Continued physical capacity after head gunshot injury

The human brain shows a very high density of functionally important structures. Even small lesions may therefore cause clinical symptoms. Penetrating gunshots to the head are presumed to cause immediate incapacitation by subsequent disturbance of cerebral functions. The authors discuss anatomical and functional principles of the terms action, capacity to act and incapacitation and report two illustrative cases with lack of incapacitation following gunshots to the head.     

A forensic laboratory tests the Berkeley microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis device

Miniaturization of capillary electrophoresis onto a microchip for forensic short tandem repeat analysis is the initial step in the process of producing a fully integrated and automated analysis system. A prototype of the Berkeley microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis device was installed at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science for testing. Instrument performance was verified by PowerPlex 16 System profiling of single source, sensitivity series, mixture, and casework samples. Mock sexual assault samples were successfully analyzed using the PowerPlex Y System. Resolution was assessed using the TH01, CSF1PO, TPOX, and Amelogenin loci and demonstrated to be comparable with commercial systems along with the instrument precision. Successful replacement of the Hjerten capillary coating method with a dynamic coating polymer was performed. The accurate and rapid typing of forensic samples demonstrates the successful technology transfer of this device into a practitioner laboratory and its potential for advancing high-throughput forensic typing.     

The Steering Group as Policy Advice Instrument: A Case of “Consultocracy” in Stadium Subsidy Deliberations

This study considers the use of steering groups and private consultants as sources of policy advice to local governments. More particularly, our research addresses the combined role of a government-appointed working party and consulting firm in the deliberation process precipitating from proposals to renovate/re-build a sports stadium. Through this New Zealand-based case, we explore the political tensions arising from the Working Party's mandates to consult and its role as vehicle to market policy solutions. Data is gleaned from interviews with working party members (and their consultants), observations of public consultations and analysis of documents (e.g., background papers, reports, and press releases). Implications of this institutional arrangement are discussed in light of recurring logics, tensions and paradoxes. We first consider the Carisbrook Working Party as an instrument of policy advice and distinguish its founding logic from other forms such as task forces or commissions of inquiry. We further discuss the paradoxes of the Working Party's procedural and political imperatives including its roles as facilitators of the process, advocates of the “problem,”and as authoritative proclaimers of certainty.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mokṣa</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dharma</Emphasis> in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mokṣadharma</Emphasis>

This essay asks what the terms mok?a and dharma mean in the anomalous and apparently Mahābhārata-coined compound mok?adharma, which provides the title for the ?āntiparvan’s third and most philosophical anthology; and it further asks what that title itself means. Its route to answering those questions is to look at the last four units of the Mok?adharmaparvan and their three topics—the story of ?uka, the Nārāya?īya, and a gleaner’s subtale—as marking an “artful curvature” that shapes the outcome of King Yudhi??hira’s philosophical inquiries of Bhī?ma into a ”return” to this world to take up the topic of the fourth anthology, a King’s generous giving, in the Anu?āsanaparvan’s Dānadharmaparvan. Usages of the term mok?a in the narratives in these units are considered in the light of The Laws of Manu’s usage of mok?a to define the “renunciatory asceticism of a wandering mendicant” after the fulfillment of one’s debts (Olivelle et al., in Life of the Buddha by A?vagho?a, 2008). Usages of mok?adharma are discussed in conjunction with its overlapping term niv?ittidharma. With the term dharma itself, it is a matter of finding the best contextual translation. A pitch is made that these four units, and particularly the Nārāya?īya, should no longer be thought of as “late” additions.     

The capacities of minors to exercise voluntariness in medical treatment decisions

The legal standard for informed consent to medical treatment requires that the consenter be informed, competent, and acting voluntarily. The voluntary requirement of a valid consent was investigated by comparing forty 9- and 10-year-old children and forty 14- and 15-year-old adolescents (both generally presumed to be incapable of voluntary consent) with 47 young adults ranging in age from 21 to 25 (legally presumed to be deciding voluntarily) on responses to three hypothetical medical decision vignettes. The degree of parental influence was varied within each vignette to study the salience of parental influence in medical decision making. In two of three medical decision vignettes, most participants were deferent to parental wishes and few differences were found between children, adolescents, and young adults in their responses to parental influence. Differences between age groups were found in response to a kidney donation vignette. Children were significantly more likely to defer to parents than either adolescents or young adults. Adolescents were more likely to defer to parents than young adults, although this finding only approximated statistical significance. Implications of these findings for legal authorities, social policy makers, and families are discussed.     

Climate change and adaptive capacity in fisheries management: the case of Norway

Climate variability and change drive changes in marine ecosystems, such as growth in and geographic distribution of living marine resources. Mitigating measures in response to anthropogenic climate change are insufficient, and more attention must be directed toward adaptation to climate change. In the management of living marine resources, successful management will rest on the capacity of management regimes to be adaptive and flexible. This article addresses the management of living marine resources, and how management regimes cope with change and bolster the resilience of ecosystems. Experiences from the Norwegian management regime for living marine resources are used to illustrate how an existing regime can respond to change. We conclude that management regimes with sufficient capacity, in terms of robust science, regulatory frameworks that contribute to reduced fishing effort and maintenance of sustainable stock levels, and enforcement capability, are more likely to respond adequately to the challenges posed by climate change than those that do not.