewise, sleep releases the nervous system from its normal constraints, which may facilitate learning and memory. Release from constraints is a characteristic of the psychedelic state and may allow the brain greater room to explore and thus improve its capacity for neural coordination. Froese et al (2018) suggested that psychedelics may interact with sleep and potentiate its effect of shifting the brain into non-ordinary spaces. This could increase the self-optimization effect of sleep.
Some theories of psychological disorders suggest that they are caused by overly constrained mental processes that result in ruminative, critical thinking as seen in depression or in rigid patterns of thought in OCD. Other theories suggest that psychological disorders may result from a lack of effective organization of thought.
Sleep is frequently disrupted by stress and sleep problems are a common symptom of psychiatric disorders. In health, sleep may function to reduce the neural activity of the waking brain that would, in time, become overly active and result in the inability to function effectively. Sleep may be important for psychological health because it helps reset the brain and facilitates more optimal organization or it may help to reduce neural activity and protect against overactivity and decreased function. Which of these is most important is unknown but two possibilities exist for how sleep interacts with psychedelic states to affect these patterns.
There are many similarities between psychedelic and dream states as they involve similar experiences and have similar EEG patterns. The psychedelic state is, however, different in that it occurs in an activated, alert state unlike the deactivated state of sleep. If sleep functions to restrict plasticity then the disinhibiting effects of psychedelics would open the possibility of new learning and escape from constricted thought patterns. It is also possible that psychedelics counteract the effect of sleep deprivation and increase brain organization following the experience. Froese et al (2018) have analyzed data from animal studies that appear to show improvement in memory in a learning task following administration of psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin.
Ketamine is an FDA approved treatment for depression and can have significant psychedelic effects. It is a remarkably useful drug and is used for anesthesia and pain control and more recently as a treatment for depression (Gao et al, 2016). Studies are investigating how it has such a rapid therapeutic effect on depression (Tiger et al, 2020). Characteristic changes in the EEG of sheep given ketamine have been observed (Nicol & Morton, 2020) and a high dose caused a period of complete cessation of cortical EEG. The cessation of cortical EEG activity may explain the “k-hole,” which ketamine users often seek out. Ketamine significantly changes brain EEG and it is not unreasonable to suspect that this may have some implications for sleep.
Several studies have shown that ketamine significantly affects sleep. A study by Feinberg & Campbell (1993) showed intensified NREM sleep in rats treated with ketamine. Ahnaou et al (2017) showed that, in rats, acute administration of ketamine has a different effect on sleep than chronic use. Abuse of ketamine is associated with poor sleep (Yen et al, 2020). Ketamine used in a medically safe environment is quite different from the sub-optimal conditions of illicit settings where dose and purity are questionable. The differential effects of acute versus chronic ketamine use must be considered in research with humans in order to determine the most effective dosing schedule.
Psychedelic drugs have a potentially important place in the treatment of many clinical disorders. In the case of ketamine, approved treatments are already in use and FDA approval of MDMA and psilocybin appears increasingly likely in the near future. Much is to be learned about how psychedelics help bring about therapeutic change. Their interactions with sleep and its mechanisms will likely be an important part of the story.
References
Ahnaou, A., Huysmans, H., Biermans, R., Manyakov, NV, & Drinkenburg, WHIM. (2017). Ketamine: differential neurophysiological dynamics in functional networks in the rat brain. Translational Psychiatry, 7(e1237); doi:10.1038/tp.2017.198
Breeksema, J.J., Niemeijer, A.R., Krediet, E., Vermetten, E., Schoevers, R.A. (2020). Psychedelic Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Patient Experiences in Qualitative Studies, CNS Drugs 34, p. 925–946; https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-020-00748-y
Feinberg, I. & Campbell, M.S. (1993). Ketamine administration during waking increases delta EED intensity in rat sleep. Neuropsychopharmacology, 9(1), p. 41- 48. | https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/sleepless-in-america/202012/psychedelic-assisted-psychotherapy-and-sleep |
"As the Director of an organization dedicated to veterans with PTSD, the wife of a combat Marine with PTSD and the mom of 3 children who are immersed in the PTSD dynamic; I see the inadequacies of conventional medicines used to treat PTSD. We are losing too many veterans to suicide and more needs to be done.
I reached out to Quantified Citizen in hopes of giving our veterans a chance to progress science that will help lead them to the most relevant treatment. My hope is their needs will be heard with the results from this study and we can continue to push harder for better therapies and save more lives."
- Brigette Parsons
Executive Director and Founder, Saving Grace K9s
Quantified Citizen, in collaboration with Brigette Parsons, Executive Director of Saving Grace K9s, have created this new global study in order to gain insight into therapies for combat veterans with PTSD.
The study focuses on observing mental health symptoms as well as experiences with various therapeutic approaches (both conventional and unconventional) with the main aim to help understand the effectiveness of various therapeutic modalities for this clinical population.
The study aims to map current mental health profiles among military veterans diagnosed with PTSD. The secondary objective is to identify associations between various treatment modalities (both conventional and unconventional) and mental health, as well as substance use patterns and mental health.
We are interested in exploring:
- What are the mental health symptoms related to PTSD that veterans suffer from? What is the severity of these symptoms?
- How are mental health profiles (symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and stress, affect, and well-being) affected by conventional and unconventional therapy experiences?
- How do motivations for using a substance (regardless of the substance) relate to mental health profiles?
This study is open to all combat veterans with PTSD regardless of nationality. The veteran must have experienced combat to participate and must have been diagnosed with PTSD.
Who is this study for?
Military veterans around the globe who have been in combat and who have been diagnosed or self-diagnosed with PTSD symptoms.
What will I be asked to do?
Upon agreeing to and submitting the informed consent you will be enrolled into the study. As a participant you will be asked to share information about your medical and substance use histories including past experiences and the line of military you served. Questions in regard to your mental health will also be asked as well as your experience with various therapies including rating their success in alleviating your symptoms. Lastly, you will be given the option to stay enrolled in the study to provide ongoing monthly updates related to your mental health and associated therapies, if you so choose.
Will I be able to connect to wearable data?
You will have the option to connect data from your wearable device: step count, heart rate variability, sleep, and active energy burned.
How much time will I need to commit to this study?
You will get the chance to choose one of two study versions. The shorter option includes retrospective surveys at a single assessment timepoint (about 20 minutes to complete). The longer version, starts with the short version and additionally asks for monthly updates (up to 3 months) on your symptoms and treatment progress (about 7 minutes per month).
How will I benefit?
Following your participation, you will receive a personalized report summarizing insights from your data (currently in development). With the data from this study, you will be actively helping shape the future of PTSD treatment options which may assist in improving these options for people like you to combat the severity of their PTSD symptoms.
All information obtained during the study will be entirely anonymous. All digital data collection will be self-administered. You will get a unique, randomly generated username and your identity will remain anonymous. Please write down this username and keep it in a secure location. You will need it to login into the app should you lose your phone as well as to access your individual data summary and aggregated data. If for any reason you no longer have access to your QC account, and you do not remember your username, QC will not be able to regenerate your account.
You will never be asked to provide your real name, address, or date of birth. Averaged group data may be published or publicly presented, but it will not be possible to identify individual participants from this data. The Quantified Citizen app will not have access to any of your personal identifying information. Quantified Citizen will only access IP addresses from server logs for security and quality control and will delete them every 48 hours to limit indirect identifiers. Only authorized QC staff can access server logs based on their role and a need-to-know basis in order to fulfill their duties. IP addresses are not included in the data that will be analyzed in this study.
All of the data you enter into the Quantified Citizen app will be encrypted and stored in perpetuity on servers located in Canada. Anonymous data will be accessible to all researchers involved with this study. The data may be accessible to other researchers in the future. Any data you have previously entered into the app regarding the microdosing study will be used in addition to any data you enter in the future.
Data will be kept for 5 years following publication of the research at which point the data on the external hard drive and university’s server will be wiped clean.
To browse through more FAQs about the app, please visit our Help Center.
How Do I Register?
Download > Start > Complete Walkthrough > Sign Up
Step 1. First Download the Quantified Citizen App here
Step 2. Complete the following walkthrough and select "Sign Up" to create an account:
Note: To skip the walkthrough select "Already have an account? Sign in" at the bottom.
Step 3. For your privacy we identify your account with 12 random words. Take note of these words and store them in a safe place. Treat these like you would treat a password.
Note: You do have access to these words inside the app using the dropdown hamburger menu in the top left and selecting "My Account".
Step 5. Select the "SIGN UP" button to continue.
Step 6. Enter a 4 digit password and then re-enter again to confirm. This can be used to sign in. You can also opt for Apple's Face ID after entering the 4 digit password.
Step 7. You should have a Completed screen as shown below.
Step 8. Press "Next" to enter your dashboard.
What happens to my data?
All of your data is completely anonymous. When you use the Quantified Citizen app you are the owner of your own personal information.
Rest assured all of your data is completely anonymous. When you use the Quantified Citizen app you are the owner of your own personal information. By using our services we do not have ownership, right, title, or interest in your personal information.
Do I receive my personal data during or after a study?
Not yet, but could be coming soon!
Currently, no personal data is shared during or after a study. This has been a popular request from the Quantified Citizen community and we are making strides to make this possible!
Programs and services for mental health, well-being and financial support.
A portal to access and manage veteran support and benefits.
✅ Wellness Together Canada: Call 1-866-585-0445
This is a free, confidential, 24/7 hotline providing free mental health and substance use support. Their platform offers various services ranging from basic wellness information, to one-on-one sessions with a counselor, to participating in a community of support. Whatever it is you’re looking for, visit https://wellnesstogether.ca.
✅ Crisis Text Line Canada: Text “HOME” to 686868 or visit https://crisistextline.ca
Crisis Text Line USA: Text “HOME” to 741741 or visit https://crisistextline.org
These are 24-hour, free, support lines (via text medium) for people experiencing all kinds of crises, including suicidal thoughts.
✅ National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA): Call 800-273-TALK (8255)
This is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. For Spanish (Español), dial 1-888-628-9454. You can also use the Lifeline Chat on the web https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat.
✅ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline (USA): Call 800-662-HELP (4357)
This is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental health and/or substance use challenges.
✅ Fireside Project (USA): Call or text (3pm to 3am PST) 62-FIRESIDE > 623-473-7433
This is a peer support for those in the midst of psychedelic experiences, those sitting for others, and those integrating past psychedelic experiences. You can also access support via an app: https://firesideproject.org/app.
✅ Psychedelic Support Therapy
This an online directory of experienced providers, information about integration groups/circles, and online education in the psychedelic space, for more information, visit https://psychedelic.support.
✅ Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses
This organization represents nurses, at all levels of training, who work with patients utilizing therapeutic psychedelic medicines. They offer a list of clinical resources for those seeking integration and harm reduction, as well as psychedelic societies/communities, and professional organizations. If you want to learn more, visit https://openurses.org/clinical-resources. | https://www.quantifiedcitizen.com/studies/combat-veterans-with-ptsd |
This training is designed for therapists, physicians, nurses and other allied mental healthcare professionals who want comprehensive training in psychedelic-assisted therapy, in order to utilize ketamine as a psychedelic medicine and ready themselves for the anticipated approvals of MDMA and psilocybin.
This online year-long course, taught by more than 30 experts in providing psychedelic-assisted therapy and research, will teach providers the protocols of evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapy treatment for PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more. It will also go into the details of psychedelic sciences, therapeutic processes unique to psychedelic therapy, preparation, dosing, integration, clinic models, and how psychedelics work in combination with other types of therapies.
You must have an advanced degree in either medicine or mental health in order to apply. If you are an early career mental health or medical professional, we encourage you to apply so we can discuss your situation and evaluate whether this program fits for your level of experience. | https://uthymia.com/ipi-psychedelic-training/ |
A bill seeking the establishment of a research institute to study the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics was introduced in the New York State Assembly on Tuesday.
Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal’s (D) bill A07928 proposes to amend current public health laws and form a state-sanctioned psychedelic research board ‘for the purpose of facilitating clinical programs’ to investigate the safety and efficacy of psychedelic substances for the treatment of mental healthcare issues.
Under this legislation, a separate research body — the Institute for Therapeutic Psychedelics Research (ITPR) — would be formed, and would be responsible for ‘administering the provisions of this bill. It would also coordinate New York State’s policies for the use of psychedelic substances in the ‘treatment of substance use disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life anxiety and other conditions.’
“A growing body of evidence [exists] that the use of psychedelics such as ibogaine, LSD, psilocybin and certain other psychedelic drugs in certain settings may provide a treatment for people struggling with substance use disorder including methamphetamine, opioids, and other addictive substances,” the bill states.
“3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) may be efficacious in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcoholism; psilocybin is a breakthrough therapy for severe depression and nicotine addiction,” it continues.
The preliminary reports for the findings will be due on December 1, 2021, which would be sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo, while the second report will be due a year after, with recommendations in regard to the progress made in developing, promoting, and completing clinical evaluations. The final report will be submitted in December 2023.
Under the Psychedelic Substance Therapeutic Research Act, a board of researchers would study the outcomes of clinical trials on opioid addiction, and on those suffering from PTSD or severe depression.
An appointed commissioner, on behalf of the research department, would apply for the investigational new drug permit to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for substances “including but not limited to ibogaine, psilocybin, LSD, cannabis, MDMA, DMT” within ninety days of the approval of this bill.
Giving a free hand to a prospective commissioner for obtaining psychedelic substances, the legislation says that if the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) refuses to issue a license for the receipt of controlled substances, “the commissioner shall contract with the available source and obtain the drugs without a DEA license.”
This clause, couched in the language of the bill, is the latest challenge to the DEA’s stance on psychedelic medicines. Most recently, the agency faced a backlash from lawmakers as attorneys general representing eight states and the District of Columbia filed amicus briefs in support of a Seattle palliative care physician denied access to psilocybin under the Right to Try Act by the federal body.
Another bill by Assemblywoman Rosenthal which was introduced in March, asking to remove two psychedelic substances — psilocybin and psilocin — from the restrictions imposed on them by New York State drug laws. A third bill by another legislator proposes to decriminalize controlled substances.
Legislators from various U.S. states have been filing bills for drug policy reforms, with some notable recent successes. The California Senate approved a psychedelic decriminalization bill on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Texas legislators sent the psychedelic study bill for veteran PTSD to the state Governor Greg Abbott earlier this week. | https://truffle.report/new-york-state-introduces-psychedelic-research-bill/ |
- Evaluate the scientific research that links diet and nutrition to mental illness and its implications for treatment.
- Articulate how certain micronutrients and macro nutrients affect mood and behavior in clients.
- Evaluate the psychobiology and psychophysiology of mind and body interactions regarding six DSM ® categories.
- Incorporate ethical and scope of practice considerations relative to integrated and nutritional medicine with respect to your own professional discipline.
- Communicate integrative and nutritional methods as they relate to client psycho-education.
- Discriminate between the clinical presentation of mental illness as compared to nutritional and/or hormonal imbalance.
- Recommend six nutritional methods for treating clients who present with mood lability.
- Correlate gluten and casein sensitivity with the presentation of depression, psychosis and ASD in clients.
- Demonstrate the use of a food mood assessment to evaluate client eating patterns and how those patterns may influence their mental health.
- Appraise the epidemiological research underlying the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and its specific application for client mental health.
- Interview clients using the DSM-5 ® Cultural Formulation tool to explore about health and healing in order to inform the treatment planning process.
- Evaluate drug-nutrient-herbal interactions for clients to prevent side effects of polymedicine use.
- Illustrate stage-specific anaerobic and aerobic exercise and self-care methods to decrease dissociative symptoms in clients.
- Integrate breathing techniques to reduce hyperventilation and improve focus among clients with anxiety disorders.
- Present adaptations of complementary and alternative methods for children and teens with behavioral and mental health disorders such as ADHD and ODD.
- Discuss contraindications of the use of psychotropic medications and herbal medicines and nutrients.
- Identify the evidence for the use of essential fatty acids for anxiety and depression.
- Evaluate the impact of blood sugar and genetic variations on mental health disorders and defective treatment.
The Complex Relationship Between Mental and Physical Health
How Foods Affect Moods
- Carbohydrates – A new way to think about cravings
- Effects protein may have on depression and anxiety
- Fats for mental health (depression, ADHD, bipolar)
- The connection between food, depression and anxiety
- Vitamins: B-Vitamins, 5-MTHF, Vitamin D
- Minerals: Magnesium, calcium
Nutrition, Diet and Culinary Medicine
- Food as -brain-mind-medicine
- Fats: Essential fatty acids, toxic fats, fish oil
- Protein: the building blocks of happiness
- Nutrients to improve mental health and cognitive function
- Vitamins, minerals, glandulars, and special nutrients for the non-nutritionist
- Regulate hormonal imbalance
- Balance blood sugar to balance mood
- Cultural and genetic variations
- Enhance digestion for mental health
- Thyroid function and mental health
The Truth About Popular Supplements and Herbal Medicine
- Seven major herbs for PTSD, anxiety, depression, sleep, and cognitive health
- Endocannabinoid deficit theory
- Cannabis and psychedelic medicine
- THC versus CBD
- Evidence for medical cannabis for mental health PTSD and chronic pain
- Adaptogens: Ginseng, licorice, ashwaganda
- Melatonin
- Smell, mood, and cognition
- Evidence for essential oils to alter mood and cognition
- Interactions with pharmaceuticals
Physiological Factors of Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar and ADHD
- Transcending mind-body separation: Understanding the complex relationships
- The factors that cause -chemical imbalance
- Beyond pharmaceutical management
- Balancing circadian rhythm
- Apply breathing exercises for mental health
- Enhance sleep and address insomnia
Assessments and Evidence-Based Research
Assessments Using Integrative Approaches
- Conduct a basic nutritional food/mood assessment
- Conduct an adrenal stress and biological rhythm assessment
- Culture and ethnicity assessment and treatment
- The Cultural Formulation Interview and CAM methods
- Basic lab tests for optimal mental health
Simple Screening Tools to Identify Nutritional Deficiencies Contributing to:
- Anxiety and PTSD
- Depression
- ADHD
- Fatigue
- Anger
- Bipolar disorder
- Lack of mental clarity
- Other mental health concerns
Recognizing When -Mental Illness is Something Else
- Hormonal imbalance
- Anxiety vs. hypoglycemia
- Inflammation
- Digestion
- Depressed, fatigued or malnourished?
- Side effects of medications
Symptoms of Nutritional Deficiencies and Co-Morbid Conditions
- Strategies to reduce inflammation: The major factor in depression, anxiety, bipolar, and ADHD
- Chronic illness, fibromyalgia
- Anxiety and digestion
- The Second brain: Microbiome, probiotics and GABA, and anxiety
- Sleep, adrenal health, and rhythms
- Anger, alcohol abuse and liver health
- Genetics, depression and brain
- PTSD and auto immune, addictions and cognition
- ADHD, ASD, and food sensitivities
- Integrative approach recovery from addictions
Clinical Applications – Non-Pharmaceutical Treatment Strategies
Holistic Treatment Interventions
- Address clients concerns and provide alternatives to psychotropics
- Herbal medicine for mental health
- Strategies for clients who want to stop their medications
- Ayurvedic medicine and mental health
- Exercise: Elevate serotonin and regulate stress hormones
- Sound and music for insomnia, anxiety and anger
- Toning, binaural music
Comprehensive Non-Pharmaceutical Treatment Plans and Protocols for: | https://imqlab.com/courses/3-day-nutrition-for-mental-health-comprehensive-course-anne-procyk/ |
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) — A bill authored by San Francisco State Senator Scott Wiener aimed at decriminalizing psychedelic drugs on Wednesday passed the Senate Health Committee by a vote of 6-1, according to Wiener’s office.
Senate Bill 519, which will decriminalize the possession and personal use of certain psychedelic drugs is now set head to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Wiener introduced the bill in February.READ MORE: One Dead In 'Suspicious' Early Morning Cupertino House Fire
According to Wiener, research from top medical universities indicates that substances including psilocybin, psilocyn, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“MDMA”), Lysergic acid diethylamide (“LSD”), ketamine, Dimethyltryptamine (“DMT”), mescaline (excluding peyote), and ibogaine, can have significant benefits for treating mental health and substance use disorders.
Decriminalizing the drugs for personal and therapeutic use is part of a larger movement to end policies rooted in the racist War on Drugs dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
SB 519 also expunges any criminal records for people convicted of possession or personal use of the psychedelic substances as well as establishing a commission charged with producing recommendations to the Legislature regarding which regulatory system it recommends California adopt for personal use of the specified substances in the future.
The bill follows similar, successful efforts to decriminalize these substances in Washington, D.C., Oakland, and Santa Cruz, as well as the successful 2020 Oregon ballot measures that decriminalized personal use of all scheduled substances, and authorized the creation of a state-licensed, psilocybin services program over the next two years.
Wiener had announced last November that he planned to introduce such a bill.READ MORE: Video: Motorist Rescued From Fiery Freeway Crash In San Jose
Wiener — the State Senator for District 11, which compromises San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, Broadmoor, and parts of South San Francisco — outlined the plan with a thread of several tweets posted on November 10, 2020.
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- Woman Trademarks ‘Psilocybin’ To Prevent Commercialization Of Mushrooms
- Repair Of Iconic ’60s Era Synthesizer Turns Into Long, Strange Trip For Engineer
“These drugs have been shown to have medicinal value treating depression, PTSD & other conditions,” he said in his first tweet on the subject. “We need to stop criminalizing drug use & addiction.”
Studies show that psychedelics show great promise in the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Recent clinical trials studying MDMA as a treatment for PTSD led the FDA to distinguish MDMA-assisted therapy as a “breakthrough therapy,” with two-thirds of study participants no longer qualified as having PTSD after experiencing MDMA-assisted therapy. | https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/04/14/bill-to-decriminalize-psychedelic-drugs-passes-senate-health-committee/ |
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental illness triggered by traumatic experiences. It causes emotional mood swings, fear, anxiety, avoidance, and terrifying flashbacks and nightmares. Having untreated PTSD can negatively impact several areas of a person’s life, making it difficult or impossible to function at work, at home, or in relationships. Complications of PTSD can be serious and include suicide and substance abuse, but dedicated treatment is effective and can help individuals overcome trauma and its aftermath.
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental illness characterized by a difficult reaction to a traumatic event that persists for months or even years. While troubling symptoms after a frightening, threatening, or dangerous experience are normal, severe symptoms that don’t go away or get any better with time are not—they can be a sign of PTSD.
PTSD is characterized by extreme fear and anxiety, frightening memories and flashbacks, nightmares, and obsessive thoughts about the traumatizing event. This condition can be debilitating, causing a person to be unable to work or go to school, have normal relationships with other people, or in some cases even leave the house at all.
The symptoms of PTSD often set in soon after a trauma, but in some cases they may not appear until years later. Treatment can help a person get relief and learn to accept and cope with a terrible experience.
Types of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Most people who are diagnosed with PTSD fall under the main category of symptoms and classifications. However, there are two subtypes of this condition that may be diagnosed in special cases. One is the preschool subtype. This is PTSD that occurs in a child younger than six years old. In such young children, signs of PTSD can be complicated with developmental behaviors, so special criteria have been designed to make this diagnosis.
The other subtype of PTSD is called dissociative PTSD. This causes the typical symptoms of PTSD but also dissociative symptoms. These can include a feeling of being detached from the world or from other people, of being detached from one’s own body, or feeling generally unreal or as if the world is unreal or distorted.
Facts and Statistics
PTSD is a mental health condition that is caused by trauma, and while not everyone who experiences trauma will develop it, PTSD is not uncommon. Certain groups of people, like military veterans, are more susceptible than others.
- About 7.7 million adults in the U.S. are affected by PTSD.
- There are no age restrictions, and anyone can be diagnosed with PTSD.
- Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with PTSD.
- Estimates for the rates of PTSD in military veterans are 30 percent for those who served in Vietnam, 12 percent for those who served in the Gulf War, and between 11 and 20 percent for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- In the general population the rate of PTSD is seven to eight percent, about four percent in men and 10 percent in women.
Symptoms and Diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD causes symptoms that can range from mild to severe and include flashbacks, troubling memories, jumpiness, anxiety, and other difficult symptoms that cause impairment in everyday functioning. The diagnostic criteria include four groups of symptoms. To be diagnosed, an individual must experience one or two from each group, the symptoms must last for more than a month, and they must cause significant distress or impairment. The four clusters are categorized as re-experience, avoidance, negative mood or thoughts, and arousal.
Re-experience symptoms include:
- Intrusive memories that recur and are unwanted
- Having flashbacks that force a person to relive the traumatic experience
- Nightmares about the event
- A severe emotional or physical reaction to reminders of the event
Avoidance symptoms include:
- Avoiding thinking about or talking about trauma
- Avoiding places, people, or anything else that act as reminders of the traumatic experience
Negative mood and thought symptoms include:
- Feelings of hopelessness about the future
- Negative feelings about oneself or the world in general
- Withdrawal from friends and family
- Emotional numbness
- Difficulty feeling pleasure or enjoying activities
- Difficulty remembering aspects of the traumatic event
- Difficulty keeping up with relationships
Arousal symptoms include:
- Being aggressive or irritable, having angry outbursts
- Being startled easily
- Having trouble concentrating
- Difficulty sleeping
- Being hypervigilant about surroundings
- Engaging in self-destructive behaviors
The diagnostic criteria also include the requirement that a person was actually exposed to some type of trauma. The trauma must be either a direct exposure to harm or threat, a witnessing of harm or threat to someone else, learning that a loved one was harmed or threatened, or being exposed indirectly to the details of a traumatic event.
Relief From Trauma is Possible
Our Unique Treatment Model can Help
Causes and Risk Factors
This is one of few mental illnesses that has a known cause: trauma. Although the cause can be pinpointed in those who suffer PTSD, what cannot be explained exactly is why some people who go through a traumatic experience develop the condition while others do not. There are some known risk factors that make someone more susceptible to have this reaction to a traumatic experience, including:
- More intense, long-lasting, or repeated trauma
- Traumatic experiences that occur earlier in life
- Having a job that increases the risk of being exposed to trauma
- Experiencing other mental health issues, or being diagnosed with another mental illness
- Not having good support from friends or family in general, but specifically after a traumatic experience
- Drinking or using drugs
- Having a family history of PTSD or other mental illnesses
Co-Occurring Disorders
PTSD often occurs alongside other mental and behavioral conditions. In some cases these other conditions may increase the risk of having PTSD after trauma, but having PTSD can also trigger other mental illnesses. Examples of common co-occurring disorders with PTSD are depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and substance use disorders. Suicidal behaviors may also occur with PTSD.
Substance use is particularly common and problematic with PTSD. This is likely because someone with PTSD, especially untreated, may turn to drugs or alcohol as a way to cope with the fear, anxiety, memories, flashbacks, and other symptoms. It is an unhealthy and destructive habit that can increase the avoidance of facing trauma and also lead to a significant substance use disorder. Anyone who has been diagnosed with PTSD should be screened for substance use disorders and treated for both at the same time.
Among military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, a physical injury called traumatic brain injury (TBI) often co-occurs with PTSD. TBI is caused by the blast waves from explosions, which shake the brain inside the skull. These injuries and their consequences are not fully understood, but there may be some link between the damage they cause to the brain and PTSD.
Heal From Trauma
Our Caring Staff is Here to Help
Treatment and Prognosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Because PTSD can be such a debilitating mental illness it is often recommended that individuals get treatment in a residential setting. This allows them to have access to a variety of treatments and professionals, and also gives them the space and time to focus on treatment and not have to worry about home, work, and other responsibilities.
Treatment for PTSD revolves around therapy. Trauma-focused therapies are most useful, but each patient responds differently. In a treatment setting, the right combination of therapies can be found to help each patient recover most effectively. Types of therapies commonly used to treat PTSD include:
- Exposure therapy. This type of therapy forces a patient to face the trauma that is causing symptoms but in a way that is safe. Once those memories are faced head on, a therapist can guide a patient through learning how to process and cope with them. Technology is aiding this kind of therapy with the use of virtual reality in some settings.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Exposure therapy is combined with a series of eye movements in EMDR to help patients process and change reactions to frightening memories.
- Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is often the gold-standard in therapy for all types of mental illnesses, but it can also be modified for trauma patients. Therapists work with traumatized patients to help them recognize and change their behaviors that are negative and not productive.
- Writing therapy. Writing about traumatic experiences and emotions is helpful for patients trying to process and come to terms with their memories. It is done with a therapist in a guided session.
Treatment for PTSD may also involve medications, usually anti-depressants, if appropriate for the individual. These medications help relieve depression and anxiety symptoms, which often occur with PTSD. By minimizing some troubling symptoms, a patient may be in a better position to benefit from therapy.
Additional approaches to treatment in a residential setting include supplemental therapies, such as animal, art, music, or movement therapies. Patients can also benefit from group therapy and support or sessions that involve family. They can learn relaxation techniques and healthier coping mechanisms that can be used once out of treatment.
The prognosis for PTSD is very good when a patient receives treatment. Untreated, this condition can negatively affect all areas of a person’s life and be nearly impossible to overcome. But with dedicated and intense treatment and with support from loved ones, it is possible to process trauma and move past it.
Why Choose BrightQuest for PTSD Treatment?
BrightQuest Treatment Centers provide world-class residential treatment for PTSD and other complex mental illnesses. We know that choosing the right treatment option for yourself or a loved one is difficult. We believe our unique model of care gives our clients the best chance at success.
- Family Integration in Treatment
- Inclusive Therapeutic Community
- Focus on Lasting Behavioral Change
We offer clients the tools, skills, and support necessary to attain greater stability and independence with the confidence and courage to live a healthy, happy, and productive life. | https://www.brightquest.com/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/ |
Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (NEO: MYCO) has completed a public offering of common shares for gross proceeds of over $2 million. The offering was completed in connection with a subscription agreement with a third-party investor pursuant to which MYCO can issue and sell up to $10 million of common shares to the investor by issuing a series of draw notices from time to time, subject to the conditions set out in the agreement. The offering was completed over two tranches completed on March 31, 2022 and May 2, 2022 and was conducted by way of supplements to a base shelf prospectus previously filed by MYCO.
MYCO is a biotechnology company developing innovative first- and-second-generation novel therapeutics for the treatment of mental health and addiction using world-class technology and drug development infrastructure. The company is dedicated to efficiently developing new therapeutics to treat PTSD, depression, anxiety, addiction and other mental health disorders. The Mydecine business model combines clinical trials and data outcome, technology, and scientific and regulatory expertise with a focus on psychedelic therapy, as well as other novel, non-psychedelic molecules with therapeutic potential.
Wildeboer Dellelce LLP acted for the investor in connection with the subscription agreement and the offering with a team comprised of Michael Rennie and Brendan Wu (corporate/securities).
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Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2020, 1-6.
doi:10.1017/ipm.2020.94
The medium- to long-term consequences of COVID-19 are not yet known, though an increase in mental health problems are pre- dicted. Multidisciplinary strategies across socio-economic and psychological levels may be needed to mitigate the mental health burden of COVID-19. Preliminary evidence from the rapidly progressing field of psychedelic science shows that psilocybin therapy offers a promising transdiagnostic treatment strategy for a range of disorders with restricted and maladaptive habitual patterns of cognition and behaviour, notably depression, addiction and obsessive compulsive disorder. The COMPASS Pathways (COMPASS) phase 2b double-blind trial of psilocybin therapy in antidepressant-free, treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is underway to determine the safety, efficacy and optimal dose of psilocybin. Results from the Imperial College London Psilodep-RCT comparing the efficacy and mechanisms of action of psilocybin therapy to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) escitalopram will soon be published. However, the efficacy and safety of psilocybin therapy in conjunction with SSRIs in TRD is not yet known. An additional COMPASS study, with a centre in Dublin, will begin to address this question, with potential implications for the future delivery of psilocybin therapy. While at a relatively early stage of clinical development, and notwith- standing the immense challenges of COVID-19, psilocybin therapy has the potential to play an important therapeutic role for vari- ous psychiatric disorders in post-COVID-19 clinical psychiatry.
Key words : Coronavirus, COVID-19, depression, psilocybin, psychedelics, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, treatment- resistant depression.
Crises induce a wide range of psychological reactions, with varying degrees of adaptability. The combination of uncertainty and social distancing induced by the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to excessive fear/ anxiety, loneliness and depressive thoughts (Holmes et al. 2020, Luykx et al. 2020, Vindegaard & Benros,2020). While the medium- to long-term mental health consequences are not yet known, an increase in psychological and psychiatric problems are predicted (Horesh & Brown, 2020, O’Connor et al. 2020, Türközer & Öngür, 2020), with an excess burden on vulnerable groups (Kelly, 2020). The implementation of a range of multidisciplinary strategies across socio- economic and psychological levels may be needed to mitigate the mental health burden of COVID-19.
Accumulating clinical data shows that psilocybin therapy may be an effective therapeutic strategy across a range of disorders, including depression (Carhart-Harris et al. 2016, Davis et al. 2019), obsessive compulsive disorder (Moreno et al. 2006) and addiction disorders (Garcia-Romeu et al. 2019, Johnson et al. 2017). In addition, clinical trials are under- way to investigate psilocybin therapy in anorexia nerv- osa (NCT04052568) and there may be a role for psilocybin therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders (Weston et al. 2020).
Recent advances in psychedelic science are gradu- ally unravelling the multimodal mechanisms underly- ing the therapeutic effect of psilocybin therapy (for example Carhart-Harris & Friston, 2019, Lord et al. 2019, Preller et al. 2020, Varley et al. 2020). Psilocybin reliably alters an individual’s state of consciousness, probably through agonist mechanisms at the 5-HT2A receptor, especially in the deep pyramidal cells in the cortex (Nutt et al. 2020). The transient, dose-dependent alteration of the complex interconnected neural net- works of the brain (Lord et al. 2019, Varley et al. 2020) encompassing the self-reflecting ‘ego’, induced by psilocybin, can lead to profound experiences of connec- tivity to others and the environment (Erritzoe et al. 2018, Griffiths et al. 2006, 2016, Grob et al. 2011, Kettner et al. 2019, Smigielski et al. 2019) and can be harnessed by psilocybin therapy to re-conceptualise restricted and maladaptive habitual patterns of cognition and behaviour.
As such, psilocybin therapy provides a translatable, transdiagnostic treatment strategy that can be further refined by a precise-personalised approach (Kelly et al. 2017, Lewis et al. 2020, Preller et al. 2016, 2020, Studerus et al. 2012). Advancing precise-personalised psilocybin therapy is of particular importance given the individual variation in responses, high rates of relapse in psychiatric disorders and contraindication in psychotic and manic conditions (Carhart-Harris et al. 2018). It has been suggested that internalising dis- orders may be a useful broad construct for the thera- peutic application of psilocybin therapy (Nutt & Carhart-Harris, 2020). Moreover, given the transdiag- nostic potential, a dimensional framework (Insel, 2014) that aligns with bio-psycho signatures could also be leveraged to enhance the targeted application of psilocybin therapy and further unravel the mechanisms underpinning the acute and persistent therapeutic effects. Indeed, further exploration of psilocybin’s impact on neuroimmunoendocrine pathways (Galvão et al. 2018, Hasler et al. 2004, Nau et al. 2013, Strajharet al. 2016, Szabo, 2015), including the microbiome– gut–brain axis, may provide additional insights into the persisting therapeutic effects (Kelly et al. 2019c, Kuypers, 2019).
Notwithstanding the limitations of animal models in fully capturing the different aspects of psilocybin therapy (Jefsen et al. 2019, Meinhardt et al. 2020), pre- clinical data have shown that serotonergic psyche- delics, including psilocybin, can induce hippocampal neurogenesis (Catlow et al. 2013, Morales-Garcia et al.2017, Vaidya et al. 1997), promote dendritic spine growth and stimulate synapse formation in the prefron- tal cortex (González-Maeso et al. 2007, Ly et al. 2018). Preclinical data also suggest that psychedelics lead to 5-HT2A receptor-mediated glutamate release (Ly et al. 2018), and a recent magnetic resonance spectroscopy study in healthy humans found that psilocybin admin- istration was associated with increased glutamate in the medial prefrontal cortex (Mason et al. 2020).
Researchers from the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins University recently focussed on the claustrum, a thin sheet of grey matter, embedded in the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres and situated between the putamen and the insular cortex, with a rich supply of 5-HT2A recep- tors and glutamatergic connectivity to the cerebral cor- tex, and thought to be associated with cognitive task switching (Barrett et al. 2020b, Krimmel et al. 2019). Psilocybin acutely reduced claustrum activity and altered its connectivity with the default mode network and frontoparietal task control network, in a study involving 15 healthy volunteers, thus implicating this region as a key mediator in psilocybin therapy (Barrett et al. 2020b).
The same research group, in an open-label pilot study of 12 healthy volunteers, showed that psilocybin reduced both negative affect and amygdala responses to emotional stimuli 1 week after psilocybin, whereas by 1 month after psilocybin the responses returned to baseline (Barrett et al. 2020a). At both 1 week and 1 month after psilocybin, there were global increases in brain functional connectivity (Barrett et al. 2020a). A previous study in healthy controls also showed reduced amygdala reactivity, particularly on the right side, to negative and neutral stimuli due to psilocybin (Kraehenmann et al. 2015). In contrast, an open-label study of 19 subjects with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) showed that psilocybin increased amygdala responses to emotional faces (Roseman et al. 2018) and decreased functional connectivity between the ven- tromedial prefrontal cortex and the right amygdala 1 day after psilocybin (Mertens et al. 2020). Larger stud- ies may be needed to resolve the complexities.
In the midst of this evolving ‘Psychedelic Revolution in Psychiatry’ (Nutt et al. 2020) and potential increasing recreational psychedelic use, albeit from 0.55% in 2015 to 0.86% in 2018, in a sample of 168,000 members of the public (Yockey et al. 2020), the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) recently published a clinical memorandum on the ‘Therapeutic use of psychedelic substances’ (RANZCP, 2020). This memorandum acknowledges not only the emerging therapeutic potential of psychedelics but also the need for more efficacy and safety data, particularly on potential long-term effects, to inform future poten- tial use in psychiatric practice.
In terms of acceptability and tolerability, results from the Global Drug Survey (2019) of 85,000 people showed only 18% of those surveyed, who have never used psychedelics, said they would accept psilocybin therapy for depression or PTSD, increasing to 59% in those who had previously tried psychedelics (Winstock & Johnson, 2019). The reported fears related to ‘brain damage and bad trips’ (Winstock & Johnson, 2019). Psilocybin therapy data from John Hopkins University, over a 16-year period, encompassing 250 volunteers and 380 sessions, reported no major psycho- logical issues, with 0.9% of volunteers experiencing minor and transient psychological issues (Carbonaro et al. 2016). However, high-quality clinical data on the long-term effects of psychedelics are lacking. For exam- ple, there is very limited data on hallucinogen-persist- ing perception disorder (HPPD), a rare condition that involves the continued presence of sensory disturb- ances (Halpern et al. 2018; Martinotti et al. 2018; Orsolini et al. 2017). A review by Halpern and col- leagues suggests that HPPD is, in most cases, due to a ‘subtle over-activation of predominantly neural visual pathways that worsens anxiety after ingestion of
arousal-altering drugs, including non-hallucinogenic substances’ (Halpern et al. 2018). The authors note that a personal or family history of anxiety and pre-drug use complaints of tinnitus, eye floaters and concentration problems may predict vulnerability for HPPD (Halpern et al. 2018). Similarly, the impact of regular psychedelic use on the brain is limited (Bouso et al. 2015; Halpern et al. 2005). Although, it is important to note that psilocybin therapy studies do not use regular dosing, using between 1 and at most 3 doses of psilocybin.
Dublin is one of the clinical trial centres participating in a double-blind randomised controlled phase 2b COMPASS trial of psilocybin therapy in TRD (COMP001) (Kelly et al. 2019a). Results from this large scale trial, and others, will address concerns regarding psilocybin safety, efficacy and dose optimisation. Moreover, we eagerly await the results from the poten- tially paradigm shifting, double-blind trial of psilocybin therapy versus the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) escitalopram in depression from the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London (Psilodep-RCT, NCT03429075) (Nutt & Carhart-Harris, 2020) and acknowledge that for some people with depression, SSRIs and psilocybin may become ‘com- petitive options’ despite postulated mechanistic complementarity, with SSRIs enhancing 5-HT1AR pathway and psilocybin enhancing the 5-HT2AR path- way (Carhart-Harris & Nutt, 2017). However, many people with depression may choose to remain on anti- depressants (Kelly et al. 2019b) and it is important to determine the safety and efficacy of this approach. 5-HT2AR antagonists, such as ketanserin, block the therapeutic effect of psilocybin (Preller et al. 2017), whereas the partial 5-HT1A agonist buspirone may exert inhibitory effects (Pokorny et al. 2016). However, apart from anecdotal evidence suggesting a blunted effect (Bonson et al. 1996; Bonson & Murphy, 1996), psilocybin therapy in conjunction with SSRI’s has never been investigated in TRD.
The gradual emergence from COVID-19 lockdown will see the launch of a new COMPASS clinical study (COMP003) in Dublin and San Diego to determine the antidepressant effect of psilocybin therapy in people with TRD who continue SSRI medication. This explor- atory open-label trial will aim to recruit 20 participants with a single or recurrent episode of at least moderate clinical depression between 3 months and 2 years dura- tion that has not responded to an adequate dose and duration of at least two pharmacological treatments. A single dose of oral psilocybin of 25mg will be admin- istered with psychological support to participants who have been taking an SSRI’s for at least 6 weeks. The results of this study could have important practical implications for the future of psilocybin therapy and
may have implications for future phase 3 trials in TRD, which could pave the way for the integration of psilocybin therapy into clinical psychiatry.
However, both clinical and research psychiatry have been transformed by COVID-19, demanding additional strategies to overcome the considerable challenges (O’Brien & McNicholas, 2020; Türközer & Öngür, 2020). To mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and facili- tate the safe reopening and progress of ongoing psilo- cybin trials, in line with local and national guidelines, a number of measures will be implemented. These include, for example, participant and researcher respi- ratory symptom checklists, regular temperature checks, access to COVID-19 testing (if indicated), meticulous attention to extra hygiene measures, personal protec- tive equipment (where not expected to negatively impact the participant’s experience), and the option of remote study visits (where possible by the protocol). Notwithstanding the challenges and the early stage of clinical development, psilocybin therapy, at the fore- front of translational neuroscience and psychiatry, is likely to play an important therapeutic role for certain conditions in post-COVID-19 clinical psychiatry. | https://www.grecc.org/actualites/editoriaux/j-r-kelly-et-al-2020/ |
Updated on 3/24/21
March is Women’s History Month. It’s a time to celebrate women but also to appreciate the unique struggles and challenges women face in their everyday lives. One of those obstacles is mental health, an area that has particular nuance for women — due to biological factors, such as hormonal and reproductive issues, and social factors, like discrimination, domestic violence, and societal inequality.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Women’s Mental Health
Mental health issues have always manifested differently in men and women, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the differences into sharp relief. Though COVID-19 has been more fatal to men, it has arguably had more significant mental health implications for women. Research remains sparse, as the situation is still evolving; however, it cannot be disputed that the pandemic has pushed women out of the workforce and has seen them taking on the bulk of child-care and other responsibilities in the home, resulting in added anxiety and other mental health crises. In a study conducted by CARE, a non-profit international relief group, women were almost three times as likely to report mental health issues such as anxiety, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, and difficulty completing everyday tasks. Many countries have also reported an increase in domestic violence against women during pandemic-related lockdown measures.
The pandemic has also created additional stresses in the workplace. In the U.S., for example, 78 percent of all jobs in the healthcare field (including nurses, midwives, cleaners, and other service workers) are held by women. This prevalence leads to a greater risk of exposure to the virus for women.
Mental Illness Can Look Different for Women
Of course, women’s mental health has long been an issue of grave importance, even before the devastation of COVID-19. Let’s dive deeper into women’s mental health facts and the particular hurdles they may face.
Anxiety
Women are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety than men. This is a startling statistic, but it makes sense when you consider a social system rooted in patriarchy, that in turn leads to gender inequality and a culture of misogyny, as well as inequality across socioeconomic factors such as education, income, occupation, and physical health. Traditional gender roles play a part in women’s mental health as well, since the responsibilities of caring for family members often falls to women. At the end of the day, women have a great deal to be anxious about.
In addition, there is research showing that anxiety tends to be more pronounced in women because the culture of toxic masculinity tells men it’s “weak” to share their fears and feelings, whereas women are “allowed” to show “weakness.”
There are several conditions which fall under the umbrella of anxiety, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and social anxiety disorder.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder occurs after a particularly traumatic event, such as a car accident, a violent crime, combat, or sexual assault. Symptoms include frequent flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, and inability to perform regular life functions. Though these are all common in anyone who experiences a life-changing event, PTSD describes the condition when symptoms of trauma persist for a long period of time.
Though many people think PTSD affects more men than women because of the association with trauma following military service, women are twice as likely as men to experience PTSD. According to the National Association of Mental Illness, 10% of women will be diagnosed with PTSD during their lifetime, while PTSD is diagnosed in 4% of men.
While PTSD can and does happen to everyone, women are more vulnerable to certain types of trauma, such as domestic violence, rape, and sexual abuse. Research indicates that 91% of victims of sexual violence are women, and 94% of victims will experience symptoms of PTSD in the two weeks following the incident.
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder causes a person to have obsessive thoughts and perform the same actions over and over. It’s far more serious and disruptive than someone who keeps their house clean or “obsesses” over a crush. Common compulsions include counting, handwashing, or checking on something, like whether the oven has been left on. They can become very disruptive if left untreated.
OCD occurs equally in men and women. However, women with OCD are more likely to develop eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, and they also report changes in behavior during different points in their menstrual cycle.
Depression
Women are twice as likely than men to develop depression. It’s believed that this statistic is likely due to genetic and hormonal differences in the brain during fetal development. Women are also more likely than men to develop eating disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia, in tandem with depression.
With depression, women tend to dwell in their feelings and thoughts (aka ruminate), while men generally tend to distract themselves from their problems, turning their back on the issue rather than confronting it (men are also more likely to deal with depression by turning to substances like drugs and alcohol).
There are several different types of hormonal depression that only affect women, including postpartum depression, perinatal depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (known as PMDD), and perimenopausal depression. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 20% of women experience depression after giving birth, which has ramifications both for the health of the mother and her child.
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes extremes of mood, both high and low. The high is called mania, while the low is depressive. There are different types of bipolar disorder: bipolar I and bipolar II. Women are more likely to develop bipolar II, which involves a major depressive episode of at least two weeks and a hypomanic episode.
While research hasn’t indicated a different rate at which men and women develop bipolar disorder overall, men and women experience bipolar disorder very differently. For example, women with bipolar disorder are at a higher risk to relapse and onset due to the fluctuation of hormones.
Hypomania, one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder, is a less intense form of mania and is more prevalent in women. Women are also more likely to suffer from depressive episodes than men. Women are more likely to experience rapid cycling, which is the rapid change from manic to depressive episodes — typically, four manic or depressive episodes over the period of a one year.
Women with bipolar are also more likely to develop alcoholism, eating disorders, migraines, and thyroid disease along with bipolar.
Body dysmorphic disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) occurs when a person is consumed with anxiety about a perceived imperfection of their body or physical appearance. It occurs equally in men and women; however, women have a more difficult time overcoming it. This is due to the enormous societal pressures for women to appear a certain way, i.e., thin, fit, and conforming to traditional beauty standards.
Often, these perceived imperfections are so minor that others don’t notice them, but the person with BDD is so worried that it disrupts their ability to function in everyday life. They may miss work or school because they don’t want others to see them.
Treatment Options
Women may be less likely to seek treatment for these mental health conditions, potentially due to women societal norms and the expectation to take care of others and “hold it all together.” However, there is no shame in getting additional help. Many of these mental health conditions are treatable with either medication or therapy, or a combination of both. Please know you do not have to struggle through conditions like these, help is out there. If you’re experiencing or think you may be experiencing any of these conditions, help is available. Consider speaking with a licensed online therapist or other trained mental health professional to develop a treatment plan that works for you.
Talkspace articles are written by experienced mental health-wellness contributors; they are grounded in scientific research and evidence-based practices. Articles are extensively reviewed by our team of clinical experts (therapists and psychiatrists of various specialties) to ensure content is accurate and on par with current industry standards.
Our goal at Talkspace is to provide the most up-to-date, valuable, and objective information on mental health-related topics in order to help readers make informed decisions.
Articles contain trusted third-party sources that are either directly linked to in the text or listed at the bottom to take readers directly to the source. | https://www.talkspace.com/blog/women-mental-illness-health-differences/ |
Evidence suggests that psychedelics bring about their therapeutic outcomes in part through the subjective or qualitative effects they engender and how the individual interprets the resulting experiences. However, psychedelics are contraindicated for individuals who have been diagnosed with certain mental illnesses, on the grounds that these subject...
Both psychedelic drug experiences and near-death experiences can occasion changes in perspectives on death and dying, but there have been few direct comparisons of these phenomena. This study directly compared psychedelic occasioned and non-drug experiences which altered individuals’ beliefs about death. Individuals who reported an experience that...
New medicines containing classic hallucinogenic and entactogenic psychedelic substance are under development for various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Many of these, including psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) are Schedule I controlled substances of the United States Controlled Subs...
Background: Classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, and other serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonists evoke acute alterations in perception and cognition. Altered thalamocortical connectivity has been hypothesized to underlie these effects, which is supported by some functional MRI (fMRI) studies. These studies have treated the thalamus...
BACKGROUND: Psychedelic use is anecdotally associated with belief changes, although few studies have tested these claims.AIM: Characterize a broad range of psychedelic occasioned belief changes.SURVEY: A survey was conducted in 2,374 respondents who endorsed having had a belief changing psychedelic experience. Participants rated their agreement wit...
Understanding the phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N, dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience is critical to facilitate and support ongoing research and therapeutic models targeting mental health conditions and central nervous system pathology. A qualitative analysis was conducted of all N, N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit c...
Despite distinct classes of psychoactive drugs producing putatively unique states of consciousness, there is surprising overlap in terms of their effects on episodic memory and cognition more generally. Episodic memory is supported by multiple subprocesses that have been mostly overlooked in psychopharmacology and could differentiate drug classes....
Background Serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT 2AR ) agonist psychedelics including psilocybin and LSD (“classic” psychedelics) evoke acute alterations in perception and cognition. Altered thalamocortical connectivity has been proposed to underlie these effects, which is supported by some functional MRI (fMRI) studies. Likely due to sample size limitations...
Introduction Although the topic of consciousness is both mysterious and controversial, psychedelic drugs are popularly believed to provide unique insights into the nature of consciousness despite a lack of empirical evidence. Methods This study addresses the question of whether psychedelics change the attribution of consciousness to a range of liv...
Background: Preliminary data suggest that psilocybin-assisted treatment produces substantial and rapid antidepressant effects in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but little is known about long-term outcomes. Aims: This study sought to examine the efficacy and safety of psilocybin through 12 months in participants with moderate to seve...
Psilocybin (a serotonin 2A, or 5-HT 2A , receptor agonist) has shown preliminary efficacy as a treatment for mood and substance use disorders. The current report utilized positron emission tomography (PET) with the selective 5-HT 2A receptor inverse agonist radioligand [ ¹¹ C]MDL 100,907 (a.k.a. M100,907) and cortical regions of interest (ROIs) der...
End of life and palliative care has improved in recent decades but the psychopharmacological options available to clinicians and patients in these contexts remain limited. In particular, psychological factors such as depression, existential distress, and well-being remain challenging to address with current medications. Here, we review recent resea...
Classic psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have recaptured the imagination of both science and popular culture, and may have efficacy in treating a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Human and animal studies of psychedelic drug action in the brain have demonstrated the involvement of the serotonin 2A (5-HT2A...
Psilocybin has shown promise for the treatment of mood disorders, which are often accompanied by cognitive dysfunction including cognitive rigidity. Recent studies have proposed neuropsychoplastogenic effects as mechanisms underlying the enduring therapeutic effects of psilocybin. In an open-label study of 24 patients with major depressive disorder...
Introduction: Psychedelics show promise in treating unipolar depression, though patients with bipolar disorder have been excluded from recent psychedelic trials. There is limited information on the use of classic psychedelics (e. g., LSD or psilocybin) in individuals using mood stabilizers to treat bipolar disorder. This is important to know, as i...
Lyme disease (also known as Lyme borreliosis) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with an estimated 476,000 cases per year. While historically, the long-term impact of Lyme disease on patients has been controversial, mounting evidence supports the idea that a substantial number of patients experience persistent symptoms fol...
Psychedelic substances produce unusual and compelling changes in conscious experience which have prompted some to propose that psychedelics may provide unique insights explaining the nature of consciousness. At present, psychedelics, like other current scientific tools and methods, seem unlikely to provide information relevant to the so-called “har...
Introduction: Psychedelics show promise in treating unipolar depression, though patients with bipolar disorder have been excluded from recent psychedelic trials. There is limited information on the use of classic psychedelics (e.g. LSD or psilocybin) in individuals using mood stabilizers to treat bipolar disorder. This is important to know as indiv...
Background Growing evidence suggests psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic, is a safe and promising pharmacotherapy for treatment of mood and substance use disorders when administered as part of a structured intervention. In most trials to date, psilocybin dose has been administered on a weight-adjusted basis rather than the more convenient...
To the Editor: On behalf of our coauthors, we regret to report that we have discovered calculation errors in some of the reported effects in our Original Investigation, “Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial,”1 that was published in JAMA Psychiatry on November 4, 2020. These calculation e...
This study was designed to identify trends in the top-cited classic psychedelic publications. The top 50 publications on classic psychedelics with the greatest total of number of citations and annual citation rate were identified and pooled. Unique articles (n = 77) were dichotomized by median year of publication (2010); the differential distributi...
Background: Several measures have been developed to examine acute psychedelic effects (e.g. mystical-type and challenging experiences), but no measure assesses acute psychologically insightful experiences that may occur during psychedelic experiences. Aim: The purpose of this study was to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Psych...
Classic psychedelics produce altered states of consciousness that individuals often interpret as meaningful experiences. Across a number of human studies, when the participant-rated intensity of the overall drug effects are statistically controlled for, certain subjective effects predict therapeutic and other desirable outcomes. Underlying neurobio...
There is a resurgence, some say renaissance, of clinical research on psychedelic substances after decades of dormancy. Recent studies have produced findings suggesting psychedelics may demonstrate substantial efficacy for serious psychiatric conditions such as mood and substance use disorders. As a result, ongoing clinical trials with the psychedel...
Importance: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial public health burden, but current treatments have limited effectiveness and adherence. Recent evidence suggests that 1 or 2 administrations of psilocybin with psychological support produces antidepressant effects in patients with cancer and in those with treatment-resistant depression. O...
Salvinorin A (SA) is a κ-opioid receptor agonist and atypical dissociative hallucinogen found in Salvia divinorum. Despite the resurgence of hallucinogen studies, the effects of κ-opioid agonists on human brain function are not well-understood. This placebo-controlled, within-subject study used functional magnetic resonance imaging for the first ti...
RationaleAlthough both psilocybin and dextromethorphan (DXM) produce psychedelic-like subjective effects, rates of non-medical use of psilocybin are consistently greater than DXM.Objective New data are presented from a study of psilocybin and DXM relevant to understanding the features of psilocybin subjective effects that may account for its higher...
Psychedelic drugs, including the serotonin 2a (5-HT2A) receptor partial agonist psilocybin, are receiving renewed attention for their possible efficacy in treating a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. Psilocybin induces widespread dysregulation of cortical activity, but circuit-level mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear. The claustrum...
Background Experiences of having an encounter with seemingly autonomous entities are sometimes reported after inhaling N,N-dimethyltryptamine. Aim The study characterized the subjective phenomena, interpretation, and persisting changes that people attribute to N,N-dimethyltryptamine-occasioned entity encounter experiences. Methods Two thousand, f...
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Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic compound that may have efficacy for the treatment of mood and substance use disorders. Acute psilocybin effects include reduced negative mood, increased positive mood, and reduced amygdala response to negative affective stimuli. However, no study has investigated the long-term, enduring impact of psilocybin on ne...
Background: Kratom, a Southeast Asian plant with opioid-receptor mediated effects, has emerged as a potential substance of abuse, with limited data on its use and effects. This study characterized kratom user demographics, use patterns, and perceived drug effects. Methods: A cross-sectional, anonymous online survey was conducted between January...
Background Observational data and preliminary studies suggest serotonin 2A agonist psychedelics may hold potential in treating a variety of substance use disorders (SUDs), including opioid use disorder (OUD).AimsThe study aim was to describe and analyze self-reported cases in which naturalistic psychedelic use was followed by cessation or reduction...
Background and aims: 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a potent, short-acting psychedelic that produces strong hallucinogenic effects. The association between the context (i.e., set and setting) of 5-MeO-DMT use and the acute and enduring effects of the substance is unknown. Therefore, this study examined these associations using sec...
Prior research has shown that acute subjective psychedelic effects are associated with both spontaneous and intended changes in depression and anxiety. Psychedelics are also theorized to produce increases in psychological flexibility, which could explain decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience. Therefore, the present...
Background: Recent reports of naturalistic psychedelic use outside of clinical settings suggest potential positive effects substance use disorders. However, still unknown are the mechanisms of psychedelic-assisted behavior change and what variables might predict who will benefit from psychedelic-assisted behavior change. Methods: This secondary ana...
This presentation was given as part of the Psychedelics as Behavior Change Agents symposium at APA 2019 and describes behavioral economic analyses of enduring changes following psilocybin administration.
Psilocybin has shown to increase social cooperation in an Ultimatum Game and empathy for social partners. Unexamined is whether psilocybin impacts social discounting or responding in a Prisoner’s Dilemma game, and how enduring any changes might be. We administered psilocybin to participants (N = 75) who also started a program of meditation/spiritua...
Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a prevalent condition that confers substantial public health burden. Current approved treatments, including pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, are limited in effectiveness and adherence. Recent evidence suggests that one or two administrations of psilocybin under psychologically supported conditions pr...
Background: Meta-analysis of randomized studies using lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for alcohol use disorder (AUD) showed large, significant effects for LSD efficacy compared to control conditions. Clinical studies suggest potential anti-addiction effects of LSD and mechanistically-related classic psychedelics for alcohol and other substance use...
Naturally occurring and psychedelic drug–occasioned experiences interpreted as personal encounters with God are well described but have not been systematically compared. In this study, five groups of individuals participated in an online survey with detailed questions characterizing the subjective phenomena, interpretation, and persisting changes a...
Questionnaire of naturally occurring (i.e. non-drug) God encounter experiences. (PDF)
Supporting information tables A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J provide estimated means and standard errors of the estimate for data presented in the published manuscript in Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, respectively. (PDF)
Questionnaire of God encounter experiences occasioned by classic psychedelics. (PDF)
The present study sought to examine factors associated with psychedelic-occasioned reductions in drug use to better understand possible mechanisms through which psychedelic use may exert such effects. Respondents (n=444; White=82%, male=79%, US resident=67%; cannabis users=37%; opioid users=35%; stimulant users=28%) self-identified as experiencing...
Background: N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally occurring psychoactive indolealkylamine. Contemporarily, DMT is typically ingested via inhalation (e.g., smoking) and elicits powerful psychedelic effects with a rapid onset and short duration of action. Anecdotal reports of the acute subjective effects of DMT include having had an encounter w...
The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative review and offer novel insights regarding human research with classic psychedelics (classic hallucinogens), which are serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) agonists such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, and psilocybin. Classic psychedelics have been administered as sacraments since anc...
5-MeO-DMT is a psychoactive substance found in high concentrations in the bufotoxin of the Colorado River Toad. Emerging evidence suggests that vaporized 5-MeO-DMT may occasion mystical experiences of comparable intensity to those occasioned by more widely studied psychedelics such as psilocybin, but no empirical study has tested this hypothesis. D...
5-Methoxy-N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is a psychoactive compound found in glandular secretions of Bufo alvarius toads and is synthesized. No human laboratory studies have been conducted, but evidence suggests 5-MeO-DMT may reduce depression and anxiety symptoms among those who use for spiritual or recreational reasons. Probing the effects of...
Background: Caffeine Use Disorder was added to DSM-5 as a diagnosis for further research, but few studies have been conducted to identify effective treatments. This randomized, controlled clinical trial examined the efficacy of a manual-only treatment program for caffeine cessation and reduction among individuals seeking treatment for problematic...
Background: A recent epidemiological study suggested that 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used for spiritual and recreational reasons is associated with subjective improvement in depression and anxiety. Further exploration of the potential psychotherapeutic effects of 5-MeO-DMT could inform future clinical trials. Objectives: We exa...
Objectives: Classic psychedelics (serotonin 2A receptor agonists) and dissociative hallucinogens (NMDA receptor antagonists), though differing in pharmacology, may share neuropsychological effects. These drugs, however, have undergone limited direct comparison. This report presents data from a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subjects study...
Background: Recent pilot trials suggest feasibility and potential efficacy of psychedelic-facilitated addiction treatment interventions. Fifteen participants completed a psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation pilot study between 2009 and 2015. Aims: The aims of this study were as follows: (1) to identify perceived mechanisms of change leading to...
Conclusions: (1) psilocybin has an abuse potential appropriate for CSA scheduling if approved as medicine; (2) psilocybin can provide therapeutic benefits that may support the development of an approvable New Drug Application (NDA) but further studies are required which this review describes; (3) adverse effects of medical psilocybin are relativel...
Rationale: Although psilocybin and dextromethorphan (DXM) are hallucinogens, they have different receptor mechanisms of action and have not been directly compared. Objective: This study compared subjective, behavioral, and physiological effects of psilocybin and dextromethorphan under conditions that minimized expectancy effects. Methods: Sing...
Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences with participant-attributed increases in well-being. However, little research has examined enduring changes in traits. This study administered psilocybin to participants who undertook a program of meditation/spiritual practices. Healthy participants were randomized to three groups (25 each): (1) ver...
Objectives Classic hallucinogens (e.g. psilocybin and LSD) have substantial effects on perception, cognition, and emotion that can often be psychologically challenging, however we know very little regarding the source of significant individual variability that has been observed in the frequency and intensity of challenging experiences (i.e. “bad tr...
Psilocybin is a classic (serotonergic) hallucinogen (“psychedelic” drug) that may occasion mystical experiences (characterized by a profound feeling of oneness or unity) during acute effects. Such experiences may have therapeutic value. Research and clinical applications of psychedelics usually include music listening during acute drug effects, bas...
Psilocybin and other 5-hydroxytryptamine2A agonist classic psychedelics have been used for centuries as sacraments within indigenous cultures. In the mid-twentieth century they were a focus within psychiatry as both probes of brain function and experimental therapeutics. By the late 1960s and early 1970s these scientific inquires fell out of favor...
Background : 5-MeO-DMT is a potent tryptamine found in high concentrations in the venom of the Colorado River Toad. Practical experience suggests that vaporized 5-MeO-DMT may induce mystical experiences that are relatively brief, yet have comparable or greater intensity than those induced by psilocybin. Quantitative evaluations of 5-MeO-DMT induced... | https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Roland-Griffiths |
PTSD can occur in response to extreme experiences that overwhelm an individual’s coping resources. It’s often a sudden and destructive onslaught that a person cannot process at the time. The nature of such events typically involves a sense of threat to a person’s life or physical integrity. Later a person may experience intrusive thoughts, images, or recollections of the experience. Sleep is often disrupted. The person may avoid circumstances that remind them of what happened or trigger them to remember.
Depression and anxiety may accompany this disorder, as well as irritability, rage, and guilt. It is not unusual for individuals to actively seek to blunt the intensity of the trauma-related feelings and to develop a secondary substance-abuse issue. (90% of public mental health clients have been exposed to trauma, 89% of women with substance abuse have a history of sexual violence.) Without treatment that allows a person to work through and integrate the experience, avoidance tends to grow, increasingly constricting the person’s life. Exposure-based therapies are recommended to allow the person to master the traumatic experience and reduce the associated anxiety, depression, and other debilitating symptoms.
PTSD can occur when a person experiences an overwhelming event that is greater than they are capable of processing at the time. It is often a sudden or destructive onslaught such that the person is overwhelmed and cannot make meaning or sense of what is happening or why.
War trauma is the classic example of a potentially overwhelming stressor but only a small number of individuals may experience PTSD. It is now well documented that childhood events such as sexual and physical abuse as well as neglect can have long-term devastation consequences, and maybe one factor which predisposes PTSD in response to a severe adult stressor such as war.
The textbook symptoms of PTSD include reliving the event, avoiding situations that remind you of the event, negative beliefs about oneself, and feeling hypervigilant and overly alert for danger. The good news is that PTSD can be treated effectively. Newer therapies allow for exposure to the fear with a reprocessing of the information in a non-revictimizing away. These are called evidence-based treatment because research has demonstrated effective relief of PTSD symptoms. Such techniques require specialized training.
Therapists at Harmony Place Monterey have worked with thousands of clients with PTSD and are skilled in a variety of targeted therapies.
Complex trauma is a relatively new term that recognized individuals whose difficult life circumstances have cumulatively created an ongoing or recurring state of feeling overwhelmed. These experiences may cause the individual to be highly self-critical, perfectionistic, self-hating, and to be over or under dependent with others and constantly anxious about personal safety. When there is also a PTSD response to past experiences of violence, as in war-related events or child abuse, the symptoms of anxiety and depression can be compounded.
Depression and anxiety may accompany this disorder, as well as irritability, rage, and guilt. It is not unusual for individuals to actively seek to blunt the intensity of the trauma-related feelings and develop a secondary substance-abuse or other numbing experience. Without treatment that allows a person to work through and integrate the experience, avoidance tends to grow increasingly constricting the person’s life. Exposure-based therapies are recommended to allow the person to master the traumatic experience and reduce the associated anxiety, depression, and debilitating symptoms. | https://harmonyplacemonterey.com/treatment/trauma-ptsd-treatment/ |
Most people focus on their financial setbacks and recovering from physical injuries following a catastrophic vehicle accident. While very common, these are not the only type of damages related to a motor vehicle collision.
Mental and emotional damages are just as detrimental as financial stress, and as painful, if not more, as physical injuries. Many survivors of car collisions suffer serious and sometimes long-term mental health problems.
While some forms of emotional anguish and/or sadness disappear with time, others can last for years and have a significant and negative influence on your relationships, career, productivity, and overall health.
Please do not feel alone if you are feeling stress on your mental health. You do not have to cope on your own. You should prioritize mental health struggles the same way you would with any physical damages from the collision. Always seek the advice of a physician or psychiatrist. They may recommend coping techniques, counseling, and other proper resources in aiding your mental health.
1. Acute and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The most frequent mental health concern faced by survivors of vehicle accidents is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to the American Psychological Association, car accidents are the leading cause of PTSD in the general (non-military) population. PTSD symptoms are present in Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). However, main difference is that the PTSD symptoms are longer than 4 weeks and can last up to years. ASD is short-term, but they do share similarities.
Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD manifests differently in each person and may not fully appear until weeks after the collision, which can make diagnosis difficult. If any of the following apply to you, you may be suffering from PTSD:
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- Have recurring thoughts and flashbacks of the accident
- Experience emotional numbness and difficulty connecting
- Avoid people, places, or activities that remind you of the crash
- Are constantly alert, hyper-vigilant, and/or paranoid
Seeking Help: Untreated PTSD Has Serious Side-Effects
If you try to deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on your own could result in life-long PTSD. If you to continue to live untreated, your health can result in:
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- Anger management issues
- Loneliness and depression
- Suicidal thoughts
- Traumatizing flashbacks,
- Difficulty using personal transportation
- Hallucination and/or perceived treats
Never believe mental health will just get better on its own. Supporting and nurturing your disorder is the first step in recovery and understanding mental trauma more clearly.
While certain disorders, such as ASD, are less severe, they can nevertheless have a significant influence on your life. Seek professional help if you recognize any of these symptoms in your life.
2. Persistent Anxiety
People tend to feel little-to-mild worries and concerns for months after a traumatic event. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) further notes that moderate to severe anxiety can last for weeks or even months.
Following an automobile accident, females are particularly vulnerable to chronic anxiety, with about 70% reporting high levels of anxiety in the first month and nearly 15% continued suffering moderate levels of anxiety 6-8 months later.
Anxiety Can Cause Other Health Issues
Anxiety may severely impact your daily life, as anyone with a generalized anxiety disorder will attest. People who feel anxiety due to a specific event, such as a vehicle accident, may experience extra adverse effects. For instance;
- Phobias: According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 40% of crash survivors have lasting phobias about driving and being in a car. Others suffer from dystychiphobia, or the fear of being in an automobile accident, and are afraid of individuals or places associated with their accident.
- Panic Attacks: Car crash survivors might have panic attacks triggered by sights, sounds, or even smells that remind them of the crash.
- Sleep Disorders: Victims with high levels of anxiety are more likely to have sleeping problems and be more fatigued than usual. Hypervigilance and an unwillingness to relax, as well as frequent nightmares and flashbacks, can cause sleep disturbances and/or disorders.
- Physical Symptoms: Dizziness, headaches, nausea, chest pain, and muscle tension are all physical symptoms that can be caused by prolonged or frequent anxiety. Anxiety can also worsen conditions like asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, and can weaken your immune system.
How to Cope with Anxiety After a Car Crash
Unfortunately, many people do not take anxiety seriously, and they may not even realize how their anxiety is steadily hurting their lives. Anxiety is not the same as stress and seeking help doesn’t indicate you are “not strong enough” to handle it on your own. Fortunately, as more individuals acknowledge anxiety as a legitimate mental health issue and seek treatment, these myths are steadily dissipating.
Anxiety affects about 20% of adults in the United States, making it the most frequent mental health problem in the country. Please do not hesitate to seek advice from your doctor or another medical expert if you are having extended anxiety or anxiety attacks because of a car accident.
3. Major Depressive Disorder
Depression, often known as major depressive disorder (MDD), is a mental health problem that affects both crash victims and the public. Depression is frequently linked to the pain and suffering caused from a car accident. MDD can also cause setbacks insidiously and the victim may not know until months have passed that they are suffering from the disorder.
Warning Signs of Major Depressive Disorder
Depression is a serious issue. If you are experiencing a combination of these symptoms after being in a car crash, you should speak to a psychologist as soon as possible.
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- Daily fatigue and lack of energy
- Feelings of guilt or worthlessness
- Lack of enjoyment or interest in activities
- Recurring suicidal thoughts
- Decreased concentration
- An inability to sleep or difficulty waking up
- Irrational irritability or anger
- Significant weight loss or gain
Why Is Depression Common After a Car Crash?
Some physical injuries make it difficult for victims to work, exercise, or engage in everyday activities, such as playing with their children. It’s understandable if you become depressed if you’re suddenly unable to participate in things you used to enjoy due to pain or a disabling injury.
Similarly, the stress and worry that victims feel about the financial consequences of their vehicle accident can lead to depression. Furthermore, many victims who suffer from anxiety or PTSD also suffer from depression, and pharmaceutical drugs can also be used to treat depression. If you think you might be suffering from depression, consult with a healthcare professional right away to get the help you need.
Contact WEIERLAW if you’d like to speak with an attorney about your claim here. | https://www.weierlaw.com/common-mental-health-issues-caused-by-auto-accidents/ |
Dying Patients Are Fighting for Access to Psychedelics
E48-year old rinn Baldeschwiler has metastatic breast cancer and is currently suffering from depression and anxiety as she nears her untimely death. “The last thing I want is to be terrified and scared and anxious, especially when I pass,” she says.
Her disease will not be reversed by any treatment. But she’s fighting for access to a different kind of therapeutic: psilocybin-assisted therapy, which past research has found can ease anxiety for depression in advanced cancer patients.
Psilocybin (the active component in magic mushrooms), and other potential life-changing psychoedelic drugs for treating mental conditions like depression, anxiety and trauma are all being investigated. Advocates are optimistic that psilocybin and MDMA—which clinical trials have shown may be effective against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—could be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the next few years. But Baldeschwiler and other people with terminal illnesses can’t wait that long.
“I’m going to be dead by then,” she says. “It’s a time issue. It would be great if you could give an alternative that would immediately relieve anxiety, depression and bring about a feeling of calm. [someone is] going through their final days—why would you not want that as an option?”
Continue reading: Ibogaine: One of the Most Perilous and Promising Psychedelics For Addiction
Some argue that MDMA as well as psilocybin should already be accessible to eligible patients via the federal Right to Try law. The 2018 law states that patients with life-threatening illnesses who have exhausted all treatment options can access drugs that have passed through Phase 1 testing—the first phase of clinical trials that tests drugs in humans—but have not been approved by the FDA.
Baldeschwiler and MDMA also fit these criteria. But the drugs’ Schedule 1 status—meaning the DEA deems them to have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” (a characterization that advocates for psychedelics dispute)—is keeping them back from patients.
Baldeschwiler’s palliative care physician, Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, reached an agreement with a drug manufacturer to receive psilocybin. Aggarwal had applied to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to be granted a waiver for the supply of the drug. However, in February 2021, the DEA denied Aggarwal’s request, declaring that the agency was not authorized to waive the Controlled Substances Act.
Baldeschwiler and Aggarwal are now working with Kathryn Tucker, a lawyer focused on expanding access to psychedelics for groups including terminally ill people, to compel the DEA to allow use of psilocybin under the Right to Try law, which Tucker argues should supersede the Controlled Substances Act establishing the U.S.’s drug policy. The DEA is “thwarting operation of duly enacted federal law,” says Tucker. “If a physician deems their patient to have a life-threatening condition that could be addressed with one of the eligible investigational drugs, then that physician can seek [Right to Try] access, and should be granted it.” Advocates argue that the law has a particularly broad mandate. “The lack of an exclusion makes it clear that there is no exclusion” for Schedule 1 substances, Tucker says.
The DEA declined TIME’s request for further comment, citing ongoing litigation.
Continue reading: It helped me get rid of my cancer anxiety. It changed my entire life
Psychedelic medicine is still an unsettled science that will require much more research before scientists fully understand how well it works, and for whom—especially given that many of the clinical trials that have tested psychedelic drugs are very small. There are risks associated with psychedelic drugs. Patients who take part in clinical trials must meet specific health requirements. For example, patients in clinical trials of psilocybin are not allowed to be involved if they have close relatives who have had a history with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Advocates for expanding access claim that MDMA-assisted and psilocybin psychotherapy fall within the Right to Try law’s founding principle: Patients who are facing death should be able to test new drugs.
The advocates’ case has won them some powerful bipartisan allies. On July 20, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced the Right to Try Clarification Act, to make it clear that the legislation encompasses Schedule 1 substances so long as they’ve been through Phase 1 clinical trials.
Many supporters, including retired Marine Corp Lieutenant General Martin Steele, think that suicide risk individuals should have the option to access psychedelic-assisted treatment. Steele co-founded Reason for Hope, an activist group that promotes psychedelic treatments access and research. Recently, he testified to support a Connecticut law, which established a pilot program that allows veterans, former first responders and retirees to access MDMA and psilocybin. Nationally, people are exposed to “unprecedented levels of stress and trauma,” he says. “We all know the current treatments are inadequate, and things are only getting worse.”
Continue reading: Psilocybin could be an effective treatment for addiction
In the battle to increase psychedelic accessibility, veterans with PTSD is a key focus area. “Currently, even in the best circumstances, our treatments probably help about half of the patients with PTSD,” and many also have treatment-resistant depression, says retired Brigadier Gen. Dr. Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist who served in the Army and volunteers with Reason for Hope. According to him, the U.S. owes them a moral obligation to help. Given that about 17 U.S. veterans die by suicide every day in the U.S., “too many people are going to die” if veterans are forced to wait for FDA approval. | https://www.massnews.com/dying-patients-are-fighting-for-access-to-psychedelics/ |
A Missouri House committee on Monday held a hearing on a GOP-led bill to legalize a wide range of psychedelics for therapeutic use at designated care facilities while further decriminalizing low-level possession in general.
Members of the House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee took testimony from researchers who spoke to the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin, DMT, mescaline and ibogaine. The panel also heard from military veterans and law enforcement professionals who back the reform, while the Missouri State Medical Association testified in opposition.
Rep. Tony Lovasco (R) is sponsoring the legislation, which was filed earlier this month and would provide patients with certain serious conditions like treatment-resistant depression, PTSD and terminal illnesses access to various psychedelics substances.
Lovasco told fellow lawmakers that these “types of products are specifically helpful” for those maladies “as well as anxiety and a few other types of conditions.”
“Generally speaking, if something is provided to you legally for the purposes of medicine you probably shouldn’t be prosecuted for that,” he said, adding that states like Oregon and Oklahoma have recently moved to reform their laws around psychedelics either at the ballot or legislatively.
“This is not exactly a new idea, but the concept of using these compounds—psilocybin specifically—is becoming more and more researched in the past years,” he said. “This isn’t a recreational program that allows people to be using these substances. Part of the purpose of this bill is simply to provide an expansion to Missouri’s current right to try law and statutes that allow folks that have debilitating conditions to have an option to have an alternative treatment.”
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Patients would only be able to access the treatment option at certified health facilities, those providing hospice care, residential care facilities or the patient or caregiver’s residence.
“I have to say, as an elderly senior citizen and a retired pharmacist, the idea of this is a little bit jolting,” Chairman Mike Stephens (R) said during Monday’s hearing. “But at the same time [like with medical cannabis] it’s consistent with the story of medicine, actually, that began in primeval times.”
“Hunter-gatherers began noticing that ingesting certain parts of certain plants produced a certain effect. That was the origin of medicine,” he said. “We can’t close or close our eyes to these things… I’ve told my patients at times that every bottle on this shelf has killed somebody. And it is always a matter of dosing and testing and trying to balance the good with the bad.”
The bill would also provide legal protections from prosecution for doctors who make recommendations for “natural medicine to an eligible patient.” The text states that “no state agency or regulatory board shall revoke, fail to renew, or take any other action against a physician’s license…based solely on the physician’s recommendation to an eligible patient regarding treatment with natural medicine.”
Rep. Patty Lewis (D) said at Monday’s hearing that she finds this issue “fascinating” and believes that “our higher power [put] everything on this earth for a reason.” She added: “This is one other natural substance that can help so many people struggling with all kinds of anxiety, depression [and] stress disorder.”
Meanwhile, some other members expressed concerns about the potential mental health impacts of psychedelics and raised issues about how law enforcement might be affected by the reform.
Missouri is far from the only state exploring psychedelics reform this session.
Last week, for example, a Connecticut legislative committee approved a bill that would set the state up to provide certain patients with access to psychedelic-assisted treatment with substances like MDMA and psilocybin. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a separate bill last year that includes language requiring the state to carry out a study into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms. A workgroup has since been meeting to investigate the issue.
A Maryland House of Delegates committee held a hearing last week on a bill to create a state fund that could be used to provide access to psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The Washington State legislature recently sent a budget bill to the governor’s desk that includes a proposal to direct $200,000 in funding to support a new workgroup to study the possibility of legalizing psilocybin services in the state, including the idea of using current marijuana regulatory systems to track psychedelic mushrooms.
This month, the Hawaii Senate approved a bill to set up a state working group to study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms and develop a “long-term” plan to ensure that the psychedelic is accessible for medical use for adults 21 and older.
Also this month, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill to decriminalize low-level possession of psilocybin and promote research into the therapeutic potential of the psychedelic.
A bipartisan coalition of Georgia lawmakers recently filed a resolution that calls for the formation of a House study committee to investigate the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like psilocybin and make recommendations for reforms.
Rhode Island lawmakers introduced a pair of drug decriminalization bills this month—including one focused on psilocybin and buprenorphine that would authorize doctors to prescribe the psychedelic mushroom.
Last month, Utah lawmakers sent a bill to the governor that would create a task force to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs and possible regulations for their lawful use.
An Oregon Senate committee also recently advanced a bill to ensure that equity is built into the state’s historic therapeutic psilocybin program that’s actively being implemented following voter approval in 2020.
A bill to decriminalize a wide array of psychedelics in Virginia was taken up by a House of Delegates panel in January, only to be pushed off until 2023. A separate Senate proposal to decriminalize psilocybin alone was later defeated in a key committee.
California Sen. Scott Wiener (D) told Marijuana Moment in a recent interview that his bill to legalize psychedelics possession stands a 50/50 chance of reaching the governor’s desk this year. It already cleared the full Senate and two Assembly committees during the first half of the two-year session.
Washington State lawmakers also introduced legislation in January that would legalize what the bill calls “supported psilocybin experiences” by adults 21 and older.
New Hampshire lawmakers filed measures to decriminalize psilocybin and all drugs.
Legislation was also enacted by the Texas legislature last year requiring the state to study the medical risks and benefits of psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and a military-focused medical center.
A pair of Michigan senators also introduced a bill in September to legalize the possession, cultivation and delivery of an array of plant- and fungi-derived psychedelics like psilocybin and mescaline.
In a setback for the movement, California activists on Wednesday announced that they have come up short on collecting enough signatures to qualify a measure to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for the state’s November ballot, though they aren’t giving up on a future election cycle bid.
Colorado activists, meanwhile, recently selected one of the four psychedelics reform ballot initiatives that they drafted and filed for the November ballot, choosing to proceed with a measure to legalize psilocybin, create licensed “healing centers” where people can use the psychedelic for therapeutic purposes and provide a pathway for record sealing for prior convictions. A competing campaign filed a different psychedelics legalization last month.
Michigan activists filed a statewide ballot initiative last month that would legalize possessing, cultivating and sharing psychedelics and set up a system for their therapeutic and spiritual use.
At the congressional level, bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last month, urging that the agency allow terminally ill patients to use psilocybin as an investigational treatment without the fear of federal prosecution.
Maryland Lawmakers Approve Millions In Funding To Implement Marijuana Legalization If Reform Is Enacted
Photo elements courtesy of carlosemmaskype and Apollo. | https://www.marijuanamoment.net/missouri-lawmakers-discuss-gop-led-psychedelics-therapy-and-decriminalization-bill-in-committee/ |
Did you know that approximately 5% of Americans – more than 13 million people – have PTSD at any given time?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is rooted in traumatic events, so we’ve compiled the latest data which illustrates the percentage of people who will likely develop the disorder after experiencing these traumatic events:
In the past year, PTSD affected around 3.6% of American adults over the age of 18 according to studies.
The symptoms of PTSD in adults are grouped as serious, moderate or mild, and there are approximately 36.6% of adults who experience serious impairment, 33.1% of adults who experience a moderate impairment, and 30.2% of adults who experience mild impairment. All age groups can be affected even though most statistics focus on PTSD in adults.
It’s possible for the disorder to occur in children, though sometimes childhood trauma doesn’t result in the disorder until after the brain has more time to develop in the individual’s early adulthood.
Around 5% of adolescents experience PTSD. Studies on PTSD in teenagers have found that just 1.5% experience severe impairment. Unsurprisingly, PTSD in adolescents is more than twice as prevalent in the later teen years, as the prevalence of PTSD for teens aged 13-4 is 3.7%. In the 17-18 age group, the PTSD prevalence increases to 7%.
The connection between PTSD and domestic violence is clear even if PTSD might not always develop immediately following abuse. There are several factors which influence the probability of domestic violence victims developing post traumatic stress disorder, including the severity and duration of violence, and the age of the victim.
Whether or not someone feels their life is in danger can also influence the chance of PTSD developing in the victim. The intense emotional connection victims might have with the abuser is probably a big part of what makes the violence such a traumatic experience for the victim.
Many researchers have worked to understand the prevalence of PTSD among military veterans. The result of their efforts are statistics that we’ve compiled. Estimates of prevalence in veterans vary widely because the field of psychiatry has defined and assessed PTSD in multiple ways over time.
In one recent analysis of 32 scientific scientific articles, researchers found the estimated prevalence of PTSD among veterans ranges from 1.09% to 34.84%.
A 2017 study involving 5,826 U.S. veterans showed that 12.9% were diagnosed with PTSD. This is a shockingly high prevalence rate compared to the prevalence of PTSD among the general population: only 8.7% of the U.S. population will experience PTSD in their lives. And around 3.6% of adults in the U.S. suffer from PTSD in a given year.
And in a 2014 study involving 3,157 U.S. veterans, 87% reported exposure to at least one potentially traumatic event in their lifetime. Veterans reported 3.4 potentially traumatic events during their lifetime, on average.
Surprisingly, nearly 1 in 4 women in the military report being sexually assaulted. And 55% of female veterans and 38% of male veterans experienced sexual harassment while in the military.
PTSD symptoms may include unwanted memories of the trauma, avoidance of situations that bring back memories of the trauma, nightmares, anxiety, depressed mood, or heightened reactions.
People may experience these symptoms:
It’s possible for many mental health disorders to co-occur with PTSD in part, to the significant changes in brain functioning following trauma that leads to the disorder. The most common conditions someone with PTSD may experience include:
We’ll go into more detail on each condition in this section.
Approximately 1 in 10 people have some form of depressive disorder every year, making it a common mental health condition. It’s more common among people who’ve experienced traumatic experiences.
As mentioned earlier, PTSD and depression frequently co-occur. Specifically, people with PTSD are 3-5 times more likely to have depression.
In general, people diagnosed with PTSD who struggle to express their emotions have a higher risk of suicide. Other common co-occurring conditions such as depression or anxiety can make a negative impact on the chances of suicide for someone with the disorder.
Disruptions and changes in brain chemistry caused by an individuals’ trauma is the main reason why PTSD and trauma are interconnected. The condition can occur in response to traumas besides military combat (example: sexual abuse).
However, there are other traumatic events which can happen in a person’s life that might lead to the disorder:
Currently, PTSD is considered a separate type of disorder, but in the past it was categorized as an anxiety disorder because PTSD and anxiety disorders share some symptoms, many of which can impair sleep and other biological functions. For example, someone with anxiety related to PTSD can frequently feel on edge and be easily startled.
Similarly, anxiety caused by the disorder can make it challenging for an individual to concentrate, and it can also increase their agitation.
One study estimates that 46.4% of people diagnosed with the disorder also meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. Another study found that women with the disorder were 2.48 times more likely to suffer from alcohol abuse, while men with the disorder were 2.06 times more likely.
Medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of both can treat PTSD. Even though there’s more than one type of psychotherapy used to treat the disorder, trauma-focused psychotherapies with a mental healthcare professional are the most recommended.
That’s primarily because this type of treatment assists people to process their experiences by helping them focus on the memory of the traumatic event or the meaning behind it.
In fact, studies have demonstrated that up to 46% of people diagnosed with the disorder show improvement within the first six weeks of psychotherapy.
Another treatment option that can alleviate the symptoms of PTSD, including anxiety, are antidepressants. Interestingly, studies show up to 62% of people who receive medication for PTSD show improvement. (American Family Physician, 2003)
If you’re wondering how common is PTSD among first responders, this section will show you the up-to-date stats.
Surprisingly, more than 80% of first responders experience traumatic events on the job. The challenging and dangerous situations they face cause them to be at a high risk of developing PTSD as a work-related injury or condition.
In fact, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated 30% of first responders develop behavioral health conditions including, but not limited to, depression and PTSD, as compared with 20% in the general population.
More than 21% of residents enrolled in the WTC Health Registry reported new PTSD symptoms 5 to 6 years after the tragic day. PTSD among residents increased from more than 13% 2-3 years after the attacks to more than 16% 5-6 years later. The main risk factors associated with 9/11 were:
Studies have shown that anywhere between around 7% and 37% of firefighters meet the criteria for a current PTSD diagnosis.
Among individuals who had previously sought psychiatric treatment, 37% of the World War 2 veterans and 80% of the Korean War veterans had current PTSD. It was found that 54% of a group of psychiatric patients who had been in combat during World War 2 met criteria for PTSD. At the time, the prevalence for PTSD was 27%.
PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder, and the disorder develops in some who have experienced a dangerous or shocking event and have a challenging time recovering from the trauma the incident caused.
Life-threatening events are common risk factors for PTSD. For example, military personnel who have experienced violence, people who have lived through natural disasters, victims of sexual abuse, and those who were involved in a car accident have an unfortunate high chance for developing the disorder.
People diagnosed with PTSD have disturbing, intense thoughts and feelings related to their experience that can last long after the traumatic event occurred. They may even relive the event through nightmares or flashbacks, they may feel sadness or even depression, anger, fear, and they may feel detached from others.
Here are the most common events that can lead to PTSD:
Some people with PTSD recover within just 6 months, while others have symptoms that can last much longer. In some people, the condition becomes chronic and can result in depression and anxiety. A doctor, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist, who has experience helping people with mental illnesses can diagnose PTSD.
Post-traumatic stress disorder more than doubles a veteran’s risk of death from any cause. It’s also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, according to research presented in 2010 at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions.
Yes, a study published by the National Library of Medicine concluded that PTSD is a risk of development enduring personality changes with serious individual and social consequences.
As with the majority of mental illnesses, no cure exists for PTSD. However, it’s possible to effectively manage the symptoms to help the affected individual restore themself to normal functioning. A combination of therapy and medication is the best hope for treating the disorder.
If you have PTSD, you might notice that it’s challenging for you to concentrate or that you have memory issues such as memory loss. In fact, memory and concentration problems are common symptoms of PTSD. | https://www.crossrivertherapy.com/ptsd-statistics |
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August 19, 2014
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ADAA President discusses anxiety, depression and suicide
ADAA
ADAA mourns the loss of Robin Williams
and others whose lives have ended due to suicide. His tragic death illustrates the great need for increased public awareness of the grave risk that suicide poses. "Both depression and anxiety carry a high risk of suicide," says Mark Pollack, M.D., ADAA President and Grainger Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center. "More than 90 percent of those who commit suicide have a diagnosable illness such as clinical depression, and often in combination with anxiety or substance use disorders and other treatable mental disorders.” Earlier this summer the Jack and Jill Foundation chapter in the Washington, D.C. area held a panel on mental health and suicide and donated $10,000 to ADAA for public education. In memory of Robin Williams, L.A. Creamery, a Los Angeles based company, will donate 5 percent of all sales from Aug. 11 — Sept. 10, to ADAA. The outpouring of support from individuals and the corporate community has been generous and allows for expanding efforts in public education.
ADAA has resources available for consumers and clinicians about preventing suicide.
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ADAA NEWS
Deadline approaches for call for submissions for 2015 conference
ADAA
ADAA invites psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, neuroscientists and others working in the area of anxiety and depressive disorders to submit abstracts for peer-review for the
2015 Anxiety and Depression Conference
to be held in Miami, Florida, April 9-12. The deadline is Sept. 8, for symposia, roundtables and workshops. The theme for this year’s conference is
Anxiety and Depression: Translating Research, Innovating Practice
. Conference co-chairs Kerry Ressler and Tanja Jovanovic encourage participation and learning why this conference is the place to be in 2015. Abstracts are due Sept. 8; research poster abstracts are due Dec. 5. ADAA’s website,
ADAA.org
, has information about how to submit and a link to the online submission site are at ADAA’s website. Go online to see information about registration, hotel and program highlights are available
online
.
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Mobile apps reviews available at ADAA
ADAA
ADAA has launched a new resource on its website for consumers and clinicians. Members will be reviewing and posting reviews of available apps for anxiety disorders and depression.
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RESEARCH AND PRACTICE NEWS
Atypical depression may carry increased risk of obesity
dailyRx
Major depressive disorder and obesity have previously been connected to chronic conditions like cancer, high blood pressure and diabetes. But major depressive disorder and obesity may also be connected. A recent study found that people with atypical major depressive disorder (MDD) faced a higher risk of being obese than people who had other types of MDD or did not have MDD.
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Rat study finds PTSD can develop without trauma memory
PsychCentral
A new rat study finds that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop even without explicit memory of an earlier trauma. Researchers at the University of Albany and the University of California, Los Angeles, note there are case reports of people who have experienced terrible life events that resulted in brain damage, some of whom developed syndromes similar to PTSD even though they had no recollection of the event.
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Poor sleep quality increases suicide risk for older adults, study finds
Medical Xpress
Older adults suffering from sleep disturbances are more likely to die by suicide than well-rested adults, according to a study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine. "This is important because sleep disturbances are highly treatable, yet arguably less stigmatizing than many other suicide risk factors," said Rebecca Bernert, Ph.D., lead author of the study. Bernert is an instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of the Suicide Prevention Research Laboratory at Stanford.
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Depression, MCI combo dramatically accelerates brain aging
Medscape (free subscription)
Older adults with both depression and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may have brain biomarkers signifying an increased risk for accelerated brain aging, which could then lead to the development of dementia, new research suggests. The study, which included 80 patients older than 64 years with depression, showed that those who also had MCI versus those with normal cognition had significant differences in the brain activity of 24 proteins involved in the regulation of several pathways, including inflammation, intracellular signaling and cell survival, as well as a greater risk for cerebrovascular disease.
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New study says regular exercise can help with depression
Medical Daily
Doctors in Texas say physical fitness may be one of the best ways to prevent depression and may even be as effective in treatment as psychotherapy is. Their conclusions are based on a study of middle-school-aged children in northern Texas who were tested and surveyed for fitness and depression. They found that sixth graders, especially girls, were slightly less likely to become depressed by seventh grade if they had strong cardio-respiratory health.
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Anxiety associated with ulcer risk
Center for Advancing Health
A new study in General Hospital Psychiatry finds evidence of a relationship between anxiety disorders and the prevalence and incidence of ulcer over a 10-year period in a sample of U.S. adults. Though ulcer prevalence has decreased, approximately 500,000 new cases still occur annually in the U.S., with complications that can result in bleeding, perforation and death. A fairly recent discovery that many, but not all, cases are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori has resulted in neglecting to investigate other contributing factors, said corresponding author Farah Taha, M.A., in the Department of Psychology at Queens College, City University of New York.
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Risk of suicidal behavior with antidepressants in bipolar and unipolar disorders
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
The objective of this study was to examine the risk of suicidal behavior, including suicide attempts and deaths, associated with antidepressants in participants with bipolar I, bipolar II and unipolar major depressive disorders. A 27-year longitudinal (1981–2008) observational study of mood disorders was used to evaluate antidepressants and risk for suicidal behavior.
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Study: Cognitive behavior therapy via Internet effective treatment
Medical Xpress
A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy via the Internet is a more effective treatment for health anxiety than an active psychological treatment with relaxation and stress management. The results are presented in the British Journal of Psychiatry. Health anxiety involves a strong, persistent and excessive fear of succumbing to serious illness. The condition can cause great suffering to the patient and often occurs among patients within primary care.
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Study: Depression a risk factor for dementia
WebProNews
A new study published in the scientific journal Neurology on July 30, showed that depression is a risk factor for dementia. The results indicate that treating depression in older patients may stave off some of the symptoms of dementia related to thinking and memory skills. “This is a risk factor we should take seriously,” said lead author Robert Wilson, senior neuropsychologist at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University.
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Study: Depression often left untreated in Parkinson's disease
Counsel & Heal
Although depression is one of the common symptoms of Parkinson's disease, it remains untreated for many patients, according to a new study. In fact, depression is the most prevalent non-motor symptom of Parkinson's, a chronic neurodegenerative disorder typically associated with movement dysfunction, the press release added.
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New research looks at the possible link between inflammation and depression
TIME
Scientists are studying alternative explanations for complicated conditions like depression, and researchers from the University of Cambridge are looking into a preliminary but interesting theory that a protein released into our blood when our bodies are responding to infections — referred to as an inflammatory marker — may have a role in mental health. The researchers hypothesize that there similar mechanisms that underlie chronic diseases, from heart disease and diabetes to mental illness and even skin diseases.
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Reclassification of PTSD diagnosis potentially excludes soldiers diagnosed under previous criteria
Medical Xpress
A new head-to-head comparison of screening questionnaires for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, shows a worrying discordance between the previous version of the PTSD definition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — fourth edition (DSM-IV) and DSM-5, released in 2013. The authors, led by Dr. Charles Hoge of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, found that just under a third of soldiers who screened positive for PTSD under the old DSM-IV criteria were excluded when DSM-5 criteria were used, and just under a quarter of those who met criteria under DSM-5 would not have been identified using the older DSM-IV criteria.
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Looking to share your expertise?
MultiBriefs
In an effort to enhance the overall content of Anxiety & Depression Insights, we'd like to include peer-written articles by members of ADAA in future editions. As a member of ADAA, your knowledge of the industry lends itself to unprecedented expertise. And we're hoping you'll share this expertise with your peers through well-written commentary. Because of the digital format, there's no word or graphical limit. Our group of talented editors can help with final edits. If you're interested in participating, please contact
Ronnie Richard
to discuss logistics.
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About
Anxiety & Depression Insights
This news brief is a timely update about anxiety disorders and depression sent to members of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and other professionals interested in this area. Links to articles are provided for the convenience of the reader. External resources are not a part of the ADAA website, and ADAA is not responsible for the content of external sites. Linking to a website does not constitute an endorsement by ADAA of the sponsors of the site or the information presented on the site. For more information about ADAA, visit
www.ADAA.org
.
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Mental health disorders widely affect people throughout the United States. Like addiction, the existence of mental health disorders only began to be recognized as recently as the 20th century. These conditions significantly impair people’s quality of life, damaging their emotional and well as physical health, causing interpersonal difficulties, legal problems, and even financial insecurity. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions and stigmas surrounding mental health conditions. As a result, too few people seek help, and the number of people suffering from mental illness is likely far higher than statistics indicate.
The World Health Organization defines a mental health disorder as any condition that causes problems with a person’s thoughts, emotions, or interpersonal relationships. This broad definition encompasses a broad range of problems. The DSM-5, the book that psychiatrists use to diagnose people with mental health disorders, lists approximately 297 different conditions. It is possible to be diagnosed with one of these mental health disorders for a period of time, whereas some people suffer from one or more for their whole lives. It is important to understand that there is a lot of variety in terms of how people think and behave. Being “abnormal” does not mean one suffers from a mental illness. The criteria for diagnosing someone with a mental health disorder usually involves a number of ways that a condition has negatively affected their life and impaired their ability to function.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 1 in every 5 adults in the United States experiences mental illness each year. That makes it far more common than influenza. Unfortunately, the majority of people suffering from mental illness do not get treatment. This is partly a result of a scarcity of care resources available to certain populations. Unfortunately, it is also due to the stigma surrounding mental illness. Many people, even people suffering acutely from mental illness, mistakenly believe that mental illness is something they need to simply get over. While this kind of stoicism may work well for superheroes in the movies, in real life this attitude is more likely to exacerbate problems. Mental illness isn’t an individual problem. It affects more than the person who has it — friends, family, coworkers, and even neighbors are likely to be impacted by someone they know with mental illness. Likewise, treating mental illness is not a solitary pursuit. The first step in getting relief from a mental health condition is seeking help from a treatment program or resource center.
While everyone experiences sadness at times from one degree to another, psychiatrists diagnose people with major depression when their feelings of despair impair their ability to function. Episodes of depression can last for a few weeks to many years and can make it difficult to interact, practice healthy self-care, and fulfill essential tasks. Depression has many possible causes, from genetic factors to traumatizing life events. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that occurs in winter due to a lack of sunlight, and Postpartum Depression occurs in new mothers due to hormone imbalances. Depression can also be caused by lifestyle choices such as regular substance abuse. While everyone experiences mental illness differently, in the case of depression mental health difficulties can cause a range of symptoms such as:
When feelings of nervousness and anxiety are persistent and impair a person’s thinking, behavior, and ability to function, they might be suffering from an anxiety disorder. There are many types of anxiety disorders. Phobias, for instance, are abnormally severe and irrational fears about a specific object, such as heights or the sight of blood. Another common mental health concern is panic disorder. Individuals suffering from panic disorder experience brief bursts of extreme helpless anxiety, referred to as panic attacks, which can be so severe that they can be mistaken for heart attacks. However, generalized anxiety disorder is the most common type of anxiety disorder, with symptoms that include:
Social anxiety disorder is another common type of anxiety disorder. A person with social anxiety disorder is more than a mere introvert. Rather, these individuals can be said to suffer from a debilitating phobia of other people and social contact. It is common for people suffering from this condition to go to great lengths to avoid social situations. Many find it is difficult to function normally during social events or even with the knowledge that a social interaction might occur in the near future. Some cases are so extreme that an individual may avoid leaving the house entirely. Many people with this condition recognize that their fears are baseless but are unable to control them. Social anxiety disorder can present serious impediments toward a person’s goals, preventing them from working or having friends. To circumvent these problems, it is common for people with this condition to turn to short-term solutions that provide temporary relief, such as substance abuse.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a debilitating condition that causes sufferers to think certain thoughts obsessively and compulsively complete repetitive tasks and behaviors. These uncontrollable ruminations and behavior patterns can be profoundly disruptive and make it nearly impossible to live normally. Types of OCD include:
People with eating disorders have irregular and physically unsafe eating patterns, often as a result of body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia occurs when a person is unable to see their body objectively, such as perceiving it as obese when it is in fact emaciated. People with anorexia nervosa, a common eating disorder, restrict calories to lose weight. It is common for them to exercise obsessively and purge themselves by taking laxatives or vomiting as well. The most common eating disorder in the United States, however, is binge eating disorder, during which a person uncontrollably eats an enormous amount of food in a short period of time. People with bulimia nervosa engage in bouts of binge eating, and follow up their binges with purges, during which they force themselves to vomit. Eating disorders can cause extreme health problems and become life-threatening.
Individuals who suffer from bipolar disorder experience extremes on both ends of the spectrum, alternating between episodes of mania and depression. However, the destabilizing effects of bipolar disorder are not limited to these episodes. People with bipolar disorder experience disturbances in their mood, cognition, sleep, and even memory. The condition can also drive people to dangerous heights of despair. Research shows that 25%-50% of people with bipolar disorder attempt suicide at least once in their lives. It also increases their risks of developing other mental health problems, such as substance use disorder.
Schizophrenia is a condition that is little-understood despite its ubiquity in movies and television. Schizophrenics suffer from recurring psychosis, which is a variety of mental illness that causes problems with emotions, language, cognition, behavior, and perception. People with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations that are auditory or visual in nature. Many otherwise rational people may have persistent delusions as well. The causes of this disorder are still relatively unknown, though it does run in families. 20 million people all over the world experience the debilitating effects of schizophrenia.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly diagnosed among children, but it is also prevalent among adults, with approximately 5% of adults in the United States meeting conditions for the diagnosis. The condition is characterized by difficulties concentrating, hyperactivity, difficulty managing time, and problems completing and beginning tasks. Someone with ADHD might find it very difficult to sit still and focus. As such, this disorder can pose significant problems when it comes to meeting academic and career goals.
Borderline personality disorder, which is linked to early traumatic experiences, is associated with problems with emotional regulation and relating with others. People with borderline personality disorder often report having an unstable personal identity and feelings of emptiness. Many suffer from a phobia of being abandoned and as a result foster unstable and codependent relationships with other people. Extreme rage, impulsivity, and suicidal ideation are common among people with borderline personality disorder. While this mental health condition is notoriously misdiagnosed, people who suffer from it suffer greatly in their interpersonal relationships until treated by a trained clinician.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is another type of common anxiety disorder, especially common among war veterans and victims of sexual assault. PTSD can occur when someone experiences or witnesses a particularly traumatic event. The result can be long term feelings of depression, anxiety, and dissociation. Other symptoms include intrusive thoughts, a strong aversion to anything that could trigger the memory of a traumatic event, cognitive problems, and even amnesia. Post-traumatic stress disorder is strongly associated with substance abuse, since alcohol and drugs can provide temporary relief for some of the recurring suffering that individuals with PTSD experience. Proper treatment involves behavioral therapies such as eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), exposure therapy, or cognitive-behavioral therapy. Medications such as SSRIs, while not cures, can also help individuals respond better to therapeutic modalities.
The causes of mental illness vary considerably from person to person. In most cases, a mental illness has multiple overlapping causes. Psychological, biological, and environmental factors all play considerable roles in the development of mental health conditions. Research has indicated that many mental health disorders run in families and have a genetic basis. Other biological causes include chemical or hormonal imbalances in the brain, developmental abnormalities, and brain injuries. However, most mental illnesses are brought on by a variety of causes and triggers. These include:
The last of these factors, substance abuse, is associated with a mental health condition in its own right, known as substance use disorder. People with substance use disorder are very prone to developing other mental health issues. Substance abuse can trigger episodes of depression and anxiety. Behavior surrounding addiction can also some of the conditions outlined above that increase the likelihood of mental health problems, such as poverty and traumatic life events. As a result, people who suffer from substance use disorder are approximately twice as likely to develop mental illnesses.
It goes both ways. Suffering from a mental illness makes people twice as likely to engage in dangerous patterns of substance abuse. This is in part due to the temporary relief that drugs and alcohol provide. When mentally ill individuals use drugs and alcohol for short-lived relief of their symptoms, they are engaging in what addiction specialists refer to as “self-medicating.” This dangerous practice of drinking or taking drugs to alleviate the symptoms of an untreated mental health disorder can result in addiction, overdose, and death. It is also highly likely to worsen the symptoms of mental illness over time.
People suffering from substance use disorder and one or more additional mental health conditions are referred to as “dual diagnosis,” or “comorbid.” Comorbidity is difficult to treat. Because mental illness can trigger drug use and vice versa, it is ineffective to treat one problem while ignoring the other. Dual diagnosis individuals should seek the help of a drug and alcohol treatment program that has the resources to deal with mental health disorders. A partial hospitalization program, or PHP, is well-suited to dual diagnosis individuals, since it offers psychiatric and medical support along with resources for people suffering from addiction. At such a facility, people can build a foundation for long term sobriety and decrease the likelihood of relapse by responsibly treating their mental illnesses.
Treatment for mental health problems varies considerably depending on the illness being treated and the unique individual needs of the patient. Recommended mental health solutions and plans usually include some form of psychiatric treatment. Psychiatrists can help individuals develop a holistic mental health treatment plan. Elements of these plans can include medications to alleviate some of the more severe symptoms of the disorder. Psychotherapeutic counseling, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, also often plays an important role. Counseling can help individuals develop coping strategies to change their thinking and behavior patterns. These resources are widely available in outpatient mental health programs.
For people whose mental illnesses are more severe, or for dual diagnosis individuals whose require treatment for multiple conditions, a residential mental health treatment facility is often a good idea. At residential treatment programs, which include partial hospitalization programs, patients live at their treatment facility and have access to 24/7 care. With psychiatric, medical, and counseling services at their disposal, patients should begin to make progress in treating their mental health issues. Many facilities, even some outpatient facilities like intensive outpatient programs (IOP programs), also offer patients resources for rebuilding their lives, such as skills training workshops for job-seekers. Residential programs and IOPs also provide drug abuse treatment for comorbid patients.
Treating a mental health disorder can feel like a challenge. Many mental illnesses require a degree of care throughout a person’s life and cannot be permanently cured. Stigma and lack of resources are also major impediments to getting treatment. However, people who seek help for their mental illnesses usually find that their quality of life dramatically improves. It is possible to function normally, have relationships, and hold down a job if your mental health disorder is treated properly. It is possible to be happy. If the condition is being properly treated, it is even possible to be proud of your differences. | https://createrecoverycenter.com/mental-health-treatment/ |
Background. There is current debate about the effectiveness and generalizability of evidence-based psychological therapies in treatment of depression for diverse ethno-cultural groups. This has led to increasing interest in culturally adapted psychotherapies (CAPs).
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a widely used treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. The idea behind EMDR is that lateral eye movements may mitigate the emotional impact of traumatic memories. Given the focus on changing patients’ memories, it is important that EMDR practitioners have detailed knowledge about human memory. We explored beliefs and ideas about memory in samples of EMDR practitioners (Study 1: n = 12; Study 2: n = 41), students (Study 1: n = 35; Study 2: n = 24), and researchers (Study 2: n = 30).
Epigenetic mechanisms play a role in the detrimental effects of traumatic stress and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, it is unknown whether successful treatment of PTSD restores these epigenetic marks. This study investigated longitudinal changes of blood-based genome-wide DNA methylation levels in relation to trauma-focused psychotherapy for PTSD in soldiers that obtained remission (N = 21), non-remitted PTSD patients (N = 23), and trauma-exposed military controls (N = 23).
Brief eclectic psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (BEPP), an evidence-based treatment that focuses on working through difficult emotions and grief originating from traumatic events, aims not only to reduce symptoms but also to enable trauma survivors to learn from devastating experiences. This chapter describes BEPP and unique characteristics that distinguish it from other evidence-based treatments that are highly relevant in the treatment of complex posttraumatic stress disorders (CTSDs).
Introduction
Interest in the use of psychedelic substances for the treatment of mental disorders is increasing. Processes that may afect therapeutic change are not yet fully understood. Qualitative research methods are increasingly used to examine patient accounts; however, currently, no systematic review exists that synthesizes these fndings in relation to the use of psychedelics for the treatment of mental disorders.
Objective
Moral injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are two prominent mental health problems that affect military personnel. Moral injury results when the individual is exposed to a situation or event that violates their moral code; however, PTSD results when there is a substantial threat of harm. Moral injury is a relatively new construct within the literature with research starting in the late 2000s. Although distorted cognitions are core components of PTSD symptomatology, there has been no research of cognitions in moral injury.
Background and Objectives
Exposure‐based interventions (EBIs) are the first‐line treatment for anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. Although common, the association between EBIs and benzodiazepines is controversial. Therefore, we systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate if benzodiazepines could undermine the efficacy of EBIs in treating these disorders.
Methods
Current international guidelines recommend Trauma-Focused Therapies (TFT) to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, non-response and dropout rates have shown to be substantial. TFT, delivered in a highly intensive dose may lead to a more efficacious symptom reduction and lower dropout rates. This article describes an inpatient treatment program with Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), called High-Intensive NET (HI-NET).
People bereaved through road traffic accidents (RTAs) are at risk for severe and disabling grief (i.e., pathological grief). Knowledge about needs and use of bereavement care, including psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, and support groups is limited. This study charted (correlates of) the needs and use of bereavement care in RTA bereaved people. Furthermore, while online grief treatment seems effective, it is unknown whether it is perceived as acceptable. Accordingly, we examined the acceptability of online treatment.
Experiencing a sudden/violent loss of a significant other is a risk factor for developing persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD), depression, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cognitive therapy (CT) combined with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) might be an effective treatment for bereaved people with PCBD, depression, and/or PTSD symptoms after sudden/violent loss. We tested the effects of CT + EMDR versus waitlist controls in disaster-bereaved people. | https://psychotraumanet.org/en/berichten/evidence-based-treatment?bg=12&page=11 |
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Scientific Reports, 2020
.Emotions and brain function are altered up to one month after a single high dose of psilocybin.
Abstract:
Psilocybin is a classic psychedelic compound that may have efficacy for the treatment of mood and substance use disorders. Acute psilocybin effects include reduced negative mood, increased positive mood, and reduced amygdala response to negative affective stimuli.
Results: The number of significant resting-state functional connections across the brain increased from baseline to 1-week and 1-month post-psilocybin. These preliminary findings suggest that psilocybin may increase emotional and brain plasticity.
Gukasyan, Natalie & Nayak, Sandeep. 2020
Psychedelics, placebo effects, and set and setting: insights from common factors theory of psychotherapy
Abstract:
In this paper they examine four major contextual “common factors” shared by various healing traditions - 1) the therapeutic relationship, 2) the healing setting, 3) the rationale, conceptual scheme, or myth, and 4) the ritual. Then researchers explain how these factors show up in psychedelic-assisted treatment and how they may contribute to therapeutic effects.
Regardless of their true mechanism, psychedelics show obvious promise as healing agents and may serve as an important tool to help us understand how to harness the “active psychological ingredients” of psychotherapy, set and setting, and placebo effects.
Psychopharmacology (Berl), 2017
Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up
Abstract:
RATIONALE: Recent clinical trials are reporting marked improvements in mental health outcomes with psychedelic drug-assisted psychotherapy.
CONCLUSIONS: Although limited conclusions can be drawn about treatment efficacy from open-label trials, tolerability was good, effect sizes large and symptom improvements appeared rapidly after just two psilocybin treatment sessions and remained significant 6 months post-treatment in a treatment-resistant cohort.
Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2016
Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial
Abstract:
Cancer patients often develop chronic, clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest that psilocybin may decrease depression and anxiety in cancer patients.
At 6-month follow-up, these changes were sustained, with about 80% of participants continuing to show clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety.
Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2014
Pilot study of the 5-HT2AR agonist Psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction
This early study showed 80% of participants had achieved smoking abstinence at a 6 month follow-up. Each participant in the study on average had: 6 previous lifetime quit attempts, 19 cigarettes per day for 31 years intake. Read the abstract for yourself. | https://www.mycologynow.com/pages/education-page |
There is now hard evidence that meditation can cut stress, newspapers reported October 10 2007. The Daily Mail said that “five short sessions of meditation could be enough to help us achieve piece of mind”.
The Daily Telegraph reported that “after meditation training of 20 minutes once a day for only five days, people, had measurably less anxiety and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol”. The papers said that levels of anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue had also gone down.
The study is a small but well-conducted trial. Whether the findings can be generalised to the practice of individual meditation (as opposed to guided, group practice as is used here) and across cultures remains to be seen.
Dr Yi-Yuan Tan and colleagues from Dalian University of Technology, Liaoning, China, carried out this research. The study was funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National 863 Plan Project, the Ministry of Education and from the University of Oregon. The study was published in the medical journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study was a randomised, controlled trial. Researchers randomly assigned 80 undergraduate students from the Dalian University to either experimental or control groups.
The experimental group underwent integrative body-mind training (IBMT) for 20 minutes a day for five days. IBMT, based on traditional Chinese medicine, is a style of meditation training that encourages “restful alertness and awareness of the body”. It uses external instructions delivered through a CD and a coach. The control group underwent group sessions of relaxation therapy for 20 minutes per day for five days.
All participants were assessed for their general intelligence, attention levels (“orienting, alerting and conflict resolution”), mood states (including tension, depression, anger, vigour, fatigue, confusion), one week before the experiment began, and immediately after the last training session. They also subjected all participants to a stress test (using mental arithmetic) to determine their levels of the hormone cortisol, which reflects stress levels.
The assessors of these characteristics did not know which group the students had been assigned to (i.e. they were blinded). The researchers used statistics to determine whether meditation had an effect on any of the outcomes assessed.
The researchers found that the five 20-minute sessions of IBMT mediation led to greater improvement in scores assessing conflict resolution, anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue, and vigour. They also found that meditation practice reduced the amount of cortisol that was released in response to the stress test.
The researchers say that IBMT is an effective way to improve cognition, emotion and social behaviour. The researchers also conclude that their study has shown that randomised controlled trials can be used to assess the effects of meditation training.
The study assessed the effects of a particular type of meditation training – integrative body-mind training – that was delivered in a group setting. Whether these benefits would be seen with individual meditation of different types needs further study.
The study was conducted in Chinese undergraduate students. The researchers raise the point that the effects of IBMT may be expected in China where there is a prior belief in the benefits of meditation. However, they state that “belief in meditation and traditional medicine is not high among undergraduates in modern China”. It is unclear whether the findings can be generalised to other cultures, only further studies in other countries could tell us this.
This well-conducted study is a good addition to the small amount of existing evidence for the effects of meditation on health.
Self-care is the most common form of healthcare and people need to be aware of more techniques that they can use. We need a national encyclopedia of non-drug interventions to help them with this.
Meditation 'succeeds in cutting stress'.
Sit down, switch off, zone out: the ultimate stress buster. | https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/does-meditation-reduce-stress/ |
Copyright © 2013 Matthew J. Rabito and Alan David Kaye. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) plays a significant role in many aspects of healthcare worldwide, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). This review describes some of the challenges of CAM in terms of scientific research. Biologically-based therapies, mind-body therapies, manipulative and body-based therapies, whole medical systems, and energy medicine are reviewed in detail with regard to cardiovascular risk factors and mediation or modulation of cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. CAM use among patients with CVD is prevalent and in many instances provides positive and significant effects, with biologically-based and mind-body therapies being the most commonly used treatment modalities. More rigorous research to determine the precise physiologic effects and long-term benefits on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality with CAM usage, as well as more open lines of communication between patients and physicians regarding CAM use, is essential when determining optimal treatment plans.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) defines complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine” . Complementary medicine is used along with conventional medicine, whereas alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine. In the 2007 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), approximately 38% of USA adults and 12% of children reported using CAM in the past 12 months, and lifetime prevalence of CAM use in the United States and worldwide has increased steadily since 1950 [2, 3]. A systematic search of the existing literature found that the prevalence of CAM use ranges between 5% and 74.8% . The NHIS report also noted that 83,000,000 adults spent $33.9 billion out of pocket on CAM, constituting 11.2% of total out-of-pocket health care expenditures and approximately 1.5% of total health care expenditures .
The 2007 NHIS report demonstrated that the top five most frequently used CAM therapies (excluding prayer) were natural products, such as fish oil/omega 3, glucosamine, echinacea, and flaxseed (17.7%), deep breathing (12.7%), meditation (9.4%), chiropractic and osteopathic (8.6%), and massage (8.3%), followed by yoga, diet-based therapies, progressive relaxation, guided imagery, and homeopathic treatment . Frass et al. report that the most used therapies are chiropractic manipulation, followed by phytotherapy/herbal medicine, massage, and homeopathy . The conditions for which CAM is most frequently used according to the 2007 NHIS include back pain, neck pain, joint pain, arthritis, and anxiety, while Frass et al. report the top five conditions to be back pain/neck problems, depression, insomnia/trouble sleeping, severe headache/migraine, and stomach/intestinal illness [2, 3]. CAM use among adults is greatest among women and those of middle age who are better educated and have higher incomes [2, 3].
The scientific study of CAM poses several unique challenges that must be taken into consideration in order to adequately produce and assess evidence-based data. Many forms of CAM are elements of broader healing systems based on unique theoretical constructs and systems of analysis, rather than stand-alone treatments—isolating a particular therapy (i.e., acupuncture) from its broader discipline (i.e., Chinese medicine) may not do it justice. There is the potential for disparity in disciplines: Chinese, Korean, and Japanese acupuncture styles are different, and adjunct therapies such as manual or electrical needle stimulation and use of herbal preparations orally or through moxibustion add to the disparity. Another potential confounder is that traditional outcome measures may not capture the full effect of treatment, since many such therapies do not have well-recognized and understood physiologic mechanisms of action (i.e., qi or chi in Chinese medicine). The placebo effect must also be considered. Because many of the popular CAM therapies are in fact physical methods (i.e., massage or acupuncture) of treatment, it is difficult to formulate a placebo that is both inert and indistinguishable from the real treatment. Additionally, the lack of a uniform definition of CAM and the huge diversity of the different methods, therapies, and dogmas of CAM make the studies difficult to compare . Enthusiasm, individuality, and the specific nature of the doctor-patient relationships play a role. Finally, the quality of these trials is frequently lacking in that many have small sample sizes and are not prospective, randomized, rigorously conducted, placebo-controlled studies, and they often have poor methodological characteristics and high incidences of bias.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the United States for both men and women . Approximately 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year, representing one in every four deaths . The most common form of CVD is coronary heart disease, which kills more than 358,000 people and costs the United States $108.9 billion each year . Risk factors for CVD include hypertension, high LDL-cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, overweight and obesity, poor diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol use . Despite growing interest in CAM for cardiovascular health, few data are available regarding patterns of use of CAM for cardiovascular disease in the United States . One study used the 2002 NHIS to analyze data on CAM use among patients with CVD and found that 36% of patients with CVD had used CAM (excluding prayer) in the previous 12 months . Herbal products (echinacea, garlic, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, and glucosamine) and mind-body therapies (deep-breathing exercises and meditation) were used by 18% and 17% of patients, respectively, and constituted the most commonly used therapies . Overall, CAM use in this patient population mirrored CAM use in the general population, with the most common reasons for use being musculoskeletal complaints, anxiety/depression, and stress/emotional health and wellness . According to this study, fewer respondents (10%) used CAM specifically for their cardiovascular conditions (5% for hypertension, 2% for coronary disease, 3% for vascular insufficiency, <1% for heart failure or stroke) .
Another study with an international basis of patient information found that the prevalence of CAM use among people with CVD ranged from 4% to 61% (biologically-based therapies 22%–68%, herbal medicine 2%–46%, vitamins/minerals/dietary supplements 3%–54%, and mind-body therapies 2–57%) . This review found that the use of CAM specifically to treat CVD ranged from 7% to 82%, depending on the study . Physician awareness of their patients’ CAM therapy use ranged from 8% to 65% secondary to fear of physician disapproval and lack of inquiry on the subject by the physician . Some reasons for CAM use cited by patients include that CAM was thought to be of greater benefit than conventional medications (15%), adverse drug reactions to conventional therapy (59%), and overall well-being and promotion of good health .
CAM may be broadly divided into 5 separate categories: biologically-based therapies, mind-body therapies, manipulative and body-based therapies, whole medical systems, and energy medicine .
The biologically-based therapies include aromatherapy, chelation therapy, diet-based therapies, folk medicine, iridology, megavitamin therapy, neural therapy, and phytotherapy/herbal medicine . A number of these therapies have purported cardiovascular effects, but most research on these products is either inconclusive, conflicting, or shows no benefit for their use. It is equally important for the advancement of the legitimate and rigorous study of CAM to report negative as well as positive results, and it illustrates the need for studies of higher quality in this area.
Marine-derived omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (fish oil) are often touted as being preventative of major cardiovascular adverse outcomes by the postulated mechanisms of lowering triglyceride levels (for which they are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)), preventing arrhythmias, decreasing platelet aggregation, or lowering blood pressure . And while experts agree that fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids should be included in a heart-healthy diet, there is no evidence that omega-3 fatty acids in supplement form protect against heart disease . A recent meta-analysis found that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke based on relative and absolute measures of association .
Garlic is used most frequently as a dietary supplement for treatment of hyperlipidemia, heart disease, and hypertension. A well-conducted, randomized trial demonstrated that there was no significant difference in LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, or total cholesterol-HDL ratio after six months of treatment with three preparations of garlic versus placebo . There is evidence that garlic is associated with blood pressure reductions in patients with elevated systolic blood pressures (10–12 mm Hg systolic, 6–9 mm Hg diastolic), but not in normotensive patients [9–11]. However, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether garlic provides a therapeutic advantage versus placebo in terms of reducing the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality .
There is some evidence that ginseng has a plethora of cardiovascular benefits, including cardioprotection, antihypertensive effects, and attenuation of myocardial hypertrophy and heart failure . However, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study demonstrated that Korean red ginseng had no significant effect on blood pressure, lipid profile, oxidized low density lipoprotein, fasting blood glucose, or arterial stiffness in subjects with metabolic syndrome . A systematic review and meta-analysis also failed to demonstrate superiority of red ginseng over placebo in regard to effectiveness for type 2 diabetes mellitus .
Ginkgo biloba is purported to have cardioprotective effects by several studies through its antioxidant, antiplatelet, antithrombotic, vasodilatory, and antihypertensive properties . A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial determined, however, that the herb does not reduce blood pressure or the incidence of hypertension in elderly men and women . The trial also noted that there was no evidence that ginkgo biloba reduced total or CVD mortality or CVD events; there were, however, more peripheral vascular disease events in the placebo arm, suggesting that the herb may reduce the risk of developing peripheral arterial disease .
Hawthorn leaf and flower extracts are advocated as an oral treatment option for patients with chronic heart failure; in fact, the German Commission E approved the use of hawthorn extracts in patients with heart failure graded stage II . The results of a Cochrane review suggest that there is a significant benefit in symptom control and physiologic outcomes from hawthorn extract as a treatment adjunct for chronic heart failure . For the physiologic outcome of maximal workload, treatment with hawthorn extract was more beneficial than placebo . Hawthorn extract increased exercise tolerance, beneficially decreased cardiac oxygen consumption, and improved symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue as compared with placebo . However, no data on relevant mortality and morbidity were reported . The SPICE trial, a large, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, specifically looked at morbidity and mortality as endpoints [18, 19]. The study concluded that the primary endpoints—reductions in cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and hospitalization due to progressive heart failure—were not achieved . The SPICE trial also found that the deaths of a sudden cardiac cause, deaths due to progressive heart failure, and fatal myocardial infarctions were all lower in the treatment group; these figures, however, did not reach statistical significance . Finally, the study suggested that treatment with hawthorn may reduce sudden cardiac deaths specifically in patients with left ventricular ejection fractions between 25% and 35% .
A meta-analysis determined that overall, flaxseed supplementation was associated with a decrease in blood total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations but did not significantly affect HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides . The study reported that whole flaxseed interventions resulted in significant reductions in total and LDL-cholesterol, while flaxseed oil did not . Flaxseed contains a large amount of fiber, and dietary soluble fiber has been shown to have cholesterol-lowering effects . Flaxseed is also a rich source of dietary lignans. Purified lignans have been shown to reduce cholesterol in animal studies, but human data are limited . Importantly, the beneficial effects of flaxseed were observed only among those with relatively high initial cholesterol concentrations and were more apparent in females (particularly postmenopausal females) . A multitude of other cardiovascular benefits have been proposed for flaxseed due to its high alpha-linolenic acid content [21–23], but not enough reliable data are available to determine whether flaxseed is effective for heart disease in humans.
Antioxidants, which include anthocyanins, beta-carotene, catechins, coenzyme Q10, flavonoids, lipoic acid, lutein, lycopene, selenium, and vitamins C and E, have shown promising results in laboratory and observational studies; however, systematic reviews of the literature and large, randomized, controlled trials have generally found no beneficial effects of antioxidant supplements for primary or secondary prevention. In fact, vitamin A, beta-carotene, and vitamin E may actually increase mortality . The Physicians Health Study II concluded that neither vitamin E nor vitamin C reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events (nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and CVD death) or had a significant effect on total mortality . The Women’s Health Study concluded that, overall, vitamin E did not reduce the risk of death or major cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, or death) in almost 40,000 healthy women; however, there was a significant 24% reduction in the secondary endpoint of cardiovascular deaths and a significant 26% reduction in major cardiovascular events among a subgroup of women aged at least 65 years . The Women’s Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study found that there were no overall effects of vitamins C, E, or beta-carotene on cardiovascular events among women at high risk for CVD . Possible reasons for the “disconnect” between findings of laboratory and observational studies and results of clinical trials, according to one article, may be that trials are entirely too short to reverse the results of decades of oxidative stress contributing to atherosclerosis or that the antioxidants selected for study were chosen for their easy availability rather than proven efficacy (vitamin E) .
Red yeast rice contains monacolin K, which has the same chemical structure as lovastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase . Monacolin K in substantial amounts lowers blood levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol [29–31]. One study reported, however, that there is marked variability of monacolin levels in commercial red yeast rice products, and several products had elevated levels of citrinin, a potentially nephrotoxic mycotoxin . Products with very little monacolin K may have little to no effect on blood cholesterol levels. Although red yeast rice has been marketed to patients intolerant of statin drugs due to those drugs’ side effects, there have been case reports of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis associated with red yeast rice . In 1998, the FDA ruled that a red yeast rice product that contained a substantial amount of monacolin K was no longer a dietary supplement but an unapproved new drug and that marketing the product as a dietary supplement would be illegal . Despite FDA action, some products tested as recently as 2011 have been found to contain substantial amounts of monacolin K . Consumers therefore have no way of knowing how much monacolin K is present in most red yeast rice products or whether a particular product is safe, effective, or legal .
Soy protein and isoflavones (phytoestrogens) have gained attention for their potential role in improving risk factors for CVD . An American Heart Association scientific advisory concluded that isolated soy protein with isoflavones, as compared with milk or other proteins, decreased LDL-cholesterol concentrations by an average amount of approximately 3% when about half of the usual total daily protein intake was soy protein . No significant effects on HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, lipoproteins, or blood pressure were evident . Earlier research indicating that soy protein has clinically important favorable effects has not been confirmed by the meager evidence from clinical trials .
L-carnitine is FDA approved for replacement therapy in primary (i.e., inborn errors of metabolism) and secondary (i.e., secondary to hemodialysis) L-carnitine deficiencies . Many clinical trials have suggested acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) and propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC), two naturally occurring carnitine derivates, as potential strategies in the management of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), heart and cerebral ischemia, and congestive heart failure . The beneficial effects of PLC on PAD, particularly in alleviating intermittent claudication, have been widely studied. It is generally agreed upon that PLC is able to improve exercise tolerance in terms of increasing the maximum walking distance in patients suffering from intermittent claudication as well as to improve most measures of quality of life (overall physical activity, pain while walking, and psychological activity) . The recent Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus II update recommends the use of PLC in combination with physical training to improve the symptoms associated with PAD . However, it has recently been reported that the long-term administration of PLC to patients with intermittent claudication did not result in a statistically significant improvement in peak treadmill performance or quality of life as compared with exercise alone . The clinical effectiveness of L-carnitine in the treatment of other CVD entities is not well established .
Chelation therapy is used to rid the body of excess or toxic metals (i.e., in lead poisoning). Some physicians and CAM practitioners have recommended EDTA chelation as a treatment for coronary heart disease (CHD) . The bulk of evidence supporting EDTA chelation therapy is from case reports and case series, and the available randomized clinical trials, although underpowered, have seen no significant difference in direct or indirect measurements of disease severity and subjective measures of improvements . The National Institutes of Health, including the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and NCCAM, sponsored the Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT), the first large-scale, multicenter study designed to determine the safety and efficacy of EDTA chelation for patients with CHD . Preliminary results of the trial were shared at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions on November 4, 2012; however, the results will not be reported until they are published in the literature .
The results of a systematic review indicate that supplement use is common in cardiac patients (26%–42%) and that the concomitant use of dietary supplements and prescription medication also appears to be frequent (16%–64%) . These results are important for several reasons. Not only is the evidence regarding the efficacy of these products generally inconclusive or unfavorable, but also there is significant opportunity for danger in their use. Most patients believe that the government oversees the safety of CAM; however, the only requirement is for the manufacturer to send a copy of the product label to the FDA . A new dietary supplement may be introduced and marketed rapidly despite containing new, experimental, or unregulated herbal ingredients, and many supplements contain ingredients or contaminants with adverse effects or interactions .
The general public regards biologically-based therapies as safe, natural, and as having fewer side effects than conventional medications (29%–60% of CAM users) [6, 37]. The lack of knowledge about herb-drug and herb-herb interactions and herb adverse effects by patients and health care providers is also problematic. A recent review determined that cardiovascular patients consumed on average seven prescribed medications and two herbal, vitamin, or mineral products daily . One study identified 42 potential herb-drug interactions among these patients . For instance, garlic may interact with aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, or heparinoids to increase bleeding risk . Gingko biloba can increase hypoglycemia when taken with antidiabetes drugs and may increase bleeding when taken with aspirin or warfarin . Ginseng also increases hypoglycemia with antidiabetes drugs, leads to falsely increased levels of digoxin, and decreases effectiveness of warfarin . Hawthorn increases the effects of digoxin and increases coronary vasodilatory effects of calcium channel blockers or nitrates . Echinacea increases QT interval when taken with amiodarone or ibutilide and increases the risk of hepatotoxic effects with statins, fibrates, or niacin . St. John’s wort decreases serum digoxin concentration, increases activity of clopidogrel, decreases warfarin effectiveness, decreases simvastatin effectiveness, and decreases the effectiveness of class IA and III antiarrhythmics . Supplemental potassium was taken by 20% of patients in one study, which can result in adverse outcomes when used concomitantly with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, aldosterone receptor antagonists, or angiotensin receptor blockers [6, 35]. One study demonstrated that 64% of the patients with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, CHF, or ischemic heart disease attending a cardiovascular clinic reported concomitant use of CAM and prescription drugs—58% took supplements that had potential interactions with warfarin, amiodarone, sotalol, or digoxin . There are innumerable other interactions and side effects that must be taken into consideration when using biologically-based therapies.
The mind-body therapies (MBT) include anthroposophical medicine, autogenic training, biofeedback, bioresonance, cognitive-behavioral therapies, deep-breathing exercises, group support, hypnosis, imagery, meditation, prayer, relaxation, Qigong, tai chi, yoga, and shiatsu . One review reported on the prevalence of MBT usage, which ranged from 2% to 57%, with deep breathing and meditation representing the most common therapies in the category . In contrast to the complex and controversial body of research surrounding biologically-based therapies, there is a growing body of research suggesting that MBT are relatively safe and may have measurable benefits for cardiovascular health . Cardiac patients used MBT most commonly for stress, emotional health, and general wellness—indeed, this use is supported by an established body of research on psychosocial support, stress management, and coping skills in cardiac rehabilitation and the influence of stress hormones, cortisol, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as mediators of cardiac risk . Thus, the use of MBT for this purpose has become more widely accepted . In fact, a systematic review suggested that MBT were cost-effective in patients with recent cardiac events and after cardiac surgery .
Relaxation techniques include practices such as progressive relaxation, guided imagery, biofeedback, self-hypnosis, and deep-breathing exercises . The goal of these techniques is to consciously produce the body’s natural relaxation response, characterized by slower breathing, lower blood pressure and oxygen consumption, and a feeling of calm and well-being . A 2008 Cochrane review found that interventions to promote relaxation were associated with a small, but statistically significant, reduction in both systolic blood pressure (5.5 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (3.5 mm Hg) . However, when relaxation was compared with sham therapy, the mean reductions in blood pressure were smaller and not statistically significant . The review noted that in light of the poor methodological quality of the included studies, it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of relaxation techniques for primary hypertension or for reducing morbidity (myocardial infarctions and stroke) and mortality . A 2008 double-blind, randomized trial comparing relaxation versus lifestyle modification found that both groups had similar reductions in systolic blood pressure; however, significantly more participants in the relaxation response group eliminated an antihypertensive medication while maintaining adequate blood pressure control . Although more studies are needed regarding the effect of relaxation on heart disease, one observational study did find that combining relaxation response training with cardiac rehabilitation resulted in significant reductions in blood pressure, decreases in blood lipid levels, and increases in psychological functioning .
Meditation refers to a group of techniques such as mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, transcendental meditation, and Zen Buddhist meditation . There is evidence that meditation is associated with potentially beneficial health effects. For instance, a meta-analysis found that transcendental meditation resulted in a reduction of 4.7 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure and 3.2 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure . Another review article suggested that transcendental meditation may reduce blood pressure as well as other risk factors for CVD such as cholesterol, oxidized lipids, and smoking . However, most clinical trials on meditation practices are generally characterized by poor methodological quality with significant threats to validity in every major quality domain assessed . Thus, future research must be more rigorous before firm conclusions may be drawn.
Yoga has many different styles, some more physically demanding than others. In general, practicing yoga, as well as other forms of regular exercise, leads to several cardiovascular benefits. Yoga typically causes increased heart rate during the act, but following prolonged training, a decrease occurs in exercise-induced heart rate . One study that looked at the effects of yoga on heart rate and blood pressure in healthy men found that the men in the yoga group showed greater decreases in heart rate and blood pressure and greater aerobic performance after 3 months as compared to the control group (flexibility exercises and slow running) . Numerous studies have also commented on positive findings regarding weight loss, control of blood glucose, control of blood lipids, reduction in number of anginal episodes in patients with advanced coronary artery disease, and improved general quality of life . Some research indicates that there may be a difference between yoga and exercise. Different levels of intensity of exercise have been shown to affect the HPA axis response to acute stress differently—low-intensity exercise lowers cortisol levels and sympathetic stimulation, while intense exercise raises cortisol levels and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, raising levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine . Exactly how this influences cardiovascular morbidity and mortality requires further research.
Tai chi, sometimes referred to as “moving meditation,” encompasses many styles, but all involve slow, relaxed, gentle movements . A systematic review of the literature determined that in 22 of 26 studies, reductions in blood pressure (3–32 mm Hg systolic, 2–18 mm Hg diastolic) with tai chi were reported . Another systematic review also concluded that tai chi appears to have physiological and psychosocial benefits and appears to be safe and effective in promoting balance control, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness in older populations with chronic conditions . However, limitations and biases exist in most studies analyzed; thus, drawing firm conclusions about the benefits reported is difficult . A recent randomized clinical trial found that tai chi may improve quality of life, mood, and exercise self-efficacy in people with chronic heart failure, despite the absence of differential improvement in peak oxygen intake and 6-minute walk test compared with education only . Given that tai chi practice is safe and has good rates of adherence, it may represent an important complement to standard medical care in the treatment of deconditioned patients with systolic heart failure . Further research is needed to explore these possibilities.
The manipulative and body-based therapies include acupressure, Alexander technique, Bowen technique, chiropractic manipulation, Feldenkrais method, massage, osteopathic manipulation, reflexology, Rolfing, Trager bodywork, and Tui na .
Massage therapy encompasses many different techniques, such as Swedish massage, sports massage, deep tissue massage, and trigger point massage . Our study found that deep tissue massage resulted in a systolic blood pressure reduction of 10.4 mm Hg, diastolic pressure reduction of 5.3 mm Hg, mean arterial pressure reduction of 7 mm Hg, and an average heart rate reduction of 10.8 beats per minute directly after the massage took place . A review of the literature remarked that single treatment reductions in salivary cortisol and heart rate were consistently noted, but sustained reductions for these measures were not supported in the literature . No change was seen in urinary catecholamines at any point . More research on the long-term effects of repeated messages is necessary.
Spinal manipulation, as found in chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, has been reported to successfully treat hypertension . A systematic literature review however found that there is a lack of low bias evidence to support the use of spinal manipulation therapy to treat hypertension, as statistically significant decreases in blood pressure were not observed in trials with low bias .
The whole medical systems include acupuncture (as part of traditional Chinese medicine), Ayurveda, homeopathy, and naturopathy .
Acupuncture is a therapeutic modality anchored in traditional Chinese medicine (which also includes Chinese herbal medicine, moxibustion, cupping, Chinese massage, mind-body therapies such as Qigong and tai chi, and dietary therapy) . A systematic review and meta-analysis that statistically pooled 3 sham-controlled trials out of 11 studies found that systolic blood pressure change was not statistically significant (−5 mm Hg) and acupuncture only marginally reduced diastolic blood pressure by 3 mm Hg, but substantial heterogeneity was observed . When given with antihypertensive medication, acupuncture significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (−8 mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure (−4 mm Hg) with no heterogeneity detected . Given the poor methodological quality and small sample sizes of most acupuncture trials, the notion that acupuncture may lower high blood pressure is inconclusive . A systematic review and meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials found that acupuncture was associated with a significant reduction of average body weight of 1.72 kg compared to control of lifestyle and a significant reduction of body weight of 1.56 kg compared to placebo or sham treatment . Again, given the poor methodological quality of the trials reviewed, it is difficult to say that the evidence is fully convincing . There is also some evidence that acupuncture may help to correct various metabolic disorders such as hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, but further rigorous investigation in this area is warranted .
Most rigorous clinical trials and systematic analyses of the research on homeopathy have concluded that there is little evidence to support it as an effective treatment for any specific condition . There are mixed results concerning the research for the efficacy of naturopathy, and there is little scientific evidence currently available on the overall effectiveness of this treatment system .
Energy medicine includes healing touch, light therapy, magnetic therapy, millimeter wave therapy, Qigong, Reiki, and sound energy therapy . This category is reportedly the least utilized and least studied of the CAM modalities .
The biofield therapies of Reiki, therapeutic touch, and healing touch are known as “hand-mediated” therapies and are used to reduce pain and anxiety and to promote health through the direction of healing energy . There are reports describing changes in the physiological parameters of heart rate, skin temperature, muscle tone, and skin conductance in response to biofield therapies . Most reviews of the most commonly researched energy therapies conclude that more research is needed, despite potentially promising findings . A 2007 review concluded that studies of biofield therapies can only suggest efficacy in reducing anxiety, improving muscle relaxation, aiding in stress reduction, relaxation, and sense of well-being, promoting wound healing, and reducing pain . A 2010 randomized controlled study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found in a study of immediate postacute coronary syndrome inpatients that reiki significantly increased vagal activity as measured by high-frequency heart rate variability compared with resting and music control conditions, with a decrease in negative and an increase in positive emotional states . The magnitude of the effect on heart rate variability seen was similar to that of propranolol in the Beta Blocker Heart Attack Trial . A randomized clinical trial measuring the efficacy of healing touch in coronary artery bypass surgery recovery found no significant decrease in the use of pain medication, antiemetic medication, or incidence of atrial fibrillation; however, significant differences were noted in anxiety scores and length of stay, and all healing touch patients showed a greater decrease in anxiety scores when compared to the visitor and control groups . More rigorous research is needed to determine the physiologic mechanisms and long-term benefits of these therapies.
CAM use among patients with CVD is prevalent, with biologically-based and mind-body therapies being the most commonly used treatment modalities. This review illustrates the necessity of both more rigorous research to determine the precise physiologic effects and long-term benefits on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality with CAM usage as well as more open lines of communication between patients and physicians regarding CAM use. Finally, it is hoped that both physicians and patients gain an appreciation of what the evidence does and does not say with respect to CAM use for CVD and take this into consideration when determining optimal treatment plans.
The authors have no relationships with pharmaceutical companies or products to disclose, nor do they discuss off-label or investigative products in this lesson.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, December 2012, http://nccam.nih.gov.
Heart Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, December 2012, http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm. | https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/672097/ |
By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.
“Toxic emotions disrupt the workplace, and mindfulness increases your awareness of these destructive patterns, helping you recognize them before they run rampant. It’s a way of reprogramming your mind to think in healthier, less stressful, ways.” – Drew Hanson
Work is very important for our health and well-being. We spend approximately 25% of our adult lives at work. How we spend that time is immensely important for our psychological and physical health. Indeed, the work environment has even become an important part of our social lives, with friendships and leisure time activities often attached to the work environment. But, more than half of employees in the U.S. and nearly 2/3 worldwide are unhappy at work. This is partially due to work-related stress which is epidemic in the western workplace. Almost two thirds of workers reporting high levels of stress at work. This stress can result in impaired health and can result in burnout; producing fatigue, cynicism, and professional inefficacy.
To help overcome unhappiness, stress, and burnout, mindfulness practices have been implemented in the workplace. In fact, it has become very trendy for business to incorporate meditation into the workday to help improve productivity. For example, Google offers “Search Inside Yourself” classes to teach mindfulness at work. But, although there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of meditation improving work performance, there is actually very little systematic research on its effectiveness.
In today’s Research News article “Systematic review: complementary therapies and employee well-being.” See:
https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1305498966140693/?type=3&theater
or see summary below. Ravalier and colleagues reviewed the published research literature on the effects of mindfulness practices implemented in the work environment. They included only full-length peer-reviewed journal articles published since 2000. They found that mindfulness practices produced significant reductions in perceived stress and improvements in vigor, psychological health, and resilience in the employees. In other words, they found very promising research findings, suggesting marked improvements in employee psychological well-being produced by mindfulness practices. They point out, however, that there is a need for longer-term follow-up studies to ascertain whether mindfulness practices have lasting effects in the workplace.
These results complement the research findings of mindfulness effects in many other contexts. It has been shown in general to reduce the psychological and physical responses to stress and to improve mental and physical health. This suggests that mindfulness practices may improve health and productivity and reduce burnout in modern workers. Beyond overcoming the negative effects of the work environment, the workplace has been postulated to be an excellent environment to practice the Buddha’s Eightfold Path for spiritual development and the relief of suffering.
So, improve employee well-being with mindfulness.
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies
“By improving the way people relate to one another, ideally it can change corporate culture for the better, creating a more supportive, friendlier workplace with better relationships. In many organizations, there are bigger, systemic changes that need to be made, but I don’t think that instituting a mindfulness program will prevent those changes from happening. At the least, a mindfulness program provides workers with some relief from stress and anxiety while they campaign for systemic changes; at best, it helps to catalyze those bigger systemic changes.” – Jason Marsh
This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts
Study Summary
- M. Ravalier, P. Wegrzynek and S. Lawton Systematic review: complementary therapies and employee well-being. Occup Med (Lond) April 4, 2016, doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqw047
Abstract
Background A variety of workplace-based interventions exist to reduce stress and increase productivity. However, the efficacy of these interventions is sometimes unclear.
Aims To determine whether complementary therapies offered in the workplace improve employee well-being.
Methods We performed a systematic literature review which involved an electronic search of articles published between January 2000 and July 2015 from the databases Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, AMED, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE and PubMed. We also undertook a manual search of all applicable article reference lists to ensure that no relevant studies were missed. We only selected published, full-length, English-language, peer-reviewed journal articles. Articles had to address the research objective using valid and reliable measures. We excluded articles concerning return to work or whose populations had been adversely affected by work resulting in the development of health issues.
Results We included 10 articles in the review from 131 identified. Mindfulness and meditation-based interventions were most effective in improving workplace health and work performance; the latter demonstrating some evidence of maintaining gains up to 3 months later. The evidence for relaxation interventions was inconclusive.
Conclusions Mindfulness and meditation interventions may be helpful in improving both psychosocial workplace health and work performance, but long-term efficacy has yet to be fully determined. | http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2016/08/26/improve-employee-well-being-with-mindfulness/ |
humans. Cheek et al. examine the ability of PCBs, DDT and its metabolites,
and several organochlorine pesticides (acetochlor, alachlor and
methoprene) to bind to human thyroid hormone receptors and thyroid
hormone transport proteins. Hydroxylated organochlorine have a high
affinity to thyroid transport proteins, but their affinity to thyroid
receptors was unknown prior to this study. Out of all the compounds,
only hydroxylated PCBs bound to the human thyroid receptor, but
had a greater binding affinity to the thyroid transport protein,
transthyretin. These findings help to narrow the scope of the investigation
into the mechanism by which organochlorine compounds alter the thyroid
hormone system.
Osius,
N, W Karmaus, H Kruse and J Witten. 1999. Exposure to Polychlorinated
Biphenyls and Levels of Thyroid Hormones in Children Environmental
Health Perspectives 107:843-849
Osius
et al. present findings on the impact of living near a toxic
incineration plant with license to burn PCB contaminated material
on thyroid hormone levels in children. The study reports a significant
positive association between the PCB congener 118 and thyroid stimulating
hormone, and a significant negative correlation between five PCB
congeners (138, 153, 180, 183 and 187) to the thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine
(unbound to a protein) in children between 7-9 years of age. This
thyroid hormone makes up about 9% of the thyroid hormones secreted
from the thyroid. The study found no significant correlation with
PCB and thyroxine, which accounts for 90% of the thyroid hormones.
However, they did report an association between cadmium and increasing
levels of thyroid stimulating hormone and decreasing levels of thyroxine.
The
authors examined two areas north and southeast of the region in
immediate proximity to the incinerator for comparison. The levels
of both thyroxine and triiodothryonine were significantly decreased
in the incinerator region, as compared with the two other regions.
In
an ambitious review of the literature from laboratory experiments,
wildlife observations and human epidemiology, Françoise Brucker-Davis
concludes that wildlife data clearly demonstrate thyroid disruption
by synthetic chemicals. Studies of fetal exposure to contaminants
known to be thyroid disruptors in humans demonstrate impacts also,
particularly with respect to subsequent cognitive function in childhood,
but the mechanisms of action are not clear. More...
Thyroid hormones
play important roles in growth and reproductive capacity in reptiles.
Removal of the thyroid in lizards and geckos can result in the inhibition
of spermatogenesis that can be restored with the administration
of thyroxine. Exposing geckos with an intact thyroid to triiodothyronine
also results in the suppression of spermatogenesis, suggesting that
the normal functioning of reproductive organs is dependent on a
specific range of thyroid hormone levels.
Crain et al.
examine sex steroid and thyroid hormone levels in juvenile alligators
of three lakes in Florida. Two of the lakes are highly contaminated;
Lake Apopka experienced a chemical spill in 1980, and the other,
Lake Okeechobee has a combination of chemical sources, but has had
no major spill. The third lake, Lake Woodruff, is used as a reference
lake.
Plasma levels
of thyroxine and triiodothyronine were examined, as well as the
relationship of the thyroid hormones to alligator size. The concentrations
of thyroid hormones in alligators differed in all three lakes. Thyroxine
levels were elevated in Lake Okeechobee compared to the reference
lake. In the reference lake, thyroid hormone levels had a strong
negative correlation to alligator size. Thyroxine levels in the
males of the contaminated lakes were negatively correlated to size,
but there was no clear relationship in the females. Triiodothyronine
levels of the females in Lake Apopka had a negative relationship
to size, but there was no correlation in the males of either contaminated
lake to triiodothyronine.
These results
clearly indicate the alteration of the thyroid hormone system in
alligators living in contaminated lakes. There are two significant
questions that emerge from this study; first, if thyroid hormone
levels are abnormal during a juvenile state is this an indication
of embryonic exposure and is, therefore, a permanent alteration;
and second, will the alteration of thyroids have a significant impact
of the reproductive potential of this cohort of alligators?
Leatherland
et al. conduct a comparative review of studies on experimental mice
and rats exposed to environmental contaminants via a diet of contaminated
fish from the Great Lakes, or through direct exposure to PCB mixtures
or polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (PHAHs), and the subsequent
impact on the thyroid hormone system. They report that the thyroid
responses of experimental rats and mice fed the PHAHs were similar
to those of rats and mice fed contaminated fish from the Great Lakes.
This finding
is significant because the thyroid responses of the experimental
animals fed contaminated fish were at exposure levels of mixed PHAHs
"several orders of magnitude lower than those applied in the
classical toxicology studies." Moreover, because Great Lakes
fish are contaminated with a combination of compounds, the impact
on the thyroid hormone system may be due to some synergistic mechanisms.
SP Porterfield
and CE Hendrich. 1993. The Role of Thyroid Hormones in Prenatal
and Neonatal Neurological Development-Current Perspectives Endocrine
Reviews 14(1): 94-106
SP Porterfield
and SA Stein. 1994. Thyroid Hormones and Neurological Development:
Update 1994 Endocrine Reviews 3(1):357-363
These comprehensive
reviews by Susan P. Porterfield examine the role of thyroid hormones
on normal brain development, and the impact of thyroid hormone abnormalities
on the fetal brain.
The critical
period for thyroid hormones in brain development occurs in humans
in late gestation to 1-2 years of age (in rats this period is equivalent
to 18 days of gestation to 21 days neonatal). Thyroid deficiency
(hypothyroidism) at birth has several implications on the brain
and middle ear development. Too much or too little of these hormones
can result in the decrease of cells in the mature brain, can impair
neurological development and can alter middle ear development. Untreated
congenital hypothyroidism will result in severe mental retardation
and hearing loss. Subtle effects of treated congenital hypothyroidism
include learning disabilities, speech and memory problems, and poor
coordination and balance. Similar behavioral and neurological problems
emerge in children whose mothers had thyroid hormone deficiency
or hyothyroxinemia during pregnancy.
McKinney
JD, Pedersen LG 1987. Do residue levels of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) in human blood produce mild hypothyroidism? Journal
of Theoretical Biology 129(2):231-41.
PCBs
are nearly ubiquitous environmental contaminants, occurring in most
human adipose tissue and blood samples. It has recently been recognized
that PCBs and related compounds share important structural properties
with thyroid hormones and can bind thyroid hormone binding proteins.
It is reasonable that such specific binding interactions can modulate
the distribution of these compounds in the body and alter hormone-protein
interactions that are responsible for the maintenance of normal
thyroid status. Most of the available evidence indicates that the
levels of free thyroid hormones in plasma are a reflection of the
maintenance of normal thyroid status in any individual. A theoretical
model for the transport of thyroid hormones in blood has been extended
to estimate the modulating effects of PCBs on free thyroid hormones.
Using conservative assumptions based on experimental data, our calculations
indicate that PCB concentrations normally found in humans can effect
significant increases in free thyroxine levels in serum by competing
with serum thyroid hormone binding proteins. Experimental data are
discussed which support the proposal that antagonist binding of
PCBs to thyroid hormone binding proteins in serum could produce
varying degrees of hypothyroidism. The biological result is compatible
with the "equilibrium hypothesis" in which thyroid hormone redistributes
between specific and nonspecific binding proteins rather than emphasizing
the importance of free hormone as the active moiety. | http://ourstolenfuture.com/NewScience/newsources/thyroid.htm |
What is Cortisol?
Cortisol is a stress hormone produced by the adrenal gland that essentially helps fuel the “fight or flight” response that we so often hear about. However, unlike adrenaline, which spikes in high stress environments, cortisol has a slow burning effect and is responsible for the management of inflammation, blood pressure, blood sugar and energy levels amongst other important bodily functions.
How Does It Work?
What Can Go Wrong?
Normally once a threat or stressful situation passes, cortisol levels go back down to normal and all is well. However, some people are constantly in high stress or threatening environments, forcing them to constantly redistribute/reprioritise resources to help deal with the stress. As time continues, other vital areas that haven’t been afforded the resources required begin to show symptoms and a declined level of health as a result (anxiety, depression, heart disease, weight gain, memory function etc.).
So, What About the Claim That Massage Reduces Cortisol?
“Massage reduces cortisol” is a very specific claim and given that cortisol levels can be measured (saliva/blood/urine), finding some evidence that cortisol levels decreased post-treatment should do the trick and we can all carry on claiming “what we always knew”.
But wait! it’s also really important that we compare these treatment levels to a control group so we can see if it was the massage that made the difference in the levels measured and it wasn’t just a natural regression.
What Can Be Found in The Research to Help Us Examine This Claim?
Field 1998, Massage therapy effects
This paper was one of the first narrative reviews on the effects of massage therapy and is largely based around the many works of the author (she was involved in 39 of the 66 referenced works).
The original assertion that massage is beneficial at reducing cortisol comes from this influential paper. However, the findings this claim is based upon are all from the same laboratory (The Touch Research Institute or TRI) and, given the narrative format, a number of crucial details surrounding the studies and findings are not explored in this paper.
Moyer et al, 2004 A meta-analysis of massage therapy research
The team of Christopher Moyer and co decided to up the game in 2004 and produce a meta-analysis of the massage therapy research. They sacrificed their sanity and went as far as collating the results to produce a standardised mean difference effect size so that the effects of MT could be compared against control treatments. Hell, they even accounted for significant results that may have been influenced by publication bias.
Talk about taking one for the team to help clean up the mixed bag of studies so that we can see quantifiable, objective and replicable results. This is what they found.
“Only seven studies that assessed the effect of MT on cortisol with data sufficient for meta-analysis were located; six of these seven studies were from TRI. Meta-analytic results indicate that MT recipients, on average, had cortisol levels that were only 0.14 standard deviations lower than recipients who had experienced a wait-list condition or a comparison treatment (e.g., engaging in progressive muscle relaxation), a small and nonsignificant (95% CI = −0.10, 0.38) effect. The authors concluded that cortisol levels were not significantly reduced by MT, and noted that this conclusion differs markedly from that reached by Field (1998)).”
Field et al Return Serve
Field et al., 2005 Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy.
This time they doubled down on the claim and implied that massage therapy can decrease cortisol levels on average by 31%. They came to this figure by identifying 17 studies from research performed at their own institute (Touch Research Institute), which examined the effect of massage on cortisol and calculated the average percentile decrease in cortisol levels.
On the surface this sounds fantastic and I can understand why therapists continue to preach this as gospel. BUT there are some warning lights flashing on the credibility dashboard when you look at how they got to this number.
Warning 1: They only used studies they conducted. (When a mining company insists on using their environmental impact study and excluding an independent report – would you accept it on face value?)
Warning 2: Regardless of the number of participants in a study, each was weighted the same. They also could have used a more rigorous approach to calculate effect sizes rather than manipulating averages which doesn’t give you an accurate story.
If you pick your groups right and manipulate how you report the data, you can make anything sound great … or gross. For example, here is some research on the number of massage therapists who love massaging hairy backs:
90%+75%+10% = 175% > > > 175%/3= 58.3%
Over 50% of massage therapists love massaging hairy backs!!
Vs
214ppl/32ppl = 6.68%
6% of therapists have a secret fetish for hairy backs!!
Warning 3: Control group data was omitted, so it is impossible to tell if the effect is better than the control and the changes, if present, are attributable to the intervention provided.
For example:
Claim – My moon dance has a 100% success rate at making the sun go down.
Evidence – I dance every night and the sun has never failed to go down.
^Sounds Legit ^
Control group – No dancing. Sun still went down.
^Moon dance boy has slick moves but he doesn’t make the sun go down^
The Studies, Reviews and Updates Continue
Beider and Moyer, 2007 Randomized controlled trials of pediatric massage: a review
This review focused only on two studies that measured salivary cortisol in paediatric samples who had received massage. Post-massage test results displayed a small and non-significant effect, which reflects the results in adults highlighted in Moyer et al (2004).
Field et al, 2007 Massage therapy research
Despite no change in methodology to address the limitations of the 1998 paper, the authors published this updated paper and came to the conclusion that “we can confidently say that stimulating pressure receptors under the skin leads to a cascade of events including … decreasing cortisol, which may facilitate immune function”.
Without taking into consideration studies which have conflicting findings to their own, it is hard to use this finding as a supporting argument to the claim that massage therapy reduces cortisol.
Moraska et al., 2008 Physiological adjustments to stress measures following massage therapy: a review of the literature
Moraska et al took a look at the physiological adjustments to stress measures following massage therapy. They performed a review of the literature in 2008 that included a larger number of studies as there was no exclusion of studies that had insufficient data for the calculation of effect size.
Whilst the review of the literature takes a look at the findings of the included studies, it does not conduct a detailed review of how the studies were designed and conducted, which leaves it susceptible to findings which may not be as credible when the methodology is broken down and accounted for. When reading statements such as the one below taken from the review discussion and conclusions section, we need to keep in mind the quality of information being reviewed.
“Our review of the literature indicated that massage therapy may have a beneficial effect on several physiological variables, specifically salivary cortisol and heart rate, when assessed immediately pre-post massage, but is null or inconclusive for the multiple-treatment effect on physiological indices of stress. A reduction in salivary cortisol was evident following a single massage treatment, yet salivary cortisol returns to initial values when assessed at a later time point, even if massage therapy was administered during the interim timeframe. The single-treatment effect, however, recurred as successive massage sessions also showed to be generally effective at lowering salivary cortisol.”
Moyer et al. 2011 Does massage therapy reduce cortisol? A comprehensive quantitative review
Not to leave any stone unturned, Moyer et al revisited the question and performed a comprehensive quantitative review of the topic.
In a non-conventional approach, they opted to review the literature using a percentage of change methodology as done by previous groups, as well as a conventional meta-analytic approach which is more rigorous and addresses the many confounds (other variables that are not being directly manipulated by the researchers) which are overlooked when using the percentage of change approach.
Overall, massage therapy’s ability to reduce cortisol resulted in mostly small and non-significant changes. However, they did find statistically significant changes in cortisol reduction when looking at the multiple-dose effect on children, although there were only 3 studies to draw from.
Interestingly, when they looked at the within-group percentage, they generally found smaller reductions than previous reviewers using this approach. But these results were still inconsistent with the findings of the more rigorous approach to assessing treatment effects.
Should/Can We Continue to Claim That Massage Reduces Cortisol?
Based on the current body of evidence, there isn’t much to support this claim.
Small changes may be seen but given how clinically insignificant they are, it is a stretch to suggest massage therapy has any real, direct effect on cortisol levels.
The argument for cortisol reduction often gets linked to the proven effect massage has on state and trait anxiety and depression but this is not the case and perpetuating such a claim without the supporting evidence often tarnishes our professional credibility.
As a profession that is continually looking for better recognition and acceptance of the wider medical community, it is important that we appraise the available research to the same standards that they will look to hold us to. Although it can be challenging to accept that many claims made previously about massage simply do not have the support of the evidence base, good research helps to guide further research. Every therapist can attest to the positive changes our clients have sought and received through massage therapy, and they will continue to vote with their feet. The current trend to overstate, glorify and outright make crap up in an effort to garner attention and generate business at the expense of professional credibility makes us no better than modern day snake oil salesman.
Those who came before us made huge advances on our behalf with very limited resources (imagine manually searching for research and having to travel to meet and talk with fellow therapists) but a strong desire to better understand what they were doing for the people who sought their help. We need to ask the tough questions, embrace the unknown and, most of all, be open to change as a profession so that the potential for further integration of our services in the health space continues to grow.
Let’s be better.
Further Reading/Watching
Short video clip(s) from Christopher Moyer explaining the results of his 2004 meta-analysis:
About the Author
Daniel Wonnocott is a RMT based out of Brisbane & Ipswich. He is always learning from the mistakes of those who take his advice and is struggling to come to terms with the realisation that yoda’s first word probably came after his second word. | https://blog.amt.org.au/index.php/2019/12/10/mythbusting-massage-reduces-cortisol/?fbclid=IwAR0ESR-fHPz-Z0RaQBW2B29pymPciVWC7UXNZTlhqzIzl9x4BScJ9-ileCk |
Study shows exposure to stress before birth could have long-lasting effects
Be it animals or humans, stress is thought to be a part of life, but what if that started before birth?
A new study led by anthropology professor Zaneta Thayer ’08 has found that humans and other vertebrate species that are exposed to prenatal stress tend to produce higher stress hormones after birth. Emory University anthropology professor Adrian Jaeggi, Northwestern University doctoral candidate Andrew Kim, Thayer and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign doctoral candidate Meredith Wilson conducted a meta-analysis on the effects of prenatal stress on stress hormone production in offspring. Their analysis, which was published in Scientific Reports, covered 114 results from 39 observational and experimental studies across 14 vertebrates.
The study focused on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis across species, which is the physiological system that produces stress hormones in all vertebrates. The researchers tested the strength of the effect of prenatal stress on offspring hormone levels for a variety of characteristics, according to Thayer. These characteristics included sex of offspring, age of offspring, whether the species were mammals and other temporal factors relating to the gestation period.
The study found that the effect size was similar across species, which indicates that researchers may be able to study animals’ stress responses and apply those findings to human research. This is particularly beneficial for studying maternal stress in humans because of potential ethical complications that could arise from experimental tests conducted on humans, Wilson said.
“Being able to know that we can apply animal models, and that these animal models are actually representing something very similar that is happening in humans, is very important for future research,” Wilson said.
Additionally, the study found that experimental research designs showed stronger effects than purely observational studies. While observational studies sometimes offer a more “volatile approach,” they are often the only source of information available to researchers, according to Jaeggi.
The combination of these two main findings indicates that experimental studies of other vertebrates may be effective methods for researching prenatal stress and subsequent responses in humans, Wilson noted.
Kim said that this study provides “a more granular understanding of the severity of prenatal stress exposure and to what extent it is really going to impact the offspring.”
The study developed from Thayer’s ongoing interest in prenatal environments and how they influence offspring growth, development and later life health, she said. She worked on related projects while on Dartmouth’s anthropology foreign study program in New Zealand when she was an undergraduate at the College.
Existing literature on prenatal stress has historically interpreted stress hormones in offspring as an adaptive response where offspring’s increased stress hormones help them be vigilant and avoid predators, Thayer said. These increased stress hormones additionally increase risk for developing poor health outcomes later in life. Thayer described the “trade-off” between increased chances of survival and decreased immune, metabolic and reproductive functions as a result of stress hormones.
Thayer said she wanted to try “to understand whether this kind of pattern is consistent across species,” so she initially conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the literature with Kim and Wilson.
After seeing her present the results of her literature review at the annual American Anthropological Association in 2015, Jaeggi said he approached Thayer to suggest that her study could undertake more quantitative components and become an empirical meta-analysis.
The purpose of meta-analyses is “to survey and synthesize the state of a field,” Jaeggi said. He said he saw potential for Thayer’s study to quantitatively measure the strength of the effect of prenatal stress on offspring stress hormones and combine the effects from different studies into an overall measure.
Wilson said that in addition to yielding substantive results, the study also produced novel quantitative data and information about the function and feedback of the hypothalamus and pituitary and adrenal glands that researchers can use in the future.
Though the study shows generally positive effects of prenatal stress on offspring stress hormone levels, Jaeggi noted that more work is still necessary to evaluate the effect of prenatal stress on later life response.
Beyond the study’s evolutionary and biological implications, Thayer added that there is room for more research to be done on the factors that influence stress.
“What this kind of research suggests is that some individuals might be predisposed to developing poor health in adulthood based on stress experiences in their moms before they’re even born,” Thayer said.
She said that she is interested next in researching what factors may mitigate “the impact of stress on biology,” because not everyone experiences stress in the same way. | https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2018/04/study-shows-exposure-to-stress-before-birth-could-have-long-lasting-effects |
Endocrinologist Sandeep Chaudhary, M.D., and cardiologists Robert Schneider, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.B.M.R., and César Molina, M.D., F.A.C.C.,* answer questions about effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique on Type 2 diabetes: Q: How can the Transcendental Meditation technique influence Type 2 diabetes, which is a biochemical problem related to the inability of the body to make or to use insulin? Dr. Chaudhary: When you look at diabetes as a process of manifesting disease in several stages, in the initial stages the person develops insulin resistance. This means that your insulin is not working as efficiently as it should, and consequently your blood sugars start to rise. As a secondary consequence, when the pancreas has been overworked for decades, it starts secreting less and less insulin. Now you need more insulin, but your pancreas can't make any more; in fact, it slowly starts to die off because it's been overworked for years. Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006** shows that the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique can help during the initial stages, by lowering insulin resistance. So even though it's true that some damage has been done to your pancreas over the years of developing diabetes, it doesn't mean you can't still be helped. Dr. Schneider: Stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenalin aggravate insulin and glucose levels. Reducing these neurohormones through the Transcendental Meditation technique helps to balance glucose and insulin in the blood. This helps to normalize metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Q: Does stress play a role in Type 2 diabetes as well? Dr. Chaudhary: Yes, for the same reason that it does in obesity. When you're stressed you tend to have higher cortisol levels, which increases insulin resistance; you also tend to eat the wrong foods, eat excessively, and eat at night because sleep patterns tend to be off in people who are anxious. Eating at night is particularly bad for diabetics, because there is a natural five-minute spike in growth hormone at 3:00 a.m. This leads to a temporary increase in insulin resistance and subsequent higher blood sugar. If you have eaten something at midnight, blood sugars can spike even higher because of this growth hormone effect. This makes medication less effective. So it's very important to control stress and anxiety when treating diabetes. As shown by research, the Transcendental Meditation technique can help by decreasing stress and regulating sleep patterns, so the person is sleeping through the night and not eating at midnight because of stress or anxiety. Dr. Molina: Since the Transcendental Meditation technique is a stress reduction technique, and since diabetes can be worsened by both physiological and psychological stress, it makes sense that the regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique may improve the ability to control diabetes. Related articles: ∙ Physicians recommend Transcendental Meditation for prevention, treatment of cardiovascular disease ∙ Specialists discuss role of the Transcendental Meditation Technique in treatment of diabetes Click here for more about Transcendental Meditation and diabetes, including related research showing the effects of the technique in promoting reduced stress and faster recovery from stress, and improved risk factors in patients with coronary heart disease. * Sandeep Chaudhary, M.D., earned a double board certification in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Loma Linda University Medical School and later earned his board certification in Endocrinology at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently the Medical Director of Wellspring Endocrinology at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California. Robert Schneider, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.B.M.R., has been awarded more than $20 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his pioneering research on natural approaches to heart disease. Dr. Schneider is the author of Total Heart Health and 100 medical research articles, and he has been featured in more than 1,000 media reports, including CNN Headline News, The New York Times, and Time magazine. César Molina, M.D., F.A.C.C., is Medical Director of the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA. He is a graduate of Yale University School of Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Molina has recently appeared in the international edition of CNN discussing the benefits of diet and exercise in the treatment and prevention of coronary heart disease. **Arch Inter Med. 2006;166:1218-1224 © Copyright 2011 American Association of Physicians Practicing the Transcendental Meditation Technique Global Good News comment: For the good news about Maharishi's seven-point programme to create a healthy, happy, prosperous society, and a peaceful world, please visit: Global Financial Capital of New York.
Translation software is not perfect; however if you would like to try it, you can translate this page using: | https://globalgoodnews.com/health-news-a.html?art=13133000782773529 |
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OBJECTIVE: The underlying changes in biological processes that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health in response to meditation have not been systematically explored. We performed a randomized, controlled study on the effects on brain and immune function of a well-known and widely used 8-week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation applied in a work environment with healthy employees. METHODS: We measured brain electrical activity before and immediately after, and then 4 months after an 8-week training program in mindfulness meditation. Twenty-five subjects were tested in the meditation group. A wait-list control group (N = 16) was tested at the same points in time as the meditators. At the end of the 8-week period, subjects in both groups were vaccinated with influenza vaccine. RESULTS: We report for the first time significant increases in left-sided anterior activation, a pattern previously associated with positive affect, in the meditators compared with the nonmeditators. We also found significant increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine among subjects in the meditation compared with those in the wait-list control group. Finally, the magnitude of increase in left-sided activation predicted the magnitude of antibody titer rise to the vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that a short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function. These findings suggest that meditation may change brain and immune function in positive ways and underscore the need for additional research.
Zotero Collections:
- Contemplation by Applied Subject,
- Psychiatry and Contemplation,
- Medical Research on Contemplative Practice,
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction / Cognitive Therapy,
- Psychotherapy and Contemplation,
- Health Care and Contemplation,
- Neuroscience and Contemplation,
- Physiology and Contemplation,
- Science and Contemplation
We conducted assessments of 28 children with impaired vision (VI group), with ages ranging from 12 to 17 years, and an equal number of age-matched, normal-sighted children (NS group). The VI group had significantly higher rates of breathing, heart rates, and diastolic blood pressure values compared to the NS group (Mann–Whitney U test). Twenty-four of the VI group formed pairs matched for age and degree of blindness, and we randomly assigned members of the pairs to two groups, viz., yoga and physical activity. Both groups spent an hour each day practicing yoga or working in the garden, depending on their group. After 3 weeks, the yoga group showed a significant decrease in breath rate (Wilcoxon paired signed ranks test). There was no change after the physical activity program. The results showed that children with visual impairment have higher physiological arousal than children with normal sight, with a marginal reduction in arousal following yoga.
Purpose Evaluate impact of breathing awareness meditation (BAM), Botvin LifeSkills® Training (LST), and health education control (HEC) on ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and sodium excretion in African American (AA) adolescents. Methods Following three consecutive days of systolic blood pressure (SBP) screenings, 166 eligible participants (i.e., SBP > 50th – 95th percentile) were randomized by school to either BAM (n = 53), LST (n= 69), or HEC (n=44). In-school intervention sessions were administered for three months by health education teachers. Before and after the intervention overnight urine samples and 24-hour ambulatory SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) were obtained. Results Significant group differences were found for changes in overnight SBP and SBP, DBP and HR over the 24-hour period and during school hours. The BAM treatment exhibited the greatest overall decreases on these measures (Bonferroni adjusted, ps <.05). For example, for school-time SBP, BAM showed a change of −3.7 mmHg compared to no change for LST and a change of −0.1 mmHg for HEC. There was a non-significant trend for overnight urinary sodium excretion (p = .07) with the BAM group displaying a reduction of −.92 ± 1.1 mEq/hr compared to increases of .89 ± 1.2 mEq/hr for LST, and .58±0.9 mEq/hr for HEC group. Conclusion BAM appears to improve hemodynamic function and may impact sodium handling among AA adolescents at increased risk for development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
<p>Forty six young asthmatics with a history of childhood asthma were admitted for yoga training. Effects of training on resting pulmonary functions, exercise capacity, and exercise-induced bronchial lability index were measured. Yoga training resulted in a significant increase in pulmonary function and exercise capacity. A follow-up study spanning two years showed a good response with reduced symptom score and drug requirements in these subjects. It is concluded that yoga training is beneficial for young asthmatics.</p>
<p>Summary Although meditation has been practiced worldwide for centuries, there are no reports that it causes epilepsy or increases the predisposition to it. Medical care utilization statistics and clinical studies indicate that individuals who regularly practice the Transcendental Meditation technique have fewer problems of the nervous system and specifically show decreased symptoms of epilepsy. The frequency, amplitude, areas of activation, and effects of the EEG during the Transcendental Meditation technique are completely different from those of epilepsy. There is no evidence that the Transcendental Meditation technique increases glutamate, which has been associated with epilepsy. With regard to serotonin, the relationship of serotonin to epilepsy has to be viewed in the context of the abnormal brain tissue that causes epilepsy. The serotonin increases that may occur through meditation have been associated with only beneficial effects.</p>
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Objective: Mindfulness is a process whereby one is aware and receptive to present moment experiences. Although mindfulness-enhancing interventions reduce pathological mental and physical health symptoms across a wide variety of conditions and diseases, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unknown. Converging evidence from the mindfulness and neuroscience literature suggests that labeling affect may be one mechanism for these effects. Methods: Participants (n = 27) indicated trait levels of mindfulness and then completed an affect labeling task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. The labeling task consisted of matching facial expressions to appropriate affect words (affect labeling) or to gender-appropriate names (gender labeling control task). Results: After controlling for multiple individual difference measures, dispositional mindfulness was associated with greater widespread prefrontal cortical activation, and reduced bilateral amygdala activity during affect labeling, compared with the gender labeling control task. Further, strong negative associations were found between areas of prefrontal cortex and right amygdala responses in participants high in mindfulness but not in participants low in mindfulness. Conclusions: The present findings with a dispositional measure of mindfulness suggest one potential neurocognitive mechanism for understanding how mindfulness meditation interventions reduce negative affect and improve health outcomes, showing that mindfulness is associated with enhanced prefrontal cortical regulation of affect through labeling of negative affective stimuli.
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<p>Background : Recent research suggests that the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program has positive effects on health, but little is known about the immediate physiological effects of different components of the program. Purpose : To examine the short-term autonomic and cardiovascular effects of one of the techniques employed in mindfulness meditation training, a basic body scan meditation. Methods : In Study 1, 32 healthy young adults (23 women, 9 men) were assigned randomly to either a meditation, progressive muscular relaxation or wait-list control group. Each participated in two laboratory sessions 4 weeks apart in which they practiced their assigned technique. In Study 2, using a within-subjects design, 30 healthy young adults (15 women, 15 men) participated in two laboratory sessions in which they practiced meditation or listened to an audiotape of a popular novel in counterbalanced order. Heart rate, cardiac respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and blood pressure were measured in both studies. Additional measures derived from impedance cardiography were obtained in Study 2. Results : In both studies, participants displayed significantly greater increases in RSA while meditating than while engaging in other relaxing activities. A significant decrease in cardiac pre-ejection period was observed while participants meditated in Study 2. This suggests that simultaneous increases in cardiac parasympathetic and sympathetic activity may explain the lack of an effect on heart rate. Female participants in Study 2 exhibited a significantly larger decrease in diastolic blood pressure during meditation than the novel, whereas men had greater increases in cardiac output during meditation compared to the novel. Conclusions : The results indicate both similarities and differences in the physiological responses to body scan meditation and other relaxing activities.</p>
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OBJECTIVE: Although the efficacy of meditation interventions has been examined among adult samples, meditation treatment effects among youth are relatively unknown. We systematically reviewed empirical studies for the health-related effects of sitting-meditative practices implemented among youth aged 6 to 18 years in school, clinic, and community settings. METHODS: A systematic review of electronic databases (PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane Reviews Database, Google Scholar) was conducted from 1982 to 2008, obtaining a sample of 16 empirical studies related to sitting-meditation interventions among youth. RESULTS: Meditation modalities included mindfulness meditation, transcendental meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Study samples primarily consisted of youth with preexisting conditions such as high-normal blood pressure, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and learning disabilities. Studies that examined physiologic outcomes were composed almost entirely of African American/black participants. Median effect sizes were slightly smaller than those obtained from adult samples and ranged from 0.16 to 0.29 for physiologic outcomes and 0.27 to 0.70 for psychosocial/behavioral outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Sitting meditation seems to be an effective intervention in the treatment of physiologic, psychosocial, and behavioral conditions among youth. Because of current limitations, carefully constructed research is needed to advance our understanding of sitting meditation and its future use as an effective treatment modality among younger populations.
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- Practices of Hindu Contemplation,
- Contemplation by Applied Subject,
- Contemplation by Tradition,
- Scientific Studies of Transcendental Meditation,
- Transcendental Meditation (TM),
- Psychiatry and Contemplation,
- Medical Research on Contemplative Practice,
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction / Cognitive Therapy,
- Psychotherapy and Contemplation,
- K-12 Education and Contemplation,
- Health Care and Contemplation,
- Education and Contemplation,
- Hindu Contemplation
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Transcendental Meditation (TM®) is derived from ancient yogic teachings. Both short- and long-term physiological correlates of TM® practice have been studied. EEG effects include increased alpha, theta, and gamma frequencies and increased coherence and synchrony. Neuronal hypersynchrony is also a cardinal feature of epilepsy, and subjective psychic symptoms, apnea, and myoclonic jerking are characteristic of both epileptic seizures and meditative states. Clinical vignettes have highlighted the potential risk of human kindling from repetitive meditation in persons practicing TM®, but clinical studies of similar techniques suggest that meditation may also be a potential antiepileptic therapy. Future clinical studies of meditating subjects using video/EEG monitoring are warranted to determine whether behavioral phenomena have an underlying epileptic basis, and prospective clinical trials of TM® in subjects with well-delineated epilepsy syndromes are necessary to establish the safety of this technique and its potential efficacy for seizure reduction and improvement of quality of life.
Zotero Collections: | https://sources.mandala.library.virginia.edu/sources-search?field_zotero_collections=3063&view_mode=collection |
Posts Tagged ‘scientific articles’
Here are all the posts tagged with ‘scientific articles’, newest first:
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Dramatic PTSD relief for African refugees
A significant percentage of veterans returning from wars exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is now recognized as a …
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Report: TM lowers blood pressure
A major report from the American Heart Association (AHA) based on evaluation of data published from 2006 to 2011 concludes that …
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TM promotes HIV patients’ wellbeing
A first-of-its-kind University of Pennsylvania study has found that Transcendental Meditation can help improve vitality and other quality-of-life factors in patients …
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Study on catecholamine levels
Title: Catecholamine levels in practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation technique Authors: Infante, J.R., Torres-Avisbal, M., Pinel, P., Vallejo, J.A., Peran, F., …
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Study on effects on mental health
Effects of Transcendental Meditation on mental health: a before-after study Authors: Yunesian, M., Aslani, A., Vash, J.H., Yazdi, A.B. Published: Clinical …
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Study on smoking cessation
The role of the Transcendental Meditation technique in promoting smoking cessation: A longitudinal study Authors: Royer, Ann Published: Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, …
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TM cuts mortality rate by 48%
A study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes found that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation …
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Study on stress and brain function
Effects of Transcendental Meditation practice on brain functioning and stress reactivity in college students Authors: Travis, F.; Haaga, D.A.; Hagelin, J.; …
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Study on alchoholism treatment
Effectiveness of broad spectrum approaches to relapse prevention in severe alcoholism: A long-term, randomized, controlled trial of Transcendental Meditation, EMG biofeedback …
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Study in post-Vietnam adjustment
Transcendental meditation in the treatment of post-Vietnam adjustment Authors: Brooks, J.S., Scarano, T. Published: Journal of Counselling and Development 1985; vol …
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Study in veterans with PTSD
Effects of Transcendental Meditation in Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Pilot Study …
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Study on left ventricular mass
Impact Of Transcendental Meditation On Left Ventricular Mass In African American Adolescents Authors: Barnes, V.A., Kapuku, G.K., Treiber, F.A. Published: Evidence …
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Study on stress and carotid atherosclerosis
Effects of stress reduction on carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive African Americans Authors: Castillo-Richmond, A., Schneider, R.H., Alexander, C.N., Cook, R., Myers, …
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Study on cardiovascular function
Impact of Transcendental Meditation on cardiovascular function at rest and during acute stress in adolescents with high normal blood pressure Authors: …
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Study on stress reduction and mortality
Long-Term Effects of Stress Reduction on Mortality in Persons ≥55 Years of Age With Systemic Hypertension Authors: Schneider, R.H., Alexander, C.N., …
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Study on patients with congestive heart failure
Effectiveness of Transcendental Meditation on Functional Capacity and Quality of Life of African Americans with Congestive Heart Failure: A Randomized Control …
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Study on stress and heart disease
Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease Part 2: Effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation Program in Treatment and Prevention Authors: Walton, K.G., Schneider, …
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Study on metabolic syndrome
Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation on Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Subjects With Coronary Heart Disease …
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Study on stress and blood pressure
Stress reduction programs in patients with elevated blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis Authors: Rainforth, M.V., Schneider, R.H., Nidich, S.I., …
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Kirkevold M. Integrative nursing analysis ? an important strategy to additional the development of nursing science and nursing apply. Subheadings and subsections may help to underscore the structure of your writing an education literature review review. Organizing by technique, very comparable to organizing by theme, puts comparable sources together and illustrates what impact methodology has on final product.
A abstract of your evaluation and evaluation of the reviewed works and the way it is related to its parent self-discipline, scientific endeavor, or profession. Give an overview of your analysis matter and what prompted it. Before writing, you need to think about a number of different ways of organizing or categorizing the literature you’ve checked out and contemplate prioritizing the readings, or grouping them by methodology or theme. If you are attached to a university, the library might be the most effective place to start.
They organized info to convey ahead these mechanisms where patient portals contribute to outcomes and the variation in outcomes throughout totally different contexts. They originated from criticisms of positivist systematic evaluations which centre on their ?simplistic? underlying assumptions. As defined above, systematic reviews search to determine causation. Such logic is acceptable for fields like medicine and schooling where findings of randomized managed trials may be aggregated to see whether or not a new therapy or intervention does enhance outcomes. This type examines literature selectively to find a way to assist or refute an argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical drawback already established in the literature.
You will also need to show your readers which research is related to understanding your project and clarify how you place your work in relationship to what has come earlier than your project. In order to litreview.net/literature-review-map/ do that, it may be helpful to think about the nature of your research project. For instance, your research project may give attention to extending present analysis by applying it in a brand new context. Or you might be questioning the findings of existing research, or you might be pulling collectively two or more beforehand unconnected threads of analysis. Or your project could additionally be bringing a new theoretical lens or interpretation to existing questions.
Practical steerage is provided on the fundamentals of systematic reviewing and also on superior techniques corresponding to meta-analysis. The authors advise some freely available or inexpensive open source/access assets to assist college students tips on how to carry out a systemic evaluate. An empirical literature evaluation collects, creates, arranges, and analyzes numeric data reflecting the frequency of themes, topics, authors and/or methods present in existing literature. Empirical literature reviews current their summaries in quantifiable phrases utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. A graduate-level literature review is a compilation of essentially the most significant previously published research in your subject.
WikiHow marks an article as reader-approved as soon as it receives enough optimistic suggestions. In this case, 90% of readers who voted found the article useful, earning it our reader-approved status. There are eight references cited in this article, which could be found at the backside of the page. The Joint Legislative and Audit Commission produced a 2014 report on the causes of increased tuition in Virginia. The bipartisan fee spend two years analyzing the info and located that the decrease in public funding accounted for over half the rise in tuition over the past ten years. Why the present scholarly consensus (if there is one! ) is what it is.
This part differs slightly between https://www.publico.es/sociedad/radiografia-educacion-concertada-ensenanza-concertada-dispara-gana-20000-alumnos-ano.html evaluations which are a half of research articles and narrative evaluations. The section describes the principle conclusions from evaluation of all the current research and places forth further avenues for research. This section requires crucial interpretation by the writer such that the evaluation adds worth to present literature. It ought to convey out ideas/hypotheses that may explain any discrepancies and provide solutions to current problems.
It makes an attempt to collect all current evidence on a selected topic in order to answer a particular research query. Authors create criteria for deciding on which evidence is included or excluded earlier than beginning the systematic evaluate. This helps reduce the chance of bias and makes its findings extra reliable.
The analysis course of was particularly difficult when there was no Internet. To examine major and secondary sources on historical past, students have been spending lengthy hours in the libraries. Even though a literature evaluate describes concepts from different authors, you should preserve your voice. Try to start and end the paragraph with your statements and phrases. Selecting the proper topic in your literature review is an important step in the path of writing an effective paper. It?s an overview and evaluation of what has been found, explored, and written on the topic of a given research paper.
Spend enough time reading the articles to understand them. You will want to consider and critique them and write a synthesis related to your research question. There are a few tips we haven?t covered in this blog, together with the way to determine on an area of research, develop an attention-grabbing storyline, and highlight gaps in the literature. We?ve listed a couple of blogs here that might help you with this, alongside some literature evaluate examples and outlines to get you started. It ought to clarify the reasons for choosing the literature you’ve and description the structure your literature evaluate is to observe. Alternatively, you might find from reading your papers that frequent themes emerge and it could be simpler to develop your evaluation round these, i.e. A thematic review.
The record of references will include full citations for all of the gadgets talked about in the lit review. The conclusion will summarize the principle findings, clarify how this evaluation of the literature supports the analysis to follow, and will point the direction for additional research. A conclusion, which summarizes the important thing findings, the primary agreements and disagreements within the literature, your overall perspective and any gaps or areas for additional analysis. An introduction, which should give the reader an overview of why you may be writing the evaluate and clarify the relevance of the topic.
Reporters can stand up to date on a public policy concern quickly by studying a research literature evaluation or meta-analysis. This article from the Education Writers Association explains tips on how to find and use them. The literature evaluate process contains the next steps. Some steps might have to be revisited once the research and writing process begins. | https://radostnasprava.baptist.sk/2022/04/literature-evaluate-vs-annotated-bibliography-vs-research-paper-what-is-the-difference/ |
How Practicing Mindfulness May Be Linked to Better Glucose Levels
Individuals suffering from diabetes who also practice mindfulness, a mental exercise focusing on the present moment, may experience improved blood glucose levels according to a study by Brown University researchers. Because sustained high blood glucose levels can lead to complications of both pre and full blown diabetes, these findings present one way to prevent or better manage the disease.
The study measured several physical and psychological health indicators in 399 volunteers who participated in the New England Family Study.
A representative of Brown University provided me with a copy of the manuscript that Dr. Loucks had written for publication which allowed me to learn all the details of the study and provide an analysis of how the findings relate to those of us who have to live with diabetes or prediabetes.
One of these health indicators was blood glucose levels. Another was dispositional mindfulness. Professor Loucks defines dispositional mindfulness as “someone’s awareness and attention to what they are thinking and feeling in the moment.”
Details of the mindfulness-blood glucose association study
Professor Loucks and his colleagues found that the people who score highest on the scale for mindfulness were significantly more likely to have healthy blood glucose levels than the others in the study. The researchers were able to find this association by testing the participants for seven psychological and physiological factors, including blood glucose and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, or MAAS, a questionnaire to determine dispositional mindfulness.
The most mindful participants, those who scored six on the MAAS scale of one to six, were 35 percent more likely to have healthy glucose levels under 100 mg/dl (5.56 mmol/l) than the people in the study who had MAAS scores lower than four. While the difference is statistically significant, the results shown an association and to establish causality it needs to be replicated by prospective studies.
Although mindfulness comes from the spiritual practice of Buddhism, it is not religious. In fact, even some Buddhist traditions in the West, including Insight Meditation, strip away years of ritual. In addition, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, or MBSR, and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy have completely secularized mindfulness.
What is mindfulness?
The founder of MBSR, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, defines mindfulness in his 1994 best-seller Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindful Meditation in Everyday Life as “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”
Dispositional mindfulness differs somewhat from the traditional concept of mindfulness in that it is not necessarily being purposeful or nonjudgmental. A study published in 2015 suggests that while one-third of dispositional mindfulness is genetic, two-thirds can be learned.
Meditation is a technique that help many people learn to become more mindful, and I have had a daily meditation practice for years. It does help me to become ever more mindful. While my average blood glucose level is close to 100 mg/dl, based on my most recent A1C test result of 5.3 percent, I know that one person’s experience is only anecdotal evidence.
But this new study is one of the first to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and diabetes in hundreds of people. While we have to think of it as being a preliminary finding, becoming more mindful probably can benefit all of us who have diabetes.
See more helpful articles: | https://www.healthcentral.com/article/how-practicing-mindfulness-may-be-linked-to-better-glucose-levels |
Most of us have experienced significant pain at some stage in our lives, and it’s often an indicator that something is amiss and action is required –– whether that means avoiding injury, addressing an underlying health issue, or simply resting and recuperating. Pain can also be present without injury or obvious cause, and conversely, injury can be present without pain. All of this ultimately suggests that our brains have a degree of control in these matters.
The subject of our brains controlling pain can be difficult to navigate, with opinions vary from some having the belief that all pain is psychological to others entirely disregarding the notion. A New York Times recap of the book “Healing Back Pain: The Mind" frames the issue well. While the recap acknowledges that the idea of pain being psychological may go too far, it also quotes a neuroscientist stating that “The idea is now mainstream that a substantial proportion of people can be helped by rethinking the causes of their pain.” That’s not to say that many scientists believe that all or most chronic pain is purely psychological; in fact the majority now believes that pain can be a disease in itself that is sensed by the brain, and not just something that begins within the body.
Meanwhile, we also know that a lot of non-physical pain –– such as stress and trauma –– is actually due to brain changes, as opposed to “moods” or “feelings," and so on. This is a subject that has been discussed in depth by Dr. Bassel Van Der Kolk, a trauma expert and the author of “The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.” Scribd’s review of Van Der Kolk’s book reveals a central point that speaks to the broader discussion of pain and the brain, which is that traumatic stress “literally rearranges the brain’s wiring.” With the onus on pleasure, engagement, control, and trust, research suggests that these areas can be reactivated to distract from the pain of trauma through engaging in alternative, non-medicinal therapies. It is similarly believed that for those suffering with chronic pain, the same mind-body therapy methods may be utilized to re-train the brain to manage and alleviate pain by altering the way it’s perceived.
Today’s neuroscientists can actually prove that the brain is continually morphing and can be manipulated to be more suitable to our needs as we grow and our circumstances and environments change. Just as we can learn a new skill or change a long-term habit, we can teach ourselves to perceive pain differently. It’s now evidenced, for example, that meditation can restructure your brain and result in less pain sensitivity. And if the same meditation is practiced long-term, these changes can become more permanent. We looked into the studies behind how meditation can rewire your brain back in 2017 in fact, and found that direct evidence was drawn by Harvard Medical School through body scanning with a focus on breathing awareness and associated meditation. Areas of the brain associated with high levels of stress were reduced after a period of focused mindfulness training.
Focusing the mind on breathing patterns is also effective in relieving short-term chronic pain. The Lamaze breathing techniques have been used for over seventy years to help in childbirth, and more recently breathing patterns incorporating breath holding known as 4-7-8 have been beneficial in reducing the need for addictive narcotics after, total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty surgeries.
Altering the ways in which we think and what we focus on can be effective remedies for pain as well. Because stress and pain are closely connected and can influence one another, negative emotions can interfere with our ability to manage pain. Therefore, if we employ positive thinking to counter some effects of stress, we also stand to decrease the impact of pain in some instances. Similarly, by lowering our expectations of impending pain, we can lower the ultimate perception of it; refocusing and essentially withdrawing any attention to pain has been proven to decrease the pain's severity.
Used widely for treating a variety of conditions and mental health issues, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) can also be an effective therapy for pain management and relief. Using this tapping technique promotes cognitive restructuring and reverses unfavorable neural pathways. To give an interesting example, NBC News reported on how this technique was used to combat a sugar addiction. The therapy proved successful and the patient noted that she felt she was able to regain control, and now experiences emotional freedom. That may not have to do with pain management, but it demonstrates how EFT works on the body’s meridian system using focused acupressure. By tapping on acupuncture points, subjects induce calmness, and can ease pain and encourage deep relaxation –– often producing results in a short amount of time.
Ultimately, the correlation between our physical and mental wellbeing is quite extraordinary, and it is thus unsurprising that one can severely impact the other. And while most who study the matter will still argue that it's a stretch to suggest pain is entirely in the mind, it's encouraging to know that there are ways in which mindfulness and brain-training techniques can achieve positive outcomes. In some cases at least, it is possible to teach your brain to manage and relieve pain.
Content intended only for the use of breathesimple.com
Written by Chloe Peters
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Does practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique help to keep you healthy? Leukocytes or white blood cells typically make up 4000-10,000 for every microliter of blood. The white blood cell count is an indicator of the state of body's immune system. A group of researchers at Infanta Cristina Hospital in Spain have published an interesting study which measures the effect of regular TM practice on one's immune system. TM has 'significant effect' on quantity of immune cells The researchers measured different subsets of leukocytes and lymphocytes—the cells in our blood which help to fight off viruses and bacteria. A control group of 16 healthy subjects was compared against a group of 19 people who regularly practice either Transcendental Meditation or the more advanced Transcendental Meditation Sidhi Programme technique. This elegantly simple method pointed to a significant difference in the level of immune cells. Stress relief and the strength of the immune system are closely linked. A case study: Police officer Steve Gordon got rid of severe post-traumatic stress syndrome with the help of meditation practice. As the scientists stated in their conclusion, ''The technique of meditation studied seems to have a significant effect on immune cells. This effect is manifest in the different circulating levels of lymphocyte subsets analyzed.'' Though the causes of this enhancement of immune system were beyond the scope of the study, the authors put forward the hypothesis that the results obtained could be largely explained by TM reducing overall stress levels. Academic reference:
Maria L Dominguez, Carmen Duran, Lucia Garcia, Jose R Infante, Fernando Peran, Juan I Rayo, Ana Roldan, Justo Serrano. 'Levels of immune cells in transcendental meditation practitioners'. International Journal of Yoga, Vol. 7, No. 2, July-December, 2014, pp. 147-151.
Full text online Source: TM Home Read related articles: ∙ 10 biggest benefits of Transcendental Meditation ∙ 40 most recent scientific research articles on TM ∙ How does meditation impact stress levels? Copyright © 2014 TMhome
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How convincing is the science driving the popularity of mindfulness meditation? Brown University researcher has some surprising answers (tricycle):
“Given the widespread belief that meditation practice is scientifically certified to be good for just about everything, the results of a recent major analysis of the research might come as some surprise…
(Question) As a scientist and as a Buddhist, what do you make of the AHRQ report? (Answer) The report sounds pretty fair. This review—and pretty much every one before it—has found that meditation isn’t any better than any other kind of therapy.
The important thing to understand about the report is that they were looking for active control groups, and they found that only 47 out of over 18,000 studies had them, which is pretty telling: it suggests that there are fewer than 50 high-quality studies on meditation.
(Question) Is the data better for some applications of meditation than others? (Answer) I have done very careful reviews of the efficacy of meditation in two areas in which there are high levels of popular misconception about how much data we have: sleep and education. The data for sleep, for example, is really not that strong. And the AHRQ article concurs: it judges the level of evidence for meditation’s ability to improve sleep as “insufficient.”
What I found from my study was that meditation made people’s brains more awake. From a very basic brain point of view, what happens in your brain when you fall asleep? The frontal cortex deactivates. Nobody agrees what meditation does to the brain, but across the board, one of the most common findings is that meditation increases blood flow and activity in the prefrontal cortex. So how is that going to improve sleep? It doesn’t make any sense. It is completely incompatible with sleeping if you are doing it right…This is a very interesting example of the confusion that arises in the confluence between modern secular and traditional Buddhist contexts. In the buddhadharma, meditation is never used to promote sleep. It is for waking up.
(Question) What would you say is the way forward for scientific research on meditation? What would you like to see happen? (Answer) … There needs to be more dialogue and collaboration between Buddhists and dharma teachers and the medical community—clinicians, people with training in all psychiatric problems, but particularly in trauma, which is something not really addressed in traditional Buddhist frameworks. One of the statistics that blows my mind is that the main delivery system for Buddhist meditation in the modern West isn’t Buddhism; it is science, medicine, and schools. There is a tidal wave behind this movement. MBSR practitioners already account for the majority of new meditators and soon they are going to be the vast majority. If Buddhists want to have any say, they better stop criticizing and start collaborating, working with instead of just against. Otherwise, they might get left in the dust of the “McMindfulness” movement.”
–> Keep reading the great, in-depth interview Here.
Study: Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (JAMA Internal Medicine)
- Importance: Many people meditate to reduce psychological stress and stress-related health problems. To counsel people appropriately, clinicians need to know what the evidence says about the health benefits of meditation.
- Objective: To determine the efficacy of meditation programs in improving stress-related outcomes (anxiety, depression, stress/distress, positive mood, mental health–related quality of life, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, pain, and weight) in diverse adult clinical populations.
- Findings: After reviewing 18 753 citations, we included 47 trials with 3515 participants. Mindfulness meditation programs had moderate evidence of improved anxiety, depression, and pain, and low evidence of improved stress/distress and mental health–related quality of life. We found low evidence of no effect or insufficient evidence of any effect of meditation programs on positive mood, attention, substance use, eating habits, sleep, and weight. We found no evidence that meditation programs were better than any active treatment (ie, drugs, exercise, and other behavioral therapies).
- Conclusions and Relevance: Clinicians should be aware that meditation programs can result in small to moderate reductions of multiple negative dimensions of psychological stress. Thus, clinicians should be prepared to talk with their patients about the role that a meditation program could have in addressing psychological stress. Stronger study designs are needed to determine the effects of meditation programs in improving the positive dimensions of mental health and stress-related behavior.
Related articles: | https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2014/06/06/does-mindfulness-work-hint-first-define-work/ |
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/4284
|Title:||ANALYSIS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AS RELATED TO SOME PSYCHOSOCIAL AND CAREER VARIABLES OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY TEACHERS|
|Authors:||ACHALU, E. I.|
|Issue Date:||Dec-1994|
|Abstract:||This study investigated occupational stress as related to psychosocial variables of job satisfaction and psychological well-being of teachers in the first generation Nigerian Universities. Also the study assessed the differences in occupational stress experienced by the teachers with respect to career variables such job status and years of teaching experience as well as biographical characteristics namely, age and sex. The research method was a cross-sectional survey design. Cluster sampling technique was used to select teachers in the first generation Nigerian universities. A total of 300 university teachers responded to the Teacher Stress and Job Satisfaction Questionnaire as well as the General Health Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Multiple regression, chi-square, t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. Scheffe post-hoc test was used to detect differences among groups where ANOVA was found significant. The results show that an overwhelming majority of the teachers (67.0%) were experiencing moderate levels of occupational stress while 15.0% and 18.0% were experiencing low and high levels of stress respectively. Despite this, 97.0% of the teachers reported moderate to high levels of job satisfaction with only 3.0% reporting low job satisfaction. Also a majority of the teachers (94.0%) reported moderate to high levels of psychological well-being. The reason for the findings are not clear. but it could be that the teachers have learnt to cope with the stressors encountered in the course of their work. Possibly, it could that the reported high levels of job satisfaction may have helped to moderate or reduce the impact of stress on the teachers' health. Regression analysis revealed a positive and significant relationship between occupational stress and job dissatisfaction (r=.43; P < .001); between occupational stress and psychological symptoms (r = .35; P < .001); and between job dissatisfaction and psychological symptoms (r = .45; P < .001). These findings are consistent with previous studies on teacher stress. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in total occupational stress levels with respect to age, sex and years of teaching experience. However, there was a significant difference in stress levels experienced by the teachers with respect to job status. Professors and Readers reported the lowest levels of stress followed by Senior Lecturers with junior lecturers-experiencing the most stress. The study identified the major sources of occupational stress among the Nigerian university teachers. Shortage of teaching materials, poor working conditions, heavy workload, time pressure, overcrowded classrooms, low salary and unfavourable conditions of service ranked accordingly as the most significant causes of stress. Finally, the present study indicated that occupational stress, job satisfaction and psychological health are closely related and that greater stress leads to low job satisfaction and some degree of psychological dysfunction. Thus occupational stress has negative effects on teachers' health and well-being. Moreover the results support the view in literature that teaching is a satisfying but a demanding and stressful occupation. Based on the findings of this study recommendations were made on how to reduce occupational stress and improve the health and quality of life of university teachers.|
|Description:||A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN|
|URI:||http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/4284|
|Appears in Collections:||scholarly works|
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This landmark study found the TM technique reduced the stress hormone plasma cortisol by 30%, whereas it did not change significantly in control subjects during ordinary relaxation.
Why TM
Health Research
Health Research on the TM Technique
Reducing the stress hormone cortisol
Stanford study on anxiety
Researchers at Stanford University conducted a meta-analysis of 146 different independent studies on the effect of various meditation techniques on anxiety. The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Psychology, found that the TM technique is twice as effective in reducing anxiety.
Reduced insomnia
The most common causes of insomnia are stress and anxiety. Many research studies have found that the TM technique is highly effective at producing a state of deep inner calm. Many people report an immediate improvement in their sleep quality after learning the TM technique. | http://tmwellbeing.com/why-tm/health-research/ |
NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is an agency of the Government of New York City. The Division of Consumer Protection advocates consumers’ interest before legislative and regulatory bodies, mediates and resolves consumer complaints.
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New York City Ratchets-Up Consequences for Businesses With Outstanding Fines
NYC Department of Consumers Affairs DCA Defense Lawyer Recent reports indicate that local businesses with outstanding fines may be facing licensure suspension and revocations. The policy is clear – deter misconduct in tandem with helping the city capture the money it is owed. Accumulating Debt According to a recent report by Crain’s New York Business,…Read Article...
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NYC DCA Charges For-Profit College With Deceptive And Predatory Practices
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs has announced a lawsuit against Berkeley College – a for-profit colleges in New York State – for allegedly violating NYC consumer protection laws and debt collection rules. The lawsuit alleges numerous violations and wide-ranging consumer harm, and seeks to end Berkeley’s alleged unlawful practices and restore any…Read Article...
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New York Attorney General False Advertising Claims Not Preempted
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NYC Department of Consumer Affairs Announces Rules to Combat Predatory Practices in the Used Car Industry
NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) defense lawyer Richard B. Newman reports that the DCA recently announced that all used car dealers in New York City are now required to provide consumers with a Consumer Bill of Rights, a financing disclosure form and a cancellation option. The foregoing must be provided in the language used…Read Article...
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2015 Consumer Complaint Survey Report
According to the latest report from the annual survey conducted by Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators (NACPI), phone IRS agents and other imposter scams topped the list of the quickly-growing complaints to state and local consumer protection agencies last year. The survey consisted of thirty-three consumer agencies from…Read Article...
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New York OAG Announces Agreements with Marketers That Engaged in Deceptive Advertising, Ordering and Customer Service Practices
The New York State Attorney General has settled charges with two separate companies for deceptive sales practices that resulted in hidden charges to consumers that order products marketed on television. The agreements require Tristar Products, Inc. and Product Trend, LLC to make significant reforms to their advertising, ordering processes and customer service practices. According to…Read Article...
Please contact us at (212) 756-8777, via email to [email protected] or via our Online Case Submission Form. | https://www.hinchnewman.com/nyc-department-of-consumer-affairs/ |
Abstract:
In the fall of 2010, in one of the largest scandals to ever hit the American court system, information gathered from lawsuits across the country revealed that tens of thousands of foreclosure filings were likely fraudulent – if not outright criminal. These revelations sparked a nation-wide investigation by all 50 state attorneys general to assess not only the extent of the scandal and its potential impacts but also potential legal and policy responses to such behavior. One of the tools at the state attorneys general’s disposal that might rein in this behavior includes each state’s Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices (UDAP) laws. Such laws typically prohibit “unfair” and “deceptive” practices and often give consumers, as well as state attorneys general, the ability to bring affirmative litigation to rein in practices that violate their terms. UDAP laws serve a critical consumer protection function by filling in gaps in the law where other, more targeted statutes might not cover practices that have a harmful impact on consumers. Since their inception, UDAP laws have been used to rein in abusive practices in such areas as used car sales, telemarketing and even the sale of tobacco products. This paper explores the availability of UDAP laws and the remedies they provide to rein in the range of practices revealed in the so-called “robo-sign scandal.” It concludes that such practices – the false affidavits, reckless claims and improper notarizations – all violate the essence of most state UDAP laws; accordingly, the remedies available under such laws may be wielded by state attorneys general to halt abusive foreclosure practices throughout the nation. Such remedies include civil penalties, actual and punitive damages, attorney’s fees and injunctions. What’s more, UDAP actions in light of robo-sign abuses could help chart a path towards a more robust mortgage modification regime, one that would result in principal reduction, which is the clearest path out of the current crisis.
CONCLUSION
The robo-sign scandal has exposed deep flaws in the practices of many mortgage lenders and mortgage servicers. These flaws expose those entities to liability under many states’ consumer protection laws, notably the collection of state statutes considered UDAP laws. These UDAP laws are broad in their reach and offer litigants pursuing claims under them a range of remedies, from damages to injunctions. The threat of litigation from lawsuits under these statutes is real, and the pressure to settle such actions in the wake of admissions of abusive foreclosure practices will be strong. State attorneys general pursuing such claims, and wielding such threats, can work with lenders and servicers to come to sensible solutions that not only root out abusive practices, but help reform the mortgage market. There is no better place to start in this road to reform than working with lenders to write down and forgive mortgage principal, to help align borrower debt with the assets that secure that debt. Short of such settlements, financial institutions face the prospect of stiff penalties, multiple damage claims and injunctions preventing them from bringing tainted foreclosure actions. Aligning borrower debt to home values will help re-align and balance incentives, reducing the risk of foreclosure for hundreds of thousands of borrowers. Such a re-alignment will also help stabilize the mortgage market by reducing the number of mortgages in the foreclosure pipeline and slowing the flow of properties entering the mortgage market at reduced, post-foreclosure prices. Once supply slows, demand will rise, as will prices. The state attorneys general have an opportunity, through strategic use of their UDAP enforcement powers, to pursue claims that foreclosure practices ran roughshod over consumer protection laws and the laws that govern those foreclosures. This opportunity can give rise to critical advances in stabilizing home prices and the mortgage market, and reduce volatility in those prices and markets. State law enforcement officials should not hesitate to pursue these claims and utilize all tools at their disposal to move from scandal to settlement, and uncertainty to resolution. | https://4closurefraud.org/2011/01/06/robosigned-leverage-state-enforcement-actions-in-the-wake-of-the-robo-sign-scandal/ |
MGL c.93A - Regulation of Business Practices for Consumer Protection - is the main consumer protection law in Massachusetts. Also known as the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 93A was enacted in 1967 as a "little FTC Act" - or counterpart to the Federal Trade Commission Act. Under Chapter 93A, any person can sue any other who commits an unfair or deceptive act or practice while engaged in trade or commerce, resulting in loss of money or property.
** See Massachusetts General Laws Annotated (in print or on Westlaw), or Annotated Laws of Massachusetts (in print or on Lexis), for the annotated statute which includes notes of decision and references to other primary and secondary sources.
REGULATIONS
940 CMR 3 - Office of the Attorney General: Consumer Protection Division: General Regulations
MASSACHUSETTS PRACTICE
Mass. Practice (available in print and on WestlawNext) is a state legal encyclopedia. Consult the volumes on Consumer Law (35, 35A, 36 and 36A) for an overview of topics in consumer protection. For example:
LAW REVIEWS / LAW JOURNALS
In addition to their expert analysis, law review and law journal articles are well-researched and contain citations to primary law and other secondary sources. Find them on Westlaw,Lexis, and especially in HeinOnline's Law Journal Library.
Search terms to try: consumer protection, 93A, deceptive practices, deceptive trade, unfair trade, deceptive advertising, unfair trade practices, commercial law
To locate other relevant books and articles in ScholarOneSearch, try a SUBJECT search using one of these Library of Congress subject headings:
Thank you to Brittany Strojny (Legal Reference Librarian, 2015) for her contributions to this guide. | https://lawlibraryguides.neu.edu/ConsumerProtection |
Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to discuss consumer protection in the information society. I plan to give you an overview of the law enforcement and regulatory steps taken by government authorities in the United States, particularly by the Federal Trade Commission, on which I serve. Just as the information society has hastened the globalization of trade, it has also made it possible for fraudulent marketers to use new techniques to extend their reach to victims in other countries. I will draw upon the FTC's experience to highlight some of the difficulties and possible approaches to enforcement against fraudulent cross-border marketing. I also will share with you the Commission's approach to consumer protection in the long distance telemarketing and online communications arenas, and suggest a few ideas to consider in looking at possible approaches to regulation at the global level. Before I begin, I must let you know that the views I express here are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the FTC or any other Commissioner.
Because some of you may not have had much contact with the Federal Trade Commission, I thought it might be helpful to outline what the Commission is and how it operates. The Federal Trade Commission is the only agency at the national level with a broad consumer protection law enforcement mandate. That mandate comes from section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act ("FTC Act"), which makes illegal unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. The Commission also enforces a variety of other consumer protection statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, that prohibit specific trade practices and provide that violations are to be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the FTC Act.
In addition, the Commission has the power to promulgate and enforce industry-wide Trade Regulation Rules addressing unfair or deceptive practices. The Commission also provides guidance on how to comply with Section 5 through issuance of industry-wide Guides, and both the Commission and its staff may issue advisory opinions responding to particular questions.
In the past year and a half, the FTC has hosted several conferences addressing consumer protection issues raised by marketing in the information society. In the spring of 1995, we looked at advertising, marketing, electronic payment systems, consumer privacy issues, and industry self-regulation of online marketing. This meeting was followed in November by the FTC's hearings on Consumer Protection Policy in the New High-Tech, Global Marketplace, which focused on the rapidly changing technologies of the information society. And just a few months ago, the Commission heard from many industry representatives about the effect of online transactions on consumer privacy, especially in the context of advertising to children.
The Commission's Global Marketplace hearings in November looked broadly at how information technologies are evolving, how they are used for marketing, and the implications for consumers. Our staff's report on the hearings provides an in-depth discussion of the issues raised and the testimony presented at the hearings. The Global Marketplace hearings highlighted the positive effect of new technologies on marketing. The hearings also addressed how these new technologies will challenge law enforcers by creating new opportunities to commit fraud. Effective consumer protection will require not only government enforcement against fraud and deception, but also private self-regulatory initiatives and the combined efforts of government, business, and consumer groups to equip consumers with the tools to protect themselves.
Fraudulent Cross-Border Marketing
Advances in communications technologies allow fraudulent marketers to communicate easily with their victims in foreign countries and to transfer their ill-gotten gains across borders. The transnational nature of a scam may make it very difficult for law enforcers to catch the perpetrators and to compensate the victims. In particular, complicated questions of jurisdiction and choice of law can pose barriers to effective enforcement.
These difficulties are enhanced when we consider the Internet. A marketer in one country might use a service provider in another to put up a home page on which false claims are made about the safety of its product. Consumers around the world can access the page, and the law violations might differ depending upon the country in which the consumer accesses the information. In fact, one of our states, Minnesota, has sued to stop WagerNet, an online and telephone sports betting service that may be operating out of Belize, from soliciting Minnesotans. As in most of the United States, most forms of gambling are illegal in Minnesota. This is not the case, however, in many other countries.
The Commission has been grappling for some time with the problem of fraudulent transfers of assets from United States marketers to foreign countries. In the absence of international agreements that would allow access to information about assets, foreign bank secrecy laws make it very difficult for the Commission to obtain timely information about marketers' assets overseas. When the FTC knows where the assets are and a U.S. court imposes an order freezing them for future consumer redress, further problems can arise with respect to assets located outside the U.S.
For example, in an action against an Internet pyramid scheme operated out of Washington state with victims all over the world, the FTC obtained a temporary order directing the defendants to return to the United States over $3.5 million that had been transferred to a bank in Antigua, West Indies.(1) When the defendants -- who had left the country -- persistently failed to comply, the court ordered that they be arrested and jailed until they either comply or prove that they are unable to repatriate any foreign funds. At the FTC's request, the U.S. Department of Justice obtained an order from an Antiguan court freezing the defendants' assets in Antigua. The defendants have not returned to the U.S. and are challenging both the U.S. and the Antiguan court orders.
Despite these obstacles, cooperation with foreign law enforcement authorities sometimes yields success. For example, one United States defendant in a telemarketing fraud case violated an asset freeze by withdrawing $1.2 million from frozen bank accounts and fleeing overseas.(2) The FTC obtained an order that he show cause why he should not be held in criminal contempt for his actions. When he failed to appear, the court issued an arrest warrant. The defendant ultimately settled in Canada. Canadian customs officials learned of the arrest warrant, which had been entered in law enforcement databases, and then learned that he had lied on his application for entry into Canada. Canada deported him to the United States under circumstances that permitted him to be arrested on arrival. He was then successfully prosecuted and jailed for his contempt of the U.S. court's asset-freeze order.
Fortunately, as the attendance at this conference illustrates, many countries are concerned about the globalization of marketing fraud. In 1992, I participated, with some of you, in the founding of the International Marketing Supervision Network, an international body of consumer protection law enforcement agencies. One objective of the Network is to find ways to cooperate in tracking consumer problems associated with cross-border transactions. Cooperation is informal, with participants using their best efforts to help each other (subject to national law and practice and the availability of resources).
Given the Network's informal nature, it does not give its participants any rights or impose any obligations on them. It does, however, represent an excellent forum for communication among countries that experience law enforcement difficulties across international lines.
Fraudulent Telemarketing
What are we doing about fraudulent telemarketing? The Commission combats telemarketing fraud both through law enforcement and consumer education. Typically, the Commission investigates and brings a case in federal district court, often without notifying the telemarketer in advance. The immediate goal is to halt the ongoing fraud by obtaining an order that will prevent further injury to consumers during the rest of the litigation. Usually, the Commission also obtains a court order freezing the fraudulent telemarketer's assets, so that they may be available for consumer redress if the Commission ultimately succeeds in the litigation. The Commission may ask the court to appoint a receiver to manage and protect these assets.
The Commission seeks strong final relief in telemarketing fraud cases, including injunctions against the illegal conduct, the payment of redress to consumers, and the disgorgement of the telemarketers' ill-gotten gains. In particularly egregious cases, the Commission has obtained orders banning telemarketers from participating again in the telemarketing business, or requiring them to post substantial bonds before engaging again in telemarketing as a source of redress for victims of any future law violations.
The Telemarketing Sales Rule
The Commission's ability to fight long-distance telemarketing fraud involving multiple jurisdictions within the United States improved dramatically after the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule went into effect last year. Under this Rule, telemarketers must reveal that they are making a sales call before they try to make the sale, and tell consumers that no purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win a prize promotion. It is illegal to misrepresent any information, including facts about goods or services, the earnings potential of an investment, or the nature of a prize. They also must disclose the total cost of products or services they offer and the conditions of the sale, including whether a refund is available and how to get one. Among its many other significant protections, the Rule prohibits telemarketers from requesting or receiving payment for credit repair services, recovery services, or advance fee loans before the promised services or products are provided. Courts may impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation under the Rule.
Significantly, the legislation that directed the Commission to issue the Rule empowered state attorneys general to bring civil suits in federal court to enforce the Rule whenever there is reason to believe that the interests of the state's residents are threatened by telemarketing practices in violation of those rules. Thus, a state attorney general can seek consumer redress from out-of-state telemarketers who victimize the state's residents and can obtain injunctions that are effective nationwide.
In enforcing the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the Commission has relied on highly-publicized enforcement "sweeps": multiple law enforcement actions focused on particular types of law violations. These sweeps are coordinated with states, other federal agencies, and, in some instances, foreign law enforcement authorities. Project Loan Shark, for example, targeted 45 corporations and individuals that guaranteed to provide or find loans for victims who paid an advance fee. States filed eight cases and the FTC filed five cases alleging Rule violations, thanks to cooperation among the Commission, 15 states, and Canadian law enforcement authorities. The Canadian province of British Columbia simultaneously initiated enforcement proceedings under its laws against the Canadians involved in one of the scams.
The sweeps approach not only makes efficient use of information that is shared among different law enforcement authorities; it also results in greater publicity for law enforcement actions and, we hope, greater consumer awareness of fraud and a greater deterrent effect.
Information Sharing: The Telemarketing Fraud Database
The FTC's experience has been that joint law enforcement activity benefits considerably from cooperative efforts with non-profit organizations and trade associations. With the national association of the state attorneys general, the FTC in 1987 created a Telemarketing Fraud Database that has since been expanded to include information about fraud on the Internet. This database contains information from tens of thousands of consumer complaints about marketing abuses in the United States and Canada. It also includes information contributed by law enforcement authorities about actions they have taken against suspect telemarketers.
This cooperative law enforcement effort seeks to thwart fraudulent marketers' attempts to hide their tracks: it allows the more than one hundred law enforcement members of the database to identify the largest scams, the names of prospective witnesses, other law enforcement agencies that might have information about a particular scam, and trends in law violations.
Most complaints are obtained through the National Consumers League's National Fraud Information Center ("NFIC"), a private, non-profit organization that provides consumers with a toll-free hotline to report telemarketing fraud and assists consumers in obtaining information and referrals and in filing complaints.(3) Starting this year, NFIC also has been receiving complaints by E-mail accessible from its web site.(4)
The information in the system, whether from a complaint or from a law enforcement agency, is confidential, and strict security measures are taken to protect it. Only law enforcement member organizations may access the data.
The database's many different search options can be customized to fit the individual needs of the law enforcement member searching the database. For example, the system can generate a report listing art investment telemarketers in a particular region of the country by dollar volume of complaints. We have found this type of information extremely valuable in setting enforcement priorities, gathering evidence to support actions against law violators, and selecting areas for consumer education to help potential victims avoid becoming real victims of fraudulent telemarketers.
If a way could be found to expand this database and encourage international participation, it could help combat fraud through coordinated international enforcement in much the same way that law enforcement authorities use it in the United States.
The 900-Number Rule
Before I leave the topic of long distance marketing, I should also note that the recent Telecommunications Act of 1996 has given U.S. law enforcement authorities additional tools to pursue fraudulent 900-number or pay-per-call operators. Pay-per-call technology allows consumers an easy way to access information and entertainment services over the telephone. Unfortunately, this technology initially attracted numerous fraudulent operators who enticed consumers to unknowingly run up huge telephone service bills. In response, the FTC used its general enforcement authority to attack unfair and deceptive practices in this industry. The FTC also issued and vigorously enforced a 900-Number Rule that requires cost disclosures in advertising and the initial portion of a 900-number call, dispute resolution and billing protections, and the provision of blocking services to persons who do not want 900-number calls to be made from their telephone lines.
The Rule has been highly effective at reducing deception in the 900-number industry. But now fraudulent pay-per-call operators have taken advantage of changes in the telecommunications industry to revamp their operations to avoid Rule coverage -- by using apparently toll-free 800 numbers or foreign country access codes. So our Congress has given additional authority to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, and both agencies expect to make changes that will allow for more effective enforcement against pay-per-call fraud. In particular, the FTC will soon consider expanding the 900-Number Rule to cover additional pay-per-call services.
The Internet
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the information society, and the one that presents the most challenges to law enforcers, is the development of the Internet and online services in general. The Internet knows no borders. It frequently has been compared to the American Wild West of the 1800s -- a place where lawlessness reigned and order was enforced by self-appointed vigilantes. Many Internet users seem to relish this concept. With the exception of concerns about protecting children, there have been few calls in the United States for a sheriff to come and impose law and order.
There are good reasons for governments to be cautious about attempting to regulate the Internet. First, the evolving nature of the Internet makes it essential that governments not impose requirements that will inhibit development of new technology. It is technologically possible for government monitors to seek out and remove offending materials from the Internet. Such a situation could embroil countries in battles over what should and should not appear. Moreover, a technological fix to problems could, in turn, stifle technological development and limit competition in this rapidly evolving area. Second, governments should use the Internet to encourage forms of consumer protection particularly suited to the medium, such as self-policing and the provision of greater information to consumers to help them avoid becoming victims of deception.
Initial Enforcement Efforts: Old Scams, New Medium
Government regulation of the Internet in the United States, for the most part, has been a matter of applying existing laws to the new medium. The FTC's initial law enforcement efforts on the Net can be summed up as "old scams, new medium." Like many telemarketing frauds, Internet scams often focus on getting information like a credit card or bank account number that allows the person running the scam to steal the victim's money.
The Commission has brought over a dozen cases against deceptive online marketers, attacking such practices as the pyramid scheme I previously mentioned, false advertising for illegal credit repair services, and unsubstantiated earnings claims for work-at-home business opportunities. In a couple of recent cases, the Commission has even obtained orders that allowed it to replace deceptive advertising on defendants' World Wide Web sites with a notice about the Commission's action and a link to additional information about the case.(5)
The Internet's Potential for Consumer Protection
The ability of the Internet to make vast quantities of information readily available to users also suggests some consumer protection solutions in the form of disclosures, self-policing, and consumer education. For instance, online entertainment increasingly constitutes -- or at least contains -- an advertisement. This is not unlike television infomercials (program-length commercials), which are advertisements but may appear to be investigative news or interview programs. The FTC requires infomercials to disclose that they are paid advertisements, and it is possible that online entertainment that is also advertising ought to contain an analogous disclosure to avoid deception.
Online technology also allows marketers to track a consumer's behavior -- to see what sites the consumer visits and what products the consumer buys. In addition, by the use of surveys -- sometimes in the form of registration screens that visitors must complete to access a site -- the site owner can collect valuable marketing information. All of this information helps marketers identify new consumers at little additional cost, and may allow companies to target consumers very narrowly according to their individual interests.
Some marketers, however, may deceive consumers as to whether and what information is being collected and how it may subsequently used. One possible way to curb deception of consumers is through disclosures about who is providing or seeking information and how the information will be used.
Private organizations can play a valuable role here. Several on-line vendors have developed proprietary logos guaranteeing various levels of privacy protections. Companies agree by contract to abide by the applicable privacy rules for the logos they choose to use. Enforcement of this regime would depend on private action against the companies that violate the rules to which they have agreed and against unauthorized users of the proprietary logos. Several trade associations in the United States also have recently issued voluntary online privacy guidelines that may help prevent consumer deception.
Another private initiative in the United States is the Council of Better Business Bureaus' Online Service Center. Here, consumers can file complaints and obtain information about businesses and charities, current frauds, and voluntary dispute resolution mechanisms. The Council is the umbrella organization for local Better Business Bureaus. The BBB is an organization of businesses that promotes ethical business practices through voluntary self-regulation and consumer and business education. With help from the BBB, consumers can often get money back or achieve other resolutions of their complaints.
The BBB has just announced an innovative online seal of approval program funded by major corporate sponsors. Companies that agree to abide by BBB truth-in-advertising standards and dispute resolution procedures to protect consumers will be able to use an authorized and encrypted "BBBOnLine" seal in their online advertising. If a consumer, a competitor, or the BBB challenges the truth or accuracy of an online claim, BBBOnLine participants will be required to cooperate with a formal advertising review process administered by the BBB's National Advertising Division ("NAD").
The NAD resolves complaints from competitors or consumers about allegedly false or misleading claims about products or services. Last year, it began monitoring postings on online services and Internet newsgroups. It already has issued several decisions concerning online advertising. When an advertiser refuses to stop making claims that the NAD finds deceptive or refuses to give NAD information, the NAD refers the case to the Federal Trade Commission. In response to NAD findings, most advertisers agree to modify or delete offending claims. A self-regulatory group such as the NAD may have an advantage over the FTC when it comes to ads in cyberspace because, as I mentioned, many cyberspace users prize the almost anarchistic nature of cyberspace and resent governmental intrusions.
The use of Internet technology to help consumers protect themselves, although not a panacea, is promising. The easy and inexpensive accessibility of the Internet lends itself particularly to individuals and small companies that are new to the advertising arena and may be unfamiliar with the general requirements of advertising law. Educating this group as to the appropriate rules could go a long way toward stemming deceptive advertising on the Internet.
Conclusion
The information society promises to provide many benefits to consumers. As we have seen, however, it also presents some difficult consumer protection issues. Governments must remain open to different ways to address the problems presented by traditional international marketing and advertising on the Internet. Efforts such as the International Marketing Supervision Network should continue to be very helpful in combatting some of these problems. With regard to the Internet, governments may have to acknowledge that self-regulation may be more effective in the first instance than active government control.
In addition, consumer education efforts should be emphasized. The old saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" rings especially true given the difficulties of prosecuting those who perpetrate fraud internationally, whether by long distance telemarketing or on the Internet. Also, the ease with which the government or consumer protection groups can post educational materials on the Internet, and the ease with which consumers can access those materials, make consumer education on the Internet particularly cost-effective.
The challenge for governments is to find ways to inhibit deceptive and fraudulent marketers from taking advantage of the greater access to consumers provided by the global market and the information society, without hindering or slowing the many benefits to consumers that these developments provide. Consumer education, industry self-regulation, and information-sharing among governments -- backed up by law enforcement action against the most egregious offenders -- should help achieve this goal.
1. FTC v. Fortuna Alliance, Civ. No. C96-799M (W.D. Wash. 1996).
2. FTC v. American Nat'l Cellular, Inc., No. 85-7375 WJR (C.D. Cal. 1985).
3. The toll-free number, 1-800-876-7060, is accessible from the United States and Canada. Complaints can be dialed in from other countries by using the U.S. country code, followed by 202-835-0139.
4. The site is located at http://www.fraud.org.
5. FTC v. Infinity Multimedia, Inc., No. 96-6671-CIV-Gonzalez (S.D. Fla. 1996) (order freezing assets and halting sales of pre-packaged small businesses by firms that allegedly used false earnings claims and phony references or "shills" to induce consumers to pay thousands of dollars for distributorships); FTC v. Fortuna Alliance, Civ. No. C96-799M (W.D. Wash. 1996) (order freezing assets and halting pyramid scheme). | https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/speeches/consumer-protection-information-society-view-united-states |
Laura is a member of the FH2 telecommunications practice group, representing companies in federal, state, and local regulatory, public policy, and contract matters. Prior to joining FH2, Laura worked in the Government Affairs Regulatory Practice Group of a large D.C. firm where she represented clients in proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission.
Consumer Protection, Advertising and Privacy
Laura also counsels clients (in English and Spanish) on advertising, marketing, advertising compliance, and privacy. Laura’s experience includes assisting in the development of advertising, labeling, and marketing materials used in print or electronic media, privacy policies, and customer terms and conditions (including rules for rewards programs and promotions) – all while taking into account federal and state laws such as Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, CAN-SPAM Act, state Fair Business Practices and/or Deceptive Trade Practices Acts, and other federal and state consumer protection laws.
Outside of the Office
Laura and her husband enjoy spending time with family and friends, traveling and trying new restaurants. Laura is fluent in Spanish.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (770) 399-9500
LinkedIn: Laura Arredondo-Santisteban
Admitted: Georgia, Maryland and the District of Columbia
Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication (Advertising Sequence) and Political Science, 2011. University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D. with Honors, 2014
Member: State Bar of Maryland. The District of Columbia Bar. | http://www.fh2.com/our-team/laura-arredondo/ |
Jay Ramsey is a partner in the firm’s Century City Office. He is a leader of the firm’s Advertising Team and Consumer Class Action Defense Team and a member of the firm’s Retail, Privacy and Cybersecurity, and Food & Beverage groups. He is also a leader of the firm's Out at Sheppard LGBTQ Group and was the firm’s 2020 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow. Jay is a leader of the recruiting committee in the firm’s Century City office.
Areas of Practice
Jay enjoys a broad litigation practice, representing clients in class action litigation and complex business disputes. He also advises clients pre-litigation on a variety of related matters. He has successfully defended clients at trial, on appeal, and in arbitration.
Consumer Class Actions
Jay has defended major retailers, brands, product manufacturers, fintech companies, lead generators, advertising networks, food and beverage companies, insurers, health plans, hospitals, airlines, telecommunications companies, and more in a wide range of consumer class actions alleging violations of false advertising laws, unfair competition laws, consumer protection statutes, privacy laws, and more. His experience includes defending against:
- False advertising claims
- False pricing claims
- Product liability claims
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) claims
- Email marketing claims
- Call recording claims
- Debt collection claims
- Data breach and other privacy class claims
Complex Business Litigation
Jay represents a broad range of clients in complex business disputes alleging breaches of contract, fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties, interference with economic relations, wrongful solicitation, trade secrets theft, copyright and trademark infringement and other business torts. His experience includes:
- Representing studios, producers, broadcasting companies, and other content producers in claims relating to distribution rights, profit participation, and other accounting issues.
- Representing aerospace companies, other manufacturers, and contractors in disputes with their customers and suppliers, including claims for breach of contract, breach of warranty, and more
Advice and Counseling
Jay advises and counsels clients on a variety of marketing, advertising, pricing, privacy, and related e-commerce matters. Jay has advised and counseled on a variety of:
- Advertising campaigns
- Pricing strategies
- E-mail marketing regulations
- Telephone and SMS marketing regulations
- Call recording practices
- Privacy policies
- E-commerce terms and conditions
Experience
Experience
Notable Appellate Decisions
NEI Contracting & Eng'g Inc. v. Hanson Aggregates Pac. Sw., Inc., 926 F.3d 528 (9th Cir. 2019) – Appellate decision affirming complete trial victory and denial of certification in a TCPA class action.
Sabori v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., No. B284350 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 24, 2019) – Appellate decision affirming grant of summary judgment on invasion of privacy claim
Kayne v. Mense, B254975 (Cal. App. Mar. 25, 2016) – Appellate decision overturning trial court’s award of treble damages under California Penal Code section 496
Rosolowski v. People Media, B250482 (Cal. App. Oct. 29, 2014) – Appellate decision affirming dismissal of claim under California Anti-SPAM law.
Insights
Articles
- Law360, 09.20.2018
- "No Class Certification In Call Recording Case," Association of Business Trial Lawyers Report, Summer 2014
Class Action Defense Strategy Blog Posts
- "More on McGill: Ninth Circuit Affirms Order Enforcing Arbitration of Public Injunctive Relief Claims," February 22, 2021
- "Avoiding Formation Challenges To Your Arbitration Clause With Consumers," July 20, 2020
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"Questions To Ask When Changing Your Arbitration Clause," June 29, 2020
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"An Arbitration Clause Health Check," June 22, 2020
- "Ninth Circuit Confirms that Class Action Plaintiffs Must Plausibly Establish Future Intent To Re-Purchase To Maintain Claims for Injunctive Relief," September 12, 2018
- "Outlet And Factory Class Actions Take A Hit: California Court of Appeal Confirms Companies Can Sell Made-For-Outlet Product At Outlet Or Factory Stores," September 11, 2017
- "Ninth Circuit Confirms that a Cy Pres Only Settlement Can Work In Privacy Class Action" September 11, 2017
- "Class Action Plaintiffs In The Ninth Circuit Can No Longer Obtain Immediate Appellate Review Of Orders Denying Class Certification," June 13, 2017
- "Attacking Class Action Allegations On The Pleadings Can Be A Successful Strategy," March 29, 2016
- "In Sprint Victory, Judge Posner and the Seventh Circuit Hold That Arbitration Is Required in a TCPA Class Action Even Though the Alleged Violation Occurred After the Termination of the Contract," May 19, 2015
- "Another Blow to Call Recording Class Actions," December 2, 2014
- "Are Call Recording Class Actions Doomed?" February 27, 2014
Fashion & Apparel Law Blog
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"Coronavirus And The Retail Industry: Pricing and Advertising Issues," March 5, 2020
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"Coronavirus And The Retail Industry: Delivery Issues," March 5, 2020
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"Coronavirus And The Retail Industry: Customer Interactions and Safety," March 3, 2020
Healthcare Law Blog
- "Do Routine Calls by Health Plans to Patients and Health Plan Members Constitute “Telemarketing” Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act? Not Today!," January 19, 2017
Retail Law Blog
Speaking Engagements
- "Legal Issues to Consider in a COVID-19 World," Virtual Reality Location-based Entertainment Summit, October 15, 2020. | https://www.sheppardmullin.com/jramsey |
Consumer Protection Litigation
Consumer protection laws are designed to prevent businesses from engaging in fraudulent, deceptive or unfair trade practices which prey on the vulnerable or allow them to gain an unfair advantage over competitors. Consumer protection cases are often brought as class actions to obtain financial compensation or other remedies to those injured by an unlawful business practice or to enjoin a company from continuing to engage in deceptive or unlawful conduct. Consumer class actions are civil cases brought by one or more individuals on behalf of themselves and a larger group or “class” of individuals who have suffered a similar harm due to a defendant’s unlawful conduct. Consumer class actions can arise from many different kinds of corporate misconduct, including false advertising of products and services; products that are defective or dangerous; hidden or unwarranted fees; failing to adequately protect personal or financial information resulting in data breaches; breaches of warranty claims; and other unfair or deceptive trade practices. Since its founding, Lewis Saul & Associates, P.C. has developed and litigated numerous consumer protection and fair debt collection cases. In many consumer protection cases, the firm has been appointed by the court to serve as Class Counsel, Lead Counsel and/or Co-Lead Counsel to advance plaintiffs’ interests in these litigations, including:
Appointed as Class Counsel and counsel for the plaintiff in H. Louis Farmer, Jr., et al. v. TD Banknorth, Inc. et al., CV-07-39 (Maine Sup. Ct. 2007) and In re TD Banknorth Shareholders Litigation, C.A. No. 2557-VCL (Delaware Ct. of Chancery 2007), a shareholder derivative class action filed in Maine against TD Banknorth, TD Bank Financial Group, and their directors for breach of their fiduciary duties to shareholders in acquisition of all outstanding shares of TD Banknorth common stock by TD Bank Financial Group.
Appointed as Co-Lead Counsel in In re Hannaford Bros. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation (MDL No. 1954), a national consumer class action involving the exposure of 4.2 million credit and debit cards to fraud due to Hannaford’s failure to adequately safeguard customers’ financial information during payment transactions at their stores.
Deminne v. Smart Corporation, No. 151794, (Sup. Ct. Montgomery Co., Md.), a certified state class action involving overcharges for copies of medical records which resulted in a settlement where all overcharges were refunded.
Appointed as Co-Lead Counsel and counsel for plaintiff in LaRocque v. TRS Recovery Services, Inc., 285 F.R.D. 139 (D. Maine 2012), a class action case involving violations of the FCRA for a deceptive collection letter for returned checks and other fees.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted into legislation in the early 1970’s, but it was not until recently that the law has become an important tool for consumers to challenge unfair and illegal actions that have been taken against them. Under FCRA, there are strict guidelines as to the information that can be filed on a credit report, and there are also specific requirements that credit reporting companies fix their own mistakes on credit reports when the occur.
However, credit reports are not always accurate – in fact, they are usually not. A review of consumer credit reports conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Group found that 79% of consumer credit reports contained some kind of error or mistake. This type of incorrect information can prevent you from financing or refinancing a home or a car at fair interest rate.
The repercussions of inaccurate credit reporting can include denial of employment, the inability to purchase a home, or the denial of insurance or the approval of insurance with inappropriately high premiums.
There are also reporting requirements that creditors or employers notify consumers if they have taken some adverse action (denial of a loan or employment) based on information that is contained within a credit report. This is a crucial requirement because if incorrect information has been used to adversely affect a consumer, it provides an opportunity for a consumer to reverse the action or correct the incorrect information.
It is important for consumers to review their credit reports on a regular basis to determine if they contain any inaccurate information. If you have been negatively impacted by incorrect consumer reporting information, you may be able to seek a legal resolution and recover compensation for your injuries.
Contact Lewis Saul & Associates, P.C. To Discuss Your Rights
If you or a loved one has been the victim of fraudulent, abusive or predatory business practices or has been negatively impacted by incorrect reporting or usage of your credit report, you may be entitled to pursue a claim for damages. For a free and confidential case evaluation, please call our office toll-free at (888) 747-5342 or complete our online contact form and we will promptly respond to your inquiry. | https://lewissaul.com/consumer-protection/ |
Tim Butler helps companies thrive by developing tailored strategies to address their regulatory compliance challenges and vigorously defending them in government enforcement actions and bet-the-company lawsuits.
A former prosecuting attorney for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and former senior official in the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, Tim has led the defense of dozens of government investigations and enforcement actions brought by the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the various state attorneys general. Tim also regularly defends clients in bet-the-company lawsuits, including complex business disputes and consumer class actions alleging privacy, false advertising, and unfair or deceptive business practice claims.
Tim is an experienced guide for companies struggling with regulatory complexity. He offers clear advice that helps his clients meet the demands of the ever-growing set of laws and regulations governing data privacy and cybersecurity, advertising and marketing practices, and consumer financial products and services. Clients rely on Tim’s business-minded and practical strategies to address their most difficult regulatory compliance challenges.
A graduate of the University of Chicago and Stanford Law School, Tim is a prolific author and regularly speaks to industry and trade groups about the evolving privacy landscape, about cutting-edge issues affecting payments and fintech companies, and about developments at the FTC, the CFPB, and within the state attorneys general community.
FTC Delays Compliance Date of the Safeguards Rule
Go-To Guide:
- The Safeguards Rule compliance deadline is delayed by six months
- Eight subsections of the Safeguards Rule are affected by the delay
- The new effective date for compliance is June 9, 2023
- The FTC cited implementation challenges for small business as the reason for the delay. | https://www.gtlaw-dataprivacydish.com/author/tim-butler/ |
- June 2017 i Last date reviewed by a qualified expert to ensure content up-to-date. See "Tips" in Clicklaw content criteria (bottom of pageside menu) for details.
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KPMG Insight. The FTC’s new policy statement is consistent with the President’s Executive Order 14036, “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” It signals the agency’s intention to pursue an expanded number of cases involving potentially unfair competition, and in particular, cases that involve conduct that is not specifically covered by the antitrust law. The policy requires only that the conduct under review has “a tendency to negatively affect competitive conditions” and those conditions may be in initial or developing stages. Further, competitive impacts may include labor market effects (where workers are considered market participants) as well as limitations on potential or nascent competitors. Companies should anticipate heightened scrutiny of their activities and be prepared to explain both quantifiable and nonquantifiable effects on competition. Notably, earlier this year the FTC and DOJ sought public input on their merger guidelines also in response to the Executive Order.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement regarding the scope of unfair methods of competition under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The statement describes the key principles of general applicability concerning whether conduct is an unfair method of competition and clarifies that Section 5 of the FTC Act “reaches beyond the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act (i.e., the antitrust laws) to “encompass various types of unfair conduct that tend to negatively affect competitive conditions.” The FTC states the new policy statement “restores the agency’s policy of rigorously enforcing the federal ban on unfair methods of competition,” and is based on the legislative history of Section 5 and interpretations across the FTC’s decisions, consent orders, and court decisions, including Supreme Court decisions.
Key principles. The policy statement provides the following two key principles that generally describe whether a business practice or conduct is considered unfair:
1. The conduct must be a method of competition. To violate Section 5 of the FTC Act, conduct must be a “method of competition,” which the FTC defines as “conduct undertaken by an actor in the marketplace—as opposed to merely a condition of the marketplace, not of the respondent’s making, such as high concentration or barriers to entry. The conduct must implicate competition.”
2. The method of competition must be unfair. The FTC clarifies that a method of competition would be unfair if “the conduct goes beyond competition on merits” (e.g., superior products or services, truthful marketing and advertising practices). Two key criteria, which are weighed according to a sliding scale, will be considered by the FTC when evaluating whether conduct goes beyond competition on merits:
i. The conduct is coercive, exploitative, collusive, abusive, deceptive, predatory, or involve the use of economic power of a similar nature. The FTC notes that conduct may also be otherwise restrictive or exclusionary, depending on certain circumstances described in the policy statement.
ii. The conduct must have a tendency to negatively affect competitive conditions, such as foreclosing or impairing the opportunities of market participants, reducing competition between rivals, reducing innovation, limiting choice, reducing output, raising prices, or otherwise harming consumers; the conduct may affect consumers, workers, or other market participants. Actual harm is not a criterion.
Conduct examples. A non-exclusive list of examples of conduct that have been deemed to be in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act is provided in the policy statement, such as:
- Practices deemed to violate Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act or the provisions of the Clayton Act, as amended (the antitrust laws).
- Conduct deemed to be an incipient (i.e., developing, emerging) violation of the antitrust laws, such as:
- Invitations to collude.
- A series of mergers or acquisitions that tend to bring about the harms the antitrust laws were designed to prevent but individually may not violate the antitrust laws.
- Loyalty rebates, tying, bundling, and exclusive dealing arrangements that have tendency to ripen into violations of the antitrust laws by virtue of industry conditions and the respondent’s position within the industry.
- Conduct that violates the spirit of the antitrust laws, including conduct that tends to cause potential harm similar to an antitrust violation but that may or may not be covered by the literal language of the antitrust laws.
- Practices that facilitate tacit coordination.
- Using market power in one market to gain a competitive advantage in an adjacent market.
- False or deceptive advertising or marketing which tends to create or maintain market power.
- Conduct that is undertaken with other acts and practices that cumulatively may tend to undermine competitive conditions in the market.
- Fraudulent and inequitable practices that undermine the standard-setting process or that interfere with the Patent Office’s full examination of patent application.
- Price discrimination claims such as knowingly inducing and receiving disproportionate promotional allowances against buyers not covered by Clayton Act.
The policy statement supersedes the FTC’s previous policy statements and advisory guidance relating to the scope and definition of unfair methods of competition.
Relevant KPMG Thought Leadership: | https://advisory.kpmg.us/articles/2022/ftc-policy-statement-unfair-competition.html |
Readers looking for the latest news in consumer protection laws can find them on the National Law Review. The free online resource examines the form of government regulation by looking at news from different governmental agencies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), are among the agencies the National Law Review follows, providing updates and legal analysis to readers on these topics.
Visitors can read about several different types of consumer protection law reform, issues, and news stories on the site. Unsolicited communications from companies which might violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), data privacy concerns, or unfair pricing practices by companies, including price gouging, are analyzed by the legal experts who write for the National Law Review. Readers can also find stories related to cybersecurity and privacy concerns which impact them at the state and federal level, deceptive and abusive conduct, and financial reform legislation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Licensing terms, regulations related to violations of consumer protections, enforcement of regulations and recalls by the CPSC are also covered.
Along with regulations and legislation on consumer protection, the National Law Review covers litigation related to violations and class actions against corporations who violated these rules. The implications of these decisions are broken down by the attorneys and other legal experts who write for the National Law Review, and our coverage provides insights into what to expect as results of these decisions and judgements.
Consumer protection news from around the world, not only the United States, can be read on the National Law Review. The European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), and other regulating agencies are covered on the site. Visitors can learn about the latest regulations, news, stories, and enforcement actions in the United States and around the world on the National Law Review. | https://www.natlawreview.com/type-law/consumer-protection |
Currently, total outstanding student debt (both federal loans and private loans) has risen to roughly $1.1 trillion dollars. That figure represents an over 50% increase since 2008 and makes student loans the largest source of unsecured consumer debt – surpassing credit cards. At the same time, at least with respect to federal student loans, delinquencies have risen sharply during the same time period and, with unemployment rates for recent graduates still high by historic standards, the risk of continued high delinquency rates remains significant. Complicating matters is that student loan servicers, and servicers of private student loans in particular, have limited ability vis-à-vis a mortgage lender to modify those loans for borrowers in default.
Not surprisingly, given this backdrop, borrowers have lodged complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) focused on their inability to obtain loan modifications, concerns about improper payment processing, and concerns about servicers’ debt collection practices. All of these factors have prompted the Bureau to draw comparisons to the recent mortgage servicing crisis and to increase focus and attention on the student lending and servicing industry in an effort to stave off a problem of those proportions.
In addition, the Bureau has focused its attention within student lending and servicing on other, more traditional areas of regulatory concern. For example, the Bureau in the past year indicated it intends to closely scrutinize student lenders on fair lending issues – especially the use of non-credit bureau attributes such as cohort default rate – as well as unfair, deceptive, or abusive trade practices.
For non-bank private student lenders, regulation by the CFPB represents a significant increase in the type of regulatory scrutiny to which lenders have traditionally been subject. Even for large bank student lenders, which have long been subject to examinations by their prudential regulators, CFPB regulatory oversight will present new challenges insofar as the Bureau’s focus is solely on consumer protection and compliance and it has made clear that understanding and regulating private student lending is one of its high priorities.
Here are several steps that student lenders and servicers can take now to proactively mitigate risk in the current environment, including:
- Developing, implementing and, as applicable, updating fair and responsible lending programs (including training of key employees in this area)
- Conducting periodic fair lending and UDAAP risk assessments
- Conducting gap analyses of collections and servicing practices to ensure compliance and CFPB readiness
It bears emphasizing that the future likely holds increased regulatory scrutiny, especially from the Bureau and especially in the area of student loan servicing and debt collection. Private student lenders will also see increased scrutiny with respect to fair and responsible lending compliance, including their use of non-credit bureau attributes in underwriting and pricing and their marketing practices, e.g., how borrowers are solicited and whether a lender uses different marketing efforts based on loan products, such as those specific to a particular major, school, or geography.
In December 2012, the CFPB released their student loan examination procedures, and since doing so, has commenced several examinations of bank and non-bank private student lenders. Lenders will have to show compliance with a variety of federal laws applicable at various stages (called modules) of the lending process and will be examined for potentially unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices.
The procedures indicate that exams will be composed of several modules:
- Advertising, marketing and lead generation
- Application, qualification, loan origination, and disbursement
- Repayment and account maintenance
- Customer complaints
- Collections and credit reporting
- Information sharing and privacy
The CFPB’s examination personnel will review the lender’s organizational documents and process flowcharts, board minutes, annual reports, management reports, policies and procedures, rate and fee sheets, loan applications, account documentation, notes and disclosures, file contents, operating checklists and worksheets, computer system details, due diligence and monitoring procedures, lending procedures, underwriting guidelines, compensation policies, audit reports and responses, training materials, service provider contracts, advertisements, and complaints. Examiners may also interview the lender’s personnel and observe customer interactions.
Examiners will review potential legal and regulatory violations in modules roughly corresponding to the processes by which education loans are developed, marketed, originated and serviced, and the processes for handling consumer complaints, delinquencies and defaults, credit reporting and privacy protection. The examination process is intended to help the CFPB determine whether consumer financial protection laws have been violated and, if so, whether supervisory or enforcement actions are warranted.
Buckley Sandler advises student lenders to prepare for a CFPB exam by carefully reviewing the Bureau’s examination procedures, reports, and other public statements concerning student lending and servicing. We also recommend conducting a gap analyses between those materials and existing policies and procedures, and as appropriate, filling any identified gaps. | https://buckleyfirm.com/articles/2013-06-25/spotlight-student-lending-part-1-facing-increased-regulatory-scrutiny-student-loan-lenders-prepare-cfpb-examinations |
President of Ghana Nana Akuffo Addo: Government must prioritize the passage of National Consumer Protection Law. change.org. The Consumer Protection Division assists Arkansas consumers when problems arise during consumer transactions. Attorney General staff may help by contacting a business and mediating a positive resolution. In other instances, attorneys pursue lawsuits against those who violate the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Be a confident consumer. Find out what to know and do when purchasing a product or service. econsumer.gov is an initiative of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN).
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Connecticut State Department of Consumer Protection To protect the health and safety of the public and our employees, DCP has limited on-site staffing at 450 Columbus Blvd. While mail and phone calls will be processed as quickly as possible, we recommend using our online services, or sending an email to the appropriate division/person instead. Contact: Email Consumer Resource Center Available Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. 1-800-551-4636 (Washington Only) 206-464-6684 File a consumer complaint File an online complaint here Mail paper complaint forms to: Attorney General’s Office Consumer Resource Center 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104 Overview The Consumer Protection Division is composed of Consumer Protection Brochures The goal of these materials is to help explain areas of our state law in an understandable manner. Constituents seeking additional information on these or any other consumer protection related topics are encouraged to contact our Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-368-8808. a utility, Consumer Advocacy complaint form.
28 okt. 2020 — This Stripe Services Agreement (“Agreement”) is a legal agreement or provision of financial services, notification and consumer protection, 27 juli 2020 — The inspection work is carried out by the Plant Control Unit.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's in-depth
of Finance ' s ( Finansdepartementet ) memorandum on improved protection for policy Oriflame är ett ledande skönhetsföretag inom direktförsäljning. Vi erbjuder ett brett sortiment av högkvalitativa skönhetsprodukter och möjligheten att starta din Under the Postal Services Act , postal services must be available throughout the and guarantee the protection of the sender ' s and recipient ' s personal integrity . among other things from a consumer and regional policy point of view .
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sex pälsdjursfarmer med 2,2 miljoner dollar för de föroreningar de Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department. regelverket The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act inte använda Dina sidor. Vänligen kontakta Kundservice för mer information. Consumer protection The customer in network industries has a special relation to legislation such as the Consumer Sales Act and the Consumer Services Act och pratar med Lehlohonolo Chefa, han är ekonom och ordförande i Lesothos Consumer protection agency, den ledande konsumentorganisationen i landet.
A new consumer protection law. In 2019, the UAE Cabinet approved the issuing of a new federal law on consumer protection which is in line with the Unified Law on Consumer Protection of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC). The new law aims to: guarantee the protection of consumers and stability of prices
Warren says consumer protection agency is ‘here to stay’ following Supreme Court ruling Christina Prignano 6/29/2020 Chauvin trial: What Floyd 'was subjected to' would kill healthy person, Dr
The National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) fined Up Money (PTY) Ltd an administrative fine of One Million Rands (R1M) for conducting a pyramid scheme, subsequently, contravening Section 43 (2) of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The Consumer Protection Section protects Ohioans from predatory and illegal business practices. With authority granted by the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act and other statutes, the section enforces laws that prohibit unfair and deceptive practices including but not limited to: false advertising, shoddy workmanship, and failure to perform services or to deliver goods. consumer alerts; laws; fast facts; complaint form ; contact us; newscasts; resources; find out more credit cards vehicles door-to-door identity theft medical business-to
Duón Odendaal t/a SA Consumer Complaints Please note: Due to the extremely high call volumes received on a daily basis, our office lines will be open from 8:30 am until 16:00 pm.
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2020 — Finansinspektionen supervises the activities of EEA insurers with regard to. Page 6. 6 market conduct, e.g. consumer protection, insurance av C Yngfalk · 2012 · Citerat av 9 — consumer agency and consumption: the sovereign, cultural, and discur- sive model of responsible state agency working for consumers' rights (NFA, 2011a).
Welcome to the Maine Attorney General's consumer protection web site.
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The Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Division is responsible for protecting New Mexico protecting New Mexico’s residents, economy, environment and natural resources. The Consumer Protection Act Has a Sting in its Tail for Real Estate Agents.
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This is how you file a complaint Konsumentverket
2. Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 3. Federal Ministry of Health, Sports and Consumer Protection. | https://investerarpengaronda.firebaseapp.com/66875/18003.html |
The Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade Practices) (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 ("the Ordinance") came into law in Hong Kong on 19 July 2013.
The original Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which has been in force since 2000, offered protection only in respect of unfair trade practices used in connection with the offer and sale of "goods". The protection it offered did not extend to cover "services". Crucially, in Hong Kong's service based economy, important descriptions such as those indicating price, the availability of products and services and the existence of any price advantage or discount were also not covered by the legislation. The Ordinance seeks to redress the balance by:
- Extending the prohibition on false trade descriptions to services as well as goods;
- Creating five new “unfair trade practices” offences;
- Strengthening the enforcement mechanisms available to the enforcement authorities to help deter specified unfair trade practices which jeopardise consumer rights.
We highlight the main changes to the law in this note.
Compliance and Enforcement Guidelines
There are two agencies tasked with enforcing the Ordinance – the Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED") and the Office of the Communications Authority ("OFCA") the executive arm of the Communications Authority. C&ED is the principal agency responsible for enforcing the Ordinance while OFCA is responsible for enforcing the fair trading sections in relation to the commercial practices of telecommunications and broadcasting providers, (C&ED and OFCA together, "the Enforcement Agencies").
On the day the Ordinance came into law, the Enforcement Agencies issued two supporting documents:
a) a Compliance and Enforcement Policy Statement, which sets out the enforcement objectives – the basic principles which guide the Enforcement Agencies in the application of the enforcement tools available under the Ordinance and the factors that the Enforcement Agencies can take into account in prioritising the enforcement resources; and
b) a set of guidelines for traders to help them comply with the fair trading sections of the Ordinance and for consumers to help them understand how the Ordinance will better protect them. While the guidelines are deliberately not aimed at mandating traders to conduct their business in a particular way, they do serve as a guide for when conduct may constitute a contravention of the fair trading sections. The guidelines are not legally binding and a trader does not incur any civil or criminal liability if they contravene the guidelines. A court is permitted to apply the guidelines if it chooses to and contravention of, or adherence to, the guidelines may be relied on by a party as evidence in court proceedings.
Consumers and Traders
The fair trading provisions in the Ordinance apply to commercial practices directly connected with the sale, supply or promotion of goods or services by traders to consumers.
A consumer must be a natural person and cannot be a legal person such as a company. Whether an individual is a consumer will depend on whether the relevant activity or purchase is carried out primarily for a purpose that is aimed at the individual and is unrelated to his trade or business.
A trader can be a natural person, a company or other corporate body. A reference to a trader includes any person acting in the name of, or on behalf of, a trader. The concept of "commercial practices" has also been introduced by the Ordinance. Commercial practices may include traders’ activities like promotion sales, offers of discounts, price reductions, offers of free gifts or samples and advertising. Commercial practices may occur before or during a transaction, for example at the marketing, sale, supply and payment stages. They may also occur after a consumer transaction has been completed, for example through the provision of warranties, after-sales services and contract cancellation mechanisms.
Whether an entity is considered to be acting as a trader in relation to a commercial practice will depend on whether the relevant activities, or the goods sold, are carried out or sold for purposes relating to its trade or business. A person who sells goods or provides services to a consumer as an employee or a sales representative of a company will be regarded as a trader. In contrast, a person selling certain goods on the internet occasionally, for example to dispose of unwanted personal items on an online auction site, is unlikely to be held to be acting for purposes relating to his trade or business.
The fair trading provisions do not apply to “consumer-to-consumer” conduct. By way of example, the sale of a computer by a person who has been using that computer for his own private purposes and not for any business purposes, to another person who acquires it for the same purpose, is not regulated by the Ordinance.
Exclusions
The fair trading provisions do not apply to immovable property (real estate) and goods and services sold or supplied by a person regulated, licensed, registered, recognised or authorised under the Insurance Companies Ordinance (Cap. 41), the Banking Ordinance (Cap. 155), the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485) or the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571). The sale or supply of goods or services is separately regulated under these Ordinances. In addition, commercial practices engaged by certain professionals (including accountants, dentists, pharmacists, solicitors and medical practitioners) are generally not regulated by the fair trading sections of the Ordinance.
Trade Descriptions
Under the original Trade Descriptions Ordinance it was an offence for any person, in the course of his trade or business, to apply a false trade description to any goods or to supply or offer to supply any goods to which a false trade description was applied. It was also an offence for any person to have in his possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture any goods to which a false trade description was applied. The Ordinance expands the protection against unfair practices and it is now an offence for a trader to apply a false trade description to a service supplied or offered to be supplied to a consumer or to supply, or to offer to supply to a consumer a service to which a false trade description is applied. Importantly, these offences apply to both business-to-consumer and business-to-business conduct.
Trade descriptions include anything that tell of the goods or services or any part of them and could include the price, how the price is calculated, the existence of any price advantage or discount, performance claims, claims as to the country of origin or 'puffery' claims that the product or service is "the best" or "the most popular". A trade description can be communicated through any means.
A false trade description is defined as a trade description which is false to a material degree; or which, though not false, is likely to be taken for a trade description of a kind that would be false to a material degree. Trivial errors or discrepancies in trade descriptions would not constitute an offence. What constitutes a material degree will vary with the facts.
Telecommunications
Under the Telecommunications Ordinance, telecommunications companies and providers have, for many years, been prohibited from engaging in conduct which was misleading or deceptive when providing or acquiring telecommunications networks, systems, installations, customer equipment or services. Misleading or deceptive promotions, marketing or advertising by telecoms companies were also prohibited. The introduction of the Ordinance means that there is no longer a need for sector specific regulations. Given the scope of the definition of "commercial practices" under the Ordinance and also the extension of the prohibition on false trade descriptions to cover services, section 7M of the Telecommunications Ordinance (which focused on anti-competitive and unfair practices) has been repealed.
What are the new "Unfair Trade Practices"?
The Ordinance creates five new offences:
1) Misleading omissions
A trader will commit an offence if it omits or hides material information regarding a product or service that causes, or is likely to cause, a consumer to enter into a transaction that he would otherwise not have entered into. Material information is information regarding the goods or service which the average consumer requires in order to make an informed transactional decision – such as the price and quantity. What is considered "material" will depend on the type of product or service. Complex products for example, such as computers or smartphones, require more information to be communicated to the consumer including detailed specifications and functionality.
2) Aggressive commercial practices
This offence is committed if a trader conducts a commercial practice that significantly impairs the consumer’s freedom of choice through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence, and results in the consumer making a decision that he would not have made otherwise. Examples include lengthy sales pitches, repeated approaches to a potential customer, using abusive or obscene language to humiliate a consumer, or the exploitation of any misfortune or other circumstance of a consumer.
3) Bait advertising
This offence (together with bait and switch, described below) seeks to stop sellers from advertising goods or services at a specified price if there are no reasonable grounds for that seller to believe that reasonable quantities of the goods/services can actually be offered at that price. A trader can avoid committing this offence by clearly stating the period for which, or the quantities in which, the products or services are offered for sale at the discounted price.
4) Bait and switch
A trader commits this offence if a product or service is advertised for a specific (usually heavily discounted) price to attract consumers, but the trader actually intends to promote a different product or service and:
- refuses to show or demonstrate the advertised product or service, or
- refuses to take orders for the advertised product or service; or
- shows or demonstrates a defective sample of the advertised product or service.
5) Wrongly accepting payment
Pre-payment for goods and services is becoming increasingly popular. Traders must not accept payment for a good or service if at the time of accepting payment, the trader does not intend to supply the good or service or has no reasonable grounds to believe that it will be able to supply the good or service at the agreed time. For example, a seller commits an offence if it has knowledge that the goods it is offering for sale cannot be delivered by the date required by the customer, but the seller nonetheless accepts payment from the customer and agrees to deliver those goods by the requested date.
Consequences
Traders who engage in unfair trade practices may be subject to both financial and criminal penalties. If successfully prosecuted, an organisation or individual will be liable to a penalty of up to HK$500,000 and imprisonment for up to 5 years. It is important for directors, managers and other officers of a company to be aware that they may now have personal liability under the Ordinance. If an offence is committed by a company, and it is proved that the offence was committed with the consent or connivance, or is attributable to the neglect of, any director, manager or principal officer of that company, that person also commits the offence and may be punished accordingly.
Enforcement
With a view to enforcing the Ordinance effectively and ensuring that every actionable case is taken up by the appropriate party, the Enforcement Agencies have worked out a clear delineation of work. Generally speaking, OFCA will be responsible for cases in which suspected violations relate to the provision of licensed telecommunications and broadcasting services (continuing the role it had policing the 7M provision in the Telecommunications Ordinance). All other cases, including those in which suspected violations relate to goods (or goods bundled with services), will be taken up by C&ED. C&ED will continue to carry out inspections of businesses, identify any particular areas of concern and conduct undercover operations and targeted patrols as required. Certain enforcement powers cannot be exercised by OFCA. These include the power to enter commercial premises to inspect goods, to seize, remove or detain any goods or to make arrests. For cases involving the provision of licensed telecommunications or broadcasting services, OFCA will continue to provide professional advice and assistance to C&ED during enforcement actions.
Enforcement strategy and powers
At present the Enforcement Agencies propose to adopt a "compliance based" approach to try and encourage future compliance from traders thereby leaving criminal sanctions as a last resort. To assist with this approach, the Ordinance provides the Enforcement Agencies with additional powers. The Enforcement Agencies may adopt the most appropriate enforcement tool for handling a case under investigation having regard to the particular circumstances of that case. Where appropriate the relevant agency may also consider issuing warning or advisory letters to the traders concerned:
Undertakings
Enforcement Agencies can now accept undertakings from trader organisations if they believe that the organisation has engaged, is engaging, or is likely to engage, in unfair trade practices. Every undertaking requires the consent of the Secretary for Justice and would be binding for at least 2 years. An undertaking will usually include the following elements:
i. a description of the conduct that is the subject of the Enforcement Agency’s investigation, and an explanation of why the Enforcement Agency believes that the trader's conduct constitutes an offence;
ii. an acknowledgment of or admission from a trader that the trader has engaged, is engaging or is likely to engage in the conduct in question;
iii. a positive commitment by the trader to cease the conduct and not to repeat it or to engage in conduct of a substantially similar kind; and
iv. specific details of the corrective actions that will be taken by the trader to remedy the harm caused by the conduct (if any);
If the undertaking is accepted by the relevant Enforcement Agency, investigations or criminal proceedings will not be brought or can be discontinued if those proceedings have already begun. An undertaking can be withdrawn by the Enforcement Agency if it has reasonable grounds to do so.
Injunctions
In addition, the Enforcement Agencies may now apply to the court for an injunction to stop a trader from continuing to engage in unfair trade practices. The court may grant an injunction if it is satisfied that a trader has engaged, or is likely to engage, in conduct that constitutes an offence.
Greater investigatory powers
Previously, Enforcement Agencies could only request a trader to produce books or documents relating to its business if the agency had reasonable grounds to believe that an offence had been committed. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been committed, the Ordinance now authorises the Enforcement Agencies to request such books or documents in order to ascertain whether any offence has been, or is being, committed.
Consumer Redress
In order to help consumers seek justice, the Ordinance also empowers the court to order the convicted trader to compensate the aggrieved consumer for any financial loss resulting from the offence. More significantly, the Ordinance also creates a private right of action for consumers allowing them to institute civil actions and seek damages against traders who are in breach of the new rules.
Criminal Proceedings
No prosecution for an offence under the Ordinance shall be brought after the expiration of 3 years from the date of commission of the offence or the expiration of 1 year from the date of discovery of the offence by the prosecutor, whichever is the earlier.
In determining whether to institute criminal proceedings, Enforcement Agencies must consider a number of factors, including:
a) whether the trader has engaged in the unfair trade practice for a long period of time;
b) the number of victims and the damage suffered by the victims;
c) whether the unfair practice was premeditated;
d) the impact of the unfair trade practice on the wider community;
e) whether there are elements in the unfair trade practice exercised by the trader which caused or was likely to have caused anxiety or distress to the victims;
f) whether the trader or a member of a trading organisation attempted to conceal his/her identity from the Enforcement Agency;
g) the trader's compliance history; and
h) whether the trader has obstructed the Enforcement Agency during any investigation.
How can we help you?
The Ordinance aims to provide better protection for consumers against unfair trade practices. If you are engaged in any consumer related business in Hong Kong, you need to be aware of these changes.
We can help suppliers to:
a) conduct a review of the products you are offering to retailers. As part of that review we would consider the labelling and any claims being made on the packaging, examine any marketing or advertising materials being provided to retailers and help you draft any performance claims made on the products or in the marketing materials so that they comply with the Ordinance; and
b) liaise with your retailers to help ensure that they have the assurances they require that the products and marketing materials you are supplying to them comply with the Ordinance;
We can help retailers/service providers to:
a) ensure that you provide sufficient information to consumers regarding the goods or services you are offering;
b) review your commercial practices, pricing policies and discount schemes to ensure that they comply with the Ordinance;
c) conduct training for your employees and any third party agents engaged in selling products and services on your behalf on the requirements of the Ordinance; and
d) liaise with your suppliers to help ensure that the products and marketing materials they are providing to you comply with the Ordinance.
The Compliance and Enforcement Policy Statement and the Enforcement Guidelines can be found here.
For further information, please contact: | https://archive.conventuslaw.com/hong-kong-enhanced-consumer-protection/ |
Abstracts and links to consumer sites. Over 60 links to Consumer Law information centers and advocates. Additional links are provided to sources with information about consumer law, bank regulations, public insurance adjusters and government actions that have dealt with consumers.
- Arbitration
Links are provided to Arbitration news, the Federal Arbitration Act, and recent court cases involving arbitration. Information that helps explain to the consumer how current arbitration clauses are effecting them is provided.
- Corporate Info
Links are provided for financial news, financial education, the Edgar Database Search, general business information sites (e.g. Fortune, Dun & Bradstreet, Wall Street Journal), Public Records Access, FTC lawsuits, and Financial Markets Information.
- Medical & Toxicology Sites
Links are provided to poison centers, medical libraries, medical journals, biomedical information, general medical reference sites, and sites dealing with medical-legal issues. Additional links connect with a chemicals table, Reuters Health News and environmental law links.
- Asbestos Victims Information
Asbestos victims information provides information for victims of asbestos disease: mesothelioma, pleural plaque, asbestosis, restrictive disease, lung cancer, crocidolite, amosite, or chrysotile and explains possible legal remedies.
- Antitrust
Antitrust resources and links to the ABA, American Antitrust Institute, FTC, and Supreme Court Debates dealing with Antitrust opinions.
- Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy resources, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, and links to Bankruptcy Courts and Codes, Articles, Court Cases, Debtor and Creditor Laws, International Bankruptcy Laws, and other general bankruptcy links.
- Consumer Law 2006 Updates
Table of N.Y.S. and Federal Consumer Protection Statutes, Recent NY Consumer Law Articles, Deceptive and misleading business practices, False advertising, Automobiles, Homes, Insurance, Loans & Credit, Overcoats lost in restaurants, Pyramid schemes, Property, Apartments & Coops, Retail Sales & Leases, Telemarketing, Litigation Issues, specific case citations and footnotes. | http://classactionlitigation.com/con_index.html |
© 2015 Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Class Actions:
Telephone Consumer Protection
Act and Deceptive Advertising
Paul Croker
2015 Litigation Trends Annual Survey
Respondents reported that the most important issues
impacting their companies were increasing number of class action lawsuits and a more litigious business environment.
Class action lawsuits were listed as the top litigation issue by
respondents in the US, Canada and Australia.
A quarter of all respondents reported at least one class or group action against their companies in the preceding 12 months, with survey participants from the US comprising 80 percent of that number.
71 percent of those who reported a class action had more than one filed against their companies in the previous 12 months.
Class Actions
Class actions are a form of representative litigation. One or more class representatives litigate on behalf of many absent class
members, and those class members are bound by the outcome of the representative's litigation.
Federal Rule 23(a) identifies the four required characteristics of a class action:
1) Numerosity - a class of a size such that joinder of each member as an individual litigant is impracticable;
2) Commonality - questions of law or fact common to the class;
3) Typicality - a class representative whose claims or defenses are typical of those of the class; and
4) Adequacy of Representation – a class representative who will
Class Actions
Rule 23(b) - A class action may be maintained if Rule 23(a) is satisfied and if one of the following are met:
1) prosecuting separate actions by or against individual class members would create a risk of:
A. Inconsistent or varying adjudications; or
B. Adjudications as to individual class members would be dispositive of or
substantially impair the ability of other individuals to protect their interests.
2) the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or
corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole; OR
3) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual
members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.
© 2015 Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991 as a consumer protection statute aimed at curbing abusive telemarketing practices.
The TCPA allows a consumer to sue companies for statutory
damages of $500, up to $1,500 if the violation was knowing or willful, for each prerecorded call/text, autodialed call/text, and unsolicited fax the consumer did not consent to receive.
• Do-Not-Call Registry - The TCPA also imposes the same statutory damages for telemarketing calls to consumers who have placed their residential telephone numbers on the National Do-Not-Call Registry even if the call is initiated without the use of an autodialer or prerecorded message.
The Exponential Growth of TCPA Class Actions
TCPA litigation has grown exponentially over the past several years— 560% between 2010 and 2014.
TCPA cases are the second most filed type of case in federal courts nationwide.
Defendants in TCPA lawsuits are no longer just bad-actor telemarketers.
The top 4 TCPA class action settlements in 2014 topped $175,000,000.
The rate of TCPA litigation is only likely to increase as a result of the recent controversial declaratory ruling by the FCC.
Approximately 90% to 95% of cases are structured as national class actions.
1% of the plaintiff’s firms that are active in TCPA litigation accounted for over 50% of all complaints.
Regulatory Agency
Congress authorized the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to implement rules and regulations enforcing the TCPA. 47 USC 227(b), (c) and See 47 CFR 64.1200.
The FCC revises or amends its rules and also issues Rulings and Orders providing guidance on its rules.
• FCC Rulings are entitled to some deference, however, the Agency’s rulings are not binding on courts. Dish Network, LLC v. FCC, 552 F. App’x 1, 1-2 (D.C. Cir. 2014).
Calls/Texts to Consumers Cellular Phones
TCPA applies to calls/texts to consumers’ cellular phones when a company uses an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS or autodialer) or a prerecorded or artificial voice in making the call/text.
• The TCPA defines an “autodialer” broadly as any technology with the capacity to dial random or sequential numbers equipment.
These restrictions apply to not only telemarketing calls/texts, but also to all other types of non-emergency calls/texts, including informational calls/texts.
Companies must have the proper level of prior express consent to make calls/texts to cellular phones lawfully.
• Prior express written consent is required for calls or texts that are made for a marketing or sales purpose. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2).
• Prior oral or written consent is required for non-telemarketing calls or text messages. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iii).
Calls to Residential Telephones
Telemarketing calls to residential telephone numbers using a prerecorded or artificial voice can be made if the company has obtained the consumer’s prior express written consent. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(3).
• Recently, in October 2013, the FCC increased the level of consent required for telemarketing calls from “prior express consent” to “prior express written consent”.
The TCPA does not prohibit the use of autodialers to call residential telephone numbers.
However, the TCPA precludes any calls to residential telephone numbers that are listed on the Do-Not-Call Registry.
The FCC eliminated the “established business relationship”
Opting Out of Telemarketing Messages
Prerecorded Telemarketing Message – Cell Phone or Residential Landline
• The TCPA requires that every prerecorded telemarketing message, whether delivered to a cell phone or a residential landline, provide an automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism that lets the
consumer make a do-not-call request prior to terminating the call, including brief instructions on how to do so.
What Qualifies as Willful or Knowing Violation?
Courts have discretion to award treble damages (up to $1,500) for willful or knowing violations.
Some courts have held that a plaintiff established a willful or knowing violation by showing that the defendant intended to engage in the conduct at issue without requiring a showing that the defendant knew the conduct violated the TCPA or that the defendant acted recklessly.
• American Home Servs., Inc. v. A Fast Sign Co., Inc., 747 S.E.2d 205, 208-209 (Ga. App. 2013). (“AHS admitted that it hired Sunbelt to send advertising faxes on its behalf. This is sufficient to make the violation ‘willful’ within the meaning of the statute.”).
Other courts have required a heightened showing that the defendant willfully and knowingly intended to violate the TCPA.
• Brown v. Enter. Recovery Sys., Inc., 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 10658, *35 (Tex. App. Aug. 22, 2013) (“But to recover treble damages, the Browns had to show that ERS knew of the TCPA's requirements and that it knew or known that its
Private Cause of Action
A private person may seek the following forms of relief under the TCPA:
• Actual monetary loss or $500 in statutory damages for each violation, whichever is greater
• Up to three times the actual monetary loss or $1,500 in
damages for each knowing or willful violation, whichever is greater.
• Injunctive relief.
• Attorneys’ fees and costs are not recoverable in a TCPA claim brought by an individual, however, attorneys’ fees
Potential for Enormous Liability
A high volume of non-compliant calls/texts to consumers can quickly lead to staggering potential liability -- $500 to $1,500 per violation.
Recent, notable settlements of TCPA lawsuits include:
• Capital One for $75 million; • HSBC for nearly $40 million; • AT&T Mobility for $45 million;
• Bank of America for $32 million; and • Papa John’s $16.5 million.
Enforcement of TCPA by Regulatory Agencies
The FCC may take administrative action including imposing civil forfeiture penalties. 47 U.S.C 227(e)(5).
State attorneys general or other state agencies, are authorized to bring a civil lawsuit in federal court for
injunctive relief and damages in the amount of $500 for each violation, which may be trebled for willful or knowing
Highlights from the FCC’s Recent Order
On June 18, 2015 the FCC released the text of its long awaited Ruling and Order addressing a total of 21 petitions regarding the TCPA, principally in connection with automated calls and text messages.
1. Definition of Autodialer;
2. “Make” or “Initiate” a Call or Text Message; 3. Establishing and Revoking Consent;
4. Reassigned Telephone Numbers;
5. Immediate One-Time Text Messages; and
6. Exception for Certain Free “Pro Consumer” Financial
What Technology Constitutes an Autodialer?
The TCPA defines an “autodialer” as equipment “which has the capacity . . . to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number
generator” and “to dial such numbers.”
Although several courts have held that such equipment must have the “present” capacity to store, produce, and dial such numbers to meet the TCPA’s definition, the FCC’s Order provides that “the capacity of an autodialer is not limited to its current configuration but also includes its potential functionalities.”
The Order acknowledges that there are “outer limits” to this interpretation of
“capacity,” and that “the outer contours of the definition of ‘autodialer’ do not extend to every piece of malleable and modifiable dialing equipment that conceivably could be considered to have some capacity,” but the Order provides little guidance along these lines.
Internet-to-Phone Technology - The FCC addressed the status of Internet-to-phone text messaging, which allows a party to send an email to an address that combines a
recipient’s mobile telephone number with the provider’s domain name (e.g.,
[email protected]) and results in the delivery of the e-mailed message as a text message to the recipient’s mobile telephone. The FCC’s Order states that this type of technology (as specifically described in the submitted petition) qualifies as an
Who Makes or Initiates a Call/Text for Purposes
of the TCPA?
The prohibition on certain uses of an autodialer only applies to a person or entity that “makes” or “initiates” a call or text message.
The FCC’s Order provides a test regarding the totality of the facts and circumstances surrounding the placing of a
particular call to determine:
1) who took the steps necessary to physically place the call;
and
2) whether another person or entity was so involved in
placing the call as to be deemed to have initiated it, considering the goals and purposes of the TCPA.
Establishing Consent
The TCPA’s express written consent requirements may be met by entering into an agreement in
writing with the consumer that includes all of the following:
• The signature of the person called. Electronic or digital signatures are permissible if valid under the federal E-SIGN Act or state contract law.
• Clear authorization for the company to deliver (or cause to be delivered) to the person telemarketing messages using an ATDS or artificial or prerecorded voice.
• The phone number to which the signatory authorizes the advertisements or telemarketing messages to be delivered.
• A statement that the person is not required to give consent as a condition of purchasing any property, goods or services.
The FCC’s Order confirms earlier guidance that “persons who knowingly release their phone
numbers have in effect given their invitation or permission to be called at the number which they have given, absent instructions to the contrary.”
The Order also confirms “that porting a telephone number from wireline service to wireless service
does not revoke prior express consent,” though the FCC cautions that the earlier-obtained consent has to meet the requirements of the “prior express consent” or “prior express written consent” standard, as the case may be, in order to be relied upon today in the wireless context.
Revoking Consent
The FCC’s Order appears to set a new standard for revoking consent, even though the FCC claims to ground its thinking in recent FCC precedent and common law principles.
The Order purports to clarify that “consumers may revoke consent through any reasonable means.” The FCC relies on a another totality of the facts and circumstances test with respect to revocation.
• The FCC stated, by way example, that consent can be revoked through “a consumer-initiated call, directly in response to a call initiated or made by a caller, or at an in-store bill payment location.”
• The Order also notes that designating an exclusive means of revocation can, “in some circumstances, materially impair” the consumer’s ability to revoke consent.
Calling/Texting Reassigned Telephone Numbers
The FCC’s Order clarified “that the TCPA requires the consent not of the intended recipient of the call, but of the current subscriber (or non-subscriber customary user of the phone)” that actually
receives the call.
However, the FCC recognized that because callers cannot always know that a telephone number has been reassigned, liability for the first call to a reassigned number does not necessarily lead to TCPA liability.
In so finding, the FCC acknowledged that it “do[es] not presume that a single call to a reassigned number will always be sufficient for callers to gain actual knowledge of the reassignment,” but the FCC nevertheless found “that the one-call window provides a
Immediate One-Time Text Message
The FCC explained that a one-time automated text message sent immediately after a consumer’s request for information as part of an ad campaign does not violate the TCPA.
• According to the FCC, this sort of text message is not a
“telemarketing” or “advertisement” message but instead merely the “fulfillment of the consumer’s request” for information.
The FCC clarified that in order to qualify for this exception, the one-time automated text message must:
1) be requested by the consumer;
2) be sent immediately in response to a specific consumer request; and
3) contain only the information requested by the consumer with
Exception for Certain One-Time Free
“Pro-Consumer” Financial Messages
The FCC’s Order provides limited exceptions to TCPA liability for certain free “pro-consumer” calls or text messages about time-sensitive financial issues.
These exceptions allow financial institutions to transmit via call/text free fraud and security alerts, as well as money transfer notifications, to recipients in the absence of “prior express consent,” subject to certain specified limitations.
These limitations specify that:
1) the messages may be sent only to the wireless telephone number provided by the customer of the financial institution;
2) the messages must state (at the beginning of the call for voice calls) the name and contact information of the financial institution;
3) the messages must be limited strictly to specific fraud, security and money transfer purposes and may not include any telemarketing, cross-marketing, solicitation, debt collection or advertising content;
4) the messages must be concise, generally one minute in length for voice calls and 160 characters or less for text messages;
5) no more than three messages per event over a three-day period may be sent to the owner of an affected account;
6) the messages must offer an easy means of opting out of future messages; and
Insulation From Class Actions
Incorporate enforceable arbitration clause and class action waiver into agreements with consumers.
• With respect to the TCPA, include these provisions in agreements or terms and conditions regarding communication (Ex: telephone call, text or fax) with consumers and require vendors to include these provisions in any agreements they may enter into with consumers.
Build, implement, and audit robust compliance programs.
• Specific to the TCPA, some action items include:
Establish compliant agreements/consents and processes in order to obtain the requisite express consent; Maintain a record of consent and procedure for handling revocation of consent;
Review existing consents for compliance; and
Develop an employee training program regarding national do-not-call rules.
Institute policies and procedures regarding vendor compliance and audit rights.
• With respect to the TCPA, some action items regarding vendors that are involved in any way with the company’s calls, texts or faxes with consumers include:
Conduct due diligence prior to selecting vendors;
Address risk allocation provisions and insurance requirements in vendor contracts; and
Obtain the right to audit vendors and establish appropriate policies and procedures for monitoring vendors on an ongoing basis.
Insulation From Class Actions
Defense Strategies/Arguments:
• Remove Lawsuit to Federal Court
• Article III Standing
U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, (No. 13-1339, 2015 WL 1879778 (Apr. 27, 2015)). The issue is whether a plaintiff has Article III standing where he/she can demonstrate statutory damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) but has not suffered any actual damages.
• Establish that the class does not satisfy any one of the following elements from Rule 23(a)or one of the elements of Rule 23(b): 1) Numerosity, 2) Commonality, 3) Typicality, and 4) Adequacy of Representation. Liability Insurance
• Coverage Issues – some insurers policies have exclusions that may apply, such as for statutory liability.
Margulis v. BCS Insurance Co., 1-14-0286 (Ill. App. Nov. 26, 2014) (TCPA class action against insurance agent not covered by professional liability insurance).
What Can We Do For You?
Draft and audit agreements/consents with consumers regarding communications covered by the TCPA.
Draft and audit an arbitration provision and class action waiver regarding terms and conditions and agreements with consumers.
Draft or audit agreements with vendors and consumers.
Perform audits of vendors communicating with or directing communications to consumers on behalf of your company.
Draft or audit policies, procedures and training programs regarding compliance with TCPA, as well as other federal and state consumer laws and regulations.
Audit insurance policies for coverage of claims under the TCPA or other consumer protection statutes.
Choose Your Words Wisely:
Deceptive Advertising Claims
Krystle M. Dunn, Associate
Starting Points for Private Class Actions
Investigations or lawsuits by government regulators
• State Attorneys General
• Federal Trade Commission
Settlements with government regulators
Food and Drug Administration warning letters
• Ex. Kind brand snacks
Creative/imaginative plaintiffs’ attorneys
• Individual client as basis for a class
Federal Trade Commission Act – 15 USC § 41,
et seq
.
“. . . unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are hereby declared unlawful.”
“Advertising substantiation” - advertisers must have a reasonable basis for advertised claims before they are disseminated.
Applies to both express claims and implied claims a reasonable consumer might infer.
FTC remedies include civil penalties, consumer refunds, cases
and desist orders, and orders to publish corrective advertising or include specific disclosures in future ads.
FTC’s Approach
FTC’s analysis:
• Is there a representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead a consumer?
• Was the representation, omission, or practice “material,” i.e., would it affect a consumer’s conduct or decision? • FTC examines these questions from the perspective of
consumers acting reasonably, or if targeted to a specific audience, members of that audience acting reasonably. Reasonableness standard protects against claims by “the
Guides Against Deceptive Pricing – 16 CFR 233
Covers “price comparisons” – advertising a reduction from the advertiser’s own former price.
The former price must be “bona fide” and “genuine.”
“Price at which the product was openly and actively offered for sale, for a reasonably substantial period of time, in the recent, regular course of business, honestly and in good faith.”
Not necessarily fictitious because no sales at former price. Guides also cover retail price comparisons (what others are
Guide Concerning the Use of Free – 16 CFR 251.1
Covers offers like “buy 1, get 1 free”, “two for one”, and “50% off with the purchase of two.”
Conveys to consumer that (1) free item is truly free; and (2) price for purchased item is the true regular price.
True regular price is one at which the seller “open and
actively sold the product or service” in that area in the past 30 days.
If prices tend to fluctuate, regular price is lowest price at
Anchoring in Sale Advertisements
Advertisements reference a regular price, MSRPs, etc., either to show a price reduction or to combine with additional free or discounted items.
The reference price implies the “value” of the good.
Many consumers are attracted by the hunt for great deals and discounts, luring them to shop and to make more
No private right of
action under the FTC!
© 2015 Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Missouri Merchandising Practices Act
Prohibits use of any deception, misrepresentation, etc., or omission of any material fact, in connection with the sale or advertisement of any merchandise.
Enforced by the Attorney General.
State regs prohibit advertising a price reduction unless:
• Reduction is from “a bona fide regular price in effect immediately prior to the advertisement.”
• Reduction is “meaningful,” defined as at least 5%.
• Records confirming the validity of the comparison are kept for at least 12 months.
Private MMPA Class Actions
Private claims are authorized under the MMPA if the
advertisement deceived the consumer and caused him to suffer “ascertainable loss of money or property.”
Punitive damages, injunctive relief, attorneys fees, and other equitable relief are also available.
Kansas Consumer Protection Act
The KCPA contains a broad prohibition similar to the MMPA.
Hoffman v. Macy’s
(New Jersey state court)
Bloomingdale’s store advertised “one-day special sale.”
Plaintiff purchased an espresso machine for $299, after being told that “regular price” was $625 and MSRP was $499.99.
Court affirmed dismissal for lack of “ascertainable loss.”
Plaintiff did not allege the product was defective or that he received less than what was promised.
Hinojos v. Kohl’s Corp.
, 718 F.3d 1098 (9th Cir. 2013)
Kohl’s advertised goods on sale for percentages off the “regular price, “ e.g., luggage for 50% off $299 regular price.
District Court dismissed, finding no economic injury – Hinojos received the goods he wanted at the advertised price.
Ninth Circuit reversed, finding it sufficient that Hinojos alleged he would not have bought the goods absent the price
misrepresentations.
But those allegations can only show (1) violation of consumer statute; and (2) proximate cause.
Economic injury is a separate inquiry. If Hinojos could not buy the goods for less elsewhere, he suffered no economic injury.
Outlet Store Claims
Some high-end retailers use outlet stores to reach consumers who regard the flagship stores as too expensive.
Lawsuits allege that the outlet stores advertised discounts off the original prices for goods.
The original prices were fictitious, and in some cases, the products were never actually sold at the flagship stores.
Michael Kors recently agreed to pay $4.9 million to settle such a class action in New York federal court.
Avoiding Deceptive Pricing Claims
Establish the regular price as bona fide before discounting.
• Offer each product at the regular price for a reasonably substantial period of time in the recent, regular course of business.
• Check state laws for better guidance.
• Missouri state regulations set vague standards patterned after the FTC Guides but then establish specific standards to avoid a rebuttable presumption of non-compliance.
• Massachusetts state regulations identify relevant factors to consider if a price is “bona fide” and specific safe harbors that establish that a price is bona fide.
Avoiding Deceptive Pricing Claims
(cont.) “Aggressively” cooperate with AG investigations and try to
secure the AG’s agreement on practices that will comply with FTC standards or state counterparts.
Ask regulators to keep any investigations, and the documents you produce to them, confidential and not subject to FOIA.
Defeating Deceptive Pricing Claims
Attack the sufficiency of the allegations about defendant’s representations and plaintiff’s damages –use 8(a) and 9(b).
Attack the complaint’s non-conclusory fact allegations as failing to show actual damages.
• Legitimacy of regular price cannot change the product itself.
• Plaintiff received the products he selected at the price he expected to pay.
• Assuming plaintiff is rational, his voluntary purchasing
decision confirms he believed the products were worth the advertised price, meaning he suffered no damages.
Defeating Deceptive Pricing Claims
(cont.) Attack whether the alleged facts support each element
required to state a claim under each statutory subpart.
Attack plaintiff’s standing for injunctive relief by showing no threat of similar harm in the future.
Resist class certification, e.g., challenge the putative class definition as overbroad and/or indefinite.
• Class defined as “all consumers who purchased during X time period” is overbroad:
Some bought at regular price.
Some did not see the advertisement.
Defeating Deceptive Pricing Claims
(cont.) Prove that the price comparison was not deceptive because
the regular/former price was bona fide:
• Complied with a “safe harbor” provision in the state consumer protection laws or regulations, e.g.,
Massachusetts; or
• Consistent with broad guidance language in state laws
and/or FTC Guides, e.g., openly and actively offered at that price for a reasonably substantial period of time in the
What’s in a Label?
Important to both companies and consumers.
• Companies want to influence purchasing decisions.
• Consumers want to make informed decisions about what
Food and Drug Administration
Establishes food labeling requirements
• A food product is misbranded in violation of the FFDCA if “its labeling is false or misleading in any particular…” 12 U.S.C.301 et seq.
• Label: “a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container of any article” 21 U.S.C. 321(k)
• Labelling: “labels and other written, printed or graphic matter (1) upon any article or any of its containers or wrappers or (2) accompanying such article” 21 U.S.C. 321(m)
Federal Trade Commission
The regulation of advertising includes food advertising.
FTC’s authority also extends to false and misleading labeling of food products.
Others Sources of Regulation
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
Federal Meat Inspection Act
Poultry Products Inspection Act Egg Products Inspection Act
Agricultural Marketing Act
Private Consumer Fraud Class Actions
Typically allege violations of state consumer fraud and deceptive practices statutes like the MMPA.
These cases can turn on the presence or absence of federal regulation or direction.
• If the complaint concerns a regulated matter, e.g., “certified organic,” the claim is preempted.
• Preemption is usually not available if the complaint
Regulated -
Brod v. Sioux Honey
(9th
Cir. 2015) Defendant labeled and sold its de-pollinated honey as
“honey.”
Plaintiff claimed that the labels violated California law.
Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal because:
• Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempts state food labeling laws that are “not identical” to federal ones.
• Under federal law, de-pollinated honey must be labeled with “common or usual name of the food,” i.e., “honey.” • California law requiring different label was preempted.
Unregulated –
Eggnatz v. Kashi Co.
(S.D. Fla)
Plaintiffs alleged Kashi’s advertising and labeling of its products as “all natural” was misleading because the
products contained GMO ingredients and other arguably “unnatural” ingredients.
Kashi settled, agreeing to pay about $4 million and to remove “natural” claims from products containing ingredients
Unregulated - “Handmade” Spirits
Tito’s Handmade Vodka – S.D. of California
• Motion to dismiss denied.
• Held that plaintiff could argue economic injury under the
Hinojos reasoning.
• Rejected at dismissal stage Tito’s Twombly plausibility argument, i.e., that no reasonable consumer could be deceived because the manufacture of vodka necessarily requires equipment.
Unregulated - “Handmade” Spirits
(cont.) Maker’s Mark – N.D. of Florida
• Motion to dismiss granted.
• Under Twombly, no reasonable person could believe that nationally marketed bourbon was literally made by hand or that substantial equipment was not used.
• Plaintiffs could not allege cogent facts explaining what they believe a reasonable consumer could infer from the
Liability for Express Claims
Bulleit Bourbon – owned by Diageo
• Labels and advertisements represent that the bourbon is distilled by Bulleit Distilling Co. in Lawrenceburg, KY.
• Plaintiff alleges Kirin Brewing distills Bulleit Bourbon, and that Diageo does not operate a distillery in Lawrenceburg. Blue Moon beer – owned by MillerCoors
• Blue Moon Brewing Company is a limited capacity brewery
located inside Coors Field.
• Plaintiff alleges MillerCoors actually brews Blue Moon at MillerCoors facilities.
Liability for Implied Claims
Class action lawsuit based on the “Red Bull gives you wings” advertising campaign.
Plaintiffs alleged the advertisements implied consuming Red Bull would lead to increased performance, concentration, and reaction speed.
Recent Claim Headlines
“FDA Says ‘Just Mayo’ Isn’t Mayo, Violates Branding Rules
• Can’t call eggless spread “mayo”
“Blue Moon Craft Beer Claims Are Deceptive, Consumers Say”
• Putative class claiming brewer’s use of “craft beer” is misleading
“Best Buy, Monster Hit With False Label Suit Over HDMI Cables”
• Class claims companies deceived consumers by claiming only
Monster cables work with certain HDTVs
Avoiding False or Misleading Labeling Claims
Ensure that product labels comply with applicable regulations.
Monitor for regulatory amendments or new agency interpretations.
Analyze product labels for express and implied claims using perspective of a reasonable consumer and confirm each claim is accurate and substantiated.
Watch for potential warning letters and enforcement actions against others in your industry.
Monitor results of pending litigation involving products making claims similar to yours.
© 2015 Armstrong Teasdale LLP
Defeating False or Misleading Labeling Claims
If available, argue state law claim is preempted because federal law regulates the subject of the claim.
Attack the claim’s plausibility under the Twombly, i.e., reasonable consumers are not likely to be deceived.
If available, attack the complaint’s non-conclusory fact allegations as failing to show actual damages.
• Representation on label could not change product’s value. • No allegations that product not worth what plaintiff paid or
that he could have purchased comparable product for less. • Not persuasive in lawsuits alleging misrepresentations
Defeating False or Misleading Labeling Claims(cont.)
Resist class certification:
• Class is not ascertainable if Plaintiff:
fails to exclude consumers who did not see the representation or bought for other reasons.
Offers no reliable and administratively feasible mechanism to determine whether consumers fit the class definition.
• No commonality without proof that the representation has a material and commonly-accepted meaning.
Attack the expert consumer survey or other evidence concerning the “reasonable expectation of consumers.”
Attack the damages –the difference between the product’s worth if the representation was accurate or absent, compared to the product’s worth as purchased.
Contact Information
Paul M. Croker
[email protected]
816.472.3116
Krystle M. [email protected] 816.472.3157
This program has been accredited for 1.8 Missouri Continuing Legal Education Credits, 1.5 Kansas Continuing Legal Education Credits, 1.5 SHRM Credits, and 1.0 HRCI Credits. | https://1library.net/document/y4m04g0y-class-actions-telephone-consumer-protection-act-deceptive-advertising.html |
Values and judgements play a critical role when we make__?
Ethical decisions
Refer to a persons personal philosophies about what is right or wrong
Morals
Specific and pervasive boundaries for behavior that should not be violated
Principles
Enduring beliefs and ideals that are socially enforced
values
What are the top two most trusted industries in the world?
Technology and Automotive
Theological discussions of ethics emerged Year?
1960s
In what decade did social conscience emerge?
1960s
Who came up with the consumer bill of rights
John F Kennedy
What is the consumer bill of rights?
Right to safety
Right to be informed
Right to choose
Right to be heard
What decade did Consumer protection groups fight for legislation changes and who led the fight?
Ralph Nader in the 1960s
An organizations obligation to maximize positive impact and minimize negative impact on stakeholders
Corporate Social Responsibilty
In what decade did business ethics become an acknowledged field of study and firms establish ethics commities
1980s
Foundation for the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations to come in the 1990s
Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct (DII)
Who introduced self regulation that changed the rules of business
Reagan
acceptable behavior as defined by the company and industry
ethical culture
Minimizing the need for enforced compliance. Maximize utilization of principles/ethical reasoning in difficult or new situations. These are the goals of the?
Ethical culture
Do companies need profits in order to meet their responsibilities?
Yes
Helps identify internal and external stakeholders. Helps monitor and respond to needs, values, and expectations of stakeholder groups
Stakeholder Framework
The formal system of accountability and control of ethical and socially responsible behavior
Corporate governance
Those who have a stake or claim in some aspect of a company's products, operations, markets, industry, and outcomes.
Stakeholders
What are the three approaches to stakeholder theory?
Normative
Descriptive
Instrumental
Principles and values help identify ethical guidelines that dictate how to treat stakeholders
Normative
Focuses on actual behavior, addressing decisions and strategies in stakeholder relationships
Descriptive
Examines stakeholder relationships and describes outcomes for particular behaviors
Instrumental
stakeholders whose continued association is absolutely necessary for a firms survival
Primary Stakeholders
Stakeholders who do not typically engage in transactions with the firm and are not essential to a firms survival
Secondary Stakeholders
What are the four levels of social responsibility
economic
legal
ethical
philanthropic
Strong sustained economic performance. Rigorous compliance. Ethical actions beyond what is legally required. Voluntary contributions to advance reputation and stakeholder commitment. these are the four interrelated dimensions of
corporate citizenship
is one of an organization's greatest intangible assets with tangible value
reputation
The four Social Responsibility Issues
Social
Consumer Protection
Sustainability
Corporate Governance
Deals with concerns that affect the welfare of our entire society, associated with the most common good
Social
The company has the responsibility of taking precautions to prevent consumer harm
Consumer Protection
Business can no longer afford to ignore the natural environment as a stakeholder
sustainability
To maximize positive outcomes that meet stakeholders needs is the purpose of a
stakeholder orientation
What is the formal system of Corporate Governance
Accountability
Oversight
Control
How closely workplace decisions align with a firms strategic direction
Accountability
A system of checks and balances to minimize opportunities for misconduct
Oversight
The process of auditing and improving organizational decisions and actions
Control
Founded in classic economic precepts.
Maximizing wealth for investors and owners. Which model?
Shareholder Model
A broader view of the purpose of business.
Stakeholder model
Holds final responsibility for its firms success, failure, and ethical actions
Board of directors
Is the concept of board members being linked to more than one company
Interlocking Directorate
How do you implement a stakeholders perspective?
Asses the corporate culture
Identify stakeholder groups
Identify stake holder issues
Assessing commitment to CSR
Identifying resources and determining urgency
Gaining stakeholder feedback
is a problem, situation,
or opportunity that requires an individual
or group to choose among actions
ethical issue
Uncompromising adherence to
ethical values
Integrity
Truthfulness or trustworthiness
Telling the truth to the best of your knowledge
Honesty
A lack of integrity, incomplete
disclosure, or an unwillingness to tell the truth
Dishonesty
The quality of being just, equitable,
and impartial
Fairness
How wealth or income is distributed
Equality
Occurs when an action that has an
effect upon another is returned
Reciprocity
The tradeoff between equity and
efficiency
Optimization
is a problem, situation, or
opportunity that requires an individual or
group to chose among several wrong or
unethical actions
ethical dilemma
One of the most common ethical
problems
Abusive or Intimidating
Behavior
Can be physical threats, false accusations,
profanity, insults, harshness, ignoring
someone, or unreasonableness
Abusive or Intimidating
Behavior
Three types of lies
Joking without malice
Commission lying
Omission lying
is creating a false
perception with words that deceive the
receiver
➢ Creating noise
Commission lying
is intentionally not
informing channel members of problems
relating to a product that affects awareness,
intention, or behavior
Omission lying
Exist when an individual must choose
whether to advance his/her personal
interests, those of the organization, or
some other group
Conflicts of
Interest
The practice of offering something in
order to gain an illicit advantage
Bribery
The person who promises or gives
the bribe commits the offense (type of bribery)
Active bribery
An offense committed by the
official who receives the bribe (type of bribery)
Passive bribery
Legal as long as
they are small (type of bribery)
Facilitation payments
The collection and analysis of
information on...
❖ Markets
❖ Technologies
❖ Customers and competitors
❖ Socioeconomic and external political trends
Corporate
Intelligence
Three Corporate intelligence models
Passive monitoring system for early
warning
❖ Tactical field support
❖ Support dedicated to top management
strategy
A repeated, unwanted behavior of a
sexual nature perpetrated upon an
individual by another
Sexual
Harassment
A personal, loving, and/or sexual
relationship with someone with whom
you share professional responsibilities
Dual
Relationship
The
relationship causes a conflict of interest or
impairment of professional judgment
Dual
Relationship
Any purposeful communication that
deceives, manipulates, or conceals facts
in order to create a false impression
Fraud
Top Method of Initial Detection of
Operational Frauds
Tip
The process of dishonestly creating,
distributing, promoting, and pricing products
Marketing
Fraud
Exaggerated advertising claims,
blustering, and boasting
Puffery
An advertising message that
misleads, confuses, or deceives the public
Implied falsity
Claims can be divided into tests
prove (establishment claims) and bald assertions
(non-establishment claims)
Literally false:
When consumers attempt to deceive
businesses for personal gain
Consumer
Fraud
involves an employee who helps
a consumer commit fraud
Collusion
involves a consumer duping a
store
Duplicity
is associated with a person who uses
tricks to obtain an unfair advantage
Guile
Involves legally buying and
selling stock in an insider's own company, but not all
the time
Legal insider trading
The buying or selling of
stocks by insiders who possess material that is not
public
Illegal insider trading
Involve the legal protection of intellectual
properties
Intellectual Property
Rights and Privacy
Three dimensions of institutionalization
Voluntary practices
Core practices
Mandated boundaries
Beliefs, values, and
voluntary contractual obligations of a business
Voluntary practices
Giving back to communities and
causes
Philanthropy
Documented best practices, often
encouraged by legal and regulatory forces and
trade associations
Core practices
Externally imposed
boundaries of conduct (e.g. laws, rules,
regulations and other requirements)
Mandated boundaries
Government established laws/regulations
➢ Set minimum standards for responsible behavior
Legal
Compliance
Elements of an
Ethical Culture (Diagram)
Center - Culture
Middle Ring - values, norms, artifacts, behavior
Outer ring - Voluntary actions, governance, core practices, legal compliance
defines the rights and duties of
individuals and organizations
Civil law
prohibits specific actions and
imposes punishments for breaking the law
Criminal law
Laws establish the basic ground rules for
responsible business activities
Mandated Requirement for
Legal Compliance (anti-trust laws)
Laws passed to prevent monopolies,
inequitable pricing, and other practices
that reduce or restrict competition
Laws Regulating
Competition
Sometimes called _____ because they encourage
competition and prevent activities that
restrain trade
procompetitive
legislation
require businesses
provide accurate information about products
and services and follow safety standards
Consumer protection
guards
against unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices
FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection
regulates food safety, human drugs, and
tobacco, among other things
FDA
is the glue that holds businesses
and their stakeholders together
Trust
Overseers of business actions
➢ Accountants, regulators, lawyers, financial rating
firms, auditors
➢ Critical in providing accurate information to
stakeholders
Gatekeepers
Measure and disclose financial
information to the public
➢ Assure accuracy
❖ Some
Accountants
Assess financial risk and express that
risk through letter ratings from "AAA"
to "C"
Risk
Assessors
Established a system of federal oversight
of corporate accounting practices
The Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX) Act
authority to monitor
accounting firms that audit public companies
Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board (PCAOB)
Reduces conflict of interest and increases
accountability
❖ Some legal protection for whistleblowers
❖ Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act
The Sarbanes-Oxley
(SOX) Act
Seeks to improve financial regulation,
increase oversight, and prevent excessive
risk-taking, deceptive practices and lack of
oversight
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act
Instituted a whistle-blower bounty program
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act
urges organizations to develop
and implement compliance programs
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for
Organizations
Focus on sound organizational practices
and integrity for performance measures
Highly Appropriate
Core Practices
Are most ethical issues financial?
No
Ties an
organization's product(s) to a social concern
through a marketing program
Voluntary
Responsibilities
The synergistic and
mutually beneficial use of core competencies
and resources to deal with stakeholders, benefit
the company and society
Strategic philanthropy:
Involves embedding values, norms, and
artifacts in organizations, industries, and
society
Institutionalization
in Business Ethics
The perceived relevance or importance
of an ethical issue to the individual,
work group, and/or organization
Ethical-Issue
Intensity
Reflects the ethical sensitivity of the
individual and/or work group
❖ Triggers the ethical decision making process
Ethical-Issue
Intensity
Relates to a person's
perception of social pressure and the harm
his/her decision will have on others
Moral intensity
People base their ethical decisions on their
own values and principles of right or wrong
Individual
Factors
Relates to individual differences in
relation to a general belief about how
one is affected by internal versus
external events or reinforcements
Locus of
Control
Managers with _________ go with the flow because
that's all they can do
External locus of control
Managers with __________ believe they can control
events; are masters of their destinies and trust in
their capacity to influence their environment
Internal locus of control
A set of values, norms,
and artifacts that members of an
organization share
Corporate culture
Reflects whether the firm has an
ethical conscience; is a function of many factors
Ethical culture
Those who have
influence in a work group
Significant others
Significant others examples
peer, coworker, manager, subordinate
Helps to explain
why many employees unquestioningly
follow superior's orders
Obedience to authority
The conditions in an organization that
limit/permit ethical/unethical behavior
Opportunity
Where employees
work, with whom they work, and the
nature of the work
Immediate job context
How
organizational decision makers should
approach an issue
Normative approaches:
approach that
examines how organizational decision makers
approach ethical decision making
descriptive
Concepts like fairness and justice are highly
important in a ______ stucture
normative
normative =
ideal standard
are central to an organization and
provide direction for action
Core values
takes into
account the political realities outside the
legal realm in the form of industry
standards
Normative business ethics
affects how a company operates
as well as the risks employees take for the
good of the firm
Competition
Foundation
for Normative Values
Social institutions include religion,
education, and individuals such as the
family unit
was one of the most influential
philosophers in his research on how
principles support the concept of justice
John Rawls
A thought experiment
that examined how individuals would
formulate principles if they did not know
what their future position in society would
be
Veil of ignorance
Two main principles of justice (Rawl)
Liberty principle
Difference principle
States that
each person has basic rights that are compatible
to the basic liberties of others
Liberty principle (equality principle):
States that economic and
social equalities (or inequalities) should be
arranged to provide the most benefit to the
least-advantaged members of society
Difference principle
result in business ethics
evaluations and decisions
Ethical issue intensity, individual factors,
and opportunity
The specific principles or values people
use to decide right from wrong
Moral Philosophy
Defined
Person-specific
❖ Guidelines for determining how to settle
conflicts and optimize mutual benefit
❖ Provide direction in formulating strategies
and resolving ethical issues
Moral Philosophy
The father of free market capitalism
➢ Developed the idea of the invisible hand
Adam Smith
(Who)
Markets reward or punish for unethical conduct
without the need for government regulation
➢ Currently the dominant form of capitalism
Milton Friedman
Values that
can be quantified by monetary means
➢ If an act produces value, accept it as ethical
Economic value orientation
Places special value on ideas and
ideals as products of the mind
Idealism
The view that an external world
exists independent of our perceptions
Realism
Everyone is guided by self-interest, competitive
Realism
Negative correlation to ethical decision-making
Realism
Positive correlation to ethical decision-making
Idealism
believe that only one thing is
intrinsically good
Monists
Pleasure is the ultimate good
Hedonism
believe that no one thing is
intrinsically good
Pluralists
reject the ideas that
➢ Ends can be separated from the means
➢ Ends, purposes, or outcomes are intrinsically good in
and of themselve
Instrumentalists
Focus on the end result
of actions and the goodness or happiness
created by them
Goodness theories
Emphasize the means
and motives by which actions are justified
Obligation theories
Obligation theories are Divided into two categories:
Teleology
Deontology
Considers acts as morally right or
acceptable if they produce a desired
result
Teleology
assess the moral
worth of a behavior by looking at the
consequences
Teleology
Two important teleological philosophies are
egoism and utilitarianism
defines right or acceptable behavior
in terms of consequences to the individual
➢ Maximizes personal interests
Egoism
Take a long-term
perspective and allow for the well-being of
others though their own self-interests
remain paramount
Enlightened egoists
seeks the greatest good
for the greatest number of people
Utilitarianism
Cost - Benefit analysis
Utilitarianism
Determine behavior
based on principles designed to promote
the greatest utility
Rule utilitarians
Examine a specific action
itself; not the rules governing it
Act utilitarians
Moral philosophies focusing on the
rights of individuals and on the
intentions associated with a particular
behavior
Deontology
Greek Word for ethics
Deontology
Categorical Imperative (Who)
Kant
Ethical acts can be viewed by everyone and the
rationale behind the act is suitable as a universal
principle
Categorical Imperative
Conformity to general
moral principles determines ethicalness
Rule deontologists
Actions are the proper
basis on which to judge morality
Act deontologists
Individuals and groups derive
definitions of ethical behavior
subjectively from experience
Relativist
Perspective
Relates to
observations of other cultures
Descriptive relativism
Proposes people
see situations from their own perspectives
Metaethical relativism
Assumes one
person's opinion is as good as another's
Normative relativism
Ethical behavior follows conventional
moral standards and compares behavior
against a standard "good" moral character
Virtue
Ethics
Fair treatment and due reward in
accordance with ethical or legal standards
Justice
An evaluation of the
results of a business relationship
Distributive justice
Considers the processes
and activities that produce desired outcomes
Procedural justice
Based on relationships
between organizational members, including
employees and managers
Interactional justice
Individuals use different moral
philosophies for personal decisions than
they use for work-related decisions
Moral Philosophy and
Ethical Decision-Making
This whole idea is important because it showed that individuals can change their values by moral development
Kohlberg's
Model
Illegal acts committed for personal and/or
organizational gain by abusing the trust and
authority associated with a given position
White Collar
Crime
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The attorney general for the District of Columbia on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp, BP Plc, Chevron Corp, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc for “systematically and intentionally misleading” consumers about the role their products play in causing climate change, the latest action by a U.S. attorney general against the oil and gas industry.
The lawsuit brought by Attorney General Karl Racine comes a day after Minnesota AG Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against the American Petroleum Institute, Exxon Mobil and Koch Industries for violating state laws barring consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices and false advertising.
“The defendants violated the District’s consumer protection law by concealing the fact that using fossil fuels threatens the health of District residents and the environment,” Racine said in a statement.
The intent of the legal action is to “end these disinformation campaigns and to hold these companies accountable for their deceptive practices,” he said.
The companies were not immediately available for comment.
Minnesota and D.C.’s lawsuits are the latest in a string of legal challenges by states, cities, and citizen groups targeting fossil fuel companies over their role in global warming.
Counterparts in California, New York and Massachusetts also filed lawsuits against oil majors but the Minnesota and DC lawsuits focus on consumer protection. | https://www.carriermanagement.com/news/2020/06/26/208368.htm |
Article 153(1) and (3)(a) of the Treaty provides that the Community is to contribute to the attainment of a high level of consumer protection by the measures it adopts pursuant to Article 95 thereof.
In accordance with Article 14(2) of the Treaty, the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods and services and freedom of establishment are ensured. The development of fair commercial practices within the area without internal frontiers is vital for the promotion of the development of cross-border activities.
The laws of the Member States relating to unfair commercial practices show marked differences which can generate appreciable distortions of competition and obstacles to the smooth functioning of the internal market. In the field of advertising, Council Directive 84/450/EEC of 10 September 1984 concerning misleading and comparative advertising (3) establishes minimum criteria for harmonising legislation on misleading advertising, but does not prevent the Member States from retaining or adopting measures which provide more extensive protection for consumers. As a result, Member States' provisions on misleading advertising diverge significantly.
These disparities cause uncertainty as to which national rules apply to unfair commercial practices harming consumers' economic interests and create many barriers affecting business and consumers. These barriers increase the cost to business of exercising internal market freedoms, in particular when businesses wish to engage in cross border marketing, advertising campaigns and sales promotions. Such barriers also make consumers uncertain of their rights and undermine their confidence in the internal market.
In the absence of uniform rules at Community level, obstacles to the free movement of services and goods across borders or the freedom of establishment could be justified in the light of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities as long as they seek to protect recognised public interest objectives and are proportionate to those objectives. In view of the Community's objectives, as set out in the provisions of the Treaty and in secondary Community law relating to freedom of movement, and in accordance with the Commission's policy on commercial communications as indicated in the Communication from the Commission entitled ‘The follow-up to the Green Paper on Commercial Communications in the Internal Market’, such obstacles should be eliminated. These obstacles can only be eliminated by establishing uniform rules at Community level which establish a high level of consumer protection and by clarifying certain legal concepts at Community level to the extent necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market and to meet the requirement of legal certainty.
This Directive therefore approximates the laws of the Member States on unfair commercial practices, including unfair advertising, which directly harm consumers' economic interests and thereby indirectly harm the economic interests of legitimate competitors. In line with the principle of proportionality, this Directive protects consumers from the consequences of such unfair commercial practices where they are material but recognises that in some cases the impact on consumers may be negligible. It neither covers nor affects the national laws on unfair commercial practices which harm only competitors' economic interests or which relate to a transaction between traders; taking full account of the principle of subsidiarity, Member States will continue to be able to regulate such practices, in conformity with Community law, if they choose to do so. Nor does this Directive cover or affect the provisions of Directive 84/450/EEC on advertising which misleads business but which is not misleading for consumers and on comparative advertising. Further, this Directive does not affect accepted advertising and marketing practices, such as legitimate product placement, brand differentiation or the offering of incentives which may legitimately affect consumers' perceptions of products and influence their behaviour without impairing the consumer's ability to make an informed decision.
This Directive addresses commercial practices directly related to influencing consumers' transactional decisions in relation to products. It does not address commercial practices carried out primarily for other purposes, including for example commercial communication aimed at investors, such as annual reports and corporate promotional literature. It does not address legal requirements related to taste and decency which vary widely among the Member States. Commercial practices such as, for example, commercial solicitation in the streets, may be undesirable in Member States for cultural reasons. Member States should accordingly be able to continue to ban commercial practices in their territory, in conformity with Community law, for reasons of taste and decency even where such practices do not limit consumers' freedom of choice. Full account should be taken of the context of the individual case concerned in applying this Directive, in particular the general clauses thereof.
This Directive directly protects consumer economic interests from unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices. Thereby, it also indirectly protects legitimate businesses from their competitors who do not play by the rules in this Directive and thus guarantees fair competition in fields coordinated by it. It is understood that there are other commercial practices which, although not harming consumers, may hurt competitors and business customers. The Commission should carefully examine the need for Community action in the field of unfair competition beyond the remit of this Directive and, if necessary, make a legislative proposal to cover these other aspects of unfair competition.
This Directive is without prejudice to individual actions brought by those who have been harmed by an unfair commercial practice. It is also without prejudice to Community and national rules on contract law, on intellectual property rights, on the health and safety aspects of products, on conditions of establishment and authorisation regimes, including those rules which, in conformity with Community law, relate to gambling activities, and to Community competition rules and the national provisions implementing them. The Member States will thus be able to retain or introduce restrictions and prohibitions of commercial practices on grounds of the protection of the health and safety of consumers in their territory wherever the trader is based, for example in relation to alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals. Financial services and immovable property, by reason of their complexity and inherent serious risks, necessitate detailed requirements, including positive obligations on traders. For this reason, in the field of financial services and immovable property, this Directive is without prejudice to the right of Member States to go beyond its provisions to protect the economic interests of consumers. It is not appropriate to regulate here the certification and indication of the standard of fineness of articles of precious metal.
It is necessary to ensure that the relationship between this Directive and existing Community law is coherent, particularly where detailed provisions on unfair commercial practices apply to specific sectors. This Directive therefore amends Directive 84/450/EEC, Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts (4), Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on injunctions for the protection of consumers' interests (5) and Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services (6). This Directive accordingly applies only in so far as there are no specific Community law provisions regulating specific aspects of unfair commercial practices, such as information requirements and rules on the way the information is presented to the consumer. It provides protection for consumers where there is no specific sectoral legislation at Community level and prohibits traders from creating a false impression of the nature of products. This is particularly important for complex products with high levels of risk to consumers, such as certain financial services products. This Directive consequently complements the Community acquis, which is applicable to commercial practices harming consumers' economic interests.
The high level of convergence achieved by the approximation of national provisions through this Directive creates a high common level of consumer protection. This Directive establishes a single general prohibition of those unfair commercial practices distorting consumers' economic behaviour. It also sets rules on aggressive commercial practices, which are currently not regulated at Community level.
Harmonisation will considerably increase legal certainty for both consumers and business. Both consumers and business will be able to rely on a single regulatory framework based on clearly defined legal concepts regulating all aspects of unfair commercial practices across the EU. The effect will be to eliminate the barriers stemming from the fragmentation of the rules on unfair commercial practices harming consumer economic interests and to enable the internal market to be achieved in this area.
In order to achieve the Community's objectives through the removal of internal market barriers, it is necessary to replace Member States' existing, divergent general clauses and legal principles. The single, common general prohibition established by this Directive therefore covers unfair commercial practices distorting consumers' economic behaviour. In order to support consumer confidence the general prohibition should apply equally to unfair commercial practices which occur outside any contractual relationship between a trader and a consumer or following the conclusion of a contract and during its execution. The general prohibition is elaborated by rules on the two types of commercial practices which are by far the most common, namely misleading commercial practices and aggressive commercial practices.
It is desirable that misleading commercial practices cover those practices, including misleading advertising, which by deceiving the consumer prevent him from making an informed and thus efficient choice. In conformity with the laws and practices of Member States on misleading advertising, this Directive classifies misleading practices into misleading actions and misleading omissions. In respect of omissions, this Directive sets out a limited number of key items of information which the consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision. Such information will not have to be disclosed in all advertisements, but only where the trader makes an invitation to purchase, which is a concept clearly defined in this Directive. The full harmonisation approach adopted in this Directive does not preclude the Member States from specifying in national law the main characteristics of particular products such as, for example, collectors' items or electrical goods, the omission of which would be material when an invitation to purchase is made. It is not the intention of this Directive to reduce consumer choice by prohibiting the promotion of products which look similar to other products unless this similarity confuses consumers as to the commercial origin of the product and is therefore misleading. This Directive should be without prejudice to existing Community law which expressly affords Member States the choice between several regulatory options for the protection of consumers in the field of commercial practices. In particular, this Directive should be without prejudice to Article 13(3) of Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (7).
Where Community law sets out information requirements in relation to commercial communication, advertising and marketing that information is considered as material under this Directive. Member States will be able to retain or add information requirements relating to contract law and having contract law consequences where this is allowed by the minimum clauses in the existing Community law instruments. A non-exhaustive list of such information requirements in the acquis is contained in Annex II. Given the full harmonisation introduced by this Directive only the information required in Community law is considered as material for the purpose of Article 7(5) thereof. Where Member States have introduced information requirements over and above what is specified in Community law, on the basis of minimum clauses, the omission of that extra information will not constitute a misleading omission under this Directive. By contrast Member States will be able, when allowed by the minimum clauses in Community law, to maintain or introduce more stringent provisions in conformity with Community law so as to ensure a higher level of protection of consumers' individual contractual rights.
The provisions on aggressive commercial practices should cover those practices which significantly impair the consumer's freedom of choice. Those are practices using harassment, coercion, including the use of physical force, and undue influence.
It is desirable that those commercial practices which are in all circumstances unfair be identified to provide greater legal certainty. Annex I therefore contains the full list of all such practices. These are the only commercial practices which can be deemed to be unfair without a case-by-case assessment against the provisions of Articles 5 to 9. The list may only be modified by revision of the Directive.
It is appropriate to protect all consumers from unfair commercial practices; however the Court of Justice has found it necessary in adjudicating on advertising cases since the enactment of Directive 84/450/EEC to examine the effect on a notional, typical consumer. In line with the principle of proportionality, and to permit the effective application of the protections contained in it, this Directive takes as a benchmark the average consumer, who is reasonably well-informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account social, cultural and linguistic factors, as interpreted by the Court of Justice, but also contains provisions aimed at preventing the exploitation of consumers whose characteristics make them particularly vulnerable to unfair commercial practices. Where a commercial practice is specifically aimed at a particular group of consumers, such as children, it is desirable that the impact of the commercial practice be assessed from the perspective of the average member of that group. It is therefore appropriate to include in the list of practices which are in all circumstances unfair a provision which, without imposing an outright ban on advertising directed at children, protects them from direct exhortations to purchase. The average consumer test is not a statistical test. National courts and authorities will have to exercise their own faculty of judgement, having regard to the case-law of the Court of Justice, to determine the typical reaction of the average consumer in a given case.
Where certain characteristics such as age, physical or mental infirmity or credulity make consumers particularly susceptible to a commercial practice or to the underlying product and the economic behaviour only of such consumers is likely to be distorted by the practice in a way that the trader can reasonably foresee, it is appropriate to ensure that they are adequately protected by assessing the practice from the perspective of the average member of that group.
It is appropriate to provide a role for codes of conduct, which enable traders to apply the principles of this Directive effectively in specific economic fields. In sectors where there are specific mandatory requirements regulating the behaviour of traders, it is appropriate that these will also provide evidence as to the requirements of professional diligence in that sector. The control exercised by code owners at national or Community level to eliminate unfair commercial practices may avoid the need for recourse to administrative or judicial action and should therefore be encouraged. With the aim of pursuing a high level of consumer protection, consumers' organisations could be informed and involved in the drafting of codes of conduct.
Persons or organisations regarded under national law as having a legitimate interest in the matter must have legal remedies for initiating proceedings against unfair commercial practices, either before a court or before an administrative authority which is competent to decide upon complaints or to initiate appropriate legal proceedings. While it is for national law to determine the burden of proof, it is appropriate to enable courts and administrative authorities to require traders to produce evidence as to the accuracy of factual claims they have made.
It is necessary that Member States lay down penalties for infringements of the provisions of this Directive and they must ensure that these are enforced. The penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Since the objectives of this Directive, namely to eliminate the barriers to the functioning of the internal market represented by national laws on unfair commercial practices and to provide a high common level of consumer protection, by approximating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States on unfair commercial practices, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to eliminate the internal market barriers and achieve a high common level of consumer protection.
It is appropriate to review this Directive to ensure that barriers to the internal market have been addressed and a high level of consumer protection achieved. The review could lead to a Commission proposal to amend this Directive, which may include a limited extension to the derogation in Article 3(5), and/or amendments to other consumer protection legislation reflecting the Commission's Consumer Policy Strategy commitment to review the existing acquis in order to achieve a high, common level of consumer protection.
The purpose of this Directive is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and achieve a high level of consumer protection by approximating the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States on unfair commercial practices harming consumers' economic interests.
‘regulated profession’ means a professional activity or a group of professional activities, access to which or the pursuit of which, or one of the modes of pursuing which, is conditional, directly or indirectly, upon possession of specific professional qualifications, pursuant to laws, regulations or administrative provisions.
1. This Directive shall apply to unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices, as laid down in Article 5, before, during and after a commercial transaction in relation to a product.
2. This Directive is without prejudice to contract law and, in particular, to the rules on the validity, formation or effect of a contract.
3. This Directive is without prejudice to Community or national rules relating to the health and safety aspects of products.
4. In the case of conflict between the provisions of this Directive and other Community rules regulating specific aspects of unfair commercial practices, the latter shall prevail and apply to those specific aspects.
5. For a period of six years from 12 June 2007, Member States shall be able to continue to apply national provisions within the field approximated by this Directive which are more restrictive or prescriptive than this Directive and which implement directives containing minimum harmonisation clauses. These measures must be essential to ensure that consumers are adequately protected against unfair commercial practices and must be proportionate to the attainment of this objective. The review referred to in Article 18 may, if considered appropriate, include a proposal to prolong this derogation for a further limited period.
6. Member States shall notify the Commission without delay of any national provisions applied on the basis of paragraph 5.
7. This Directive is without prejudice to the rules determining the jurisdiction of the courts.
8. This Directive is without prejudice to any conditions of establishment or of authorisation regimes, or to the deontological codes of conduct or other specific rules governing regulated professions in order to uphold high standards of integrity on the part of the professional, which Member States may, in conformity with Community law, impose on professionals.
9. In relation to ‘financial services’, as defined in Directive 2002/65/EC, and immovable property, Member States may impose requirements which are more restrictive or prescriptive than this Directive in the field which it approximates.
10. This Directive shall not apply to the application of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of Member States relating to the certification and indication of the standard of fineness of articles of precious metal.
Member States shall neither restrict the freedom to provide services nor restrict the free movement of goods for reasons falling within the field approximated by this Directive.
1. Unfair commercial practices shall be prohibited.
it materially distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behaviour with regard to the product of the average consumer whom it reaches or to whom it is addressed, or of the average member of the group when a commercial practice is directed to a particular group of consumers.
3. Commercial practices which are likely to materially distort the economic behaviour only of a clearly identifiable group of consumers who are particularly vulnerable to the practice or the underlying product because of their mental or physical infirmity, age or credulity in a way which the trader could reasonably be expected to foresee, shall be assessed from the perspective of the average member of that group. This is without prejudice to the common and legitimate advertising practice of making exaggerated statements or statements which are not meant to be taken literally.
are aggressive as set out in Articles 8 and 9.
5. Annex I contains the list of those commercial practices which shall in all circumstances be regarded as unfair. The same single list shall apply in all Member States and may only be modified by revision of this Directive.
the consumer's rights, including the right to replacement or reimbursement under Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees (8), or the risks he may face.
the trader indicates in a commercial practice that he is bound by the code.
1. A commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if, in its factual context, taking account of all its features and circumstances and the limitations of the communication medium, it omits material information that the average consumer needs, according to the context, to take an informed transactional decision and thereby causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.
2. It shall also be regarded as a misleading omission when, taking account of the matters described in paragraph 1, a trader hides or provides in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner such material information as referred to in that paragraph or fails to identify the commercial intent of the commercial practice if not already apparent from the context, and where, in either case, this causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.
3. Where the medium used to communicate the commercial practice imposes limitations of space or time, these limitations and any measures taken by the trader to make the information available to consumers by other means shall be taken into account in deciding whether information has been omitted.
for products and transactions involving a right of withdrawal or cancellation, the existence of such a right.
5. Information requirements established by Community law in relation to commercial communication including advertising or marketing, a non-exhaustive list of which is contained in Annex II, shall be regarded as material.
A commercial practice shall be regarded as aggressive if, in its factual context, taking account of all its features and circumstances, by harassment, coercion, including the use of physical force, or undue influence, it significantly impairs or is likely to significantly impair the average consumer's freedom of choice or conduct with regard to the product and thereby causes him or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.
any threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken.
This Directive does not exclude the control, which Member States may encourage, of unfair commercial practices by code owners and recourse to such bodies by the persons or organisations referred to in Article 11 if proceedings before such bodies are in addition to the court or administrative proceedings referred to in that Article.
Recourse to such control bodies shall never be deemed the equivalent of foregoing a means of judicial or administrative recourse as provided for in Article 11.
1. Member States shall ensure that adequate and effective means exist to combat unfair commercial practices in order to enforce compliance with the provisions of this Directive in the interest of consumers.
bring such unfair commercial practices before an administrative authority competent either to decide on complaints or to initiate appropriate legal proceedings.
It shall be for each Member State to decide which of these facilities shall be available and whether to enable the courts or administrative authorities to require prior recourse to other established means of dealing with complaints, including those referred to in Article 10. These facilities shall be available regardless of whether the consumers affected are in the territory of the Member State where the trader is located or in another Member State.
even without proof of actual loss or damage or of intention or negligence on the part of the trader.
on the understanding that it is for each Member State to decide which of the two options to select.
Where the powers referred to in paragraph 2 are exercised exclusively by an administrative authority, reasons for its decisions shall always be given. Furthermore, in this case, provision must be made for procedures whereby improper or unreasonable exercise of its powers by the administrative authority or improper or unreasonable failure to exercise the said powers can be the subject of judicial review.
to consider factual claims as inaccurate if the evidence demanded in accordance with (a) is not furnished or is deemed insufficient by the court or administrative authority.
Member States shall lay down penalties for infringements of national provisions adopted in application of this Directive and shall take all necessary measures to ensure that these are enforced. These penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
It shall be for each Member State to decide which of these facilities shall be available and whether to enable the courts or administrative authorities to require prior recourse to other established means of dealing with complaints, including those referred to in Article 5.
Given the prohibition of inertia selling practices laid down in Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market (10), Member States shall take the measures necessary to exempt the consumer from the provision of any consideration in cases of unsolicited supply, the absence of a response not constituting consent.
Given the prohibition of inertia selling practices laid down in Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market (11) and without prejudice to the provisions of Member States' legislation on the tacit renewal of distance contracts, when such rules permit tacit renewal, Member States shall take measures to exempt the consumer from any obligation in the event of unsolicited supplies, the absence of a reply not constituting consent.
Member States shall take appropriate measures to inform consumers of the national law transposing this Directive and shall, where appropriate, encourage traders and code owners to inform consumers of their codes of conduct.
1. By 12 June 2011 the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a comprehensive report on the application of this Directive, in particular of Articles 3(9) and 4 and Annex I, on the scope for further harmonisation and simplification of Community law relating to consumer protection, and, having regard to Article 3(5), on any measures that need to be taken at Community level to ensure that appropriate levels of consumer protection are maintained. The report shall be accompanied, if necessary, by a proposal to revise this Directive or other relevant parts of Community law.
2. The European Parliament and the Council shall endeavour to act, in accordance with the Treaty, within two years of the presentation by the Commission of any proposal submitted under paragraph 1.
Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 12 June 2007. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof and inform the Commission of any subsequent amendments without delay.
They shall apply those measures by 12 December 2007. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
Done at Strasbourg, 11 May 2005.
(1) OJ C 108, 30.4.2004, p. 81.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 20 April 2004 (OJ C 104 E, 30.4.2004, p. 260), Council Common Position of 15 November 2004 (OJ C 38 E, 15.2.2005, p. 1), Position of the European Parliament of 24 February 2005 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Council Decision of 12 April 2005.
(3) OJ L 250, 19.9.1984, p. 17. Directive as amended by Directive 97/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 290, 23.10.1997, p. 18).
(4) OJ L 144, 4.6.1997, p. 19. Directive as amended by Directive 2002/65/EC (OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 16).
(5) OJ L 166, 11.6.1998, p. 51. Directive as last amended by Directive 2002/65/EC.
(6) OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 16.
(7) OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37.
(8) OJ L 171, 7.7.1999, p. 12.
(12) OJ L 364, 9.12.2004, p. 1.
Claiming to be a signatory to a code of conduct when the trader is not.
Displaying a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without having obtained the necessary authorisation.
Claiming that a code of conduct has an endorsement from a public or other body which it does not have.
Claiming that a trader (including his commercial practices) or a product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by a public or private body when he/it has not or making such a claim without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation.
Making an invitation to purchase products at a specified price without disclosing the existence of any reasonable grounds the trader may have for believing that he will not be able to offer for supply or to procure another trader to supply, those products or equivalent products at that price for a period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable having regard to the product, the scale of advertising of the product and the price offered (bait advertising).
Falsely stating that a product will only be available for a very limited time, or that it will only be available on particular terms for a very limited time, in order to elicit an immediate decision and deprive consumers of sufficient opportunity or time to make an informed choice.
Undertaking to provide after-sales service to consumers with whom the trader has communicated prior to a transaction in a language which is not an official language of the Member State where the trader is located and then making such service available only in another language without clearly disclosing this to the consumer before the consumer is committed to the transaction.
Stating or otherwise creating the impression that a product can legally be sold when it cannot.
Presenting rights given to consumers in law as a distinctive feature of the trader's offer.
Using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer (advertorial). This is without prejudice to Council Directive 89/552/EEC (1).
Making a materially inaccurate claim concerning the nature and extent of the risk to the personal security of the consumer or his family if the consumer does not purchase the product.
Promoting a product similar to a product made by a particular manufacturer in such a manner as deliberately to mislead the consumer into believing that the product is made by that same manufacturer when it is not.
Establishing, operating or promoting a pyramid promotional scheme where a consumer gives consideration for the opportunity to receive compensation that is derived primarily from the introduction of other consumers into the scheme rather than from the sale or consumption of products.
Claiming that the trader is about to cease trading or move premises when he is not.
Claiming that products are able to facilitate winning in games of chance.
Falsely claiming that a product is able to cure illnesses, dysfunction or malformations.
Passing on materially inaccurate information on market conditions or on the possibility of finding the product with the intention of inducing the consumer to acquire the product at conditions less favourable than normal market conditions.
Including in marketing material an invoice or similar document seeking payment which gives the consumer the impression that he has already ordered the marketed product when he has not.
Falsely claiming or creating the impression that the trader is not acting for purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession, or falsely representing oneself as a consumer.
Creating the false impression that after-sales service in relation to a product is available in a Member State other than the one in which the product is sold.
Creating the impression that the consumer cannot leave the premises until a contract is formed.
Conducting personal visits to the consumer's home ignoring the consumer's request to leave or not to return except in circumstances and to the extent justified, under national law, to enforce a contractual obligation.
Making persistent and unwanted solicitations by telephone, fax, e-mail or other remote media except in circumstances and to the extent justified under national law to enforce a contractual obligation. This is without prejudice to Article 10 of Directive 97/7/EC and Directives 95/46/EC (2) and 2002/58/EC.
Requiring a consumer who wishes to claim on an insurance policy to produce documents which could not reasonably be considered relevant as to whether the claim was valid, or failing systematically to respond to pertinent correspondence, in order to dissuade a consumer from exercising his contractual rights.
Including in an advertisement a direct exhortation to children to buy advertised products or persuade their parents or other adults to buy advertised products for them. This provision is without prejudice to Article 16 of Directive 89/552/EEC on television broadcasting.
Demanding immediate or deferred payment for or the return or safekeeping of products supplied by the trader, but not solicited by the consumer except where the product is a substitute supplied in conformity with Article 7(3) of Directive 97/7/EC (inertia selling).
Explicitly informing a consumer that if he does not buy the product or service, the trader's job or livelihood will be in jeopardy.
taking any action in relation to claiming the prize or other equivalent benefit is subject to the consumer paying money or incurring a cost.
(1) Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by Law, Regulation or Administrative Action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities (OJ L 298, 17.10.1989, p. 23). Directive as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 202, 30.7.1997, p. 60).
(2) Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31). Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).
(1) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 59.
(2) OJ L 280, 29.10.1994, p. 83.
(3) OJ L 80, 18.3.1998, p. 27.
(4) OJ L 311, 28.11.2001, p. 67. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/27/EC (OJ L 136, 30.4.2004, p. 34).
(5) OJ L 178, 17.7.2000, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 101, 1.4.1998, p. 17.
(7) OJ L 41, 13.2.2002, p. 20.
(8) OJ L 9, 15.1.2003, p. 3.
(9) OJ L 345, 19.12.2002, p. 1. Directive as amended by Council Directive 2004/66/EC. (OJ L 168, 1.5.2004, p. 35).
(11) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2002/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 35, 11.2.2003, p. 1).
(12) OJ L 345, 31.12.2003, p. 64. | https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32005L0029 |
Shahin RothermelVenable LLP
Shahin O. Rothermel is an associate in Venable’s Regulatory Practice Group, where she assists clients with compliance matters before the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and other regulatory bodies.
She has experience counseling clients on a wide range of consumer protection matters, including legal issues related to advertising, privacy, social media, sales practices, warranties, promotions, and sweepstakes.
Shahin advises clients on developments regarding Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the CAN-SPAM Act, state Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices statutes, and other privacy and consumer protection laws.
She assists clients in drafting, negotiating, and managing financial and marketing arrangements, and she has developed internal and external compliance programs and policies on matters related to email, social media, product claims, telemarketing, and privacy.
Shahin has also assisted clients with civil investigations before the Federal Trade Commission and state agencies. In addition, she has counseled and defended clients in litigation arising under various consumer protection statutes.
Shahin drafts, revises, and updates marketing and advertiser agreements, ad network agreements, and publisher agreements. She also provides compliance advice regarding advertisements created, published, and hosted by clients, and advises regarding dissemination of such advertisements.
Education :
- J.D. Georgetown University Law Center 2012
- B.A. International Relations and Economics summa cum laude New York University 2009
Bar Admissions : District of Columbia, Virginia
Professional Memberships :
- American Bar Association
- District of Columbia Bar Association
- Federal Communications Bar Association
- Iranian-American Bar Association
Community : Shahin is vice chair of the Promotion and Marketing Law Committee in the American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law. | https://lawtally.com/lawyers/shahin-rothermel/ |
The FTC is a bipartisan federal agency with a unique dual mission to protect consumers and promote competition. For one hundred years, our collegial and consensus-driven agency has championed the interests of American consumers. As we begin our second century, the FTC is dedicated to advancing consumer interests while encouraging innovation and competition in our dynamic economy.
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Protecting Consumers
The FTC protects consumers by stopping unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices in the marketplace. We conduct investigations, sue companies and people that violate the law, develop rules to ensure a vibrant marketplace, and educate consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities. We collect complaints about hundreds of issues from data security and deceptive advertising to identity theft and Do Not Call violations, and make them available to law enforcement agencies worldwide for follow-up. Our experienced and motivated staff uses 21st century tools to anticipate – and respond to – changes in the marketplace.
Promoting Competition
Competition in America is about price, selection, and service. It benefits consumers by keeping prices low and the quality and choice of goods and services high. By enforcing antitrust laws, the FTC helps ensure that our markets are open and free. The FTC will challenge anticompetitive mergers and business practices that could harm consumers by resulting in higher prices, lower quality, fewer choices, or reduced rates of innovation. We monitor business practices, review potential mergers, and challenge them when appropriate to ensure that the market works according to consumer preferences, not illegal practices. | http://www.63828147.com/about-ftc/what-we-do |
Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Valmy is an unincorporated town in Humboldt County, Nevada, named after the Battle of Valmy in France. It is home to three major mining complexes, many workers of which live in the town's residential area and for which the town acts as a services base. Overlooking the Old California Emigrant Trail, Valmy was named after the Battle of Valmy in France. Established in 1910 by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as a section point, Valmy served during the steam era as a water and fuel stop for the railroad. Treaty Hill to the northwest marks a division point between the Paiute lands to the west and Shoshone lands to the east. For generations the scene of battles over two springs, Treaty Hill marks the site where peace was wrought by compromise, when two chiefs sat down and divided springs and territory between the warring tribes. The first postoffice here was established as Stonehouse on November 26, 1890. The name was changed to Valmy March 24, 1915. | http://www.openjurist.org/law/consumer-protection-law/nevada/valmy |
Campaign for Accountability has asked four state Attorneys General to investigate deceptive business practices in the solar industry.
On March 29, 2017, Campaign for Accountability asked Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to open an investigation into companies that offer residential solar panels in Oregon. A review of consumer complaints filed with the Oregon Attorney General’s Office reveals many of these companies have engaged in false and misleading acts in the marketing and sale or lease of solar panels, in apparent violation of Oregon law.
On January 18, 2017, Campaign for Accountability asked Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into companies that offer residential solar panels in Florida. A review of consumer complaints filed with the Florida Attorney General’s Office reveals many of these companies have engaged in false and misleading acts in the marketing and sale or lease of solar panels, in apparent violation of Florida law.
On November 17, 2016, Campaign for Accountability asked the California Attorney General to open an investigation into companies that offer residential solar panels. A review of consumer complaints filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) – which lacks jurisdiction to resolve these complaints – reveals many of these companies have engaged in false and misleading acts in the marketing and sale or lease of solar panels, in apparent violation of California law.
On October 27, 2016, Campaign for Accountability asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate companies providing solar panels to residential homes. CfA’s request is based on a review of consumer complaints filed with the attorney general’s office suggesting false and misleading trade practices that may violate Texas law. | https://campaignforaccountability.org/work/request-state-attorneys-general-investigate-solar-panel-industry/ |
A bill pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 1849: Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017 (Trott), would exempt attorneys and law firms engaged in litigation from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and eliminate Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) authority over them. Claiming that state courts and bar associations would adequately police bad-actor attorneys, supporters of the bill ignore the critical role that the FDCPA plays in providing relief for unsophisticated consumers abused by the sharp practices of sophisticated collection attorneys.
Congress1 and the courts2 have recognized for decades that consumers must be protected from false, deceptive, misleading, and unfair practices by lawyers collecting debts in courts. This bill attempts to turn back the clock, and would allow collection attorneys to engage in egregious practices such as:
- Proceeding to trial without any witnesses or admissible evidence, relying on court rules to award them judgment if the consumer does not appear or asking the court to continue or dismiss the case if the consumer does appear.3
- Routinely filing court documents without confirming the accuracy of that information,4 often resulting in default judgments based on inaccurate information.
- Filing lawsuits in courts hundreds of miles away from the consumers’ homes,5 making it nearly impossible for most consumers to appear in court to defend themselves against the collection lawsuit.6
- Filing lawsuits on time-barred debt after the statute of limitations has expired,7 such that consumers who have paid their debts are less likely to have critical records to be able to prove their payments.
- Seeking fees or costs that are not legally allowable,8 adding to the amount of judgments against unsophisticated consumers who often do not have the means to challenge these additional and illegal charges.
- Misusing state garnishment proceedings,9 such as by knowingly garnishing income or property that is exempt from collection.
State Consumer Protection Laws May Not Cover Attorneys.
Many states do not have laws that are equivalent to the FDCPA. In these states, exempting attorneys from coverage under the FDCPA would mean that no federal or state laws would protect consumers from abusive litigation practices by consumer attorneys.10
States Would Not Have the Capacity to Protect Consumers.
Even states with legal authority (see previous paragraph) would not have the resources to monitor the tens of thousands of debt collection lawsuits that are filed yearly in each state11 or to bring sufficient enforcement or disciplinary actions in response to abusive litigation activity.
Court and Ethical Rules Are No Substitute for the FDCPA.
To date, neither the courts nor bar associations have been effective in policing litigation abuses by collection attorneys.12 There is no reason to believe that these agencies will suddenly step up now if FDCPA sanctions against collection attorneys for litigation abuses are eliminated.
Collection Attorneys Would File More Lawsuits.
H.R. 1849 would exempt lawyers from the FDCPA for conduct in litigation that would be a violation outside of court. For example, misstating the amount owed in a lawsuit would be exempt from FDCPA liability but misstating the amount owed in a pre-litigation letter or phone call would be a violation. As a result, attorneys would be encouraged to file suit first rather than attempting to reach a resolution with consumers outside of court. This would drive a huge increase in collection lawsuits filed in state courts for amounts that exceed what is actually owed, further clogging the already overburdened trial courts.
H.R. 1849 Would Prohibit CFPB Supervision and Enforcement.
The CFPB has special insights into abusive collection practices through extensive national data from consumer complaints and information gleaned from industry supervision. H.R. 1849 would tie the CFPB’s hands and prevent it from acting on abusive practices by attorneys or law firms when they are engaging in debt collection litigation. Previous CFPB enforcement actions against collection law firms have focused on law firms operating large debt collection “mills” churning through a high volume of lawsuits with minimal attorney oversite.13
H.R. 1849 would protect attorneys who engage in abusive litigation collection practices that hurt American consumers. We urge members of Congress to oppose this bill.
For more information, contact attorneys April Kuehnhoff ([email protected] or 617.542.8010) or Margot Saunders ([email protected] or 202.595.7844).
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Endnotes
1 In 1986, as the result of clear findings of abuses by debt collection attorneys, Congress amended the FDCPA to ensure that attorneys who meet the statutory definition of debt collector must comply with all of the provisions of the law. Pub. L. No. 99-361, 100 Stat. 768 (effective July 9, 1986). In the process of adopting the 1986 amendment, Congress considered but rejected “language designed to keep litigation activities outside the Act’s scope.” Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291, 298 (1995).
2 See, e.g., Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995).
3 Demarais v. Gurstel Chargo, P.A., __ F.3d __, 2017 WL 3707437, at *1 (8th Cir. Aug. 29, 2017).
4 Statements made without meaningful attorney review may be false or misleading in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1692e. See, e.g., Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau v. Frederick J. Hanna & Assocs., P.C., 114 F. Supp. 3d 1342 (N.D. Ga.) (denying motion to dismiss 1692e claims where “the few attorneys on staff were allegedly left to essentially skim and sign the prepared pleadings” taking “less than a minute to approve each suit”); Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, LLP, 30 F. Supp. 3d 283, 290 (D.N.J. 2014) (finding a violation of 1692e where “neither [reviewing attorney] nor any other member of Pressler’s staff reviewed, or otherwise had knowledge of, the contract between Bock and the bank, including any choice of law, choice of venue, or dispute resolution clause governing disputes between Bock and his creditor . . . Nor did [reviewing attorney] or anyone else at Pressler review the agreement by which Bock’s original creditor allegedly assigned this debt to Pressler’s client, Midland.”).
5 The FDCPA limits where collection lawsuits can be filed. 15 U.S.C. § 1692i. See, e.g., Lyons v. Michael & Assocs., 824 F.3d 1169, 1171 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Lyons alleges that Michael & Associates violated the FDCPA by filing a collection lawsuit against her in Monterey County, a location where she neither lived nor ‘signed the contract sued upon.’”).
6 See, e.g., Harold v. Steel, 773 F.3d 884, 886 (7th Cir. 2014) (“If a debt collector violates [15 U.S.C. § 1692i], it inflicts an injury measured by the costs of travelling or sending a lawyer to the remote court and moving for a change of venue, no matter how the suit comes out.”); S.Rep. No. 95–382, at 5 (1977), 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1695, 1969 (“This legislation also addresses the problem of ‘forum abuse,‘ an unfair practice in which debt collectors file suit against consumers in courts which are so distant or inconvenient that consumers are unable to appear. As a result, the debt collector obtains a default judgment and the consumer is denied his day in court.”).
7 Courts have held that filing lawsuits on time-barred debts violates 15 U.S.C. § 1692e (prohibiting a debt collector from using “any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt”) or 15 U.S.C. § 1692f (prohibiting a debt collector from using “unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt”). National Consumer Law Center, Fair Debt Collection, §§ 5.5.2.13.3.1, 5.6.2 (8th ed. 2014). See, e.g., McCollough v. Johnson, Rodenburg & Lauinger, LLC, 637 F.3d 939 (9th Cir. 2011) (lawyers filed lawsuit against consumer despite evidence that the debt was beyond the statute of limitations).
8 “The false representation of . . . the character, amount, or legal status of any debt,” 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(2)(A), and “[t]he collection of any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law,” 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1) both violate the FDCPA. See, e.g., Kaymark v. Bank of Am., N.A., 783 F.3d 168 (3d Cir. 2015) (listing fees not yet incurred in the foreclosure complaint stated a claim against law firm under the FDCPA); McDermott v. Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, P.C., 911 F. Supp. 2d 1, 60 (D. Mass. 2012) (law firm violated the FDCPA by overstating the amount of attorney’s fees owed in a collection letter).
9 Abusive garnishment practices may violate 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e or 1692f. See, e.g., Waitkus v. Pressler & Pressler, L.L.P., 2012 WL 686025 (D.N.J. Mar. 2, 2012) (allegations that the collection attorneys obtained 100% of the consumer’s earnings violating state procedures to execute on wages and federal and state exemptions of 75% and 90% of earnings stated a claim for violation of § 1692f); Bray v. Cadle Co., 2010 WL 4053794 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 14, 2010) (plaintiff stated a claim that the defendants engaged in “unfair or unconscionable means to collect” the debt by alleging that: “1) his bank account was exempt by law from garnishment by the Social Security Act; and 2) the defendants garnished the bank account, despite knowing or having reason to know that it contained Social Security funds and despite having failed to conduct pre-garnishment discovery”).
10 See, National Consumer Law Center, Fair Debt Collection, at Appx. D (8th ed. 2014) (state-by-state discussion of debt collection statutes, including exemptions from coverage for attorneys); National Consumer Law Center, Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices, at § 2.3.9.2 (9th ed. 2016) (discussing explicit statutory exemptions for attorneys from state statutes prohibiting unfair and deceptive acts and practices); Mark D. Bauer, The Licensed Professional Exemption in Consumer Protection: At Odds with Antitrust History and Precedent, 73 Tenn. L. Rev. 131 (2006) (Table 3 contains a state-by-state list of licensed professionals, including attorneys, that are exempt from state “Little FTC” or unfair and deceptive acts and practices statutes).
11 See Annie Waldman & Paul Kiel, “Racial Disparity in Debt Collection Lawsuits: A Study of Three Metro Areas,” ProPublica (Oct. 8, 2015) (during a five year period there were 116,289 judgments in debt collection lawsuits in St. Louis City and County, Missouri; 278,566 in Cook County, Illinois; and 128,918 in Essex County, New Jersey); Jessica Mendoza, et al. “Collection claims abuses move up to higher courts,” Boston Globe (Mar. 28, 2015) (from 2004 to 2013 at least 1.2 million cases were filed in Massachusetts small claims and district court sessions by professional debt collectors); Peter A. Holland, “Junk Justice: A Statistical Analysis of 4,400 Lawsuits Filed By Debt Buyers”, 26 Loy. Consumer L. Rev. 179 (2014) (reporting that debt buyers filed 40,796 lawsuits in 2009; 43,581 in 2010; 37,202 in 2011; 22,566 in 2012; and 24,317 in 2013); Susan Shin and Claudia Wilner, New Economy Project, The Debt Collection Racket in New York (June 2013) (reporting that debt collectors filed 195,105 lawsuits against New Yorkers in 2011); Claudia Wilner and Nasoan Sheftel-Gomes, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, Debt Deception: How Debt Buyers Abuse the Legal System to Prey on Low Income New Yorkers (2010) (“In New York City, debt collectors filed approximately 300,000 lawsuits per year between 2006 and 2008.”). See also Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Experiences with Debt Collection: Findings from the CFPB’s Survey of Consumer Views on Debt (Jan. 2017) (“One in seven consumers (15 percent) with a debt collection experience reported that they were sued by a creditor or debt collector during the preceding year”).
12 See, e.g., Chris Albin-Lackey, Human Rights Watch, Rubber Stamp Justice: US Courts, Debt Buying Corporations, and the Poor (Jan. 2016); Paul Kiel, So Sue Them: What We’ve Learned About the Debt Collection Lawsuit Machine, ProPublica (May 5, 2016); Federal Trade Commission, Repairing a Broken System: Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration (July 2010).
13 Consent Order, In the Matter of Pressler & Pressler, LLP, Sheldon H. Pressler, and Gerald J. Felt ¶ 39 (Apr. 25, 2016); Consumer Fin. Protection Bureau v.Frederick J. Hanna & Assoc., Stipulated Final Judgment and Order, 14-cv-02211-AT, at ¶¶ 10-11 (D.Ga. 2015). | https://www.nclc.org/issues/bill-allow-lawyers-abuse-in-debt-collection.html |
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