From tragedy to comedy: Political reform in Thailand

Thailand's democracy has been profoundly influenced by mass struggle and tragic bloodshed. The political freedom now exercised by Thai citizens ia a direct result of continuous mass struggle against dictatorship, the high points of which were the 14th October 1973 and the May 1992 popular uprisings. Yet, at the same time, this freedom has also had its limits defined by the brutal crushing of Thailand's socialist movement on the 6th October 1976. This has meant that the present day parliamentary system is devoid of any element of class politics. It is this, more than anything else, which is responsible for the corruption and vote-buying in the electoral system. Recent attempts at political reform, culminating in the drafting of the 1997 Constitution, results from the work of a coalition between two separate and conflicting class factions in Thai society. On the one hand, “the People's Organisations” (N.G.O.s, campaigns for democracy, peasant and labour groups) demanded more rights and participation in decision-making. On the other hand, “the modernist liberal wing of the ruling elite” wished to see more efficient and stable government. The contradictions between these two political currents can be seen throughout the reform process and in Thai politics today. Attempts to cleanse Thai politics using a reformed Constitution, new election laws and newly established “independent bodies,” such as the Election Commission and Constitutional Court, are unlikely to succeed, since they fail to address the real basis of money politics in Thailand and rely on a narrow structuralist approach. A more realistic route to political reform would rely on the mobilisation of social groups on a class basis. Only when such groups organise to push for more social equality and justice inside and outside the confines of the present structures can there be true progress.     

Factors in Estimating Potential Response Costs of Spills and Releases

This article provides a discussion of the categories of response costs associated with releases of hazardous substances or petroleum into the environment and the factors to be considered in developing response cost estimates. To understand and estimate the costs of responding to sudden and accidental releases of hazardous materials or petroleum into the environment, a number of key factors must be considered. Detailed cost estimating approaches developed through the study of catastrophic marine oil spills are discussed for purposes of illustration, and then generalized for application to other types of spills. It is recognized that many practitioners will have access to detailed information on releases based on their own experience and it is anticipated that this article will provide additional insight, ideas, and a framework for estimating response costs.     

Intimate violence among underrepresented groups on a college campus

Rape, sexual violence, psychological violence, and physical violence, among college students have been a concern. Lifetime events are often studied but not violence that specifically transpires while one is in college. Underrepresented groups such as Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, students who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and students who are members of racial and ethnic minorities have not been studied as extensively as White, heterosexual females. The authors used several measures to investigate the incidence of sexual violence, physical and psychological abuse among underrepresented groups in a random sample of 1,028 college students at a private, northeastern, technological campus in upstate New York, United States and analyzed victimization rates by gender, race/ethnicity, auditory status, and sexual orientation. Binary logistic regression analyses found that statistically significant differences are likely to exist between members of underrepresented groups and groups in the majority. The study found statistically significant associations between Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and students who were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other sexual orientation with psychological abuse and physical abuse. Racial and ethnic minorities and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual orientation students were significantly more at risk for sexual abuse. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other sexual orientation students, students who were members of a racial or ethnic minority, and female students were significantly more likely to be raped. Female heterosexual students were more likely to be the victim of an attempted rape. Suggestions for further research and policy implications are provided.     

Picturing neuroscience research through a human rights lens: imaging first-episode schizophrenic treatment-naive individuals

In this paper we examine imaging research involving first-episode schizophrenic treatment-naive individuals (FESTNIs) through a legal human rights lens; in particular, the lens of the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine Concerning Biomedical Research. We identify a number of ethical and legal hot spots highlighted by the Protocol, and offer a series of recommendations designed to ensure the human rights compatibility of this research. Subsequently, we argue that the lack of reporting on design elements related to ethical concerns frustrates commitments at the heart of the human rights approach, namely, transparency and openness to international scrutiny. To redress this problem, we introduce two norms for the first time: ethical transparency, and ethical reproducibility. When concluding, we offer a set of reporting guidelines designed to operationalize these norms in the context of imaging research involving FESTNIs. Though we will not make this case here, we believe that parallel reporting guidelines should be incorporated into other areas of research involving human subjects.     

Angels of mercy? The legal and professional implications of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment by nurses in England and Wales

In circumstances where life-sustaining treatment appears merely to be drawing out the inevitable, it is usual practice for the healthcare team to withdraw aggressive life-sustaining measures, once agreement is reached with the patient and their family. Common law gives doctors several defences to allegations of criminality or malpractice in taking the key actions that withdraw treatment and result in the patient's death; however, the legal defensibility of nurses undertaking this role has not been explored. In the absence of a specific body of law related to nurses taking the actions that withdraw life-sustaining treatment, I discuss the probable legal response by considering parallel cases. Examining some of the circumstances in which doctors are allowed to take life, I argue that the legal dispensation by which doctors are permitted to perform these tasks rests largely on their identity as doctors rather than any distinctive feature of their activities themselves. This uniqueness means that medical law for nurses is quite distinct from that for doctors. While it may nevertheless give nurses practical exemption from the legal consequences of their actions in withdrawal, it depends upon a judicial view that nurses are instruments of doctors. This judicial position is at odds with nurses' professional responsibilities, which envisage them as independent professionals who are liable for their own actions, inviting potentially adverse consequences from their professional registrar.     

Understanding Date Rape Attitudes and Behaviors: Exploring the Influence of Race,Gender, and Prior Sexual Victimization

This exploratory investigation examines the influence of race, gender, and prior sexual victimization on attitudes and behaviors related to date rape from a large sample of college students (n = 3,084) in the United States. The results of this study indicate that gender was a salient factor, with males more likely to subscribe to undesirable attitudes toward date rape and to engage in behaviors that increase the risk of both men and women perpetrating date rape. Findings also indicate that racial differences exist in that black students were less likely to subscribe to undesirable attitudes and to engage in sexual behaviors that increase the risk of perpetrating date rape than were white students. Finally, the analyses found previous sexual victimization experiences unexpectedly increased undesirable attitudes toward and behaviors associated with date rape. Implications of the results are discussed.     

The Supreme Court of Canada and the Right to Bargain Collectively: The Implications of the Health Services and Support case in Canada and Beyond

In June 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada expressly overruled20 years of jurisprudence that interpreted the freedom of associationas excluding collective bargaining. This about-face by the SupremeCourt was unexpected. What gave rise to this remarkable decisionand what does it portend for the role of the courts in labourrelations in Canada and beyond? The recent successes beforecourts have led some observers to suggest that it may now bea propitious time for a coordinated and proactive litigationstrategy to vindicate labour's collective rights. This articleoffers some preliminary answers to these broader questions andissues by focussing on the Supreme Court's decision in the HealthServices and Support case.