A Consideration of the Relationship between the Rules of Court and the Code of Ethics in Forensic Psychiatry

2004 ◽  
Vol 38 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 20-25
Author(s):  
Peter C. Gaughwin

Objective To consider the relationship between the Rules of Court for expert witnesses and the revised Ethical Guideline No. 9 and Practice Guideline No. 9 of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) and how this affects the responsibilities that psychiatrists have to a court and to their profession, when they enter the legal arena. Method Literature relevant to the subject, the Federal Court rules relating to expert witnesses and the RANZCP Guidelines are discussed and compared, with examples used to illustrate particular issues that arise from time to time in the civil jurisdiction. A distinction is drawn between the functions of those psychiatrists who undertake forensic assessment and those who undertake clinical work, and some of the ethical challenges facing forensic psychiatrists are considered. Results The Rules of Court relating to expert witnesses and the RANZCP Guidelines No. 9 have a complementary relationship and are thus ethically consistent with each other and provide a basis for psychiatrists to maintain and enhance the integrity of their profession. Conclusion Forensic psychiatry is a particularly complex medical speciality and one that can create enormous personal conflict for clinicians, especially those who are not forensic consultants. It may therefore be time for the College to develop an accreditation process for those prepared to undertake further study in the nature and practice of forensic psychiatry.

Author(s):  
Rosa Ghasemi Nejad

Although ethics in translation is not a new realm of study, it is almost intact for official translators in Iran. This study aims to evaluate translators’ familiarity and commitment to universally accepted ethical issues. Moreover the present study attempts to shed light on the relationship between translators’ educational levels and work experience and their familiarity and commitment to universally accepted translation ethical issues. The Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) has published a code of ethics for the members and obliges them to observe the principles. The first five principles are related to “Professional Conduct”, “Confidentiality”, “Competence”, “Impartiality” and “Accuracy”, which were obtained to conduct the present research. The instrument utilized in this study was a questionnaire containing 35 items presented to official translators in three populated cities in Iran, Tehran, Mashhad and Kerman. The multiple-choice researcher-made questionnaire was constructed in Persian to reduce any possible ambiguity. The present study conducted in 2016 on certified official translators and interpreters, either male or female, aged between 25 to about 52. However, it does not take age and gender into account. The study findings reveal that work experience and level of education have significant relationship with commitment and familiarity. SPSS and One-Way ANOVA were utilized to analyze the data.1.INTRODUCTIONEthics in translation is such a new subject in Iran that most of the official translators cannot avoid expressing their shock as they hear the term ethics in translation. Although ethics has been already introduced in many translation centers in many countries such as Australia and the USA, It is still new in Iran and degree of official translators’ familiarity with the principles and their commitment to them is unknown. Not observing the principles equals maximizing ethical challenges faced by translators and interpreters since they have a crucial role in many different situations related to human interactions (Baker, 2016). A study seemed necessary to evaluate their performance that can lead to an improvement per se since observing ethics is so important that philosophy believes it is a main source of making decisions arbitrarily unless the actions would be “aimless”, (Rupani, 2015). Such a study can introduce the necessity of ethics to translators, if it is then determined unknown and required. Afterwards, a comprehensive and culturally appropriate code of ethics will be proposed to Iranian Association of Certified Translators and Interpreters.AUSIT (Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators) published one of the most accredited codes of ethPublishedby Australian


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 698-718
Author(s):  
Emma Rowden ◽  
Anne Wallace

This article reports on empirical research conducted into the use of audiovisual links (videolinks) to take expert testimony in jury trials. Studies reveal ambivalent attitudes to court use of videolink, with most previous research focussed on its use for vulnerable witnesses and defendants. Our study finds there are issues unique to expert witnesses appearing by videolink, such as compromised ability to gesture and interact with exhibits and demonstrative tools, and reductions in availability of feedback to gauge juror understanding. Overall, the use of videolinks adds an additional cognitive load to the task of giving expert evidence. While many of these issues might be addressed through environmental or technological improvements, we argue this research has broader ramifications for expert witnesses and the courts. The use of videolinks for taking expert evidence exposes the contingent nature of expertise and the cultural scaffolding inherent in its construction. In reflecting on the implications of these findings, and on the way that reliability, credibility and expertise are defined and established in court, we suggest a more critical engagement with the relationship between content and mode of delivery by stakeholders.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Yang ◽  
Zhenshuang Wang ◽  
Shengrong Long ◽  
Jinhai Huang ◽  
Chengran Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Gliomas are characterised by easy invasion of surrounding tissues, high mortality and poor prognosis. Moreover, with the increase of grade, the prognosis of glioma is increasingly poor and not optimistic. Therefore, biological markers for glioma are needed in clinical work, which can be utilized to detect and evaluate the situation and prognosis of glioma patients. Many studies have found that the protein arginine methyltransferase 6 (PRMT6) expression is elevated in various tumors and is associated with patient prognosis. However, the role of PRMT6 in glioma has not been reported or analyzed. Methods: In this study, we used a variety of tumor related databases to analyze the mechanism of PRMT6 in tumors, especially gliomas, from the perspective of bioinformatics, and carried out relevant experimental verification with tumor tissues extracted from patients during surgery. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between PRMT6 expression and immune infiltration and immune-related cells, and discussed the possible mechanisms. We also discussed the role of PRMT6 expression in glioma from the perspectives of mutation, clinical indicators, enrichment analysis, and immunohistochemical results. Results: PRMT6 is significantly differentially expressed in a variety of tumors and is associated with survival and prognosis. Especially in gliomas, the expression of PRMT6 gradually increased with the increase of grade. In addition, PRMT6 can be used as an independent prognostic risk factor in the nomogram and has been verified in a variety of databases. Conclusions: Our results indicate that high expression of PRMT6 is a potential biomarker for predicting glioma prognosis and progression.


Author(s):  
Giorgio Caviglia

Within the current clinical practice, the debate on the use of dream is still very topical. In this article, the author suggests to address this question with a notable scientific and cultural openness that embraces either the psychoanalytic approach (classical, modern and intersubjective), and the neurophysiological assumptions and both clinical research and cognitive hypotheses. The utility of dream - in the clinical work with patients - is supported by the author with extensive bibliographic references and personal clinical insights, drawn from his experience as a psychotherapist. Results: From an analysis of recent literature on this topic, the dream assumes a very different function and position in the clinical practice: from ‘via regia to the unconscious’ of Freudian theories - an expression of repressed infantile wishes of libidinal or aggressive drive nature - it becomes the very fulcrum of the analysis, a fundamental capacity to be developed, a necessary and decisive element for the patient’s transformation. The dream can also be use with the function of thinking and mentalization, of problem solving, of adaptation, as well as an indicator of the relationship with the therapist in the analytic dialogue or of dissociated aspects of the self. Finally, the author proposes a challenging reading of the clinical relevance of dream: through listening to the dream, the clinician can help the patient to stand in the spaces of his own self in a more open and fluid way and therefore to know himself better, to regulate his affects, to think and to integrate oneself.


2014 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-659
Author(s):  
Karen Orren

AbstractWith a view to elaborating a developmental theory of constitutionalism in the United States, this essay explores the relationship among constitutional, criminal, and civil law. It supports, with relevant case materials, a single proposition: civil litigants are afforded contested constitutional protections in federal court to the extent that the judges attribute an aspect of criminality to the underlying facts or issues in question. The essay tests this proposition in the areas of punitive damages, double jeopardy, and constitutional torts; discusses the mirroring of the stipulated pattern in legal maneuvering on constitutional issues; and briefly spells out its implications for the larger theory.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 128-141
Author(s):  
Elena N. MAKARENKO

Subject. Choosing the code of ethics for professional accountants' thinking and moral activity appears to become a key to a higher professional status. It is necessary to ensure the commercial comfort as much as possible for professional accountants to demonstrate their knowledge and observe professional principles. Objectives. I carry out a systemic study into advantages that help accountants respect professional principles of ethics. Methods. The study relies upon the modeling of economic cases, analyzes and synthesizes the information with reference to accounting and management. Results. The article discusses the relationship of the thinking and ethical activity of professional accountants as part of their professional activity that makes them observe the code of professional conduct. I add unusual cases of economic threats companies face to the evident relationship of the ethical principles and typical threats that influence the performance of professional accountants. With all the threats and causes combined, professional accountants sometimes have to depart from professional principles of ethics. Having this in mind, I substantiate the possibility of deriving the highest and lowest effects from the moral activity of accountants, which reflects the quality of their thinking activity. To elevate the professional status and reinforce the code of ethics for professional accountants, I prove that the accountant's professional knowledge influences the business image of a respective entity. The article shows that the motivation is important to raise the professional accountants' responsibility as part of their thinking and moral activities. Conclusions and Relevance. Studying the impact of the relationship between the moral and thinking activity of professional accountants on their performance can be useful to set certain relations between accountants and their employers. If the professional accountant takes his/her best efforts to develop the business and social image of the company, observing the professional code of ethics, while the employer manages to motivate the accountants, they will build the effective business management and mitigate economic risks.


Author(s):  
David Semple ◽  
Roger Smyth

Covering the role of the psychiatrist in forensic situations, from participation in the criminal justice system and legal definitions of crime (including homicide, violence, and sexual offences) to the relationship between mental disorders and offending, this chapter addresses secure hospitals and units, police and court liaison, and the role of the prison psychiatry. Legal provisions and how to give evidence in court are described, and an overview of pathways through the criminal health and justice system for mentally disordered offenders is provided. Fitness to plead and criminal responsibility are both explained.


2020 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-106557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind J McDougall ◽  
Lynn Gillam ◽  
Danielle Ko ◽  
Isabella Holmes ◽  
Clare Delany

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the risks that can be involved in healthcare work. In this paper, we explore the issue of staff safety in clinical work using the example of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the COVID-19 crisis. We articulate some of the specific ethical challenges around PPE currently being faced by front-line clinicians, and develop an approach to staff safety that involves balancing duty to care and personal well-being. We describe each of these values, and present a decision-making framework that integrates the two. The aim of the framework is to guide the process of balancing these two values when staff safety is at stake, by facilitating ethical reflection and/or decision-making that is systematic, specific and transparent. It provides a structure for individual reflection, collaborative staff discussion, and decision-making by those responsible for teams, departments and other groups of healthcare staff. Overall the framework guides the decision maker to characterise the degree of risk to staff, articulate feasible options for staff protection in that specific setting and identify the option that ensures any decrease in patient care is proportionate to the increase in staff well-being. It applies specifically to issues of PPE in COVID-19, and also has potential to assist decision makers in other situations involving protection of healthcare staff.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237428952093926
Author(s):  
David N. Bailey

A survey was conducted to evaluate the relationship between Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems and academic departments of pathology in their respective affiliated schools of medicine. Most (73%) of the responding academic departments were within 5 miles of their Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems; 60% of Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems supported 1 to 5 full-time pathologist positions at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems while 70% provided 1 to 5 full-time resident positions; only 34% of academic departments had “without compensation” appointments at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems while 20% had fee-based consulting appointments; 62% of academic departments granted academic appointments to full-time Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems pathologists while few (26%) had split appointments between the academic department and the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems; only half of academic departments granted the same academic privileges to Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems pathologists as they did to full-time university faculty; 60% of the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems pathologists were not involved in recruitment of medical school faculty while 58% of medical school faculty were not involved in recruitment of Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems pathologists; most academic departments reported no research space at the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems (68%) and no Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems research support (72%); only 23% of academic departments reported a sharing agreement that allows the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems to perform clinical work for the academic department while 36% reported an agreement that permits the academic department to perform clinical work for the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems; only 32% of academic departments indicated that the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service is a member of the academic department leadership team. All academic departments reported that the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems plays a significant role in education of medical students, residents, and fellows. Strengths and weaknesses of the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Systems/academic department relationships are identified.


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