Stephen J. Carroll

Describes the condition and performance of California's K-12 public schools in terms of student population, resources, and outcomes, analyzing trends and comparing California to other states and the nation as a whole. This report describes California's K-12 public schools - specifically, their student population, the resources they are provided (finances, teachers, facilities), and their outcomes. It describes both student academic achievement and outcomes that schools may influence and that are inadequately captured in test scores. The report analyzes trends within the state and compares California to other states and to the nation as a whole.

This report reviews the court proceedings that led to the uncovering of abusive diagnostic practices in silica litigation, then identifies several areas in which changes in litigation practices and procedures could increase the likelihood that similar diagnosing practices would be uncovered in the future or prevented from occurring in the first place.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 provided new requirements for bankruptcy filers and gave the U. S. Trustee Program (USTP) new responsibility. Individual filers must now receive credit counseling during the 180 days before filing. USTP is charged with approving and reapproving counseling providers. This report examines steps USTP can take to develop measures of effectiveness of prebankruptcy credit counseling.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) requires that debtors filing for bankruptcy whose monthly income exceeds the median income for their household size in their state use the IRS expense standards rather than their current expenses to calculate their monthly disposable income (MDI). This report assesses this new requirement's effects on debtors and the courts.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) limited the types and quantities of exempt household goods on which debtors could avoid certain liens. Part of the motivation for these changes was a perception that debtors were using household goods as collateral to obtain loans that they never intended to repay. This study found no changes in debtor or creditor behavior due to the new definition of household goods.

The pending expiration of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002 is the impetus for this assessment of how TRIA redistributes terrorism losses. The authors find that the role of taxpayers is expected to be minimal in all but very rare cases and that, even with TRIA in place, a high fraction of losses would go uninsured in each of the attack scenarios examined.

This book examines the central issues in the debate over whether to extend, modify, or end the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, which requires insurers to make terrorism coverage available to commercial policyholders.

One-liner: Adoption and subsequent reversal of bad faith doctrine in California had significant effects on costs and compensation The question of whether an automobile accident victim should be allowed to bring a claim for punitive damages for unfair settlement practices against another person's liability insurer -- a so-called third-party, bad faith suit -- has become an important policy concern. This book examines the compensation that automobile insurers paid to accident victims in California during a period, 1979 to 1988, when such punitive damages claims were permitted. This book looks at the effects of the adoption and subsequent rejection of the Royal Globe doctrine, which allowed third-party bad-faith suits, on compensation and costs of bodily injury claims. The authors find that the adoption of Royal Globe triggered sharp increases in both the average bodily compensation payment and the relative frequency of bodily injury claims in California relative to the other tort states. In contrast, the elimination of Royal Globe dramatically reversed these trends.

Examining the relationship of national-cultural differences to ethical behavior, Ethical Dimensions of International Management helps the reader begin to understand the subtleties and nuances of ethical practices across nations. This innovative work uses short vignettes to illustrate each of its points while comparing and analyzing the primary influences on ethical behavior such as parenting, education, law, organizational cultures, and human resources management. Special features of the book include an extensive review and summary of relevant research literature, exhaustive coverage of a variety of different nationalities and cultures, and a direct comparison between Japan and the United States. Each chapter begins with several short cases and ends with helpful discussion questions. The book concludes with an analysis of the degree to which ethical systems of different nations may converge or diverge in coming years. Students and professionals in organizational studies, ethics, and international management will appreciate the unique viewpoint Ethical Dimensions of International Management presents. The pedagogical aids within the volume will spark discussion and debate.