Hungary's pre-accession strategy to the European Union in education, training and research

The article presents an analysis of the expected impact of EU accession on the Hungarian education, training and academic research system with a number of recommendations for an integration policy in these sectors. The first part of the article develops four themes: (1) the current level of preparation of the country for accession in the education sector, (2) the possible longer term benefits of accession, (3) the shorter term costs and (4) the most important elements of a policy of integration. A distinction is made between material and cultural, and that of political cost and benefits, the stress being laid on the second. One of the conclusions of the author is that accession may open up a number of new opportunities for the development and modernisation of the country but that these can be exploited only if the country has a coherent sectorial strategy. Specific preparation actions are proposed in the areas of school education, higher education, vocational training and research policy. The article presents a list of the most important short term government measures and the needs for institutional development. It also makes a proposal for possible further themes of investigation and research. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Call to Action—The Essential Role of Advocacy

Editor's Note: The Perspectives featured in this issue of Public Administration Review were adapted from May 2016 commencement addresses: Anna Maria Chavez, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, spoke on the 12th at Arizona State University's College of Public Service and Community Solutions; Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Leader in the United States House of Representatives spoke on the 7th at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service; and Tommy Thompson, the former Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health & Human Services, spoke on the 15th at the University of Wisconsin's La Follette School of Public Affairs. These Perspectives reaffirm the highest principles of American public administration: that by and large, government is NOT the problem, and quite often indeed holds the solution; that effective and helpful public policy depends on informed expert opinion and research; and that those who enter public service should do so with a commitment to the notion that America best fulfills its promise when we seek the well‐being of all people, including the least fortunate. We chose these messages from among a wealth of commencement speeches because while they come from leaders with quite different political views, background, and experience, taken together they offer a coherent and inspiring call to public service. Dan Feldman, Perspective and Commentary Editor     

Inferring ancestral origin using a single multiplex assay of ancestry-informative marker SNPs

Tests that infer the ancestral origin of a DNA sample have considerable potential in the development of forensic tools that can help to guide crime investigation. We have developed a single-tube 34-plex SNP assay for the assignment of ancestral origin by choosing ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) exhibiting highly contrasting allele frequency distributions between the three major population-groups. To predict ancestral origin from the profiles obtained, a classification algorithm was developed based on maximum likelihood. Sampling of two populations each from African, European and East Asian groups provided training sets for the algorithm and this was tested using the CEPH Human Genome Diversity Panel. We detected negligible theoretical and practical error for assignments to one of the three groups analyzed with consistently high classification probabilities, even when using reduced subsets of SNPs. This study shows that by choosing SNPs exhibiting marked allele frequency differences between population-groups a practical forensic test for assigning the most likely ancestry can be achieved from a single multiplexed assay.     

Paraquat (gramoxone) poisoning in south-west Hungary, 1977-1984. Toxicological and histopathological aspects of group intoxication cases

Fifty-six cases of paraquat poisoning were examined during the 8 years 1977-1984. The ratio of cases of accidental to intentional ingestion of the poison was 1:1; 23.2% of the total (13/56) survived several months or years. In 1983, 11 subjects accidentally drank 10-30 ml of gramoxone; eight of 11 died in 2 weeks. Toxicological investigations demonstrated rapid elimination of poison from the blood, as well as prolonged fixation of paraquat in the lung, kidney, liver, and spleen tissues. Histological examinations showed multiorgan failure from renal tubular necrosis and pulmonary hemorrhage with alveolar epithelial injury. Pulmonary proliferative changes were present in only two cases who survived 7 and 10 days and in which artificial ventilation was utilized.     

Guantánamo Bay: Towards Legality?

This article outlines the US Supreme Court's approach to the habeas corpus entitlements of suspected terrorists detained in Guantánamo Bay and argues for the extension of constitutional habeas corpus rights to them. The article considers two ways in which the Supreme Court might carry out this task: first, 'the territorial approach' (based on domestic legal principles of 'unincorporated territories' and principles of leasehold), and secondly, 'the extraterritorial approach' (based on international purposive approaches to the reach of human rights treaties exemplified by the European Court of Human Rights' Article 1 jurisprudence). For reasons of effectiveness of protection, the Article expresses a clear preference for the latter. The House of Lords decision in R (Al-Skeini) v Secretary of State for Defence (2007) is proposed as a template for such a development. Finally the article refutes arguments rejecting such a development based on the 'trade-off thesis' and perceptions of judicial competence.