Providing service--or aiding and abetting discrimination?

Even though federal antidiscrimination laws do not include third-party liability, a number of states now have statutes containing aiding-and-abetting provisions that may provide a basis for causes of action. For instance, in a recent decision, the Colorado Supreme Court held that a third-party insurance company will be held liable along with the employer for providing health insurance coverage that does not cover normal pregnancy expenses. Similarly, cases involving newspapers have shown that newspaper classifieds may occasion liability solely to the newspaper, and not the advertiser, even absent intent. The author provides a full discussion of such issues as standard of proof and exactly who is liable and offers solutions to these new liability problems.     

An evolving technology-transfer system in an R&D consortium: The EPRI approach

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is a consortium of utility companies whose existence depends on member perceptions that valuable technologies and information have been developed and transferred. This paper outlines eight issues that EPRI, after 17 years of operation had determined to be critical in transferring technology: [1] establishing a perception of value received, [2] creating a sense of full partnership, [3] balancing the R&D portfolio with projects for different members, [4] packaging results for easy understanding and use, [5] reducing information overload by using targeted media, [6] assuring that members have the needed infrastructure to receive and process transfer, [7] integrating EPRI's R&D program with those of the members, and [8] monitoring impact to be sure that value is being received.     

THE EFFECT OF LONGITUDINAL ARREST PATTERNS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROBBERY TRENDS AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL *

Although the current resurgence of ecological deterrence research has addressed many of the methodological and theoretical problems of earlier studies, the question concerning the appropriate level of aggregation for such models has not been resolved. In this paper, we argue that there is strong evidence in the criminological literature that the neighborhood is the most meaningful level of aggregation for such studies. However, in an analysis of robbery incidents and arrests over 100 weeks in five Oklahoma City neighborhoods we did not find any significant support for the deterrent effect of arrests on subsequent illegal behavior. We propose that the lack of such a relationship reflects periods of short-term equilibrium in the local community, during which the levels of crime and arrests are relatively stabilized.     

Suicide by nitrous oxide poisoning

Fatal nitrous oxide poisoning usually occurs accidentally during the administration of general anesthesia. It seldom occurs during autoerotic behavior or in acute drug abuse. We report an unusual case of a health professional who committed suicide by inhaling nitrous oxide.     

Mass spectrometry as an aid in the detection and identification of piperidyl benzilates and related glycolates.

On the basis of the data presented above the following conclusions may be drawn. 1. The molecular ion peaks of most of the compounds examined are relatively weak but usually easily discernible to permit molecular weight determination. 2. The mass spectra of benzilate esters exhibit a relatively intense peak at m/e 183, and monitoring of this ion can serve as a means for preliminary screening for the presence of this type of a system. 3. Related esters exhibit a similar type of fragmentation resulting in a fragment ion analogous to m/e 183 but shifted by the appropriate number of mass units according to the substituents present. 4. Cleavage of the piperidine ring-ester oxygen bond in 3 and 4-substituted isomers is followed by selective losses of hydrogen radicals to produce ions of type e, f, and g as indicated above. It is significant that in a related piperidine ring system (methylphenidate) substituted in the 2 position, the same type of cleavage results in no further hydrogen losses [16] because of charge stabilization from the ring nitrogen (ion j, Fig. 17) [17]. In other words, the tendency to form a conjugated ion following initial bond cleavage can serve as a means for identifying the position of substitution on the ring and for distinguishing positional isomers.     

Victims of fraud: comparing victims of white collar and violent crime

Mental health professionals have focused attention on the psychiatric sequelae of criminal victimization. This article compares the experience of white collar and violent crime victims on several parameters including statistical risk of victimization and psychiatric outcome after victimization. Emphasis is given to data obtained from interviewing 77 victims of a fraudulent financial scheme.