Motivation and Tort Law: Acting for Economic Gain as a Suspect Motive

The asserted unimportance of the defendant\u27s motive underlying acts giving rise to tort liability is part of the conventional wisdom of most writers of basic tort texts.\u27 Frequently, the irrelevance of the defendant\u27s motivation is considered so obvious that many writers fail to discuss it at all, or discuss it only in the limited context of punitive damages. Virtually all of the literature that considers the significance of motive in tort law deals with either altruism, primarily in the rescue context, or spite, primarily in the punitive damages context. However,little, if any, of the literature considers the legal treatment of defend-ants who act for economic gain. In fact, the premise underlying the vast majority of the so-called law and economics literature either assumes a social acceptance of acting for economic gain or affirmatively argues that acting for economic gain is a fundamental social value. The purpose of this Article is not to enter the is wealth maximization a value debate. Rather, this Article attempts to demonstrate that, although some commentators claim that the pursuit of economic gain is laudatory, statutory and common-law development reveals a deep-seated social bias against those whose conduct is motivated by a desire for economic gain. In some cases, acting for economic gain is treated more harshly and with greater suspicion than conduct motivated by spite.\u27This Article reconsiders the conventional wisdom and argues that the actor\u27s motivation is frequently a significant, though unarticulated, factor in the formulation of much tort doctrine. This Article attempts also to demonstrate that when courts develop principles of liability and damages that are truly independent of any consideration of the actor\u27s motive, whether real or perceived, legislatures tend to reject those motivation-neutral principles in favor of liability and damages rules based on the defendant\u27s economic motivation

Imposing Punitive Damage Liabiliity on the Intoxicated Driver

It is important to keep in mind throughout this discussion that awareness and acknowledgement of the existence of a problem, even a very serious problem, should not make us overreact and thereby accept an unworkable solution in our zeal to do something. The imposition of punitive damages is, for the most part, just such an unworkable solution. More specifically, I will attempt to demonstrate that, with the possible exception of the case of the recidivist, non-alcoholic defendant, the imposition of punitive damages simply cannot be justified. That being the case, we must look elsewhere for a solution to an admittedly severe problem. Section II will analyze the case law pertaining to the imposition of punitive damages for unintentional torts generally and for drunk driving specifically. Section III will discuss the various rationales commonly asserted for the imposition of punitive damages. Section VI will examine some of the major objections to and problems created by the imposition of punitive damage liability against the intoxicated driver, and section V will propose a standard

Reconceptualizing Strict Liability in Tort: An Overview

In a series of books and articles, Professor Marshall Shapo has developed the idea of American tort law as a cultural mirror --a legal system reflecting cultural norms that serves as the intellectual and practical foundation for society\u27s response to injuries. The cultural mirror metaphor captures both the notion that there is a substantive normative basis for tort law that exists within society and the procedural notion that tort law ensures that those underlying norms are reflected in the resolution of tort disputes. Although I believe Professor Shapo\u27s description to be fundamentally correct, it is also incomplete, and, as a result, somewhat misleading. It is correct in the sense that the moral intuitions of society form the underlying basis of tort law. It is misleading, however, in that it views twentieth-century American society as a single entity possessing a unitary or common culture that can be reflected in the law. In fact, our culture is enormously diverse in terms of conventional indicators such as race, religion, and ethnicity. More importantly, our society consists of many different groups-both within and cutting across various subcultures-that can be identified based on function. These functionally classified groups-professionals such as doctors, engineers, or product sellers (including insurers), for example-can be identified by commonality in knowledge, experience, expectation, and perception. In addition, they can sometimes be distinguished from non-group members by disparities in these same factors. In short, individuals view the world differently depending on their knowledge, training, experience, and professional socialization, and on the peculiar slants imparted by membership in communities or in racial and ethnic groups. In this Article I maintain that explicit recognition of these differences in perception and expectation is the key to the proper resolution of tort cases. Specifically, I advance a number of claims. First, tort law must be understood essentially as a system in which individuals assess other individuals\u27 conduct. As a result, most traditional tort cases turn on the answer to questions such as the following: Did the defendant impose an unacceptably high risk on others? Was the defendant motivated by something that is considered improper? Did the defendant intend to do harm or take unfair advantage? Although we have, from time to time, lost sight of this essential characteristic of the system (most notably in early attempts to impose strict liability on the sellers of products), judging conduct example-can be identified by commonality in knowledge, experience, expectation, and perception. In addition, they can sometimes be distinguished from non-group members by disparities in these same factors. In short, individuals view the world differently depending on their knowledge, training, experience, and professional socialization, and on the peculiar slants imparted by membership in communities or in racial and ethnic groups

Predictors of Limb Fat Gain in HIV Positive Patients Following a Change to Tenofovir-Emtricitabine or Abacavir-Lamivudine

Background Antiretroviral treatment (cART) in HIV causes lipoatrophy. We examined predictors of anthropometric outcomes over 96 weeks in HIV-infected, lipoatrophic adults receiving stable cART randomised to tenofovir-emtricitabine (TDF-FTC) or abacavir-lamivudine (ABC-3TC) fixed dose combinations. Methodology/Principal Findings The STEAL study was a prospective trial of virologically suppressed participants randomised to either TDF-FTC (n = 178) or ABC-3TC (n = 179). Anthropometric assessment was conducted at baseline, weeks 48 and 96. The analysis population included those with baseline and week 96 data remaining on randomised therapy. Distribution of limb fat change was divided into four categories (≤0%, \u3e0-10%, \u3e10-20%, \u3e20%). Baseline characteristics [demographics, medical history, metabolic and cardiovascular biomarkers] were assessed as potential predictors of change in percent subcutaneous limb fat using linear regression. 303 participants (85% of STEAL population) were included. Baseline characteristics were: mean (±SD) age 45 (±8) years; thymidine analogue nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (tNRTI) duration 4 (±3) years; limb fat 5.4 (±3.0)kg; body mass index 24.7 (±3.5) kg/m2. Mean (SD) limb fat gain to week 48 and 96 was 7.6% (±22.4) and 13.2% (±27.3), respectively, with no significant difference between groups. 51.5% of all participants had \u3e10% gain in limb fat. Predictors of greater limb fat gain at week 96 were baseline tNRTI (10.3, p = 0.001), glucose \u3e6 mmol/L (16.1, p = 0.04), higher interleukin 6 (IL-6) (2.8, p = 0.004) and lower baseline limb fat (3.8-6.4 kg - 11.2; \u3e6.4 kg - 15.7, p trend\u3c0.001). Conclusions/Significance Modest peripheral fat gain occurred with both TDF-FTC and ABC-3TC. Baseline factors associated with more severe lipodystrophy (lipoatrophy, baseline tNRTI, raised IL6, and glucose) predicted greater limb fat recovery at 96 weeks

Social marketing and healthy eating : Findings from young people in Greece

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12208-013-0112-xGreece has high rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases owing to poor dietary choices. This research provides lessons for social marketing to tackle the severe nutrition-related problems in this country by obtaining insight into the eating behaviour of young adults aged 18–23. Also, the main behavioural theories used to inform the research are critically discussed. The research was conducted in Athens. Nine focus groups with young adults from eight educational institutions were conducted and fifty-nine participants’ views towards eating habits, healthy eating and the factors that affect their food choices were explored. The study found that the participants adopted unhealthier nutritional habits after enrolment. Motivations for healthy eating were good health, appearance and psychological consequences, while barriers included lack of time, fast-food availability and taste, peer pressure, lack of knowledge and lack of family support. Participants reported lack of supportive environments when deciding on food choices. Based on the findings, recommendations about the development of the basic 4Ps of the marketing mix, as well as of a fifth P, for Policy are proposedPeer reviewe

Influence of country and city images on students’ perception of host universities and their satisfaction with the assigned destination for their exchange programmes

ABSTRACT: This research focuses on the effect that country image, city image and university image has on students’ a priori satisfaction with the assigned destination for their international exchange programme (Bachelor and Master). In particular, this study establishes six hypotheses related to the causal relationships among the different typologies of image and their effects on students’ satisfaction with the assigned destination to study at least one semester in a host university. In order to contrast these hypotheses, a quantitative research was carried out in the Spanish city of Santander (Spain), by obtaining a sample of 245 international students who participated in an exchange programme at the University of Cantabria. The research findings are: (1) students’ satisfaction with the assigned destination is positively influenced by the university image; (2) the university image is positively influenced by the city image; and (3) the city image is positively influenced by the country image

Processes and integration in the interaction of purchasing and marketing: considering synergy and symbiosis

Effective integration of both purchasing and marketing functions is central to effective value creation and alignment of an organization with its business environment. Rapidly changing environments create gaps in the value creation process that compromises the delivery of value to the customer and risk misalignment of value propositions to their needs. Despite the clear imperative for research in this area, the extant literature is partial and delivers limited coherence. Ours is a theoretical article that—in drawing on previous literature—introduces the new work collected in this special issue and considers this against our own empirical evidence. We present a framework that maps out the landscape of internal organizational integration with a particular emphasis on purchasing and marketing integration. Implications for theory and managers are explored

Correction: Lack of Mucosal Immune Reconstitution during Prolonged Treatment of Acute and Early HIV-1 Infection

BACKGROUND: During acute and early HIV-1 infection (AEI), up to 60% of CD4(+) T cells in the lamina propria of the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract are lost as early as 2–4 wk after infection. Reconstitution in the peripheral blood during therapy with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is well established. However, the extent of immune reconstitution in the GI tract is unknown. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Fifty-four AEI patients and 18 uninfected control participants underwent colonic biopsy. Forty of the 54 AEI patients were followed after initiation of antiretroviral therapy (18 were studied longitudinally with sequential biopsies over a 3-y period after beginning HAART, and 22 were studied cross sectionally after 1–7 y of uninterrupted therapy). Lymphocyte subsets, markers of immune activation and memory in the peripheral blood and GI tract were determined by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. In situ hybridization was performed in order to identify persistent HIV-1 RNA expression. Of the patients studied, 70% maintained, on average, a 50%–60% depletion of lamina propria lymphocytes despite 1–7 y of HAART. Lymphocytes expressing CCR5 and both CCR5 and CXCR4 were persistently and preferentially depleted. Levels of immune activation in the memory cell population, CD45RO(+) HLA-DR(+), returned to levels seen in the uninfected control participants in the peripheral blood, but were elevated in the GI tract of patients with persistent CD4(+) T cell depletion despite therapy. Rare HIV-1 RNA–expressing cells were detected by in situ hybridization. CONCLUSIONS: Apparently suppressive treatment with HAART during acute and early infection does not lead to complete immune reconstitution in the GI mucosa in the majority of patients studied, despite immune reconstitution in the peripheral blood. Though the mechanism remains obscure, the data suggest that there is either viral or immune-mediated accelerated T cell destruction or, possibly, alterations in T cell homing to the GI tract. Although clinically silent over the short term, the long-term consequences of the persistence of this lesion may emerge as the HIV-1–infected population survives longer owing to the benefits of HAART