Duty of care in immunisation against biological warfare agents

In peacetime, the Crown owes a duty of care to members of the Armed Forces to provide adequate medical support. This includes the provision of safe and effective vaccines. A Serviceman who considers himself harmed by immunisation against biological warfare (BW) agents would have access to legal action in the tort of negligence. However, the outcome would be uncertain because of the absence of clear precedent in respect of the Crown's duty of care in the period of transition between peace and war and the statutory right of the Government to bar proceedings against the Crown for alleged negligence during time of war. Moreover, no claimant has yet succeeded in any common law action in the United Kingdom for vaccine damage because of the difficulty of proving causation. The Serviceman would not be covered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation (Overseas) Scheme. Likewise, he would not be eligible for payment under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979 unless the Act was amended. The Serviceman would therefore have to rely on the current pension system that is accessible, relatively generous and, until recently, independent of the Ministry of Defence.     

Medium‐Chain Acyl‐CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency in Adulthood: A Potential Diagnosis in a Patient with Mental Status Changes Suspected of Drug Toxicity

Medium‐chain acyl‐CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency is a rare but important component of the differential diagnosis for adults with a history of premortem mental status changes and the postmortem finding of hepatic steatosis. This case report describes a 30‐year‐old white man who, following a period of nausea and vomiting, was admitted to the hospital with sudden mental status deterioration followed rapidly by clinical deterioration and death. Treating physicians in this case suspected acute illicit drug toxicity with synthetic cathinones based on social history. Clinicians and medical examiners should be aware that the presentation, signs, and symptoms described may indicate an underlying inborn error of metabolism such as MCAD deficiency and take action accordingly.     

The Russian Dance with Democracy

An American political scientist investigates whether, and how, the political and economic values of ordinary Russians have changed. The study is based on a three-wave panel survey of a representative national sample of Russians, conducted between 1996 and 2000. The article considers the degree to which democratic commitments have solidified over the last half of the decade. The article also tests the conventional wisdom that democratic values are dependent upon perceptions of a successful economy.     

Shorter notices

Extension in Rural Communities. By A. H. Savile. Oxford University Press, 1965. Pp. 143. 21/‐.

The Financial Sector and Economic Development: The Mexican Case. By Robert L. Bennett. Oxford University Press, 1965. Pp. 244. 56/‐.

The Wretched of the Earth. By F. Fanon. MacGibbon & Kee, London, 1965. Pp. 255. 36/‐.

The Sierra Leone Diamonds By H. L. Van der Laan. Oxford University Press, London, 1965. Pp. 228. 25/‐.

Some Economic Aspects of Business Organisation. By James E. McNulty. University of Pennsylvania Press,Philadelphia. Pp. 122.40/‐.

Farming as a Business. By M. Upton and Q. B. O. Anthonio. Oxford Tropical Handbooks. Oxford University Press, 1965. Pp. 133. 21/‐.     

A Tangled Web: Complexity and Inequality in the English Local Government Finance Settlement

The £29 billion formula grant stands at the heart of the English local government finance system. This transfer of resource from central to local government has, since 2006–07, been distributed using the so-called ‘four block model’. This extraordinarily complex formula-based funding mechanism aims to ensure that all local authorities are able to provide individuals with a broadly comparable level of public service – offering greatest support to local authorities with high service needs and/or low capacity to raise revenue. This paper outlines the structure and workings of the four block model and, drawing attention to key methodological shortcomings, explains why the resulting distribution of the formula grant is both arbitrary and inequitable. In particular it argues that key model parameters – specifically the need and resource equalisation proportions – are set in order to fulfil a particular funding outcome. This flies in the face of the basic tenets of resource allocation methodology in that, being outcome-led, the approach is clearly neither need-based nor impartial. The paper argues that the four block model fails to meet its own goal of fiscal equalisation, is likely to lead to increasing service disparities, and must be replaced as a matter of urgency.     

Losing,but Accepting: Legitimacy,Positivity Theory,and the Symbols of Judicial Authority

How is it that the U.S. Supreme Court is capable of getting most citizens to accept rulings with which they disagree? This analysis addresses the role of the symbols of judicial authority and legitimacy—the robe, the gavel, the cathedral‐like court building—in contributing to this willingness of ordinary people to acquiesce to disagreeable court decisions. Using an experimental design and a nationally representative sample, we show that exposure to judicial symbols (1) strengthens the link between institutional support and acquiescence among those with relatively low prior awareness of the Supreme Court, (2) has differing effects depending upon levels of preexisting institutional support, and (3) severs the link between disappointment with a disagreeable Court decision and willingness to challenge the ruling. Since symbols influence citizens in ways that reinforce the legitimacy of courts, the connection between institutional attitudes and acquiescence posited by Legitimacy Theory is both supported and explained.     

Making Sense of the Sacred

In this note I examine the concept of sacred values. Some commentators have recommended avoiding the question or postponing negotiations until other issues have been settled, whereas others have suggested that few sacred values cannot be rendered into some form of trade‐off (i.e., they are pseudosacred). Here, I follow Scott Atran and Robert Axelrod and argue that ritual and the sacred can be an important component of negotiation and, when addressed effectively, have great potential to break impasse. I first examine the notion of the sacred and its near synonyms, the priceless and the intrinsically valuable. I then look at the issue of valuing life and show that although society places limits on lives as a matter of policy, it paradoxically funds heroic acts, such as mine rescues, which defy economic justification. These acts turn out to fulfill an important symbolic and ritualistic function. Finally, I draw out three implications of the framework for negotiators: negotiators should engage in some form of values clarification among the parties, material compromise by one party does not necessarily indicate that that party's values were not ultimate or that these have been relinquished, and considerable weight should be placed on ritualistic and symbolic gestures with regard to values.