PROTECTION FOR WHOM?

For several decades almost all the states have addressed the goal of ensuring an adequate supply of blood and blood products through the provision of “blood shield laws.” These laws shield the blood industry from strict liability in the case of viral or other contamination of blood or its components. These laws were passed with little regard for other considerations, such as safety incentives. This article traces the development of the blood industry, its influence on state and national blood policy, and the consequences of such policy for people infected with hepatitis and HIV through blood and blood products. The authors conclude that the closed nature of the policy process has had negative consequences for the creation of blood policy that should balance concerns of both supply and safety.     

Die Einführung eines beschleunigten Verfahrens für Bebauungspläne der Innenentwicklung

Das beschleunigte Verfahren für Bebauungspl?ne der Innenentwicklung ist ein Kernbestandteil des am 1. Januar 2007 in Kraft getretenen Gesetzes zur Erleichterung von Planungsvorhaben für die Innenentwicklung der St?dte. Unmittelbares Regelungsziel ist die Beschleunigung und Erleichterung von Bebauungsplanverfahren der Innenentwicklung und dadurch bedingt die F?rderung der Innenentwicklung. Bei dem Bebauungsplan der Innenentwicklung handelt es sich um keinen neuen Plantyp. Es wird vielmehr ein Bebauungsplan in einem beschleunigten Verfahren aufgestellt. Was also neu ist, ist das Verfahren und die mit ihm verbundenen modifizierten Anforderungen und Rechtsfolgen. Die Neuregelung wirft verschiedene Fragen hinsichtlich der Anwendungsvoraussetzungen für das beschleunigte Verfahren und dessen Rechtsfolgen auf, denen in diesem Beitrag nachgegangen wird.     

Crime and Punishment in Norwegian Mid-adolescents: A Normal Population Study

Does the 'penal eye' of our society most easily catch sight of those with scant resources and lower-class backgrounds? In a national representative sample of Norwegian adolescents, we investigated the selection process to the penal system. Of the adolescents studied, 2.8% had received a penal sanction during the last year, 3.7% of the boys and 1.9% of the girls. The sanctions varied in seriousness, from a ticket fine to a prison sentence. These adolescents had much higher crime participation than other adolescents. In particular, substance-related offences were of importance. They had a high frequency of alcohol intoxication, and they often had a previous history of police contacts. No links were found to parental social class, but there was an association with parental history of unemployment. Furthermore, numerous other parental risk factors were found, such as marital breakup, low level of care, lack of monitoring and frequent alcohol intoxication. However, these factors were also associated with the development of crime. Were such extra-legal factors predictors of penal sanctions, when crime, alcohol intoxication and a previous history of police contacts were controlled for? Poor parental monitoring was the only (marginally) significant predictor. On the other hand, criminal behaviour had a highly significant effect, as early as at the lowest level of participation, and this effect increased steeply at higher levels. Alcohol had an effect, but only when the adolescents reported a rather high number of intoxication episodes. Thus, a problematic family background and small resources obviously play a role in the development of crime, but are less important as direct factors of being caught by the police and punished by the penal system. However, the subjects in our sample were still in their midteens and it might well be that development in late adolescence and young adulthood takes a different course.     

Dancing on coke: smuggling cocaine dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol

Recent trends suggest that cocaine smugglers have become more and more inventive to avoid seizures of large amounts of cocaine transported between countries. We report a case of a mail parcel containing a dance pad which was seized at the Customs Department of Brussels Airport, Belgium. After investigation, the inside of the dance pad was found to contain a thick polymer, which tested positive for cocaine. Analysis was performed using a routine colorimetric swipe test, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The polymer was identified as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and contained 18% cocaine, corresponding to a street value of € 20,000. Laboratory experiments showed that cocaine could be easily extracted from the PVA matrix. This case report reveals a new smuggling technique for the transportation of large amounts of cocaine from one country to another.     

Institutions and governance: public staff management in Tanzania

The importance of institutions is one of the distinctive features of the new governance model. This article is an empirical study of how the institutional framework affects the way public servants are managed in Tanzania. In the ‘Ujamaa’ period, staffing institutions were placed under the control of the ruling party so that they would serve national development objectives, but the effect was to contaminate the efficiency and integrity of government. The legal framework conferred excessive powers on the President, and centralised staffing authority in agencies which were largely rubber‐stamping bodies, and it allowed duplication of functions between central and line agencies. Recent reforms have not altered this situation. In a climate of corruption and favouritism, there was little confidence in the integrity of civil service staffing. There was a need to strengthen its independence, to devolve and to align the institution governing it with current political and development objectives while controlling corruption at lower levels. Our findings may have an application to the institutions of government as a whole. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.