Identification of acepromazine in hair: an illustration of the difficulties encountered in investigating drug-facilitated crimes

After a drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), a woman was found in a drowsy state at home. She remembered having drunk an unknown beverage by the accused. Blood samples (collected 8 hours after the DFSA), two glasses, and a teaspoon seized by the police were analyzed. Acepromazine, a phenothiazine tranquilizer used in human and veterinary medicine, was detected in the residue of one of the glasses. In spite of acepromazine absence in the victim's blood, the possible use of acepromazine in the DFSA was reported to the police. Two weeks later, a suspect admitted having orally administered acepromazine to the victim. Using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method, this compound was subsequently detected (31 pg/mg) in a sample of the victim's hair collected a month and a half after the DFSA. A potential short elimination half-life in humans and/or the well-known in vitro degradation of acepromazine could explain the negative blood result. DFSA toxicological investigations are challenging and can be complicated when a rather unusual substance is concerned. In particular, special care should be taken when interpreting the results, taking into account elimination and/or instability data, when available.     

Sondage auprès des fonctionnaires fédéraux : Synthèse des contributions canadiennes à la recherche

For about twenty years, Public Administration scholars have used the data from the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) for their research. Two studies evaluated the uses of data, measurement models and internal validity of the U.S. government’s Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), and none on the use of PSES data. The article reviews studies that used Canadian PSES data to promote social science research and seeks to stimulate discussion of PSES's future and opportunities for strategic human resources research in Canada. [The table most useful for researchers is available here in English: Table 3. Aggregation of PSES Elements Assigned to Theoretical Constructs.]     

The legitimization and institutionalization of ‘parental alienation’ in the Province of Quebec

ABSTRACT

This article examines the legitimization and institutionalization of ‘parental alienation’ discourse in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It draws upon an analysis of 31 documents (legislation, research reports and articles, training documents, professional documents and media articles) and interviews with 13 key informants, who were selected based on their knowledge of ‘parental alienation’ in research, policies or practices. The research findings reveal that the legitimization and institutionalization of ‘parental alienation’ discourse is a more recent process than in other provinces and countries, but that it has now permeated child custody as well as child protection proceedings. Academic researchers and media have been instrumental in this legitimization and institutionalization process, while the role played by changes to child protection policies is more ambiguous. The findings reveal researchers’ and experts’ tendency to distance themselves from Gardner’s controversial work on ‘parental alienation syndrome’ and to address the critiques by proposing new approaches and new concepts. However, the terms ‘parental alienation syndrome’, ‘parental alienation’ and ‘alienating behaviours’ are often used interchangeably, and assessment practices tend to rely on similar indicators.     

使大学更像大学——现代大学与政府关系的一项重要原则

大学教育作为传播和创造人类明的事业其精神和品格无疑是高贵且神圣的然而这种作为大学特征的高贵性和神圣性，在我们现实的大学中却显得淡薄且逐渐被疏远，而与此精神相悖的功利主义，庸俗风气则日见昌盛，这无疑显现了大学中存在着深重的精神危机，要使大学显现出自身就有的高贵性和神圣性，就就该让大学像个大学，而大学更像大学的基本途径，就是对大学与政府之间行政性隶属关系的解构和致力于大学地自主办学的新制度创造。     

DIRE ET SE DIRE AU FÉMININ

The decree of 21st of June 1993 sets out how to express the female gender in profession names and function titles in official and administrative publications of the Communauté française de Belgique. It has helped to change mindsets. The guide Mettre au féminin (“Express the female gender”) allows civil servants to fulfil the requirements of the decree and helps promote the usage of the female gender in the French language. First published in 1994, it has been reviewed and re-edited in 2005. Even if the visibility of women in language usage is on the increase, it faces not so much linguistic but ideological obstacles. Le décret du 21 juin 1993 installe la féminisation des noms de métier et des titres de fonction dans les textes officiels et administratifs de la Communauté française de Belgique. Il aide les mentalités à progresser. Le guide Mettre au féminin permet aux fonctionnaires de respecter le décret et sert à promouvoir l’emploi du féminin dans l’usage de la langue française. Paru en 1994, il est mis à jour en 2005. Même si la visibilité des femmes dans l’emploi de la langue augmente, elle rencontre des obstacles non pas linguistiques mais idéologiques.     

International Organisations and States Within an Agency Relationship: The Distribution of Responsibility

Netherlands International Law Review - This article first examines the entire range of agency relationships between an international organisation, acting as a principal, and one or more states,...