Legal Autonomy as Political Engagement: The Ladakhi Village in the Wider World

Local systems of law are constantly forced to adapt to powerful external legal orders. As well as employing tactics of resistance and accommodation, some communities respond by maintaining boundaries around their legal sphere, safeguarding a measure of judicial autonomy. This article examines one such instance, from the Indian Himalayas. It argues that, much more complex than a case of domination and resistance, this autonomy represents a long history of deference and distance toward external forces. The maintenance of legal autonomy ultimately represents community ontology, but it is also a means of engaging with wider forces within the modern world.     

Leadership and organizational transformation

Following a discussion of recent literature concerned with leadership, the authors note that there is a tendency for many writers to marginalize contextual issues when examining the impact of leaders on organizations. Taking a study of three community transport organizations in the UK, the authors seek to apply some of the currently popular themes in the leadership literature to the coordinators of these organizations. It is shown that one can usefully be described as a transactional leader, another as a transformational leader, while the third is characterized as a ‘frustrated transformational leader’. The application of the adjective ‘frustrated’ serves as a focus for the consideration of contextual factors that inhibited this leader, who can legitimately be described as transformational, and which thwarted his capacity to see through his vision. A number of different contextual features are noted and it is shown how these severely constrained and in the end frustrated the aspirations of this coordinator. Some implications of these findings for the literature on leadership and on organizational transformation are spelled out.     

Multicultural health care? Cultural accommodation in non‐devoted policy sectors

As developed states have faced increasing ethnocultural diversity, debates have arisen over what tools the state has at its disposal to help create peaceful, tolerant, and cohesive diverse societies. This research note has two purposes. First, it builds on existing theoretical research on multicultural policies to propose a typology of multicultural policies from non‐devoted immigration or multicultural ministries. Second, it argues that there is space for policies aimed to accommodate and recognize immigrants and ethnocultural minorities in health care policy and – by extension – other policy areas. Such initiatives would both improve the quality of service for immigrants, ethnocultural minorities, and majority group Canadians and greatly enhance the likelihood of recognition and comprehensive integration of minorities.     

A Tale of Two Debtors: Responding to the Shock of Over‐Indebtedness in France and England – a Story from the Trente Piteuses

England and France have developed distinct treatment systems to address the shock of a substantial increase in over‐indebted individuals since the mid‐1980s. In France, Over‐Indebtedness Commissions, with the Bank of France playing a central role in their management, now dominate the system. A more fragmented system of private and public providers of remedies developed in England, with innovation driven by private actors modifying existing commercial procedures and increased access to bankruptcy relief a side‐effect of government promotion of entrepreneurialism. This article explains the differences between these countries in terms of the influence of interest groups, including state actors, and ideologies. Historical contingency also plays a role. The distinct responses were not hard‐wired to legal origins and the article argues that analysis of the interaction of interest groups, state actors and ideology in shaping institutions, which in turn structure future change, provides a productive approach for future comparative research in this area.     

Recognition of Early Myocardial Infarction by Immunohistochemical Staining with Cardiac Troponin‐I and Complement C9*

Abstract: The diagnosis of early myocardial infarction (MI) after death, especially in the first few hours (c. 6 h) after the onset of MI, poses a challenge to the forensic pathologists. During this time, the damaged myocardium does not show grossly identifiable morphological changes and may not be recognized even with routine histological microscopic examination. However, the infarcted cardiac tissue releases certain chemicals that can be detected microscopically, two of these being cardiac troponin‐I (CT‐I) and complement C9 (C9). This study utilizes the importance of these two biomarkers immunohistochemically in an attempt to identify this early phase of MI. This study reveals that the early phase of MI of <6 h duration may be detected through immunohistochemical staining with CT‐I and C9. The ischemic/infarcted cardiac myofibers in the <6 h group display reduced/absent CT‐I staining as well as positive C9 staining.     

Brain distribution of selected antipsychotics in schizophrenia

The brain distribution of phenothiazine antipsychotics in 22 confirmed schizophrenic and 11 control subjects were collected at autopsy. Specimens were homogenized, extracted with n-butyl chloride, and analyzed via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, using atmospheric pressure electrospray ionization operating in the positive mode. Drug concentrations normalized for those observed in cerebellum showed three distinct patterns of distribution corresponding to different structural features of each type of phenothiazine. Those drugs with high affinity for dopamine receptors were detected in the highest concentrations in regions with high concentrations of such receptors. However, those associated with relatively lower dopaminergic activity were found in the highest concentration in the occipital cortex, a region with a relatively low concentration of dopamine receptors. The regional brain distribution of thioridazine and its metabolites was concentration dependent. These results have implications for determining the role of these drugs in the sudden and unexpected deaths of schizophrenics.     

Duverger's Law, Penrose's Power Index and the Unity of the UK

As predicted by Duverger's Law, the UK has had two-party competition for long periods in most electoral districts. However, there are different patterns of two-party competition in different districts and more than two effective parties in the Commons. Since 1874, parliament has always contained parties wishing to modify the Union and contesting seats only outside England. By calculating the Penrose power index for all parties in the House of Commons for all general elections since 1874, we identify when such parties were pivotal. We explain various legislative changes (for example the Crofters Act 1886, the first three Irish Home Rule Bills, the Parliament Act 1911) and non-changes (for example the failure to enact female suffrage before 1914) by reference to the Penrose index scores. The scores also explain how and why policy towards Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland changed and did not change in the 1970s.     

The reliability of digitized radiographs for dental identification: a Web-based study

In the era of Daubert and other judicial rulings pertaining to the acceptability of forensic evidence, it is increasingly important that experts are able to testify that their methods have been scientifically tested and that error rates and other factors relating to reliability have been published. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of digitized radiographic comparisons for the purposes of dental identification. Participants with various forensic backgrounds and experience levels were passively recruited to the website. Ten forensic identification cases composed of antemortem and postmortem dental radiographs were supplied to examiners using a bespoke website. Participants responded to the cases on two occasions after a one-month washout interval using the ABFO conclusion levels for forensic identifications. A total of 115 first attempts and 87 matched second attempts were received. Of the total responses, 72% were dentally trained respondents who had completed at least one forensic identification case; of these, 38% were experienced forensic dentists who had completed more than 25 identifications. Data relating to accuracy, intra- and inter-examiner agreement, and the effect of case difficulty are presented. Mean accuracy was 85.5% for all cases, with the experienced forensic dentists obtaining a 91% success rate. The inter-examiner agreement on the negative identification cases was classified as poor. The data suggest that dental identifications resulting from the comparison of postmortem and antemortem radiographs are valid, accurate, and reliable when undertaken by experienced odontologists.