Toxic waste and public procurement: The defense sector as a disproportionate contributor to pollution from public–private partnerships

Public procurement is a large sector of the economy with most procurement going to the defense sector. Procurement by the defense sector includes purchases made through contracts to private businesses that manufacture durable goods. Manufacturing of these goods results in pollution production with toxic wastes being among the most dangerous pollutants for public health. Despite green purchasing policy goals, most transactions in the United States through defense contracts result in disproportionately high-toxic pollution releases by manufacturers. We find that persistent exemptions granted defense agencies from following green purchasing policy result in a landscape where contractor environmental performance is unchanging with defense contractors persistently polluting in high amounts. Further, we find that defense contractors are linked to most toxic releases from procurement meaning that exemptions may be hindering potential advancements from green purchasing policy. Results can inform the design of new guidance about procurement and expand understanding of environmental inequality.     

Australian Democracy and Priveleged Parliamentary Speech

This article responds to recent cases of parliamentary speech which reflect the ascendancy of a totalising 'mainstream' approach to public discourse and a political leadership that may, at times, be overly attentive to the majority-rule dimension of democracy. These developments spark a more general discussion of the phenomenology of privileged parliamentary speech, the role of speech freedoms in liberal democratic orders and the duties of parliamentary representatives within them. I make two general conclusions. First, the ways in which we normally argue and think about free speech will not generally apply to the speech of parliamentarians because their speech rights cannot be universalised. Secondly, even if parliamentary speech could be treated as standard speech there would be no legitimate defence (from a liberal democratic point of view) for a strictly populist approach to its use since this could undermine the deliberative function of parliament and lead to the violation of other important liberal democratic principles.     

Suppurative pericarditis due to Angelchik prosthesis

Hiatus hernia is a common condition and while medical treatment is often sufficient, in some cases surgery may be necessary. Although there are a number of surgical treatments available, none has been totally successful. We report a case in which use of the Angelchik prosthesis proved fatal.     

Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse Characteristics and Dissociation Among Women in Therapy

This study investigated the relationship between 10 characteristics of childhood sexual abuse and dissociation in adulthood. A structured clinical interview, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Dissociation Subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90 - Revised were administered to 118 women survivors seeking psychotherapy. Separate stepwise multiple regression analyses were conducted for each dissociation scale to determine which abuse characteristics were predictive of dissociation. In both analyses, the same four variables were significantly related to dissociation: age at onset, coercive sexual acts, objectifying sexual acts, and concurrent multiple perpetrators. Implications of findings for future research and clinical practice are explored.     

The age of sexual consent

In 1899 the age of sexual consent in some American jurisdictions was 9 years. It has ranged from 7 to 21 years and at present the range is from 11 to 18 years. The age selected seems to be an arbitrary matter, the product of legislative compromise. The age of sexual consent should not be so early that little protection is provided for a child. Conversely, it should not be so late that a man can be held for statutory rape when the "victim" is fully capable of informed consent and readily acquiesced to a proposal or even invited a sexual relationship.     

Reviews

John L. H. Keep, The Russian Revolution: A Study in Mass Mobilisation. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977. 614 pp. £12.50.

Archie Brown and Jack Gray (eds.), Political Culture and Political Change in Communist States. London: Macmillan, 1977. xiii+286 pp. £10.00.

Mary McAuley, Politics and the Soviet Union. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1977. 352 pp. £1.50.

G. P. van den Berg, De regering van Rusland en de Sovjet‐Unie. Leiden: 1977. 258 pp. English summary.

Richard Lowenthal, Model Or Ally: Communist Powers and the Developing Countries, London: OUP, 1977. x+400 pp. £12.95.

Martin McCauley, Khrushchev and the Development of Soviet Agriculture. The Virgin Land Programme 1953–1964. London: Macmillan, 1976. 232 pp. £10.00.

Robert W. Campbell, Trends in the Soviet Oil and Gas Industry. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press for Resources for the Future, 1976. xiv+125 pp.

Joseph S. Berliner, The Innovation Decision in Soviet Industry. Cambridge, Mass, and London: The MIT Press, 1976. ix+561 pp. £23.80.

James Riordan, Sport in Soviet Society. London: CUP, 1977. xi+435 pp. £10.00.

Robert Auty and Dimitry Obolensky (eds.), Companion to Russian Studies. Volume 2. An Introduction to Russian Language and Literature. London: CUP, 1977. 300 pp. £11.50.

Frederick C. Barghoorn, Detente and the Democratic Movement in the USSR. New York and London: The Free Press/Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1976. x+230 pp. $12.95.

Rudolf L. Tokés (ed.), Dissent in the USSR. Politics, Ideology, and People. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975. xvi+464 pp. £7.75.

Alexander Yanov, Detente after Brezhnev: The Domestic Roots of Soviet Foreign Policy. Translated by Robert Kessler. (Policy Papers in International Affairs, No. 2.) Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, University of California, 1977. x+90 pp. $3.00.

Nirmala Joshi, Foundations of Indo‐ Soviet Relations: A Study of Non‐Official Attitudes and Contacts, 1917–1947. New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 1975. 204 pp. Rs. 30.

J. P. Jain, Soviet Policy Towards Pakistan and Bangladesh. New Delhi: Radiant Publishers, 1974. 258 pp. Rs. 50. $11.50.

Paul E. Lydolph, Geography of the U.S.S.R. Third edition. New York: Wiley, 1977. xi+495 pp.     

The immediate problems of aircraft fires

Fires that occur either while aircraft are in flight or as a consequence of a crash remain life-threatening possibilities despite progress in technology and adoption of safety precautions. This article details some of the likely causes of aircraft fires, the resulting dangers in the immediate environment, prospects for survival, and recommends additional measures that may help avoid future accidents.