Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance

This article reviews the literature on workplace spirituality, pointing out emergent theories and examining the links between this phenomenon and organizational dynamics. It also examines workplace spirituality in a historical context and compares it to religious beliefs and to established ethical theories and moral principles. The article also looks at organizations in which an emphasis on spiritual values has had an impact on work productivity. While some corporations have institutionalized spirituality, public agencies are reluctant to follow suit for fear of violating the principle of church-state separation. Finally, the article suggests ways that managers and administrators in both the public and the private sector can use workplace spirituality to increase performance and develop ethical organizations.     

Liquid chromatography/photodiode array detection for determination of strychnine in blood: a fatal case report

An original liquid chromatography method with photodiode-array detection (DAD) is presented for the determination of strychnine in blood. This sensitive method allows the use of only 0.1 ml of sample. The strychnine was isolated from blood using a liquid-liquid extraction procedure and chloroquine as an internal standard. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification were 0.06 and 0.5 mg/l, respectively. The recovery was 94% and the coefficients of variation (CV) ranged from 5.9 to 10.8%. A fatal case of strychnine poisoning is presented, with a lethal blood concentration of 25 mg/l.     

Morphine and 6-acetylmorphine concentrations in blood, brain, spinal cord, bone marrow and bone after lethal acute or chronic diacetylmorphine administration to mice

The aim of this study was to evaluate postmortem incorporation of opiates in bone and bone marrow after diacetylmorphine (heroin) administration to mice. Mice were given acute (lethal dose of 300 mg/kg) or chronic (10 and 20 mg/kg/24 h for 20 days) intraperitoneal administration of diacetylmorphine. The two metabolites of diacetylmorphine, 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM) and morphine, were extracted from whole blood, brain, spinal cord, bone marrow and bone (after hydrolysis) using a liquid/liquid method. Quantification was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results showed that after acute administration, opiates were present in all studied tissues. Morphine concentrations appeared to be higher than those of 6-AM in blood (52.4 microg/mL versus 27.7 microg/mL, n=12), bone marrow (87.8 ng/mg versus 8.9 ng/mg, n=6) and bone (0.85 ng/mg versus 0.43 ng/mg, n=6), but 6-AM concentrations were higher than those of morphine in brain (14.0 ng/mg versus 7.4 ng/mg, n=12) and spinal cord (27.8 ng/mg versus 20.8 ng/mg, n=12). No correlation was found for both compounds between blood concentrations and either brain, spinal cord, bone or bone marrow concentrations while a significant one was found between brain and spinal cord concentrations either for morphine (r=0.89, n=12, p<0.001) or 6-AM (r=0.93, n=12, p<0.001), the concentration being higher in spinal cord than in brain. When bones were stored for 2 months, only 6-AM remained in bone marrow but not in bone. After chronic administration, mice being sacrificed by cervical dislocation 24 h after the last injection, no opiate was detected in any studied tissues. Further studies are required, in particular in human bones, but these results seem to show that 6-AM could be detect in bone marrow several weeks after the death and could be an alternative tissue for forensic toxicologist to detect a fatal diacetylmorphine overdose, even if no correlation between blood and bone marrow was observed. On the other hand, neither bone tissue nor bone marrow will allow the confirmation of a chronic diacetylmorphine use.     

L’analyse comparée en traduction juridique,ses enjeux,sa nécessité

Translated texts sometimes reflect the writing tradition of the targeted law, but the equivalence of the source legal message, however, must be delivered in the target text. Translating law into a different legal culture cannot be accomplished without comparing laws, whose knowledge is essential to achieving legal equivalence. The way the target text is written should match its culture. Translating law is the moment when languages, cultures and laws meet. To materialize, this encounter has to be based on an ad hoc knowledge of the laws at stake. Then comparative law, translators’ “fellow traveler”, comes into play, preparing them for the exchange. To achieve this, “one only needs two receptions which intersect” (Carbonnier). This move is successful when concepts and notions overlap and the letter of law (substance) and its wording (form) merge, revealing “the spirit of the laws”. Comparative analysis is the way to achieve this result (I). It is conducted here under the light of jurilinguistics with an analysis of terms and concepts presenting various translation difficulties, demonstrating the necessity of comparative law (II). The lessons to be learned are aimed at all language professionals wishing to draw inspiration from the jurilinguists’comparative analysis approach to their work.     

Military expenditure and economic development: An endogenous growth perspective

This paper attempts to analyse the interrelationships between government and military expenditure and economic growth in particular, and between security and development in general, in a new framework. It has three novel features. First, the impact of military spending (as well as any other government spending which has similar externalities) is studied in an endogenous growth framework unlike most of the previous research in the field. Second, growth, welfare and security effects are studied simultaneously. Third, simulation studies are made for specific countries to capture long-term steady state effects which are difficult to analyze in longitudinal case studies.     

Cattle Markets Integration and Price Discovery: The Case of Mali

This article analyses the level of integration in 10 cattle markets in Mali. The results indicate a limited interdependence among markets where, in majority of cases, more than 70 per cent of price variation is due to own-price shocks. However, the Ségou market exhibited a high level of interaction with other markets, behaving mostly as a price information receiver. Some markets behaved as sources of price information, however, without taking a clear price leadership role. This low level of market integration may be attributed to limited access to livestock markets and timely price information.