bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Single dose myocardial protection technique utilizing del Nido cardioplegia solution during congenital heart surgery procedures
Authors: Charette K , Gerrah R , Quaegebeur J , Chen J , Riley D , Mongero L , Corda R , Bacha E
Published: October 2011

Background: The single dose cardioplegia technique for myocardial protection during congenital heart surgery is a viable alternative to multidose protocols.

Methods: Thirty-four pediatric patients with aortic cross clamp times greater than 90 minutes were grouped by modified adult (MA) multidose solution or del Nido (dN) single dose solution. Also, data from eight patients where the cross clamp times were greater than two hours on one dose of dN solution were included.

Results: In the 90-minute plus arm of the study, there were no significant differences between the groups when comparing the risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery (RACHS) (p=0.6), cardiopulmonary bypass times (CPB) (p=0.5), aortic cross camp times (p=0.5), weights (p=0.7) and number of intraoperative exogenous blood units (p=0.5). There were significant differences between the groups (p<0.05) in the number of cardioplegia doses and with perioperative glucose levels. In the greater than two hours group, the incidence of complete heart block (CHB) was 0.125% and there were no deaths or mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices used.

Conclusion: del Nido cardioplegia solution is a reasonable tool for myocardial protection during congenital heart surgery that significantly decreased the number of cardioplegic interventions and perioperative glucose values in our study groups.
Effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on mood and emotional information processing in recovered depressed individuals
Authors: Antypa Niki , Smelt August HM , Strengholt Annette , Van der Does AJ Willem
Published: October 2011

Beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids have been reported for several psychiatric disorders, particularly for depression. Association studies show a relationship between omega-3 intake and depression risk. Meta-analyses of clinical trials have shown a moderate effect of supplementation on depressive symptoms, but not on normal mood states. Few studies have investigated effects on cognition. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of omega-3 supplements on cognition and mood of recovered depressed individuals. Seventy-one participants were randomized to receive either omega-3 or placebo for four weeks in a randomized double-blind design. Results showed small effects of omega-3 supplementation on aspects of emotional decision-making and on self-reported states of depression and tension. Some of the effects were confounded by learning effects. No significant effects were observed on memory, attention, cognitive reactivity and depressive symptoms. While inconclusive, the present findings may indicate that omega-3 supplementation has selective effects on emotional cognition and mood in recovered depressed participants.
Gender Differences in Cognitive and Affective Responses to Sexual Coercion
Authors: Byers E. Sandra , Glenn Shannon A.
Published: October 2011

This study examined gender differences in responses to sexual coercive experiences in mixed-sex (male–female) relationships. Participants were 112 women and 28 men who had experienced sexual coercion and completed measures of cognitive (attributions to self, attributions to the coercer, internal attributions) and affective (guilt, shame) self-blame, trauma symptoms, and upset at the time of the incident) with respect to their most serious or upsetting sexually coercive experience. The women were more upset than were the men at the time of the incident. Contrary to predictions, the men and women did not differ in the extent to which they attributed blame to themselves or the strength of their internal attributions, guilt, or shame. Both the men and women attributed more blame to the coercer than to themselves; however, the women attributed more blame to the coercer than did the men. The women reported more trauma symptoms than the men did which was related to the finding that more women than men had experienced sexual coercion involving physical force. These results are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences between men’s and women’s cognitive and affective responses to sexual coercion.
Cost management system within a production environment: a performance-based approach
Authors: Bagherpour M , Noori S
Published: October 2011

Production planning problems have been a frequent focus of work in the literature. However, despite their importance, there are inadequate studies on control mechanisms and the representation of performance indices in a production environment. In the present paper, a hybrid production planning–project management system is presented and implemented successfully throughout a production environment. In this approach, earned value management (EVM), a powerful project management technique, is applied within a multi-period–multi-product (MPMP) production planning problem. Since EVM is a well-known technique in the area of project planning and management, it is first required to convert the MPMP problem into a project management network. Then after performing computational investigations in the lowest level of work breakdown structure, the results are sent back to the production environment again. In order to interpret and measure the manufacturing efficiency, original performance indices are proposed throughout the production planning period, product, and machine centres. In this respect, new formulas are also developed accordingly. Finally, an insight to lean production is given.
False-Positive Psychology
Authors: Simmons Joseph P. , Nelson Leif D. , Simonsohn Uri
Published: October 2011

In this article, we accomplish two things. First, we show that despite empirical psychologists’ nominal endorsement of a low rate of false-positive findings (≤ .05), flexibility in data collection, analysis, and reporting dramatically increases actual false-positive rates. In many cases, a researcher is more likely to falsely find evidence that an effect exists than to correctly find evidence that it does not. We present computer simulations and a pair of actual experiments that demonstrate how unacceptably easy it is to accumulate (and report) statistically significant evidence for a false hypothesis. Second, we suggest a simple, low-cost, and straightforwardly effective disclosure-based solution to this problem. The solution involves six concrete requirements for authors and four guidelines for reviewers, all of which impose a minimal burden on the publication process.
The association between interleukin-6 polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus: a meta-analysis
Authors: Lee YH , Lee HS , Choi SJ , Ji JD , Song GG
Published: October 2011

The aim of this study was to determine whether the functional interleukin-6 (IL-6) promoter -174 G/C and -572 G/C polymorphisms confer susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in ethnically different populations. Meta-analysis was conducted on the associations between the IL-6 polymorphisms and SLE using; 1) allele contrast, 2) the recessive model, 3) the dominant model, and 4) the additive model. A total of 11 studies were considered in this study, and ethnicity-specific meta-analysis was performed on European and Asian populations. Meta-analysis of the IL-6 -174 G/C polymorphism showed an association between SLE and the IL-6 -174 G allele in all study subjects (odds ratio (OR) = 1.344, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.052–1.718, p = 0.018). Furthermore, stratification by ethnicity indicated an association between the IL-6 -174 G allele and SLE in Europeans (OR = 1.264, 95% CI = 1.037–1.541, p = 0.020). Meta-analysis of the IL-6 -572 G/C polymorphism revealed that an association was found between SLE and the IL-6 -572 G/C polymorphism using the recessive model, but ethnicity-specific meta-analysis revealed no association between SLE and the IL-6 -572 G/C polymorphism in Asians. In conclusion, this meta-analysis demonstrates that the IL-6 -174 G/C polymorphism may confer susceptibility to SLE in Europeans, but that the IL-6 -572 G/C polymorphism is not associated with susceptibility to SLE in Asians.
Genetic Enhancement Technologies and the New Society
Authors: Smith George P.
Published: October 2011

So long as procreation continues to remain a central driving force in a marital relationship, and the family the very core of progressive society, efforts will be undertaken to expand the period of fecundity and combat infertility. Genetic planning and eugenic programming are more rational and humane alternatives to population regulation than death by famine and war.

Genetic enhancement technologies and the scientific research undertaken to advance them should be viewed as not only aiding (or, sometimes resolving) the tragedy of infertility in family planning, but as a tool for enhancing the health of a Nation's citizens by engineering man's genetic weaknesses out of the line of inheritance. Put simply, healthier and genetically sound individuals have a much better opportunity for pursuing and achieving the “good life” and making a significant contribution to society's greater well being.
Beyond Bolam and Bolitho
Authors: MaClean Alasdair
Published: October 2011

The application of the Bolam test to cases of medical negligence has been the subject of prolonged criticism. The main source of discontent was the apparent judicial abdication of the power to determine the standard of care required to avoid negligence liability. In 1997, Lord Browne-Wilkinson, in Bolitho v City and Hackney HA, reaffirmed that power. Some commentators greeted this reaffirmation with talk of the ‘new’ Bolam and a ‘revolution’ in medical negligence litigation. It is now some four years since the Bolitho judgment and the courts have had ample opportunity to put the more interventionist policy into practice. In this article, I consider both the academic response to Bolitho and I analyse the subsequent 64 relevant medical negligence cases. I conclude that while judges appear more willing to question the expert this relates to issues of fact and credibility rather than the requisite standard in a normative sense.
Giving the Reasonable Patient a Voice: Information Disclosure and the Relevance of Empirical Evidence
Authors: MaClean Alasdair
Published: October 2011

In England the standard of risk disclosure required of doctors to avoid liability in negligence is governed by the Bolam test. The test is determined by what would be accepted as reasonable by the responsible doctor. Although able to lay down an independent standard, the courts have usually been guided by the medical expert's evidence. The judge's duty to scrutinise expert evidence was reaffirmed by the recent House of Lords ruling in Bolitho v City and Hackney HA. 1 In Pearce v United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust, 2 Lord Woolf MR confirmed that this also applied to risk disclosure. Brazier & Miola argue that Pearce effectively introduces the prudent patient standard into English law. 3

This paper examines that claim and considers whether it is justified by the Pearce judgment. The implications of Pearce are explored and, given the appeal to the concept of a material risk, I discuss the relevance of empirical research to determining the standard of disclosure. Finally, a small piece of empirical work is presented as an illustration of the pros and cons of such an approach and as a possible springboard for future research.
Fit for the 21st Century? A Review of Surrogacy Provisions within the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990
Authors: Ramsey Joanne
Published: October 2011

In March 2005 the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (STC) published its report ‘Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law’ which examined existing regulation of Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ARTs) and made recommendations for reform, with the aim of ‘reconnect[ing] the [Human Fertilisation and Embryology] Act with modem science’. 1 In August 2005, the Department of Health (DH) commenced its own review of the 1990 Act, stating that ‘the legislation that applies to assisted reproduction treatment and procedures in the UK needs to be fit for the 21 st Century’. 2 Surrogacy is one form of assisted reproduction that is regulated (at least partially) under the 1990 Act. Indeed, in their recommendations for review of the 1990 Act, both the STC and the DH agree that surrogacy should be revisited. It is important, however, that this review should be more than a mere afterthought and it is with this in mind that this article examines current regulation with a view to proposing recommendations for future regulation. 3
Implications for Providers and Patients: A Comment on the Regulatory Framework for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis in New Zealand
Authors: Snelling Jeanne
Published: October 2011

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is a reproductive genetic technology that was first introduced into clinical medicine over a decade and a half ago. 2 PGD enables the detection of genetic anomalies in embryos created via IVF prior to implantation. On the basis of the genetic information derived from PGD, choices may be made as to which embryo, or embryos, are transferred to a woman's uterus. This technology was undertaken for the first time in New Zealand in late 2005. The provision of PGD by fertility services in New Zealand was preceded by the formulation of Guidelines on Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis by the National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction. Since the introduction of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004, these have been designated as interim Guidelines of the statutory policy-making body created by the Act, the Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology. An Order in Council has since authorised a category of PGD, in almost identical terms to those specified in the Guidelines, which may be carried out as a routine clinical procedure without external oversight. This article examines the scope of these regulatory initiatives. It argues that there are inherent uncertainties in both the Guidelines and the Order in Council which may pose difficulties for providers and patients in the clinical context.
Physician-Assisted Suicide in Oregon: The ‘Death with Dignity’ Data
Authors: Hiscox Wendy E.
Published: October 2011

Pressure to permit voluntary euthanasia and/or physician-assisted suicide is mounting in several jurisdictions around the world. The state of Oregon, which legalised physician-assisted suicide in 1997, provides valuable guidance on the feasibility of effective regulation. The Oregon experience provides the focus of this article. The article comprises two parts. Part I critically analyses the Oregon Death with Dignity Act and evaluates the adequacy of the legislative safeguards. Part II examines the implementation of the Death with Dignity Act. It outlines the significant official findings since physician-assisted suicide was legalised, and calls attention to worrisome aspects and identifiable trends. It then provides an overall assessment of the legislation in light of the available empirical data.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, the ‘Medical Exclusion’ and the Biotechnology Directive
Authors: Odell-West Amanda
Published: October 2011

In the United Kingdom there is a growing conviction that CECs have an important role to play in helping health care professionals address ethical dilemmas. For example, the Royal College of Physicians, the Nuffield Trust and the unofficial Clinical Ethics Network, which has received financial support from the Department of Health, commend the use of CECs in the UK. The growth of such committees has been influenced by the legal and policy support they have received in the United States. However, there is increasing concern about both the benefits and the quality of work produced by CECs. In addition, despite the rapid increase in the number of CECs in the UK, outside of the United States they remain under-researched and no formal mechanism exists to assess their performance. As a result we know little about the structure, function, impact and effectiveness of CECs. We are currently conducting a research project funded by the Wellcome Trust that seeks to interrogate the competing claims regarding the benefits and disbenefits of CECs. This initial account of our research provides a detailed analysis of theoretical issues that surround the development and use of CECs and points towards the questions that lie at the heart of the social science strand of our project.
Social Inclusivity VS Analytical Acuity? A Qualitative Study of UK Researchers Regarding the Inclusion of Minority Ethnic Groups in Biobanks
Authors: Smart Andrew , Tutton Richard , Ashcroft Richard , Martin Paul , Balmer Andrew , Elliot Richard , Ellison George T.H.
Published: October 2011

This paper examines how the drive to include minority ethnic groups in biomedical research raises challenging questions for the governance of some biobanks. Using findings from a qualitative study with researchers working at 10 UK biobanks that have been designed to explore common complex diseases, our study highlights the potential discordance between the twin imperatives of ‘social inclusivity’ and ‘analytical acuity’. While the researchers interviewed were keen to include minority ethnic groups in their research, they were also concerned that this could have deleterious effects on the precision of their analyses. In our discussion of these findings we show that there remains considerable debate as to the impact of including participants from minority ethnic groups on analytical acuity. Nevertheless, a principle of justice requires that potential participants from all ethnic groups should be given the opportunity to participate in and benefit from biomedical research, and UK law requires public bodies (including research councils) to demonstrate that there is no unintentional or unjustifiable ‘racial’ discrimination in their activities. Researchers' concerns about analytical acuity could result in calls for study designs that examine every ‘different’ ethnic group, which would have consequences for the governance of some biobank studies and for efforts to challenge the discredited yet resilient idea that differences between ethnic groups are innate, essential and immutable.
Mapping, Assessing and Improving Legal Preparedness for Pandemic Flu in the United Kingdom
Authors: Laurie Graeme T. , Hunter Kathryn G.
Published: October 2011

This article assesses the legal framework within which responses are deployed in the United Kingdom in the face of a pandemic such as the current H1N1 crisis or some other public health emergency. It begins with an account of the importance of legal preparedness as an essential feature of public health preparedness. It moves to an outline of the key legal provisions and parameters which provide the architecture for the existing framework in the UK, both domestically and internationally; thereafter, it identifies relevant factors that can be used to assess the efficacy of current legal preparedness, drawing on comparative experiences. Finally, it offers recommendations on how legal preparedness could be improved within the United Kingdom and in line with international obligations.
Meeting the Needs of the Alcohol Dependent: Different Models in Public Health Policy in England and New Zealand
Authors: Gertz Renate , McLean Sheila A.M.
Published: October 2011

Alcohol policy is almost exclusively based in the delivery of messages that encourage individuals to drink ‘sensibly’. This implies that people, if given adequate information, are able to make choices about their alcohol consumption. In the case of people who are dependent on alcohol, however, their capacity to make autonomous decisions about their drinking behaviour is moot. This article compares the choice based policy that dominates in the United Kingdom, with the compulsory intervention model that has been developed in New Zealand. We conclude that each model is potentially problematic, but that policy that ignores the issue of dependence risks further marginalising an already needy group.
Issues in Protecting Privacy in Medical Research Using Genetic Information and Biobanking: The PRIVILEGED Project
Authors: Taylor Mark J. , Townend David
Published: October 2011

PRIVILEGED was an EC FP6 project exploring the protection of the interests of citizens in relation to medical research using genetic information and biobanks, particularly in relation to privacy and its protection through data protection. It did this through: (stage one) a literature review assessing the concepts of privacy used, and the interests expressed by citizens, in this area; (stage two) by compiling and studying the relevant European and national law already in place, especially assessing its congruence with the issues identified in stage one; and (stage three), considering areas of particular difficulty for the law and the nature of future regulation. This introduction first presents the project and contextualises the selected PRIVILEGED papers in this edition.
From Research Exemption to Research Norm: Recognising an Alternative to Consent for Large Scale Biobank Research
Authors: Ruyter Knut W. , LÕuk Kristi , Jorqui Maria , Kvalheim Vigdis , Cekanauskaite Asta , Townend David
Published: October 2011

The Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) allows Member States the option of implementing (with adequate safeguards) what might be described as ‘Research Exemptions’. This allows for specific, limited derogations from the ordinary operation of the rights and duties of the Directive in the specific circumstances of scientific, historical and statistical purposes. This article argues that this option should be considered not as an ‘exemption’ (implying an ‘abnormal’ route), but as an equally acceptable route to achieve protection when secondary-processing data in large biobanks and data sets, operating without attending to any kind of consent. This can be done without reducing data subjects' privacy and related interests, through appropriate safeguards. We have suggested that such appropriate safeguards require research organisations to implement stringent security for the processing of data, robust assessment of proportionality, the possibility of opt-out for individuals, and introducing various forms of public participation.
Regulate To Innovate: Principles-Based Regulation of Stem Cell Research
Authors: Devaney Sarah
Published: October 2011

The application of Principles-Based Regulation (PBR) to stem cell (SC) research has been adopted with little apparent controversy. However, this was the form of regulation being used in the financial sector leading up to the current financial crisis, giving rise to questions about its ability to regulate fast-moving areas effectively. This article will explore whether PBR is an appropriate form of regulation for SC research. 1 It will conclude that PBR is well-suited to this area, being reflective and facilitative of the process of scientific innovation. However, lessons must be learned from the financial sector about how to apply it effectively.
Market and Non-Market Mechanisms for Procuring Human and Cadaveric Organs: When the Price is Right
Authors: Smith George P.
Published: October 2011

In the United States, as well as throughout the world, current demands for organ transplants far exceed the actual supply. Nonconsensual human donations, taken from minors, incompetents and prisoners are regulated carefully by the courts. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act and the National Organ Transplant Act serve also as statutory frameworks for organ retrievals and allocations and place various restrictions upon each. Altruistically motivated donations at death continue to be an inadequate mechanism for meeting the growing demands of the market. Included among the various approaches to resolving the critical shortage of human organs for transplantation are post mortem harvesting, escheatage, prospective contingent sales and standard death benefit payments — with the latter being perhaps the most attractive in the United States. While ethical and moral principles can help develop a construct for resolving harvesting and transplantation conflicts, they must be tempered — in the final analysis — by a standard of practical need that recognizes unnecessary suffering and premature death from diseased and replaceable organs as undesirable.
What is an Addict? An International Perspective
Authors: Harrison Ivor
Published: October 2011

States are required to submit to the International Narcotics Control Board copies of laws relating to narcotic and psychotropic drugs. These have been used to study the changes in the definitions of ‘addict’ and ‘drug addict’ over the years. Most countries now recognise the need for the ‘addict’ to be treated medically rather than punished. Some recent definitions recognise that similar problems can result from the use of products not normally regarded Abstract drugs, such as volatile solvents.
Patents, Morality and DNA: Should there be Intellectual Property Protection of the Human Genome Project?
Authors: Gannon Philippa , Guthrie Tom , Laurie Graeme
Published: October 2011

This article examines the appropriateness of using existing patent laws in various jurisdictions in an effort to secure protection of the work currently being carried out on the Human Genome Project. Certain ethical and practical problems which arise from current practices in Europe, USA and Japan are explored.

It is submitted that the nature of the problems are such that it might be appropriate to consider alternative means of rewarding those involved in unravelling human DNA. An attempt is made to outline some appropriate matters to consider in developing such an alternative.
Assessing the Patient's Competence to Consent to Medical Treatment
Authors: Jones Michael A. , Keywood Kirsty
Published: October 2011

The consent of a patient to medical treatment is commonly regarded as the cornerstone of the doctor-patient relationship. As an ethical principle the requirement to obtain consent reflects due respect for the principle of patient autonomy. In law consent protects bodily integrity and self-determination, since without a valid consent the doctor who undertakes any form of examination, diagnostic procedure or treatment which involves a touching of a competent patient commits the tort of battery. Consent provides the doctor's defence to potential liability. On the other hand, for the consent to be valid the patient must be competent. 1 If the patient is incompetent then different legal considerations apply. In recent years there has been considerable judicial and academic ink spilt on the question of what consequences flow in law from the decision that a patient is competent or incompetent, but comparatively little attention has been paid, at least in English law, to the criteria by which one should determine the crucial threshold question, namely whether the patient is in fact competent. This is gradually changing, with a trickle of cases on the subject and the publication of the English Law Commission's Report, Mental Incapacity 2 The purpose of this article is to consider the legal tests for competence that are currently applied, and the relationship, if any, between decisions about competence and the patient's choice of treatment options, including the option of no treatment. The Law Commission's proposals will then be discussed in the light of the common law position.
Medical Research and Alzheimer's Disease: A Study of the Hazards of Conducting Research on the Incompetent Patient
Authors: Moodie Peter , Wright Moira
Published: October 2011

Following a review of legal issues concerning the significance of capacity and consent in the context of clinical research involving groups of patients where some may be incompetent, the question is addressed how those involved in this area resolve the problems. Responses from 101 Local Research Ethics Committees, 13 pharmaceutical companies and 10 researchers engaged in work involving patients with Alzheimer's Disease indicate a considerable variation in approaches to the legal and ethical issues, as well as a degree of conflict concerning the assessment of patients' capacity to consent. The conclusion is that recent proposals from the Law Commission in this area need further consideration and elaboration in several respects.
The Legal Powers of the World Health Organization
Authors: Lakin Alison
Published: October 2011

Instigated in response to the United Nation's ‘global change’ policy, the World Health Organisation is currently under-going major internal reform. There are indications that serious consideration is being given to the role that the rule of law should play within the international health field and how this should impact upon the WHO. Such developments are crucial if the WHO is to continue to playa leading role as advocate for health within the existing international framework. This article begins by examining the available legal powers as provided in its constitution and considers the limited impact that these powers have had to-date within the Organisation. The recent investigation of a framework treaty system based on the ‘convention-protocol’ approach is an exciting but problematic development, although a more systematic and comprehensive approach to normative issues would certainly be appropriate. This would be an ideal opportunity to initiate a comprehensive legal approach around normative issues using the WHO's constitutive legal powers based on the right to health and under the auspices of a ‘Health Academy’.
Assessing Damages for the Costs of Care
Authors: Lewis Richard
Published: October 2011

This article examines the compensating benefits which may be taken into account to reduce the amount which a plaintiff may claim for the costs of care in English law. The concern is not with payments of money to the plaintiff, but with savings resulting either from the plaintiff receiving care free of charge, or from paying for a comprehensive care package which saves on the living expenses which the plaintiff would otherwise have had to meet. These compensating benefits therefore include the gratuitous care and nursing provided by family and friends at home; and the care provided in a hospital, nursing home or other institution, when board and lodging is then also supplied.

Similar policy issues arise no matter whether the plaintiff is provided with money to purchase care (eg an attendance allowance) or is provided with that care directly and free of charge. There is no necessary distinction between, on the one hand, the provision of free medical and hospital treatment and, on the other, the reimbursement of medical expenses through the mechanism of insurance.1 Although in its present review of damages the Law Commission treat gratuitous nursing services as distinct from “collateral benefits,” it accepts that if the plaintiff is seen as incurring a need for services and this constitutes an initial pecuniary loss, the question of whether to deduct the value of the services as a collateral benefit does then arise.2 This article examines the basic rules relevant to such deduction, but it begins by considering the effect upon damages of the existence of free health care under the NHS.
New and Old: A New Approach to the Evidence in Whitehouse v. Jordan?
Authors: Fulton Phillips Andrew
Published: October 2011

There has been considerable interest in leading academic journals about increasing the accuracy of the assessment of evidence. This paper considers a well-known and suitable medical negligence case in this context.
Legalising Cannabis for Therapeutic Use: A Comparative Assessment
Authors: Aziz Miriam , Earle Murray
Published: October 2011

Therapeutic use of cannabis as a palliative treatment for certain medical conditions has been hotly debated in Britain in recent months. The weight of public opinion is behind a reform of the law; reform would legalise the possession and use of cannabis for therapeutic ends. This paper will endorse that argument by concentrating on a central contradiction within the law: while the law meticulously categorises the drugs which it regulates and prohibits, it is unwilling divide users of particular drugs into recreational and therapeutic groupings. This paper argues that the traditional arguments against making such a change in the law are unable to hold water, particularly when viewed in comparison with developments in Germany. We will also propose that the medical practitioner fulfil an existing traditional function as gate keeper in order to ensure supply and quality are both kept to a certain minimum standard. This policy will serve the ends of patients for whom this treatment is effective and cheap and which is justified in the public interest.
Nonlinear vibration and active control of functionally graded beams with piezoelectric sensors and actuators
Authors: Fu Yiming , Wang Jianzhe , Mao Yiqi
Published: October 2011

Employing higher order shear deformation theory, geometric nonlinear theory, and Hamilton’s principle, a set of nonlinear governing equations for the functionally graded beams with surface-bonded piezoelectric layers is derived. Then, the negative velocity feedback algorithm coupling the direct and inverse piezoelectric effect is used to control the piezoelectric functionally graded beams actively. Using the finite difference method and Newmark method synthetically, the numerical solutions for the nonlinear dynamic equations of functionally graded beams with piezoelectric patches are obtained iteratively. In the numerical examples, the effects of the volume fraction exponent on the nonlinear dynamic responses and amplitude–frequency curves are investigated, and the active control responses of the functionally graded beams with piezoelectric layers under different control gains and volume fraction exponents are analyzed. Some meaningful solutions have been presented.
A Problem-Oriented Design Method for Product Innovation
Authors: Ko Y.-T. , Yang C.-C. , Kuo P.-H.
Published: October 2011

This article proposes a systematic innovation approach by integrating the function analysis and trimming method into the conceptual design activities of new product development (NPD). Concept design is considered to be one of the pivotal phases in NPD process, which has a significant impact on downstream NPD activities such as ideas selection and detail design. Despite the recognized importance of concept design, there is a lack of a systematic and effective problem-solving process that covers all concept design activities. To address this gap, the authors develop a systematic approach to product concept design based on the problem-oriented concept. Also, the authors provide a case example to demonstrate the effectiveness of using this method in NPD context and further illustrate some implications through the managerial perspective.
Provider Cultural Competency, Client Satisfaction, and Engagement in Home-Based Programs to Treat Child Abuse and Neglect
Authors: Damashek Amy , Bard David , Hecht Debra
Published: October 2011

Home-based programs to treat child abuse and neglect suffer from high rates of attrition, limiting their impact. Thus, research is needed to identify factors related to client engagement. Using data ( N = 1,305) from a statewide family preservation program, this study investigated the role of program type (i.e., SafeCare® [SC] vs. Services as Usual [SAU]) and client perceived provider cultural competence on client satisfaction and engagement with services. Families in SC completed more treatment goals than those in SAU. In addition, provider cultural competence and client satisfaction were higher in SC than in SAU. Higher provider cultural competence was associated with higher goal attainment and satisfaction, and these effects partially mediated the service program differences. The effects of service type and cultural competence on goal attainment and satisfaction varied somewhat by client ethnicity. Findings suggest that clients receiving manualized programs for child maltreatment may be more likely to meet their goals and may perceive such programs to be culturally appropriate and satisfactory.
Group Communication and Critical Thinking Competence Development Using a Reality-Based Project
Authors: Paulson Edward
Published: October 2011

The presented merger and acquisition classroom exercise is based on a real yet incomplete transaction transpiring during the period of the class. The approach enables adult students to apply their previously acquired business experience to a strategic analysis project facilitating the development of group communication, critical thinking, and consensus-building competences. The exercise assumes that students have practical experience in business areas such as marketing or accounting before entering the classroom, which may make it less applicable to conventional-age students.
Equality and Affirmative Action in International Human Rights Law and its Relevance to the European Union
Authors: O'Hare Ursula
Published: October 2011

Human rights norms have played an increasingly important role in recent equality cases before the European Court of Justice, including the Marschall case on positive action. This paper aims to contribute to the positive action debate in Community law by exploring the meaning of the equality principle in human rights law and outlining the potential relevance of the human rights approach to affirmative action for the development of the equality principle in Community law. The paper suggests that the equality principle in human rights law, not only permits, but arguably may, in certain circumstances, require states to adopt affirmative action in fulfilment of their obligations to respect the equality principle. Human rights law thus represents a valuable resource upon which the Court could draw in developing the equality principle in Community law. Should the Court have regard to human rights law in framing the future scope of the equality principle in Community law this may result in a bolder approach to positive action in Community law than hitherto adopted by the Court. The paper, however, also recognises the limits of human rights law and concludes with an assessment of those steps which the international community may need to take if the Court is to be expected to draw upon human rights norms in informing its interpretation of Community equality law.
‘Baby = Monopoly of Heterosexual Couples?’
Authors: Chung Chiu Andy Man
Published: October 2011

The paper first illustrates the contradictory results generated by two surveys — conducted respectively by the colonial Government in 1996 and the author/principal investigator in 1998. The author then argues that the requirement that applicants must be married couples is not well-supported and should be replaced by the criterion of ‘functional parenthood’. The author also argues in the paper that such a relaxation would also destablize the mythological dichotomy of ‘homo vs. Chinese’, which is predicated on (1) the misunderstanding that Tongzhi/Queer could not have any child(ren) and (2) the Han-Chinese traditional emphasis on reproduction.
Can Law Protect Language? Law, Language and Human Rights in the South African Constitution
Authors: Sacks Vera
Published: October 2011

Before the transition to full democracy in South Africa, only English and Afrikaans were official languages used in governmental matters. This effectively excluded more than half the population who had no working knowledge of those languages, from participation in public affairs and hindered them from accessing their entitlements. The 1996 South African Constitution set out to change this and to accord equality of official status to all the major languages — 11 in all, and placed a duty on government to take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of formerly marginalised indigenous languages. A special body was set up to assist the government in carrying out this task. This paper examines the extent to which these provisions have been implemented, and examines the implications for equality, democracy and citizenship of the failure by government to carry out their constitutional mandate. The importance of making government and administration accessible to the population is explored and the paper suggests ways in which the 11 official languages could be used so that their use does not become too burdensome in terms of finance and administration. The paper draws on experience in these matters in Canada and a number of other countries which are multilingual. Finally the paper concludes that so little has been done to make the language provisions of the constitution workable, that the drift to English, discernible from 1993, has become virtually unstoppable.
Reform of United Kingdom Discrimination Law: Philosophy, Principle or Pragmatism?
Authors: Townshend-Smith Richard
Published: October 2011

United Kingdom sex and race discrimination legislation has been in place for 25 years. There is general agreement both that the legislation has had some degree of beneficial impact but that change is long overdue. There is a need to take greater and more sophisticated account of the limits of law as a medium for the promotion of social change. At the same time, international and other developments continue to press for the extension of legislation to different grounds of discrimination.

The University of Cambridge Centre for Public Law and the Judge Institute of Management Studies recently published a report entitled ‘Equality: a New Framework.’ At approximately the same time the Runnymede Trust (which is concerned solely with racial justice) published a report entitled ‘The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain.’ This review article examines both reports, concentrating on the issues relevant to the legal control of employment discrimination. It congratulates the authors of both reports for their detailed and sophisticated understanding of the issues, and their proposals for law reform, but remains somewhat sceptical of the capacity of even a reformed law to transform the behaviour and attitude of employers, especially small and medium-sized employers.
Punishing Sex Offenders: discrimination or justifiable treatment?
Authors: Easton Susan
Published: October 2011

This paper considers whether recent legislation increasing the surveillance and control of sex offenders constitutes discrimination. Recent provisions, including the Sex Offenders Act 1997, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 are reviewed. The question of whether sex offenders have been unfairly selected for special treatment is considered as well as the issue of whether the provisions are rightly characterised as punitive.
The EU Race Directive: Its Symbolic Value — Its Only Value?
Authors: Howard Erica
Published: October 2011

Legislation against racial discrimination makes, it is argued, a clear statement against racism in all its forms and hence has symbolic value. This is expressed in different ways, for example: a declaration of firm opposition to racism; the sending out of a clear political signal regarding the commitment to the fight against racism; a powerful symbol and a statement of intent. This Article will argue that the European Union's Race Directive 1 had, at the time of its adoption, significant symbolic value because it made a clear and unequivocal statement to the Union's citizens, to its Member States and to the wider world, that the Union was committed to the elimination of racism and racial discrimination. The plans for enlargement of the European Union, with a number of States joining in 2004, added to the value of the statement: it signalled to these new Member States that the Union expects them to combat racism and racial or ethnic discrimination and to promote and adopt effective measures against such discrimination in line with the Race Directive, as this has become part of the Acquis Communautaire, the body of law that must be adopted by all States wishing to join. But does the Race Directive today, after the deadline for its implementation has passed, still have any symbolic value?
Legal Responses to Racism: Innovation and Retrenchment in Ireland
Authors: O'Connell Rory
Published: October 2011

Following decades in which the absence of immigration allowed Governments to claim there was no problem of racism in Ireland, the 1990s saw Ireland adopt new equality measures to combat racism. Whilst these innovations are important and even innovative, paradoxically they are accompanied by policy initiatives which indicate the equality agenda is still very much a controversial one and possibly even in retreat. More radical reforms are needed than merely tinkering with the Equality laws.
Age Discrimination: Equal Treatment with Exceptions
Authors: Sargeant Malcolm
Published: October 2011

The likelihood of age discrimination in relation to employment increases the older a person becomes. The concern is that, partly as a result of this discrimination, large numbers of older workers leave the workforce and become economically inactive. This in turn brings increased pressures on the remaining members of the workforce and increased pressures on public finances in relation to pensions and healthcare.

The Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation Directive (2000/78/EC) approaches this problem by introducing the principle of equal treatment in a number of areas related to employment, including age. The reasons for action on age discrimination rests upon two potentially conflicting justifications. The first is a human rights one based upon the right of all persons to equality before the law and the second is one concerned with implementing EC Employment Guidelines on integrating disadvantaged groups into the workforce. This second justification is likely to lead to a much more pragmatic approach which in turn may compromise the principle of equality of treatment. This article, uses survey material, to argue that the potential conflict between an equal treatment approach and the functional, more pragmatic, approach may lead to a lessening of the effectiveness of measures prohibiting age discrimination.
Discrimination Law and the Quota Fear in Britain and the United States
Authors: Connolly Michael
Published: October 2011

On 19th July 2003, following the (EU) Race Directive, 1 a new definition of indirect racial discrimination carne into force in the United Kingdom. 2 Its principal effect was to annul the Court of Appeal's restrictive interpretation of the previous definition. 3 However, the new definition may have potential to cover a class of case beyond any contemplated by the draftsman, where there is a racially imbalanced workforce, but with no identifiable cause; or the ‘result-only’ case. If this were so, the fear is that employers would be forced to adopt quotas, rather than face litigation. This issue arose some time ago in the United States, where, provoked by this quota fear, a majority of the Supreme Court rejected such a broad interpretation of the Civil Rights Act 1964. 4 This paper will discuss whether the quota fear in result-only cases has substance, and whether these cases should indeed be recognised and challengeable under US and UK legislation. 5
Legal Regulation of Harassment on the Ground of Age: Lessons from America?
Authors: Middlemiss Sam
Published: October 2011

While numerous articles have now been written on the age regulations 1 they tend to concentrate on the broad detail of the Regulations and their likely impact in the United Kingdom, whereas this article, while also involving analysis of the legal rules, concentrates on one aspect of the Regulations namely, age harassment. It will also involve consideration of the equivalent law in the United States because they have a much more mature set of legal rules dealing with this type of activity. The difficulty of making such a comparison is that the legal rules in the two jurisdictions are very different and the UK version is much more favourable than its US counterpart. Nevertheless, it is this writer’s view that identifying the various problems that have arisen in the US with implementing their age legislation in respect of age harassment over almost forty years 2 will prove instructive and valuable to those persons required to comply with the new law in the UK and offer valuable insight into the legal treatment of this issue.