Much Ado about Nothing: Steele v Serepisos and a Notice Requirement for Contingent Conditions

In the 2006 case of Steele v Serepisos, the Supreme Court had an opportunity to clarify the law on contingent conditions. The issue was whether a party seeking to cancel a contract for its failure to fulfil a contingent condition first had to give notice to the other party. The purpose of the notice would be to give the other party an opportunity to fulfil the condition. A majority held, correctly in the author's view, that such a notice was not required. However, the majority went to some lengths to distinguish Cooke J's judgment in the 1978 case of Hunt v Wilson. This paper revisits Hunt v Wilson and argues that Cooke J's judgment was wrong. It further argues that the majority's failure to recognise this, coupled with general judicial confusion with respect to contingent conditions, made a simple issue much more difficult than it need have been

Development of a soccer specific functional rehabilitation program using the Modified Delphi Technique

Context. There are no concise and thorough core and lower quarter exercises for functional rehabilitation found in the literature or the clinical setting for soccer. An exercise program is needed to assist clinicians in developing sport specific functional rehabilitation programs. Objective. The purpose of this study was to develop a concise soccer specific functional rehabilitation program. Design. This was a prospective descriptive study following the Modified Delphi Technique to develop exercise components to include in a functional rehabilitation program based on opinion from a panel of experts. The dependent variable was the responses ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Setting. This study took place at West Virginia University. Patients or other participants. Participants consisted of Certified Athletic Trainers (n=9 round one, n=6 round two) and Physical Therapists (n= 7 round one, n= 5 round two) with a minimum of five years clinical experience and criteria for selection of the researchers were based on publications and presentations on soccer. Eighteen clinical Certified Athletic Trainers, Physical Therapists and researchers participated in the first round. Eleven participants completed the second round. Interventions. Exercises to be included in a functional rehabilitation program was through a series of successive revisions with input being offered from colleagues. Three questionnaires were utilized in this study. The demographic questionnaire was e-mailed to the participants with the first round questionnaire. The panel was asked to fill out questions about credentials and experience and asked to respond to the exercise components on the Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The participants submitted the questionnaire online. A link to the second questionnaire with means score, percentages and additional write in comments from round one was sent to the participants. Follow-up letters for the first and second rounds were e-mailed to the participants one week before the due dates as reminders to complete the questionnaire. The responses from the second questionnaire contributed to the development of the functional rehabilitation program. Main outcomes measures. With a consensus of the participants (75% strongly agree and agree and a mean score of 4) the responses for each exercise section would be similar. The hypotheses included: dynamic flexibility, single leg balance, lunge sequencing, heel raise sequencing, squat sequencing, plyometrics, core stabilization and functional activity progression. Results. The initial questionnaire consisted of 168 exercise components. After the second round, 81 of the proposed exercise components reached consensus and therefore were used to develop the final program. The final program consisted of what should be included in a soccer specific functional rehabilitation program based on best clinical practice and evidence based guidelines. Conclusion. The responses from both rounds by the panel of experts led to the development of the soccer specific functional rehabilitation program. Although there was a dropout of seven participants, this program is still representative of Major League Soccer ATCs, PTs, and soccer researchers. Since the remaining exercise components are supported by evidence based research and best clinical practice, this program can serve as a guideline for a soccer specific functional rehabilitation program. Additional studies should be conducted for the development of a functional rehabilitation program

A Point-of-Purchase Messaging Program Increases Sales of Identified Healthy Items in a University Food Court

The obesity epidemic in the United States is effecting the college population. College populations across the country are served by contract foodservice companies that are looking for strategiesto promote the purchasing of healthy menu items. To determine if sales of identified healthy items increased in a University food court, in this study, the Point-of-Purchase(POP) messaging technique was implemented. The sales data for 2 low-calorie,low-fat menu items was collected for 11-weeks. The 11-week time period was subdivided into a 6-week baseline phase, 4-week intervention phase, and 1-week follow-up phase. During the intervention 4-POP interventions were implemented to represent each week of the intervention phase. Two statistical differences were located using a t-test. Throughout both the intervention phase (P=0.001) and follow-up phase (P=0.05) significantly more sandwiches were sold that during the baseline phase

But Where's the Contract? A Tribute to Professor David McLauchlan

This article is a tribute to Professor David McLauchlan on the occasion of his 40th teaching anniversary. The first part is a personal recollection from each of the two authors. The second part is a joint case note.  It poses the question: how could a real estate firm who knew the vendor did not intend to appoint the firm as agent nevertheless have a legal right to withhold commission? In the decision of Nightingale v Barfoot Ltd, Venning J confirmed that the firm had such a right.  This article challenges the accuracy of that conclusion, suggesting that as there was no evidence to support the formation of an agency agreement, the real estate firm did not have the right to deduct commission. It analyses critically a number of the legal arguments raised in the case and those that should have been raised, including those concerning contract formation, the objective principle, promissory estoppel, and the effect of s 62 of the Real Estate Agents Act 1976 and the Contracts Privity Act 1982.  Much responsibility for the outcome of the case must be pinned on counsel for the vendor, who failed to stop and ask himself "But Where’s The Contract"

The Mark of the Plural: Generic Generalizations and Race

We argue that generic generalizations about racial groups are pernicious in what they communicate (both to members of that racial group and to members of other racial groups), and may be central to the construction of social categories like racial groups. We then consider how we should change and challenge uses of generic generalizations about racial groups

Challenging the Clostridium botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) with a selection of microorganisms by culture methods and extended storage of used vials to assess the loss of sterility

In 2002, botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cosmetic use. However, there may be procedural differences between the ways in which a clinician handles, applies and stores the product compared to the suggested guidelines of the manufacturer for handling and storage. To this end vials (N = 12) of BoNT/A were tested for the incidence of microbial contamination followed by challenging the product with a selection of microorganisms by culture methods and by using a calcein release assay to contaminate multi-dose vials at the single concentration used for facial aesthetics. A culture, droplet method was used to count microorganisms challenged with the therapeutic product and to compare viability levels in appropriate controls as well as measuring their lytic properties via an existing cell-free system involving calcein release. Counts of test organisms within the droplets, with the product and the controls without the product were undertaken using Image J software. The result from the incidence of in-vial contamination was inconclusive. Bacterial levels between controls and product challenged groups demonstrated no differences in the growth of viable microorganisms following immediate contact (p = ≥ 0.05). The cell-free calcein release assay demonstrated differences at all time points for low levels of lysis in each case with bacterial lipid extract and were statistically significant (p = 0.011). Although these data appear to correlate with the minimum inhibitory concentration, the additives and vial integrity are also likely to contribute to the maintenance of BoNT/A sterility