This book is a critical analysis of several of the most disaster-prone regions in Asia. Its unique focus is on the legal issues in the phase of disaster recovery, the most lengthy and difficult stage of disaster response that follows the conclusion of initial emergency stage of humanitarian aid. In the stage of disaster recovery, the law decides the fate of reconstruction for the individual houses and livelihoods of the disaster-affected people and sets the limit of governmental support for them during the lengthy period of suspension of normal living until full recovery is obtained. Researchers who were participant-observers in the difficult recovery phase after the mega-disasters in Asia analyse the reality of the functions of law which often hinder, rather than foster, efforts to restore disaster victims' lives. The book collects research conducted with an emphasis on empirical approaches to legal sociology, including direct interviews with people affected by the disaster. It offers a holistic approach beyond the traditional sectionalism of legal studies by starting with a historical review and incorporating both spheres of public law and private law, in order to obtain a new perspective that can concurrently achieve disaster risk reductions and human-centered recoveries. With particular emphasis on the unexplored area of law in the post-disaster recovery phase, this book will attract the attention of students and scholars of disaster studies, legal studies, Asian studies, as well as those who work in the practice of disaster management.

This guide to the legal aspects of AIDS has been thoroughly revised. Written by experienced legal professionals under the auspices of Britain's major AIDS charity, it addresses areas of the law affected by AIDS, including: insurance, housing, employment, children and young people, and immigration. It examines all the legal needs of people with AIDS and HIV infection. The book includes a section on the medico-legal aspects of AIDS (such as antibody testing and the subject of informed consent) and a chapter on the legal and practical steps towards setting up a voluntary or charitable organization. Concise and accessible, this guide should be useful to counsellors, health and social workers, lawyers, welfare agency advisors and anyone who needs a legal rights guide to AIDS.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.

An Introduction to Health and Safety Law provides a clear, concise overview of health and safety law in the United Kingdom. With reference to the European Union, this book discusses criminal and civil liability at length to provide a clear understanding of this area of law which has been subject to change over the 20 years. Key case studies and statistical information on prosecutions, fines and enforcement notices help to contextualise health and safety law to provide students and professionals with a full understanding of health and safety law in the UK. This book includes chapters on: the legal framework criminal liability enforcement of criminal liability civil liability civil remedy subordinate legislation. This book is an essential reference for students studying towards NEBOSH qualifications and students studying at university level. It provides a comprehensive understanding of UK health and safety law and will be a useful reference when entering the professional field.

As the Single Market of 1992 comes into being, the need to develop an effective "social dimension" for that market has been acknowledged as a matter of pressing concern. Of the numerous initiatives already embarked upon by the European Commission in the context of that "social dimension", one of the most fundamental is the programme of measures designed to safeguard the health and safety of workers at their places of work. This volume presents the background to the programme of European Community initiatives, tracing the origins of a European policy on occupational health and safety and looking at the progressively expanding ambitions of Commission Action Programmes in this field. This brings the picture up to date to the measures adopted within the framework of the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers and includes consideration of the "Framework Directives" 80/1107/EEC and 89/391/EEC. Full texts of the relevant instruments making up the European Communities' Health and Safety Legislation are included in this work.

Inspecting and Diagnosing Disrepair provides housing officers, surveyors, landlords, tenants, lawyers and environmental health inspectors with the essential information they need to record, diagnose and remedy disrepair. Pat Reddin presents technical information methodically, including useful diagrams to help readers to develop an understanding of building materials and structures and to advise and take action on disrepair. The book is fully up to date with the latest legislation and is essential reading for environmental health professionals, surveyors and students alike.

The Fire Safety and Risk Management Revision Guide: for the NEBOSH Fire Certificate is the perfect revision aid for students preparing to take their NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management. As well as being a handy companion volume to the Fire Protection Association textbook Fire Safety and Risk Management: for the NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management, it will also serve as a useful aide-memoire for those in fire safety roles. The book: provides practical revision guidance and strategies for students; highlights the key information for each learning outcome of the current NEBOSH syllabus; gives students opportunities to test their knowledge based on NEBOSH-style questions and additional exercises; provides details of publically available guidance documents that students will be able to refer to. The revision guide is fully aligned to the current NEBOSH syllabus, providing complete coverage in bite-sized chunks, helping students to learn and memorise the most important topics. Throughout the book, the guide refers back to the Fire Safety and Risk Management textbook, helping students to consolidate their learning.

Food safety has become a major concern for consumers in the developed world and Europe in particular. This has been highlighted by the recent spate of food scares ranging from the BSE (mad cow) crisis to Chinese melamine contamination of baby formula. To ensure food safety throughout Europe, stringent food safety standards have been put in place 'from farm to fork'. At the same time, poor African countries in the COMESA rely on their food exports to the European market to achieve their development goals yet have difficulty meeting the EU food safety standards. This book examines the impact of EU food safety standards on food imports from COMESA countries. It also critically examines both EU and COMESA food safety standards in light of the WTO SPS Agreement and the jurisprudence of the WTO panels and Appellate Body. The book makes ground-breaking proposals on how the standards divide between the EU and the COMESA can be bridged and discusses the impact of EU food safety standards on food imports from poor African countries.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are an extraordinary innovation. They raise great expectations of economic prosperity and improved capacity to address pressing problems of poverty and environmental degradation, whilst simultaneously raising great concerns about the type of social and physical world they promise. Finding space in regulation to consider the full range of issues provoked by GMOs is a huge challenge. This book explores the EU's elaborate regulatory framework for GMOs, which extends far beyond the process of their authorisation (or not) for the EU market, embracing disparate legal disciplines including intellectual property, consumer protection and civil liability. The regulation of GMOs also highlights questions of EU legitimacy in a context of multi-level governance, both internally towards national and local government, and externally in a world where technologies and their regulation have global impacts. This book will be of interest to academics and students in both law and social sciences, as well as practising lawyers and policy makers. It addresses questions that are significant for those involved in environmental or food issues, as well as specialists in GMOs.

From fisheries to persistent organic pollutants to climate change itself, no other environmental principle in environmental law has produced as much controversy as the precautionary principle. Unlike a preventive approach in which action is taken provided that the threats to the environment are tangible, with a precautionary approach, authorities are prepared to tackle risks for which there is no definitive proof that the damage will materialize. The ramifications of this increasingly apparent approach are profound and cut across all areas of risk assessment and management, environmental law, policy and regulation in every major sector. However, to date little thought has been dedicated to the implementation of the precautionary principle in a wide array of environmental circumstances. This authoritative handbook addresses the legal aspects of how the precautionary principle is implemented in different sectors, and examines its successes, failures, strengths and weaknesses. Sectors and subjects covered include chemicals, GMOs, marine pollution, fisheries and nature conservation, and the book draws on cases in the EU, in the USA, and Nordic countries, where the use of precaution has been gathering momentum. Ultimately, the book provides an indispensable appraisal of the question - increasingly important in the era of human-induced climate change - of whether the precautionary principle is relevant, indeed essential, to avert major environmental and health risks, and how and when it can be used successfully. Published with MARIE CURIE ACTIONS

For caregivers of deeply forgetful people: a book that combines new ethics guidelines with an innovative program on how to communicate and connect with people with Alzheimer's. How do we approach a "deeply forgetful" loved one so as to notice and affirm their continuing self-identity? For three decades, Stephen G. Post has worked around the world encouraging caregivers to become more aware of-and find renewed hope in-surprising expressions of selfhood despite the challenges of cognitive decline. In this book, Post offers new perspectives on the worth and dignity of people with Alzheimer's and related disorders despite the negative influence of "hypercognitive" values that place an ethically unacceptable emphasis on human dignity as based on linear rationality and strength of memory. This bias, Post argues, is responsible for the abusive exclusion of this population from our shared humanity. With vignettes and narratives, he argues for a deeper dignity grounded in consciousness, emotional presence, creativity, interdependence, music, and a self that is not "gone" but "differently abled." Post covers key practical topics such as: * understanding the experience of dementia * noticing subtle expressions of continuing selfhood, including "paradoxical lucidity" * perspectives on ethical quandaries from diagnosis to terminal care and everything in between, as gleaned from the voices of caregivers * how to communicate optimally and use language effectively * the value of art, poetry, symbols, personalized music, and nature in revealing self-identity * the value of trained "dementia companion" dogs At a time when medical advances to cure these conditions are still out of reach and the most recent drugs have shown limited effectiveness, Post argues that focusing discussion and resources on the relational dignity of these individuals and the respite needs of their caregivers is vital. Grounding ethics on the equal worth of all conscious human beings, he provides a cautionary perspective on preemptive assisted suicide based on cases that he has witnessed. He affirms vulnerability and interdependence as the core of the human condition and celebrates caregivers as advocates seeking social and economic justice in an American system where they and their loved ones receive only leftover scraps. Racially inclusive and grounded in diversity, Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People also includes a workshop appendix focused on communication and connection, "A Caregiver Resilience Program," by Rev. Dr. Jade C. Angelica.

How do policy and politics influence the social conditions that generate health outcomes? Reduced life expectancy, worsening health outcomes, health inequity, and declining health care options-these are now realities for most Americans. However, in a country of more than 325 million people, addressing everyone's issues is challenging. How can we effect beneficial change for everyone so we all can thrive? What is the great equalizer? In this book, Daniel E. Dawes argues that political determinants of health create the social drivers-including poor environmental conditions, inadequate transportation, unsafe neighborhoods, and lack of healthy food options-that affect all other dynamics of health. By understanding these determinants, their origins, and their impact on the equitable distribution of opportunities and resources, we will be better equipped to develop and implement actionable solutions to close the health gap. Dawes draws on his firsthand experience helping to shape major federal policies, including the Affordable Care Act, to describe the history of efforts to address the political determinants that have resulted in health inequities. Taking us further upstream to the underlying source of the causes of inequities, Dawes examines the political decisions that lead to our social conditions, makes the social determinants of health more accessible, and provides a playbook for how we can address them effectively. A thought-provoking and evocative account that considers both the policies we think of as "health policy" and those that we don't, The Political Determinants of Health provides a novel, multidisciplinary framework for addressing the systemic barriers preventing the United States from becoming the healthiest nation in the world.

In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States, directly affecting 1.5 million people. Only one year earlier, an Indian Ocean tsunami struck Indonesia, destroying or damaging more than 370,000 homes. As forces of nature, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods are not limited to occurrences in any one community or any one country. In Law and Recovery from Disaster: Hurricane Katrina, attention is focused on the ability of law and legal institutions to not only survive such disasters but to effectively facilitate recovery. Using Hurricane Katrina as a lens, contributors address a wide range of issues of interest to people concerned about property law, disaster preparedness, housing, insurance, small business recovery, land use planning and the needs of people with disabilities. While Hurricane Katrina is the focal point for discussion, the lessons learned are readily applicable to a variety of disaster situations in a wide range of global settings.

An Introduction to Health and Safety Law provides a clear, concise overview of health and safety law in the United Kingdom. With reference to the European Union, this book discusses criminal and civil liability at length to provide a clear understanding of this area of law which has been subject to change over the 20 years. Key case studies and statistical information on prosecutions, fines and enforcement notices help to contextualise health and safety law to provide students and professionals with a full understanding of health and safety law in the UK. This book includes chapters on: the legal framework criminal liability enforcement of criminal liability civil liability civil remedy subordinate legislation. This book is an essential reference for students studying towards NEBOSH qualifications and students studying at university level. It provides a comprehensive understanding of UK health and safety law and will be a useful reference when entering the professional field.

Analyzing the level of claims for clinical negligence in the light of the most recent trends and discovering whether there is indeed a litigation crisis in healthcare, this book is a topical and compelling exploration of healthcare and doctor-patient relationships.

The author:

• identifies and analyzes the growing pressures on doctors in modern society, placing their role in context
• explores some of the myths surrounding media claims about malpractice
• considers the practice of 'defensive medicine' and the difference between defensive practices and sensible risk management
• examines external pressures, such as political interference with clinical practice in the form of target-setting and what might be described as a culture of creeping privatization of healthcare.

Covering the topics of medicine and the media and the causes of occupational stress among doctors, this volume is a must read for all students of medical law and medical ethics.

Public health has never been more important, or more controversial. What states do, and fail to do, makes a significant difference to the lives we are able to lead. Putting public health first would allow improvements to the health of everyone, especially the worst off. Yet many citizens actively oppose state interference to improve population health, complaining that it encroaches on personal liberty. How should policymakers reconcile these conflicting priorities? This groundbreaking book argues that philosophy is not just useful, but vital, for thinking coherently about priorities in health policy and public policy. Novel, theoretically rigorous, yet practical, Philosophy for Public Health and Public Policy examines why it is so common for public policies to fail in practice to improve the problems they aim to solve, and what to do about this. It argues that a shift to complex systems approaches to policymaking is overdue. Philosophers need to become much more attuned to the contingency and messiness of real world policymaking, and to the ways in which philosophical tools such as thought experiments are frequently unreliable. This book also provides an ethical framework for public health policy. It argues that public health is a right of citizens, alongside more familiar rights such as liberty and security. Public health should not be thought of merely as interference with the rights that individuals have, but as necessary to protect these rights. Chapters explore implications for resource allocation, personal responsibility, health equity, and the control of communicable disease.

Occupational safety and health management theory is now rightly focused on pro-activity, risk assessment and management. But it remains important that organizations know what they need to do when accidents happen, both to comply with legislation and to extract all the information from the incident to improve their health and safety management.
"Tolley's Workplace Accident Handbook" presents in a single volume what needs to be done when an accident occurs - from emergency procedures and legal reporting requirements through to formal investigations and possible legal proceedings. In this new edition, chapters on first aid and accident investigation reports have been added and the rehabilitation chapter has been updated to cover the latest insurance industry initiatives. The Handbook also shows how to learn from the accident data gathered and how to implement recommendations into a company's health and safety management system. The text is supported by checklists, case studies and ready-to-use forms and templates.
Health and Safety practitioners in all industries will find this Handbook is packed full of practical and legal advice. It will also be of use to lawyers dealing with accident claims, insurance risk managers, emergency planning, first aid, and enforcement officers, as well as to students on health and safety and specialist accident investigation courses.
Mark Tyler is a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner and a leading Solicitor in the area of health and safety law who has worked on numerous high profile cases such as rail crashes and legionnaires disease. His expertise is supplemented with the practical knowledge of other experts in their individual subjectareas.
* Shows how to learn from accidents and improve H&S management
* All legal requirements and processes are covered - from reporting and investigating accidents to court cases
* Includes checklists, case studies, and ready-to-use forms and templates to help put best practice in place

From fisheries to persistent organic pollutants to climate change itself, no other environmental principle in environmental law has produced as much controversy as the precautionary principle. Unlike a preventive approach in which action is taken provided that the threats to the environment are tangible, with a precautionary approach, authorities are prepared to tackle risks for which there is no definitive proof that the damage will materialize. The ramifications of this increasingly apparent approach are profound and cut across all areas of risk assessment and management, environmental law, policy and regulation in every major sector. However, to date little thought has been dedicated to the implementation of the precautionary principle in a wide array of environmental circumstances. This authoritative handbook addresses the legal aspects of how the precautionary principle is implemented in different sectors, and examines its successes, failures, strengths and weaknesses. Sectors and subjects covered include chemicals, GMOs, marine pollution, fisheries and nature conservation, and the book draws on cases in the EU, in the USA, and Nordic countries, where the use of precaution has been gathering momentum. Ultimately, the book provides an indispensable appraisal of the question - increasingly important in the era of human-induced climate change - of whether the precautionary principle is relevant, indeed essential, to avert major environmental and health risks, and how and when it can be used successfully. Published with MARIE CURIE ACTIONS

Challenging students to think critically about the complex web of social forces that leads to health disparities in the United States. The health care system in the United States has been called the best in the world. Yet wide disparities persist between social groups, and many Americans suffer from poorer health than people in other developed countries. In this revised edition of Health Disparities in the United States, Donald A. Barr provides extensive new data about the ways low socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity interact to create and perpetuate these health disparities. Examining the significance of this gulf for the medical community and society at large, Barr offers potential policy- and physician-based solutions for reducing health inequity in the long term. This thoroughly updated edition focuses on a new challenge the United States last experienced more than half a century ago: successive years of declining life expectancy. Barr addresses the causes of this decline, including what are commonly referred to as "deaths of despair"-from opiate overdose or suicide. Exploring the growing role geography plays in health disparities, Barr asks why people living in rural areas suffer the greatest increases in these deaths. He also analyzes recent changes under the Affordable Care Act and considers the literature on how race and ethnicity affect the way health care providers evaluate and treat patients. As both a physician and a sociologist, Barr is uniquely positioned to offer rigorous medical explanations alongside sociological analysis. An essential text for courses in public health, health policy, and sociology, this compelling book is a vital teaching tool and a comprehensive reference for social science and medical professionals.

This book explores the theoretical basis of precontractual liability for the unilateral breaking-off of negotiations from a comparative perspective. It argues that, in the selected civil law jurisdictions (Germany, France and Chile), the true basis of this liability is the notion of 'reliance' and it distinguishes two dimensions of reliance: 'trust-based' and 'expectation-based'. For the selected civil law jurisdictions it can be observed that trust-based reliance merges with the general principle of good faith and that the expectation dimension emanates from the trust-dimension. Therefore, Reliance in the Breaking-Off of Contractual Negotiations argues that this innovative theoretical approach to the foundations of precontractual liability could have important practical consequences in jurisdictions that do not embrace a general principle of good faith, such as English law. If the analysis is shifted from good faith to the notion of reliance, English law could develop a less fragmented approach and encompass cases that are currently devoid of protection. How legal changes could be implemented without establishing a general principle of precontractual liability is explored in the final chapter of the book. In a constantly evolving world where international trade is ever-growing, precontractual liability, particularly for breaking off negotiations, is a topic of constant development by legal scholars and the judiciary and of increasing importance for practitioners, judges and academics, with significant consequences for negotiating contracts both at a national and at a transnational level.

Health is indispensable for living a life of dignity. Currently, there is an almost universal commitment to the right to health (care). However, despite the growing legal recognition of this right, empirical evidence suggests that, as a whole, the implementation of the right to health (care) remains largely rhetorical at the domestic level. For example, although China ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2001, relatively little attention has been paid to the domestic implementation of the right to health (care). Violations of this right were also identified in reality. Given that China's health care reform is entering the so-called 'deep-water' zone, it is essential for the Chinese government to investigate how to guarantee everyone equal access to health care.Advancing the Right to Health Care in China analyses the role of accountability, a Western concept that has recently been introduced to China, in advancing the right to health care in light of China's unique political, legal and social background. In doing so, this book synthesises two different concepts: (1) the right to health; and (2) accountability, and integrates them into an analytical framework for 'right to health-based accountability'. It further provides a greater understanding of accountability and the various forms of accountability mechanisms that should be established by States. More specifically, it establishes a constructive accountability model that can be applied to specific health concerns in China, as well as in other countries, particularly those with non-electoral regimes.This book first systematically evaluates the status quo of the legislative and policy measures China has taken to give effect to the right to health care within its jurisdiction. It then identifies the shortcomings in Chinas domestic implementation of this right and seeks to address the remaining challenges through the lens of accountability. This book concludes with a set of recommendations for Chinese law- and policy-makers for implementing China's obligations under the right to health care through its draft Basic Health Law.

Commercial chemicals contribute to our social welfare, yet can pose serious problems for the environment. How do we recognise these problems? How do we manage them? How do we objectively balance environmental risks with social benefits? This book describes the principles and practices of ecological risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis, asking key but challenging questions such as what are we trying to protect? and how do we undertake a cost-benefit analysis?. It also shows how these principles are written into legislation. The emphasis is on the EU Directives and Regulations, with a chapter on the instruments and institutions involved; but this is balanced by a review of US and International policies and legislation. In conclusion, the discussion returns to the question of attempting to balance risks with benefits, particularly in the context of the development of sustainable and globally practicable chemical control policies. The text is supplemented by a glossary that defines the inevitably large number of abbreviations and acronyms used by environmental policy-makers and regulators. The book is intended for all those who have an interest in industrial chemicals, but who need an overview of pollution and pollution control issues. It will provide an excellent reference tool for undergraduates in Environmental Science, and Policy-Makers and Environmental Consultants in the areas of ecology, ecotoxicology and risk assessment.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) - including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma and other chronic respiratory conditions, and cancers - are the leading causes of death worldwide. An estimated 36 million people die from such diseases each year; this represents roughly two out of three deaths globally. Eighty percent of these fatalities occur in developing countries. The statistics are staggering, yet millions of these deaths are preventable. This is an urgent global health issue that demands analysis of gaps in NCD research, new policies and practices, and actionable recommendations to close the gaps. The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise convened an NCD Working Group of leading scholars to examine a wide range of issues that both the private and public sectors must address to make sustainable progress in NCD prevention and treatment in lower- and middle-income countries. Collected in this volume are essays on five key areas where strengthened policies and health systems can have the most impact in the near future. Features: accelerating regulatory harmonization; structuring supply chains; improving access to interventions; restructuring primary care; and promoting multisectoral and intersectoral action. While there is a growing literature on the problem of NCDs, none of the available studies provides background on the range of challenges matched with specific steps that can be taken by the public sector, private sector, and civil society working together. Noncommunicable Diseases in the Developing World presents a framework for understanding the salience of specific policy recommendations and detailed steps that can be taken now to move forward in the global campaign against NCDs. This book will be of interest to practitioners, scholars, and students in public health as well as those framing and implementing health policies in the private and public sectors.

At the heart of research with human beings is the moral notion that the experimental subject is altruistic, and is primarily concerned for the welfare of others. Beneath the surface, however, lies a very different ethical picture. Individuals participating in potentially life-saving research sometimes take on considerable risks to their own well-being. Efforts to safeguard human participants in clinical trials have intensified ever since the first version of the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki (1964) and are now codified in many national and international laws and regulations. However, a comprehensive understanding of how this cornerstone document originated, changed, and functions today does not yet exist in the sphere of human research. Ethical Research brings together the work of leading experts from the fields of bioethics, health and medical law, the medical humanities, biomedicine, the medical sciences, philosophy, and history. Together, they focus on the centrality of the Declaration of Helsinki to the protection of human subjects involved in experimentation in an increasingly complex industry and in the government-funded global research environment. The volume's historical and contemporary perspectives on human research address a series of fundamental questions: Is our current human protection regime adequately equipped to deal with new ethical challenges resulting from advances in high-tech biomedical science? How important has the Declaration been in non-Western regions, for example in Eastern Europe, Africa, China, and South America? Why has the bureaucratization of regulation led to calls to pay greater attention to professional responsibility? Ethical Research offers insight into the way in which philosophy, politics, economics, law, science, culture, and society have shaped, and continue to shape, the ideas and practices of human research.