bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Shot in the Arm for the Military: Consent to Immunisation Against Biological Warfare Agents
Authors: Gibson T.M. 
Published: October 2011

The risk to Britain's Armed Forces from Biological Warfare (BW) is low but without protection their use would be devastating. Available protective measures include immunisation. The Government owes a legal duty of care to Servicemen to provide protection against a range of hazards, including those of BW. The State also owes Servicemen a duty of care to allow free and informed consent or free and informed refusal to medical procedures, including immunisation. However, refusal by key personnel to accept BW immunisation could degrade operational capability. Resolution between these two, potentially conflicting, duties of care may be controversial. To override a soldier's expressed interests would rank society's needs higher than those of the individual. Yet there are circumstances, such as exposure of Servicemen to BW used by an aggressor, where this would be ethically acceptable. The State's interests, combined with the best interests of the Serviceman, provide adequate ethical argument for both occupational immunisation (where it is an entry criterion for the Armed Forces) and mandatory immunisation (where disciplinary action may be taken against the non-compliant). Historically, both approaches have been used for public health immunisations and the legal framework already exists for both.
Article Commentary: Access to Health Care Services as a Justiciable Socio-Economic Right under the South African Constitution
Authors: Ngwena Charles 
Published: October 2011

This commentary describes and analyses the decision of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Minister of Health and Others v Treatment Action Campaign and Others where the South African government was found to have violated the right of access to health care under the Constitution. Section 27 (1) guarantees everyone a right of access to health care services. Section 27 (2) imposes on the state a duty to take reasonable measures within its available resources to achieve the progressive realisation of this right. To the extent that government was unreasonably delaying access to patently affordable life-saving therapy for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to a class of persons that was largely vulnerable and indigent, it is submitted that the case was correctly decided. However, there is little doubt that the decision, and in particular the prescriptive nature of the remedy granted by the Court and its budgetary implications, do not sit easily with a traditional notion of separation of powers between the judiciary on the one hand, and the executive and Parliament on the other. At the same time, it must be accepted that the remedy and its budgetary implications are an inevitable consequence of the inclusion of justiciable socio-economic rights in the Bill of Rights. The principles that were applied by the Court in determining the case were largely drawn from jurisprudence developed by organs under treaty bodies, and in particular the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Data Protection, Shared (Genetic) Data and Genetic Discrimination
Authors: Taylor Mark J. 
Published: October 2011

Family members do not enjoy the data protection they deserve with regard to shared genetic data. The Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC is orientated around the notions of ‘personal data’ and ‘data subject’ and its implementation throughout Europe leaves individuals who share data in an unfortunately uncertain position. Member States have failed to provide for the possibility of multiple data subjects by appropriately qualifying their rights and freedoms (through Article 13). Rather than recognise rights without such qualification, the Courts are moving toward an understanding of ‘personal data’ that denies relatives the status of data subjects with respect to shared (genetic) data in any circumstances. The consequence is a category of individuals — whom might be identifiably associated with data capable of affecting their enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms — subject to blanket exclusion from the protection envisaged by Directive 95/46/EC. The free-flow of information around Europe is undesirable until the data protection regime is configured to provide equal protection to all.
The Declaratory Judgement: Old and New Law in “Medical” Cases
Authors: Williams Glenys 
Published: October 2011

The mental capacity act was fully implemented in october 2007. Under the act, a new Court of Protection will be established, which will, in addition to its many other functions, have the authority to deal with cases currently heard under the High Court's inherent jurisdiction. When making decisions on behalf of mentally incapacitated adults, the High Court has used its declaratory jurisdiction to great advantage in declaring not only the lawfulness/unlawfulness of actions, but also to ascertain whether or not a person is incapacitated and in the event that he/she is, what that person's best interests are. The Act has, to a great extent, codified these common law principles in its key provisions, but as it has not expressly superseded the common law, the new court is expected to rely on previous jurisprudence in the interpretation of the legislative provisions. This article thus examines the background and development of the declaratory jurisdiction and how this will influence the way in which the new Court of Protection will make decisions on behalf of mentally incapacitated adults in the future.
The Regulation of Euthanasia and Related Medical Procedures that Shorten Life in the Netherlands
Authors: Griffiths John 
Published: October 2011

The Dutch political discussion concerning euthanasia has concentrated on whether there are situations in which euthanasia should be legalised and how these should be defined. An equally important question has been largely ignored: under what conditions is legal regulation of euthanasia likely to be effective? Looked at from this perspective of effective control, the available empirical data lead to a rather different interpretation and to rather different concerns from those that so far have played a role in the political discussion. Euthanasia does not seem to deserve the attention that has been lavished on it. Neither in terms of its frequency nor in terms of the procedural safeguards with which it is surrounded does it seem to pose a substantial problem of control. On the other hand, other medical procedures which, like euthanasia, intentionally shorten a patient's life surely warrant more attention than they have received. These other procedures are much more frequent than euthanasia and, because they are deemed ‘normal medical practice’, are attended by more limited procedural safeguards. Furthermore, because a given procedure can often be constructed either as ‘euthanasia’ or as one of the related procedures, effective regulation of euthanasia in isolation from the others is not possible. Given an encompassing regulation of all medical procedures that shorten life, control can best be entrusted, at least in the first instance, to the medical profession itself and the substantive norms that govern euthanasia can perhaps largely be left to the patient and his or her family and doctor.
Complaints Procedures in the NHS: All Change
Authors: Christensen Christa 
Published: October 2011

There is a growing awareness of the importance and value of complaints and their efficient processing in all organisations, in both the public and private sector. As the provider of publicly funded health services, the National Health Service (NHS) needs to ensure that the complaints mechanisms that it has in place reflect best practice. Until April 1996, the complaints procedures were a hotchpot of different systems that had all evolved in different ways and to serve different needs. They had been the subject of criticism from several quarters for some years. They mostly reflected the organisational structures that were in place in the NHS before the 1990 reforms and did not reflect the evolving understanding of what is good practice for complaints procedures. This changed with effect from April 1 1996. Following a long period of investigation and consultation the Government implemented an overhaul of all complaints procedures in the NHS. This article explains the old procedures, why they needed to change, examines the new procedure and picks out a few potential anomalies within it.
An Evaluation of Medicines Regulation
Authors: Treece S.J. 
Published: October 2011

The regulation of medicines in the United Kingdom has changed radically over the course of the last thirty years. Originally regulation was generally concerned with maintaining the quality and purity of drugs, investigations concerning the efficiency or safety of medicinal products are a more recent phenomenon. Regulation of medicine is now overseen by the European Union and licensing applications that are approved under this new scheme are likely to have wide implications not only for the Member States of the EU, but for non-Member States who have signed to the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA), and possibly for producers of medicines in the United States. The regulatory system that currently applies in the UK, named the “Future System” of medicinal regulation came into being in January 1995. Although in its early days this paper examines the regulation of medicine in both the United Kingdom, and Europe; giving a broad outline of the new regulatory structure; and comparing and contrasting the way that Europe and the United States of America regulates and approves medicines. The final section considers the performance of the new regulatory structure by an examination of the first general report of the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, along with the results of a questionnaire survey conducted primarily with pharmaceutical manufacturers in the UK which aimed to elicit their views on how the new regulatory system is working, and whether it is operating to the standards which are expected of it.
‘Disability’ and ‘Discrimination’ in the Context of Disability Discrimination Legislation: The UK and Australian Acts Compared
Authors: Hamilton Jennifer 
Published: October 2011

Both the Commonwealth of Australia and the UK now have in place anti-disability discrimination legislation. In the example of the Commonwealth, that legislation reflected a positive desire by the community and the government to eliminate disability discrimination in public life. In the UK on the other hand, the legislation introduced represented something of a compromise between activists, who wanted stronger legislation, and the government who up until that point had wanted none. Historically anti-discrimination legislation in both jurisdictions has been similarly structured; containing similar grounds of discrimination and also a similar conceptualisation of discrimination. However, partly no doubt as a result of government antipathy, the UK model of legislation departs from the model used in earlier antidiscrimination legislation in a number of key respects: the legislation contains a new conceptualisation of discrimination; and, it introduces for the first time in antidiscrimination legislation a general ‘defence’ of justification for all forms of discrimination. Additionally, the definition of ‘disability’ employed in the Act is very narrow, concentrating upon a person's functional limitations in relation to ‘normal’ activities. The purpose of this article is to contrast the concepts of ‘disability’ employed in the Acts, and to consider the effectiveness of both the ‘traditional’ and the new conceptualization of discrimination contained in the Commonwealth and UK Acts respectively. While disability under the UK Act is reflective of the government's antipathy to the new legislation, the reconceptualization of discrimination is, on the whole, a positive feature, moving away from the principle that equality equals ‘sameness’, to one which gives recognition to disadvantage and places an explicit, positive, obligation on employers to redress that disadvantage. Other areas of difference between the two Acts — such as in the area of ‘defenses’, the development of enforceable Standards (under the Commonwealth Act), and methods of enforcement will be covered in a subsequent article.
Employment Equity: A South African Case Study
Authors: MacEwen Martin , Dupper Ockert , Louw Andre 
Published: October 2011

The purpose of this paper is to explore what substantive measures have been adopted by one institution in the tertiary education sector, namely the University of Stellenbosch, with what results and with what broader implications for transformation. The importance of tertiary education, access to which was minimal for disadvantaged groups under apartheid, is in providing economic and social empowerment. It therefore plays a pivotal role in the process of transformation. The primary reason for selecting the University of Stellenbosch for this pilot study 2 was that, given its close links to the government during the apartheid era, the University had to demonstrate considerable change in attitudes and practice, including those affecting employment. Its profile of staff, both academic and non-academic, at the time of the passage of the Employment Equity Act in 1998, made clear that the opportunities for those from disadvantaged groups had been restricted in various ways. Significant change was therefore necessary and expected. 3 This paper also seeks to test a particular transformation hypothesis, that the guardians of the dominant institutional culture-the power elite - will frustrate change where it is felt that such change will either threaten perceived core values or the power base of those guardians. Part of the study is to explore what these core values might comprise, but it was felt that perceptions of quality, of high standards and of the close association between cultural continuity and the Afrikaans language would be seen as important by the University. In exploring this aspect of cultural identity, and what had clearly been cultural racism under apartheid, 4 the assumption is that explanations would be explicit, implicit and ‘dormant’.
Sexual Harassment Law in Israel*
Authors: Kamir Orit 
Published: October 2011

The 1998 Israeli sexual harassment law prohibits sexual harassment as a discriminatory practice, a restriction of liberty, an offence to human dignity, a violation of every person's right to elementary respect, and an infringement of the right to privacy. Additionally, the law prohibits intimidation or retaliation that accommodates sexual harassment, referred to as ‘prejudicial treatment’. Sexual harassment and prejudicial treatment are each both a crime and a tort under the Israeli sexual harassment law. The law makes harassers, as well as persons involved in prejudicial treatment, potentially personally liable for either the crime or tort of sexual harassment, or both. The law awards punitive damages to victims1 of sexual harassment or prejudicial treatment — whether or not actual damage of any sort is claimed or proved. Sexual harassment and prejudicial treatment are prohibited in all social settings and contexts. In the workplace, an employer is vicariously liable for the civil consequences of sexual harassment or prejudicial treatment perpetrated by anyone in his or her employ. The employer's civil liability is in addition to the harasser's individual civil and criminal liability. In order to avoid liability, an employer must take all the measures prescribed by the sexual harassment law (including, inter alia , establishment of policy and serious, prompt and efficient treatment of a victim's complaint).
Positive Duties and Gender Equality
Authors: O'cinneide Colm 
Published: October 2011

The imposition since 1998 of a variety of positive equality duties upon public authorities has attracted comparatively little academic attention. However, these duties are a central part of current government equality initiatives, increasingly constitute a major part of the work of the UK's equality commissions, and have been described as an essential part of a new ‘fourth generation’ of equality legislation. It now appears likely that a positive duty to promote gender equality will soon be imposed upon public authorities, which will complement similar race and disability duties. Will the introduction of this positive gender equality duty add to, detract or complement existing statutory provisions? Given the danger that ‘soft law’ initiatives may undermine existing anti-discrimination controls, will the duty provide a clear steer to public authorities, or will it lack teeth, substance and direction, and possibly even prove counter-productive? Such positive duties are designed to compensate for the limitations of existing anti-discrimination law, by requiring the taking of positive steps to promote equality and eliminate discrimination, rather than just compelling a reactive compliance with the letter of the (equality) law. The justifications in principle for the introduction of such duties are strong: for the first time, the introduction of a positive gender duty will impose a clear legislative obligation upon public authorities to adopt a substantive equality approach and to take proactive action to redress patterns of disadvantage linked to gender discrimination. Serious concerns do however exist as to the extent to which such duties can be enforced, and the danger that they will simply encourage greater bureaucratic activity at the expense of real change. The proposed gender duty, as with the other duties that have been introduced, is no panacea. Nevertheless, it does constitute a good start, can serve a useful function by empowering public authorities to take positive action, and if effectively used will be a very valuable point of pressure to push for better things.
Employers' Legal Liability for Sexual Harassment of Employees by Third Parties
Authors: Middlemiss Sam 
Published: October 2011

The issue of whether or not an employer should be vicariously liable under statute for sexual harassment perpetrated against his employees by third parties is an important one that has been undecided until recently. Whether the issue has been decided by the legislative rules now covering it remains to be seen. Some commentators, including this writer, would disagree that the matter has been resolved sufficiently and argue the need for further change. ‘Thus an employer is not liable for third party harassment of which they had no knowledge, or for one off incidents of third-party harassment, or for conduct beyond their control.’ 1 This article will briefly outline the chequered history of this area of law and analyse how recent changes in UK law 2 (which were inspired by a EU Directive and a successful challenge to the legal rules in the UK raised by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in Equal Opportunities Commission v. Secretary of State for Trade and Industry) 3 and implemented by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations have finally tried to resolve the issue. The legal effect of these changes will be considered as will their practical impact on employers in the UK. The deficiencies in the legislative rules which now apply will also be highlighted. Developments in other relevant areas of harassment law will also be considered.
Wave reflection signatures: identifying early microvascular abnormalities in type 2 diabetes
Authors: Plumb Rick D , Hamilton Paul K , Rea Derrick J , Wright Stephen A , Hughes Sinead M , McGivern R Canice , McVeigh Gary E 
Published: October 2011

Microvascular changes occur early in diabetes mellitus. Doppler ultrasound enables non-invasive identification of ocular microvascular haemodynamics through interrogation of blood flow velocity waveforms. Wave decomposition permits the spectrum of sinusoidal components comprising flow velocity waveforms to be quantified. We hypothesised that comprehensive interrogation of waveforms would be more sensitive in identifying microvascular abnormalities than traditional analysis employing the resistive index. Thirty-four subjects with type 2 diabetes and 20 healthy controls between 30 and 70 years old were recruited. Doppler flow velocity waveform signals were captured from the ophthalmic and carotid arteries under standardised conditions. The signals were analysed using a wave decomposition algorithm and the sinusoidal components of average waveforms were compared between groups at both arterial sites. The diabetes group displayed significant differences in the lower frequency sinusoidal components of both the ophthalmic artery (p<0.001) and, to a lesser extent, the carotid artery (p<0.05) waveforms compared with controls, with no difference noted in the resistive index at either site. We conclude that wave decomposition analysis of Doppler flow velocity waveforms, recorded in proximity of the terminal vascular bed of interest, can identify subtle microvascular haemodynamic abnormalities not detected by traditional methods of analysis.
Clinical significance of SF3B1 mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms
Authors: Malcovati Luca , Papaemmanuil Elli , Bowen David T. , Boultwood Jacqueline , Della Porta Matteo G. , Pascutto Cristiana , Travaglino Erica , Groves Michael J. , Godfrey Anna L. , Ambaglio Ilaria , Gallì Anna , Da Vià Matteo C. , Conte Simona , Tauro Sudhir , Keenan Norene , Hyslop Ann , Hinton Jonathan , Mudie Laura J. , Wainscoat James S. , Futreal P. Andrew , Stratton Michael R. , Campbell Peter J. , Hellström-Lindberg Eva , Cazzola Mario ,   on behalf of the Chronic Myeloid Disorders Working Group of the International Cancer Genome Consortium and of the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro Gruppo Italiano Malattie Mieloproliferative
Published: October 2011

Abstract
In a previous study, we identified somatic mutations of SF3B1, a gene encoding a core component of RNA splicing machinery, in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Here, we define the clinical significance of these mutations in MDS and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN). The coding exons of SF3B1 were screened using massively parallel pyrosequencing in patients with MDS, MDS/MPN, or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) evolving from MDS. Somatic mutations of SF3B1 were found in 150 of 533 (28.1%) patients with MDS, 16 of 83 (19.3%) with MDS/MPN, and 2 of 38 (5.3%) with AML. There was a significant association of SF3B1 mutations with the presence of ring sideroblasts (P < .001) and of mutant allele burden with their proportion (P = .002). The mutant gene had a positive predictive value for ring sideroblasts of 97.7% (95% confidence interval, 93.5%-99.5%). In multivariate analysis including established risk factors, SF3B1 mutations were found to be independently associated with better overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.15, P = .025) and lower risk of evolution into AML (hazard ratio = 0.33, P = .049). The close association between SF3B1 mutations and disease phenotype with ring sideroblasts across MDS and MDS/MPN is consistent with a causal relationship. Furthermore, SF3B1 mutations are independent predictors of favorable clinical outcome, and their incorporation into stratification systems might improve risk assessment in MDS.