Rewriting the future? Biomedical advances and legal dilemmas

Developments in medical science have sparked public debate about the legal and ethical implications of new technologies. Within these debates a number of distinct discourses are evident, including discourses about the positive and negative implications of technological advances, the influence of globalisation on regulatory choice, and the challenges of articulating common values in a pluralistic society. This article argues that an understanding of these discourses is an essential part of understanding the nature of contemporary regulatory dilemmas.     

Growing inequality in black wages in the 1980s and the emergence of an African-American middle class

Much recent scholarship and popular discussion posits a substantial movement of African-American households into the “middle class.” Yet over the course of the 1980s, the proportion of individual black wage-earners receiving “annualized” (work experience-adjusted) wages and salaries in excess of about $35,000—three times the poverty line—fell by 22 percent, even as the share of African-Americans earning below the poverty line increased by a fifth. This was true for all age groups, and even for persons within the black community who had completed four or more years of college. The growth of low wage employment was most pronounced for black men between the ages of 25 and 34, among whom the incidence of below-poverty-level employment doubled. Black women aged 35–54 experienced relatively greater progress than any other part of the African-American community, but their gains lagged far behind those of comparable white women. We speculate on possible explanations for these developments, on the basis of which a potential public policy agenda is examined.     

The association between multiple drug misuse and crime

Research that has investigated the association between specific drug types and crime has tended to focus on the specific drug type in isolation from other drugs. The main problem with this is that it cannot be assumed that the association between specific drug use and crime will be the same regardless of the additional drugs consumed. The research aimed to investigate whether there was a correlation between number and type of drugs used and involvement in crime. The analysis of multiple drug use was based on data collected as part of the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program in the United Kingdom. The results showed that both the number of drug types consumed and the particular drug type combinations used explained offending rate. The research concluded that the investigation of links between multiple drug use and crime might help inform antidrugs strategies and treatment services.     

Elderly suicide: a 10-year retrospective study

The suicide rate in the 65-year and older age group has been increasing since 1980. The elderly attempt suicide less often than younger people but are successful more often. The authors retrospectively reviewed all cases referred to the Forensic Pathology Section of the Medical Examiners' Office at the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, SC) from January 1988 through December 1997. The cases of suicide in victims 65 years and older totaled 78, accounting for 11.5% of all suicides reviewed. Of these 78 cases, 41% were autopsied and 59% were externally examined. All of the cases were initially analyzed as to age, race, sex, and method of suicide. Files also were reviewed to determine time of year of the suicide, toxicology results, psychiatric history, social history, medical history, and whether a suicide note was left. The ages of these suicide victims ranged from 65 to 94 years; men comprised 85% of the victims, and whites, 94%. The male-to-female and white-to-black ratios were 6:1 and 15: 1, respectively. The average age of the victim was 73 years. Gunshot wound was the most common method of suicide, accounting for 80.7% of the cases. Other methods included overdose (6.4%), hanging (3.8%), fall from height (2.6%), incised wounds (2.6%), drowning (2.6%), and carbon monoxide poisoning (1.3%).     

An unusual case of anaphylaxis. Mold in pancake mix

Anaphylactic reactions involve contact with an antigen that evokes an immune reaction that is harmful. This type of reaction is a rapidly developing immunologic reaction termed a type I hypersensitivity reaction. The antigen complexes with an IgE antibody that is bound to mast cells and basophils in a previously sensitized individual. Upon re-exposure, vasoactive and spasmogenic substances are released that act on vessels and smooth muscle. The reaction can be local or systemic and may be fatal. The authors report the death of a 19-year-old white male who had a history of "multiple allergies," including pets, molds, and penicillin. One morning, he and his friends made pancakes with a packaged mix that had been opened and in the cabinet for approximately 2 years. The friends stopped eating the pancakes because they said that they tasted like "rubbing alcohol." The decedent continued to eat the pancakes and suddenly became short of breath. He was taken to a nearby clinic, where he became unresponsive and died. At autopsy, laryngeal edema and hyperinflated lungs with mucous plugging were identified. Microscopically, edema and numerous degranulating mast cells were identified in the larynx. The smaller airways contained mucus, and findings of chronic asthma were noted. Serum tryptase was elevated at 14.0 ng/ml. The pancake mix was analyzed and found to contain a total mold count of 700/g of mix as follows: Penicillium, Fusarium, Mucor, and Aspergillus. Witness statements indicate that the decedent ate two pancakes; thus he consumed an approximate mold count of 21,000. The decedent had a history of allergies to molds and penicillin, and thus was allergic to the molds in the pancake mix. The authors present this unusual case of anaphylaxis and a review of the literature.     

The formation Of a Canadian privacy policy: the art and craft of lesson-drawing

Abstract: For some cases of policy innovation, traditional models of the policy process based on assumptions of power and conflict are not helpful guides. This article suggests that it is often just as important to understand the pattern of learning or lesson-drawing that takes place during policy development. With reference to the formation of Canadian privacy policy, as expressed in the Privacy Act of 1982, it is demonstrated that the lessons drawn from the experience of other countries' legislative attempts to protect personal data were instrumental in shaping a Canadian policy. Lessons about the principles of data protection, the exemptions to those principles, and the policy instrument to implement them were drawn at critical stages from American, and other, experience. The fact that some lessons were drawn and not others, from some countries and not others, helps us understand why Canadian privacy policy is as it is today. The article concludes by noting the conditions for lesson-drawing across boundaries to influence policy: a basic consensus on goals; a low salience in public opinion; a dominant role for bureaucrats; a high degree of innovation; and the existence of exemplars. The timing, then, of foreign privacy laws was crucial, highlighting the importance of studying public policy in both comparative and historical perspectives. Sommaire: Dans certains cas d'innovation politique, les modéles classiques d'étude du processus politique fondés sur des hypotheses de pouvoir et de conflit ne constituent pas de bons guides. Cet article montre qu'il est souvent aussi important de comprendre dans quelle mesure on a tiré parti des lecons étrangéres au cours de I'élaboration d'une politique. Faisant référence à la formation de la politique canadienne de la vie privée, exprimée par le biais de la Loi de 1982 sur la vie privée, il démontre que I'expérience des tentatives législatives d'autres pays pour protéger les informations personnelles ont eu un rôle prédominant dans I'élaboration de la politique canadienne. À des moments cruciaux, on a tiré de I'expérience américaine et de celle d'autres pays des lecons sur les principes de protection de I'information, sur les exceptions à ces principes et sur les moyens de mettre ces derniéres en oeuvre. Le fait qu'on ait, de façon sélective, tiré certaines leçons de certains pays, nous aide à comprendre pourquoi la politique canadienne sur la vie privée est ce qu'elle est aujourd'hui. En conclusion, I'auteur décrit les conditions dans lesquelles les renseignements puisés d'autres pays sont susceptibles de contribuer à la politique nationale: un consensus fondamental sur les objectifs rechercheés, peu de préoccupations pour le sujet dans I'opinion publique, un rô1e prépondérant pour les bureaucrates, un degréélevé d'innovation et I'existence d'exemples concrets. De même, le moment ou les lois sur la vie privée d'autres pays ont été adoptées s'est avéré important, ce qui démontre I'importance d'étudier les politiques publiques dans une perspective comparative aussi bien qu'historique.     

Considering Capital Punishment as a Human Interaction

This paper contributes to the normative debate over capital punishment by looking at whether the role of executioner is one in which it is possible and proper to take pride. The answer to the latter question turns on the kind of justification the agent can give for what she does in carrying out the role. So our inquiry concerns whether the justifications available to an executioner could provide him with the kind of justification necessary for him to take pride in what he does. If they cannot, I argue, this sheds some light on their adequacy as justifications. The main argument of the paper is that social control arguments for the death penalty fail to provide an adequate justification. I also give some consideration to retributive justifications. The argument is developed through close attention to the depiction of Albert Pierrepoint in the film, Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman.