Homicide by asphyxia--yes or no? On the use of muscle histology

In two cases of death autopsy revealed large hemorrhages in the muscles of the neck, which lead to the conclusion of a murder by strangulation, e.g. with a soft tool. Histologic examination of the injured muscles didn't show any sign of vital reaction, which means, that they had developed post mortem. There was no reason for further suspicion of a violent crime. Later it became obvious, that neck lesions resulted from inadequate recovery and transport of the corpses. "Vital" type of muscular alteration is characterized by segmental or disk-like fragmentation of muscle fibres, loss of sarcoplasmatic cross-striation and appearance of pathologic longitudinal fibrillar structures. These signs are missing in case of a postmortal injury, whereas the cross striation is intact. The slides should be stained with PTAH. With these two cases we would like to demonstrate the importance of histologic examination of injured muscles, when question for intravital or postmortal injury rises.     

DNA analysis and the Freedom of Information Act: information or invasion?

This note explores the possibility of release of an individual's DNA analysis to any person who requests it through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), after an individual's post-aircraft accident DNA profile has been developed by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI). It analyzes whether the request would fall under the FOIA's 552(b)(6) exemption, which weighs a person's privacy interest against any public interest in such information, or if the release would constitute a "clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."     

Fairness and organizational citizenship behavior: What are the connections?

A view of organizations as social contracts recognizes self-interests of individuals but does not explain the occurrence of unselfish contributions such as are denoted by organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). We propose that the concept of fairness, as applied to systems of relational contracts, provides a high-leverage construct for understanding the fusion of self-interest and self-denial. A review of the empirical literature suggests that fairness, rather than job satisfaction, accounts for OCB; and that the evidence points toward procedural and interactional fairness as both empirically and conceptually critical in the fairness-OCB relationship. However, we explain why distributive fairness still should not be deemphasized.     

Inventing and patenting activities of scientists: in the expectation of money or reputation?

We propose that scientists use patents/invention disclosures as signals to gain reputation than financial benefits. Based on a newly created dataset on the commercial activities among 2,500 scientists affiliated with 67 institutes of the German Max Planck Society, we explore the relation between the expectations of scientists concerning the outcomes of commercial activities and the likelihood of their patenting and disclosure behaviors. We find that expectation of gaining financial benefits are not related with the patenting activities of scientists without industrial cooperation. Instead, their expectation to gain/increase reputation through commercial activities is correlated with their patenting and disclosures activities. This may in turn also increase the possibility to gain academic promotion, financial benefits through industrial collaboration etc., rather than the immediate personal financial gains.     

The internet and the state: Instrument of social control or subversive tecnology?

Conclusion Technological progress always contains within it the ironic dialectic of liberation and domination. The computer-based information highway is no exception. As a consequence, our own view is that the computer revolution contains the potential for both over-control and subversion of control. Science and technology are not neutral. They are social constructs that exist only within a context of choices of development and application. Therefore, it is not the technology that constrains, or oppresses, or liberates. Rather, the emancipatory potential of this new technology lies in the degree to which those who use it can disseminate it and maintain it as a relatively low-cost communication tool. To date, many of those involved in expanding the Internet frontier have generally been suspicious of and resistant to government intrusion into the Net. While it is often easier to simply dismiss such suspicion as the ranting of conspiracy theorists, history has taught us that such a na?ve faith in the benevolence of the government is unwise. Our intention here has not been to provide a definitive conclusion about the past, present, or future state of technological progress; instead we hope that our discussion will spark further critical analysis of technology and related topics.     

London 2012 and the Impact of the UK's Olympic and Paralympic Legislation: Protecting Commerce or Preserving Culture?

The general commercial rights associated with the Olympic Movement are protected in the UK by the Olympic Symbols etc (Protection) Act 1995. In addition, the UK Government, in response to a requirement of the Host City Contract with the International Olympic Committee, created the London Olympic Association Right under section 33 and Schedule 4 of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games Act 2006. These provisions enable the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games to exploit, to the fullest extent, the commercial rights associated with the London Olympic Games. This article questions whether the IOC's requirement for legislative protection and state enforcement of the commercial rights are compatible with the Fundamental Principles of Olympism as defined in the Olympic Charter, and its stated aim of being a celebration of sporting endeavour, culture and education.     

Stay or leave? Individual choice and family logic: the destinations of children born in the Valserine Valley (French Jura) in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

"To study inheritance, it is necessary in the first place to know the number of heirs in each family, how property was divided between them, and whether their inheritance was sufficient to enable them to maintain and support several children in the parish. This study examines the process by which the populations of the parishes of Valserine Valley in France reproduce themselves from one generation to the next, by means of examining the ?effective' progeny of couples to determine how many of them produce children (heirs) who continue to live in the Valley. The ultimate goal of these researches is to establish the characteristics of those who leave the Valley, and how these differ from those who choose to stay. The article examines whether it is possible to discern a family strategy in the way these decisions are made, and whether behavior of the persons in question is determined by individual choice."     

Medical treatment of dementia patients at the end of life: can the law accommodate the personal identity and welfare problems?

This article considers whether two significant philosophical objections to autonomy-based legal approaches to decision-making for incompetent individuals could be accommodated by the law. These philosophical objections are known as the personal identity and welfare problems. The article first sets out the autonomy-based approaches and their objections. Next, the present legal position is briefly canvassed in a comparative vein. Finally, the article suggests how the personal identity and welfare problems might be accommodated were legislators minded to do so, by proposing specific statutory amendments to the recent English legislation on advance decisions and evaluating their viability, particularly in light of the European Convention on Human Rights.