Desperately seeking donors: the 'saviour sibling' decision in Quintavalle v Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (UK)

The recent House of Lords decision in Quintavalle v Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has raised difficult and complex issues regarding the extent to which embryo selection and reproductive technology can be used as a means of rectifying genetic disorders and treating critically ill children. This comment outlines the facts of Quintavalle and explores how the House of Lords approached the legal, ethical and policy issues that arose out of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's (UK) decision to allow reproductive and embryo technology to be used to produce a 'saviour sibling' whose tissue could be used to save the life of a critically ill child. Particular attention will be given to the implications of the decision in Quintavalle for Australian family and medical law and policy. As part of this focus, the comment explores the current Australian legislative and policy framework regarding the use of genetic and reproductive technology as a mechanism through which to assist critically ill siblings. It is argued that the present Australian framework would appear to impose significant limits on the medical uses of genetic technology and, in this context, would seem to reflect many of the principles that were articulated by the House of Lords in Quintavalle.     

The Indiana University Advanced Research and Technology Institute: A Case Study

The Indiana University Advanced Research and Technology Institute (ARTI) is the technology transfer organ of the Indiana University system. ARTIs structure is complex, and has been dynamic since its creation in 1996. This complexity stems in part from the diversity represented by the Indiana University system and from competing interests within the university itself. In addition to the intrinsic value of higher education, the university has the potential to add substantial value to Indianas economic landscape through technology transfer, economic development initiatives and the resulting job creation, but realizing that potential will require effectively leveraging a disconnected network including the IU campuses and critical capabilities contributed by the states other world class institutions. This paper reviews the formation of ARTI, a discussion of its structure and evolving mission, recent initiatives and some possible metrics for technology transfer initiatives.     

When silence threatens safety: lessons from the first Canberra Hospital neurosurgical inquiry

Despite widespread institutional and professional support, the recommendations of the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry may be insufficient to reduce patient risk from impaired senior medical practitioners. Using the First Inquiry into Neurosurgical Services at the Canberra Hospital as a case study, this article argues that the Bristol-type recommendations--which emphasise reformulation of clinical governance structures, including early reporting of "sentinel events" and compulsory clinical audits--will be ineffective without a reformed institutional ethos that encourages open transparency and respect for those committed to such processes. Such reformulation may need to commence in medical education and involve new strategies including the use of portable digital technology to facilitate self-assessment of performance and immediate reporting of adverse incidents.     

To leave or to stay?: Battered women's concern for vulnerable pets

Consistent with previous research, almost half of a sample of 41 pet-owning battered women reported that their partners had threatened or actually harmed their pets, and over a fourth reported that concern for their pets had affected their decisions about leaving or staying with the batterer. Differences between rural and urban women were not significant, although higher proportions of rural than urban women reported that their partners had threatened or harmed their pets and that concern for their pets had affected their decisions. For the sample as a whole, logistic regression analyses showed that women whose pets had been threatened or harmed were significantly more likely to report that concern for their pets had affected their decisions about leaving or staying. The findings suggest that service providers should inquire about battered women's concern for their pets and should include arrangements for animals in safety planning.     

The Service Sector's Acquisition and Development of Information Technology: Infrastructure and Productivity

The paper explains why the productivity of information technology (IT) in the service sector of the U.S. economy is increased by the provision of infratechnology. The size and growth of the service sector and its investment in IT are discussed, and a key fact and a key inference are developed. The fact: The absorption costs of IT are the vast majority of the IT investment costs to the service sector. The inference: Infratechnology investments are an efficient way to increase both private and social benefits of incurring the cost of implementing IT.     

Appealing (but not Necessarily Winning) to Improve Your Social Status

In this article, I argue that litigants identify the appellate courts as offering a powerful and public arena where litigants' claims are placed (at least temporarily) on an equal footing with the current state of the law. In this context, the initiation of appeals is treated as synonymous with receiving endorsements from the appellate courts that the litigants' original claims had sufficient merit to deserve better treatment than they had received previously from either the opposing parties or the trial courts. These actions work to raise appellants' social status, and I propose that such activity is one additional reason why some litigants might appeal.     

Changing Forms of Accountability in Education? A Case Study of LEAs in Wales

Political mechanisms of accountability were marginalized by Conservative government reforms during the 1980s and 1990s which sought a more market-oriented approach within the public sector in order to enhance ‘consumerism’. In education, parents were given more choice between schools and were provided with more information on school performance. The promotion of market accountability has involved a reduction in the powers of local education authorities (LEAs) which had been central to the operation of political accountability. However, whilst market-based forms of accountability were firmly enhanced in principle by the legislation, to what extent have the forms of accountability operating within LEAs changed in practice? Interviews with Chief Officers and the Chair of the Education Committee are used to identify changing perceptions and practices of accountability in LEAs in Wales. The findings indicate that although local politicians and officials have been forced to operate within the legislative framework of market accountability, they have sought to impede its successful implementation. The policy community in Wales facilitated the LEAs’ capacity to respond in this way. The market-based reforms conflicted with fundamental values held in Wales, which remain those of professional accountability.