Pitfalls in state-authorized treatment of minors

Recently a federal court in Georgia ruled that several physicians and several state officials could be sued for state-authorized treatment of a minor over his father's objection. State authorization protects providers only if it is properly obtained and the authorizing official has the power to grant the authorization in the existing circumstances.     

Euthanasia: a challenge for the forensic toxicologist

People die daily in the hospital. Mostly, they die because their illnesses were no longer treatable (natural death). Unfortunately, some people die an unnatural death, in particular, as the result of euthanasia. In contrast to the situation in most countries, in the Netherlands euthanasia is accepted by the courts under strict conditions. It can be very difficult for the legal authorities to establish whether a person has died from natural causes or from suicide, euthanasia, or murder. In addition to the pathologist and the lawyer, the toxicologist also has a number of problems in showing whether euthanasia has been carried out. These can consist of the following analytical problems: (a) interactions--the patients involved have frequently been receiving a large number of toxic and nontoxic drugs simultaneously; (b) identification--not all drugs administered are included in general screening procedures; (c) metabolites--a large number of metabolites may have accumulated toward the end of a long therapeutic regimen; and (d) determination--determination of quaternary muscle relaxants and their various metabolites, as well as other drugs, can be problematic. There are also toxicokinetic problems; because of poor kidney and liver function, low serum albumen, general malaise, and interactions between these factors and other drugs, the kinetics of a given drug can differ from normal. This makes it all the more difficult to determine whether the patient died from an accumulation of medication or from a so-called "euthanetic" drug mixture.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Technology-transfer strategies of DOE's conservation programs

This paper examines the process by which R&D results funded by the Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy (CE) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) have generated commercial applications. It looks at examples of technology-transfer procedures and activitees across three of CE's component offices that correspond to the major energy end-use sectors: transportation, buildings, and industry. On the surface, the conservation programs would appear to have little strategic consistency and, therefore, lack the clear leadership many seek in a technology-transfer program. However, as an alternative to strategic consistency, one may tailor the technology-transfer approach of each program to its unique circumstances. This paper presents case studies of such tailoring, in which the diversity of approaches mirrors the complexity of the energy end-use markets and the private-public interests that must be negotiated to successfully commercialize energy-saving innovations. The paper discusses the lessons learned about the conditions requiring adaptive design and the structures and practices that have been proven effective.     

B. Reviews and notes: bibliographies and works of reference

LE MONDE ARABE ET MUSULMAN AU MIROIR DE L'UNIVERSITE FRANÇAISE: REPERTOIRE DES THESES SOUTENUES DANS LES UNIVER‐SITES FRANÇAISES, EN SCIENCES DE L'HOMME ET DE LA SOCIETE, SUR LE MONDE ARABE ET MUSULMAN (1973–1987). By MARIE BURGAT, DANIELLE BRUCHET, JACQUELINE QUILET [& others]. Aix‐en‐Provençe, Institut de Recherche et d'Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman, 1989–92. 4 vols.

MAPAS, PLANOS Y FORTIFICACIONES HISPANICOS DE MARRUECOS (S.XVI‐XX)/CARTES, PLANS ET FORTIFICATIONS HISPANIQUES DU MAROC (XVIe‐XXe S.). By JUAN BTA. VILAR. 604pp. Text in Spanish. Table of Contents, Preface (by José Antonio Calderon Quijano), and Introduction in Spanish and French. Madrid, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Secretaría de Estado para la Cooperación Internacional y para Iberoamérica: Dirección General de Relaciones Culturales y Científicas, Agencia Española de Cooperación International, Institute de Cooperación con el Mundo Arabe, 1992. 7210 ptas.

A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF CONTEMPORARY AFGHANISTAN. By LUDWIG W. ADAMEC. Graz, Akademische Druck‐ u. Verlagsanstalt, 1987. vi, 252 pp. Photo section. ÖS 450.‐

TÜRKIYE DI?INDAK? TÜRKLER B?BL?YOGRAFYASI. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TURKS OUT OF TURKEY. By ?SMET B?NARK and others. Ankara, T.C. Ba?bakanlik Devlet Ar?ivleri Genel Müdürlü?ü Dokümentasyon Dairesi Ba?kanli?i (Yayin No.5), 1992. 2 vols. lxv, 1379 pp.

GULF CRISIS CHRONOLOGY: DAY‐TO‐DAY COVERAGE OF EVENTS IN THE GULF CONFLICT FROM 2 AUGUST 1990 TO THE 3 MARCH 1991 CEASEFIRE. Compiled by the BBC WORLD SERVICE. Harlow, Longman, 1991. 454 pp. £65.‐

FRAUENFRAGEN IM MODERNEN ORIENT: EINE ERGANZUNGSBIBLIO‐GRAPHIE. WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: A SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY. By INGEBORG OTTO & MARIANNE SCHMIDT‐DUMONT. (Biblio., 16.) Hamburg, Deutsches Übersee‐Institut, Übersee‐Dokumentation, Referat Vorderer Orient, 1989. xvi, 126 pp. DM19.‐

THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 1993. London, Europa Publications, 1992. xxi, 988 pp. £130.     

The satisfaction with life scale: Psychometrics properties in an adolescent sample

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was developed in the United States as a multiitem scale for the overall assessment of life satisfaction as cognitive-judgmental process, rather as a measurement of specific satisfaction areas (e.g., health, energy). The present study attempted to extend the applicability of the SWLS by investigating specific aspects of reliability and validity in a different cultural context (Portugal) with adolescents. In line with previous American findings, reliability figures were found to be favourable. SWLS scores were affected by sex and sociocultural level. In addition, SWLS scores showed to be predictably associated with psychological measures: loneliness, social anxiety, shyness, self- concept, and physical attractiveness. The variables that best predicted satisfaction were overall self-concept, loneliness, and physical attractiveness.Received a Ph.D. in normal and abnormal anthropology from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris) in 1980 and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Faculty of Psychology (Porto) and an Aggregation in Psychology from Faculty of Psychology (Coimbra) in 1990. Research interests include migration and cross-cultural social migration.The author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

How medicine mistreats the elderly

Hamstrung by biases and limited facts, doctors routinely deliver shoddy care to old people. This guide shows how to reject that medical mindset and stay healthy longer.     

From fiddle factors to networks of collusion: Charting the waters of small business crime

Small business crime has been largely ignored in American criminology; studies of nontraditional crime have focused mainly on corporate crime or on the misdeeds of employees pursuing personal gain. This paper calls for criminologists to redirect their efforts toward the systematic study of small business crime. In particular, it advocates in-depth qualitative studies that explore small business culture and opportunity structures, and that examine the networks of collusion that subvert the legitimate economy. The paper concludes with illustrations from an own story currently being shared with the author by a small businessman who participated for five years in an urban crime network that infiltrated the redistributive economy.