Immunity from Wrongful Death Liability: How Mickels Fails to Compensate

Wrongful death statutes originated out of a need to compensate the family of a decedent “whose life was wrongfully taken.” Closely related to wrongful death statutes are survivorship statutes, which allow for the transmission of tort claims after the death of one or more of the parties. These statutes help address the once common maxim that it’s cheaper to kill a man than to maim him. Today, all fifty states have both wrongful death and survivorship statutes. In Mickels v. Danrad, the Supreme Court of Missouri declined to allow wrongful death claims where a defendant’s negligence accelerates the death of a terminally ill decedent. However, the court determined that a decedent’s family may have a survivorship claim for personal injuries not resulting in death. In doing so, the court perpetuated a trend that fails to accomplish the intended goal of wrongful death statutes: to compensate a decedent’s family. Part II of this Note looks at the facts and holding of Mickels. Part III examines the wrongful death and survivorship claims as well as the past precedent of such claims in the context of medical malpractice and improper diagnoses. Part IV then introduces the wrongful death and survivorship issues presented in Mickels. Finally, Part V distinguishes Mickels from precedent and argues in favor of the dissent

Universal difference? Understanding relationality and difference in transpersonal psychotherapy

As a working class, black, male, who is the son of immigrants who travelled from the Caribbean with the Windrush Generation, I often feel at odds with my psychotherapy profession, dominated as it is by middle class, white, women, who typically have a British family line flowing back generations. My sense of otherness is with me throughout my working day, in my psychotherapy practice, as I sit with a diverse range of clients within the complex context of contemporary ‘multicultural’ Britain. The sense of ‘the other’, the sense of myself as ‘other’ impacts on, and to some degree constitutes therapeutic relationality. Within most styles of psychotherapy difference is mainly understood in terms of the acknowledgement of the various categories, consideration of power imbalances, which we try as therapists to work with, work around, work through. But I am a transpersonal psychotherapist, and within this modality, there is very little consideration of ‘difference’, or otherness, except to highlight the apparent universality of us all. In this paper, we will explore ways of carving out a space within transpersonal ways of thinking to consider the relational context of therapy, and to explore the constitution of ‘othering’ within this transpersonal therapeutic context. This paper outlines how the use of creative techniques common to Transpersonal psychotherapy, such as visualisations, drawing, and Sand Tray work can be used in research on therapy to explore the emotional bodily and relational experience of difference, between therapist and client, and between researcher and researche

Reminiscence and the social relations of ageing: a discourse-analytic study of reminiscence work with older people

'Reminiscence work' is currently a popular component of care provision for older people in the UK. However, despite the prevalence of positive 'anecdotal' reports, systematic research has so far failed to show consistent evidence of the benefits of reminiscence work for older people. [Continues.

'I don't know if you want to know this': Carers' understandings of intimacy in long-term relationships when one partner has dementia

This article explores experiences of relational intimacy (including sexual intimacy) in long- term relationships when one partner has dementia. An emerging body of research focuses on living with dementia, but work on relationships between people with dementia and their family and loved ones tends to focus on understanding the experience of caring and on constructs like ‘care burden’ (Etters, Goodall and Harrison 2008: 423). Research concerned with the lived experience of relationships themselves is less frequent, and very little published work focuses experiences of sex and intimacy. This qualitative study explores how six participants experience their intimate relationships with their partners with dementia. Semi-structured interviews provided a rich source of data which were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Three master themes emerged from our analysis: a) everydayness, b) absent presence, and c) I don’t know if you want to know this. Participants explored how living with dementia constructed specific, everyday relational challenges, and disrupted everyday intimacies. Intimacy, including sexual intimacy, remains an important element of older couple relationships. Relational experiences present specific and difficult to articulate experiences for the partners of people living with dementia – particularly experiences related to sex and sexuality. Representations of older adults (particularly older adults with a long term illness) as relatively asexual beings can make elements of these relational challenges particularly difficult to express

Real time imaging analysis using a terahertz quantum cascade laser and a microbolometer focal plane array

It is widely published that the terahertz (THz) spectral range has potential for imaging in the fields of military and security applications. The Sensors Research Laboratory previously achieved real-time imaging of concealed objects using a 1mW quantum cascade laser (QCL) and an uncooled vanadium oxide/silicon nitride based microbolometer. This thesis introduces an amorphous silicon based microbolometer with improved NETD in the 8-12 micrometer infrared spectral range. The QCL is usually operated in pulsed mode with rate in the hundreds of kHz which is much higher than the cut-off frequency of microbolometers of about tens of Hz. This indicates that neither camera should be able to detect the individual pulses of the THz beam. A detailed analysis showed that microbolometers can only detect the average power. Earlier experiments were then reproduced using the amorphous silicon based camera to assess the image quality but found it to be inferior to the silicon nitride based camera. These observations indicate that the absorption of THz in amorphous silicon is much weaker than silicon nitride. Other materials used to conceal military assets were analyzed and imaged to prove in principal the possibility of active THz imaging detection at a distance in narrow atmospheric windows.http://archive.org/details/realtimeimagingn109453813Canadian Army author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Sheep Updates 2003 - Plenaries

This session covers eight papers from different authors:1. Biosecurity in the sheep industry will improve production and profits Ashley Mercy, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia 2. Easy care sheep David Scobie, AgResearch, PO Box 60 Lincoln, 8152, New Zealand 3. Targeting the market’s requirements - live sheep exports Neil Buchanan, Manager Animal Health Operations, Primary Industries & Resources, South Australia 4. Setting flock breeding objectives Kevin Bell, Sheep Management and Production Consultants, Kojonup WA 5. Future feeding of sheep in Western Australia John Milton and Graeme Martin, The University of Western Australia 6. Recipe for getting back into Sheep Bob Hall, JRL Hall and Co., Darkan 7. Wool producer experiences with individual animal management Maurie Stephen, Wool Producer, Armidale NSW 8. The history of future sheep worm management Dr Rob Woodgate, Department of Agriculture, Western Australi

Evaluation of the impact of telementoring using ECHO© technology on healthcare professionals' knowledge and self-efficacy in assessing and managing pain for people with advanced dementia nearing the end of life

Abstract Background Pain assessment and management in advanced and end-stage dementia are challenging; patients are at risk of under-diagnosis, under-assessment and under-treatment. Previous research has highlighted the importance of needs-driven training and development in this area for physicians, nurses and healthcare assistants (HCAs) across specialties, disciplines and care settings. This study used teleconferencing technology to connect healthcare professionals across multiple settings and disciplines in real-time clinics, based on the Project ECHO© model. This paper reports the evaluation of the clinics by physicians, nurses and HCAs, including their knowledge and self-efficacy in pain assessment and management for patients with advanced and end-stage dementia. Methods A mixed method evaluation comprising quantitative survey of self-reported knowledge and self-efficacy pre- and post-ECHO clinic participation, and qualitative exploration of experiences of the clinics using focus group interviews. A census approach to sampling was undertaken. Pre- and post-ECHO evaluations were administered electronically using Survey Monkey software. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to explore differences in knowledge and self-efficacy scores pre- and post-ECHO clinic participation. Statistical significance was set a-priori at p = 0.05. Focus groups were video- and audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using Braun & Clarke’s model of thematic analysis. Results Eighteen healthcare professionals [HCPs] (physicians [n = 7], nurses [n = 10], HCA [n = 1]) and twenty HCPs (physicians [n = 10], nurses [n = 10]) completed pre- and post-ECHO evaluations respectively, reporting improvements in knowledge and self-efficacy on participation in ECHO clinics and perceived utility of the clinics. Seven HCPs (physicians [n = 2], nurses [n = 5]) participated in two focus groups. Four themes emerged: knowledge and skills development and dissemination; protected time; areas for improvement; and the future of ECHO. Conclusions Telementoring clinics for HCP education and training in pain assessment and management in advanced and end-stage dementia demonstrate a positive impact on knowledge and self-efficacy of HCPs and highlight the value of a cross-specialty network of practice which spans across disciplines/HCP types, care settings and geographical areas. Further development of ECHO services in this and in other clinical areas, shows significant potential to support delivery of high-quality care to complex patient populations