Celebrity Studies Today

Celebrity, being often unearned and ephemeral, is the lowest form of fame. Nevertheless, it’s a real and fascinating display of personal significance in our time. Celebrities are, of course, questionable role models, but characters of strange and singular greatness such as Elvis and Michael Jackson, everyone knows, aren’t really to be imitated. Celebrities, although they often have interesting political and spiritual opinions, are easily distinguished from political leaders. Celebrity, I show, is more a downside than not of democracy.     

The Tarasoff dilemma in criminal court.

The duty to protect, or Tarasoff duty, has been conceptualized as arising solely in the context of a clinical setting. A recent California Supreme Court ruling in People v. Clark adds legal, clinical, and ethical dilemmas to the oftentimes contentious Tarasoff issue. Though the Tarasoff issue is but a minor legal point in Clark, a possible consequence of Clark is that a Tarasoff warning could be deemed nonconfidential and admissible in a criminal trial. Psychotherapists could therefore be testifying in criminal courts as prosecution witnesses. While the possibility of a chilling effect on patients' disclosure of violent ideation in the context of psychotherapy first caused apprehension after the California Supreme Court's 1976 decision in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, this same Court's ruling in People v. Clark some 14 years later may ensure that this fear finally becomes realized.     

Fatal transfusion reactions caused by donor antibodies to recipient leukocytes

Of three patients who suffered episodes of acute respiratory deterioration following blood transfusion, two died. The cause is believed to have been antibody in the donor plasma directed against recipient leukocytes. Autopsy examination of the lungs and serological study of blood donors established the diagnosis. While these transfusion complications are not rare, unfamiliarity with them leads to incorrect diagnosis.     

Managing Racial Diversity: Matching Internal Strategies with Environmental Needs

Although demographic diversity has been of paramount concern to researchers and practitioners in public management, studies exploring managerial strategies to capitalize on and respond to the needs of diverse client populations are scarce. This article examines strategies for managing diversity as a way to buffer environmental challenges in service delivery and performance resulting from heterogeneous client demands. Findings suggest that administrators prioritize diversity efforts when faced with higher levels of regulatory violations (a performance measure). A higher percentage of black residents is associated with lower service quality. However, the effect of managerial strategies for diversity on performance is conditioned by the racial composition of the clients: as the percentage of black nursing home residents increases, diversity management efforts are associated with a lower number of regulatory violations. Similarly, at higher levels of racial heterogeneity, diversity management efforts are associated with fewer regulatory violations.