Determination of potassium/sodium ratio in heart tissue. Evaluation of its use as an index of myocardial ischaemic damage. Comparison with the nitro-BT test

The succinate dehydrogenase method of staining and the determination of the K⁺/Na⁺ ratio of heart tissue have been applied to forensic material as a tool for demonstrating early signs of myocardial infarctions. Both methods are controlled by a series of forensic cases dying from causes other than arteriosclerosis of the coronary arteries. Based on an analysis of normal material some factors influencing the K⁺/Na⁺ ratio are defined. It is concluded that the determination of the K⁺/Na⁺ ratio shows more infarcts than the formazan method; however, the evaluation of the K⁺/Na⁺ ratio is difficult. The K⁺/Na⁺ determination is not recommended for routine use. A possible indication for the use of the K⁺/Na⁺ determination together with the formazan test could be cases of instantaneous death by accidents suspected to have been provoked by a fatal heart attack.     

Caroline Phillips: balancing life as a journalist and a suffragette in a Scottish city

ABSTRACT

Aberdeen Art Gallery holds a unique collection in the history of the Scottish women’s suffrage movement: the correspondence of Caroline Phillips, journalist and honorary secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the WSPU, 1907-09. Through her correspondence, Phillips wrestled with the demands of London headquarters for more militant action, was tempted to join the Women’s Freedom League, and finally saw herself and her friend Helen Fraser replaced by the Pankhursts. Because of her involvement in the suffrage movement, Phillips found it difficult to gain entrance to some political events in the city, making it impossible to complete her work as a reporter, and was threatened with dismissal by her employer. She was also torn between the demands for militant action of the WSPU leadership and her own instinct for a more conciliatory approach. Her correspondence reveals the emotional and personal costs of working for ‘the cause’ in a city far away from the heart of the suffrage movement, but also the fulfilling friendships that sustained and supported her.     

Who Gives Evidence to Parliamentary Committees? A Comparative Investigation of Parliamentary Committees and their Constituencies

This article focuses on the interaction between parliamentary committees and external actors. How is the interaction organised, and how does it influence which interests are voiced? The authors show that institutional variation in procedures for calling witnesses and variation in committee agendas influence both the composition of actors and the concentration of evidence. By composition of actors, they refer to the set of different actor types involved. By evidence concentration, they refer to the extent to which evidence is provided by a relatively small share of active actors. The study is based on a new data set of all contacts between parliamentary committees and external actors in one year across three countries: the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands. Interestingly, the findings show that procedures of invitation rather than open calls increase the diversity of actor composition and decrease the concentration of actor evidence. This, however, comes at a cost, since the overall volume of contacts is reduced.     

Looking Good on Whose Terms? Ambiguity in Two Kellogg's Special K ® Print Advertisements

The present paper examines the current trend by advertisers who construct ambiguity within advertisements to gain a double profit with consumers. As advertisers pre-empt their critics by acknowledging and even foregrounding the political incorrectness of their own industries, they also subversively promote the same damaging messages that were always present within the advertisements. This strategy is becoming more and more prevalent with several industry sectors that need to fight backlash by cultural critics. In the present paper, I focus intensely on the way one popular advertising campaign by Kellogg Canada fosters an ethos of liberation for women from gender stereotyping, manipulation of perceived body image and ageism. I argue that this style of advertising lifts feelings of guilt and bolsters a mock cultural capital for consumers who believe they are helping to free society from gender shackles, while they are in fact unknowingly contributing to this situation by not challenging these advertisements. I use the visual semiotic framework of Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen to reveal this act of manipulation.     

Documentation Requirements,Intrinsic Motivation,and Worker Absence

ABSTRACT

Command systems are widely used to monitor public service provision, but little is known about unintended effects on individual workers’ motivation and work effort. Using insights from motivation crowding theory, we estimate a SEM model that captures how Danish childcare assistants and social/healthcare assistants perceive documentation requirements. We analyze how this perception relates to intrinsic motivation measured in a survey and sickness absence as reported in administrative registers, and find that individuals who perceive documentation requirements as controlling have lower intrinsic motivation and higher sickness absence. The association is statistically significant, but very small in substantive terms. The result is nevertheless consistent with the expectation in motivation crowding theory and contributes to the literature by including a new, reliable behavioral variable—sickness absence—and by drawing attention to possible downsides of command-and-control. Even though command systems can also have positive disciplining effects, knowledge about potential drawbacks is important for public managers.