Automobile Products Liability Litigation

Less than two years after the 1961 Pontiac Tempest was introduced to the public, the General Motors Corporation was faced with more than one hundred and fifty product liability cases arising from the defective design of the front-end main cross member. With the knowledge that numerous accidents had occurred as a direct result of the car being suspended on railroad tracks, manhole covers, tree stumps, and trolley tracks, the manufacturers were forced to redesign the model before the test year had ended. However, by June of 1965, General Motors again found itself a party to at least one hundred and sixty major lawsuits-this time involving the design of the rear suspension system in the 1960 through 1963 Corvair models. When, in January of 1965, a South Carolina jury returned a verdict of seven hundred eighty thousand dollars ($780,000.00) against the Ford Motor Company and another defendant upon the claim that Ford had been negligent in its failure to adequately guard the gear shift lever on its 1949 Ford, the concept of automobile products liability became an accepted basis for securing responsibility in negligence cases

The Plaintiff\u27s Attorney and the Products Liability Case

If one understands that Products Liability is a new field of tort law, that one does not have to be an engineer to handle products liability cases and the prime requisite is a philosophy of safety, then he or she is psychologically equipped to represent one injured by a defective product and prepared to build a substantial practice in this rapidly expanding area of law

Milton On Liberty

During the hundred years from Elizabeth to Cromwell European thinkers became acutely conscious of many of the problems and ideas that concern us most intimately even today. In philosophy, in science, in the arts, and in theories of sovereignty and of the state, the foundations were laid for later thought and practice. The most serious wars, unlike the national jealousies of the eighteenth century which were often dynastic, were fought in defense of some conscientious scruple, however much their significance might be clouded by royal ambition or greed. Three of these in particular give us a group of thinkers on the powers of the state, the question of sovereignty, and above all the meaning of liberty. The Civil War in France between the League and the Huguenots anticipates in a curious way the war a half century later in England between the Parliament and Charles I, and chiefly in the way in which both parties, Catholic and Protestant, set about a search for motives for the deposition of a sovereign who outraged the religious and political scruples of a considerable number of his subjects. The Dutch likewise in their long war for freedom from Spain were compelled to buttress their faith by searching for sound principles of political science. The constitutional revolt that gave France Jean Bodin and the Netherlands Althusius and Hugo Grotius, gave England, among others, John Milton

Media coverage and public understanding of sentencing policy in relation to crimes against children

This research examines how the media report on sentences given to those who commit serious crimes against children and how this impacts on public knowledge and attitudes. Three months of press and television coverage were analysed in order to establish the editorial lines that are taken in different sections of the media and how they are promoted by selective reporting of sentencing. Results indicate that a small number of very high profile crimes account for a significant proportion of reporting in this area and often, particularly in the tabloid press, important information regarding sentencing rationale is sidelined in favour of moral condemnation and criticism of the judiciary. Polling data indicate that public attitudes are highly critical of sentencing but also confused about the meaning of tariffs. The article concludes by discussing what can be done to promote a more informed public debate over penal policy in this area

Retreating to nature : rethinking 'therapeutic landscapes'

There is a long history of removing oneself from ‘society’ in order to recuperate or repair. This paper considers a yoga and massage retreat in Southern Spain, and what opportunities this retreat experience might offer for recuperation and the creation of healthy bodies. The paper positions ‘nature’ as an active participant, and as ‘enrolled’ in the experiences of the retreat as a ‘therapeutic landscape’, and questions how and what particular aspects of yoga practice (in intimate relation with place) give rise to therapeutic experiences

Species Determination and Quantitation in Mixtures Using MRM Mass Spectrometry of Peptides Applied to Meat Authentication

We describe a simple protocol for identifying and quantifying the two components in binary mixtures of species possessing one or more similar proteins. Central to the method is the identification of 'corresponding proteins' in the species of interest, in other words proteins that are nominally the same but possess species-specific sequence differences. When subject to proteolysis, corresponding proteins will give rise to some peptides which are likewise similar but with species-specific variants. These are 'corresponding peptides'. Species-specific peptides can be used as markers for species determination, while pairs of corresponding peptides permit relative quantitation of two species in a mixture. The peptides are detected using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry, a highly specific technique that enables peptide-based species determination even in complex systems. In addition, the ratio of MRM peak areas deriving from corresponding peptides supports relative quantitation. Since corresponding proteins and peptides will, in the main, behave similarly in both processing and in experimental extraction and sample preparation, the relative quantitation should remain comparatively robust. In addition, this approach does not need the standards and calibrations required by absolute quantitation methods. The protocol is described in the context of red meats, which have convenient corresponding proteins in the form of their respective myoglobins. This application is relevant to food fraud detection: the method can detect 1% weight for weight of horse meat in beef. The corresponding protein, corresponding peptide (CPCP) relative quantitation using MRM peak area ratios gives good estimates of the weight for weight composition of a horse plus beef mixture

Frequency of Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) Attacks and Ship Collisions Based on Scarring on Bowhead Whales (Balaena Mysticetus) of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas Stock

Bowhead whales of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock harvested by Alaskan Eskimos were examined for scars from killer whale and ship-collision injuries. We estimated that the frequency of scars from killer whale attacks ranged from 4.1% to 7.9% (depending on our confidence that the whale was properly examined) while about 1% exhibited scars from ship collisions. The frequency of killer whale scars was considerably lower than for bowhead whales of the Davis Strait stock and for other baleen whales where data are available, and was significantly lower (P<0.05) for whales <13 m. Patterns of both types of scars were quite similar to those reported for other cretacean species. Spaces between rake marks were within the range of interdental measurements from four killer whale skulls. The occurrence of attempted killer whale predation and ship strikes inferred from scars has not prevented the BCBS stock from increasing.Key words: bowhead whale, killer whale, Alaskan Eskimos, whaling, scarring, ship/whale collision, propeller injuryOn a examiné des baleines boréales provenant du stock des mers de Béring, des Tchouktches et de Beaufort, prises par les Esquimaux de l'Alaska afin de voir si elles portaient des cicatrices résultant de morsures d'épaulards ou de blessures provoquées par des collisions avec des navires. On a estimé la gamme de fréquence des cicatrices venant d'attaques d'épaulards comme allant de 4,1 à 7,9 p. cent (compte tenu de notre niveau de certitude quant à la qualité de l'examen de la baleine), tandis qu'environ 1 p. cent des animaux montraient des cicatrices résultant de collisions avec des navires. La fréquence des cicatrices dues aux épaulards était bien inférieure à celle observée sur les baleines provenant du stock du détroit de Davis et d'autres cétacés à fanons pour lesquels on possédait des données. Les schémas des deux types de cicatrices étaient assez semblables à ceux rapportés pour d'autres espèces de cétacés. La fréquence des cicatrices dues aux épaulards était de beaucoup inférieure (P<0,05) pour les baleines mesurant moins de 13 m. Les espaces entre les éraflures se situaient dans la gamme d'écartement interdentaire mesuré sur le crâne de quatre épaulards. Les tentatives de prédation par les épaulards et les coups portés par les navires - déduits des cicatrices - n'ont pas empêché le stock des mers de Béring, des Tchouktches et de Beaufort d'augmenter.Mot clés: baleine boréale, épaulard, Esquimaux de l’Alaska, pêche à la baleine, cicatrices, collision navire/baleine, blessure infligée par une hélic