Philosophy of language Speech act theory

Abstract Speech acts are the basis on which day to day communications amongst humans is founded. It was however not until the mid 20th century that proper studies were carried out on this topic (Sosa Villanueva 2006). Over the years there have been heated debates and discussions on the topic particularly under the influence of the works philosophers such as J.L Austin and John Searle. The theory of speech acts has since then come to achieve importance in other fields aside from philosophy (Platts 1989).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy of language: Speech act theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The speech act theory has come to be recognized as very important in everyday life and particularly after the revelation by scholars that these speech acts do much more than describing reality. Studies that have taken place over the years since the speech act theory was proposed have come to distinguish the p hilosophy of language as an entity different from other philosophies (Platts 1989). An understanding of the speech act theory has also come to establish some basic structuring for the field of linguistics. This structure includes some various aspects used to describe reality. This essay seeks to elaborate on the concept of the speech act theory. To this end, an analysis of the works of the original proponents of the theory shall be provided. This shall basically summarize the works of John Searle and J.L. Austin. A further analysis of the theory shall be presented under the guide of the works of modern day philosophers. Introduction Speech acts are a set of actions that are performed through uttering of sounds with an aim of conveying a particular meaning; meanings which are characteristically linked to that combination of sounds. It is a well known fact that when an individual speaks, he/se wants to pass across a particular meaning and that whatever that individual says, or the set of sounds that come from his/her mouth already have an associated meaning. According to proponents of this theory, in order for one to have an understanding of a particular language, he/she must first comprehend the intention of the speakers of the said language when they use a particular combination of sounds. This theory is based on the simple premise that speech is an act in itself. The various combinations of sounds (speech) used to convey a particular meaning are not merely used to designate but they are self standing actions. J.L Austin’s study on speech acts J.L. Austin is one of the key proponents of the speech act theory and most of his work on the topic was published in 1978 after his death by his students in a book known as how to do things with words. Though this publication cannot be fully taken as Austin’s work it is a general representation of his views and there is a chance that his opinions would not have differed much had he published the book himsel f. According to Austin utterance was an act in itself. According to Austin (1978) there are two major distinctions of speech acts viz: constatives and perfomatives.Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Constatives are those utterances that tend to present reality as it is and can therefore be described as either true or false. Perfomatives on the other hand are described as either felicitous or infelicitous. Austin however comes to the agreement that a majority of statements are basically perfomative. This basically means that most people when speaking they are participating in one form of action or other. According to Austin, â€Å"Performing a locutionary act †¦ is roughly equivalent to uttering a certain sentence with a certain sense and reference, which is again equivalent to meaning in the traditional sense. Second, we said that we also perform illocutionary acts such as infor ming, ordering, warning, undertaking, etc., i.e. utterances which have a certain conventional force. Thirdly, we may also perform perlocutionary acts: what we bring about or achieve by saying something, such as convincing, persuading, deterring and even, say, surprising or misleading† (1978). According to Austin, the action that the speaker is involved is in essence, forming some realities that can only make sense when placed within the context of a particular society. For example, when one uses a definite perfomative sentence such as â€Å"I declare him the president† in the case of an election vote tallying in which the individual is confirming which contestant won the seat, he/she is in essence modeling an instance of social reality. That is, in this particular context, a leadership figure. J.L. Austin came up with three major characteristics or features of utterances which start with the basic structuring or words and conclude with the impact of those words on the a udience being targeted. These were locutionary acts, illocutionanary acts and perlocutionary acts. Locutionary acts are basically normal sentences that are aimed at conveying a particular meaning while illocutionary acts are those statements that carry some characteristic of force (such as warning and ordering). Perlocutionary acts are the end results of utterances i.e what is achieved as a consequence of saying something. These perlocutionary acts include persuasion and surprising. The major focus of Austin’s study was on illocutionary acts. This is because statements in this category clearly explaining the concept of performance as an aspect of speech. For instance a statement like â€Å"Don’t drink and drive† possesses the forceful nature of a warning. The same statement can be framed in such a way that it is a definite perfomative act, for example â€Å"The president is warning you, don’t drink and drive.† The person being addressed may hear th e utterance and receive it as a warning, then the person can be said to have been warned. This does not however mean that the person will behave in a way that will correspond to the warning. This therefore means that illocutionary acts such as the statement shown above can not be classified on a true/false basis. Austin in his studies insisted that individuals should understand that while analyzing a sentence, the focus should not be on the sentence itself but rather on how it is uttered.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy of language: Speech act theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More His maintenance that any utterance should be considered a performance act basically depended on the premise that analyzing a sentence or its constitutent words (locutionary acts) without placing them in the proper social context ended up explaining the net effect of the communication (illocutionary act) insufficiently (Sos a Villanueva 2006). This disregard of social context also greatly compromises the explanation of the effect of the utterance on the target audience (perlocutionary acts) Austin and other scholars of the speech-act theory have always strived to explain their ideas by use of what can be described as imaginary examples. In their arguments the social context of a statement is ignored in order to make literal point. Later, the same social context is added to the utterance in a way basic statements appear very complicated. In order to illustrate how utterances (perfomances) operate Austin summarized the illocutionary act as F(p). In this particular expression, F is the force behind the illocutionary act and p is proposition that the utterance is making John Searle and speech acts John Searle is one of the major philosophers who did an extensive study the speech act theory following its inception by J.L. Austin. He majorly focused his work around studies on illocutionary, locutionary and p erlocutionary acts. His findings suggested that an illocutionary act is said to have happened whenever someone talks or writes to another person (Searle, 1989). According to him illuctionary acts form the basis of all linguistic communication. He also agreed that an illocutionary act has to be intentional in its underlying nature. This basically means that a person has to have a reason for speaking and would not make an utterance if he/she did not intend to achieve something out of the action (Tsohatazidis 2007). The person being addressed also has a major part to play if the illocutionary act is said to have achieved its purpose. This hearer should be able to understand the intention of the speaker’s utterance by picking meaning from an already established way of decoding utterances (Searle, 1989). This is what is referred to as a perlocutionary effect. For example, an individual may say something like â€Å"Drive the car† with the intention that the hearer will recei ve this communication as a command and also that t hearer will respond by driving the car. However, according to Searle’s findings a speech act may end up affecting the hearer in a different way from the initial intention of the speaker. For instance, the speaker may say â€Å"Drive the car,† and the hearer may choose not to perform the action commanded and instead make his/her response by saying â€Å"I don’t feel like driving, you drive it yourself.†Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This according to Searle reveals that illocutionary acts are inherently intentional and is the basis on which meaning is founded. Perlocutionary depending on the circumstances in which they present may either be intentional or unintentional. This stand by Searle has in recent times been the subjects of debate. Individuals who do not support this stand have argued that it is the perlocutionary act that actually defines the intentions of the speaker. Though language can be used in uncountable ways, Searle in his literature proposes that there just a few things that can be accomplished by use of language. In the F(p) basic structuring of illocutionary acts, the propositional aspect of an utterance can take very many forms (Searle, 1989).. However Searle’s contention comes in the number of forces behind an illocutionary act. Searle suggests that the number of verbs that describe the eventual effect of the illocutionary act on the hearer limits the number of forces behind illocuti onary acts (McDowell 1980). In order to ensure that the argument on the forces behind the illocutionary acts is not merely based on the verbs associated with the act, Searle brings about the concept of the illocutionary point. The illocutionary point according to Searle is what the speaker when he/she performs an illocutionary act. This presents in the form of a verb aimed at describing the action that the sentence is involved in. this is basically the same as a schema that had been set earlier by Searle’s predecessor, J.L Austin (Tsohatazidis 2007). Searle in his studies on speech acts proposed the classification of illutionary points into five different categories, Viz.: Assertives, Directives, Commissives, Expressives and Declaratives (Searle, 1989). Assertives. These are the kind of utterances that can either be judged as true or false. This because statements in such categories are mainly intendended to describe how things are in the physical world. Directives. These ar e utterances that intended at making the hearer respond in the same way that the particular statements are proposing. Commissives. These are utterances that demand that the hearer makes a commitment to the action being proposed by the speaker. Expressives. These are utterances that basically define how sincere the illocutionary act is. Declaratives: These are utterances that are intended at making changes to the world. They achieve this by defining the world as having undergone some changes. From the above classifications, Searle concluded that when an individual is speaking or writing, he/she can be said to be doing one or a number of the following actions: â€Å"Asserting, directing, commiserating, expressing or declaring† (McDowell 1980). Searle also declared that the force behind an illocutionary act comes about as a result of the speaker’s intentions. It is only when the hearer derives meaning from the illocutionary point/force that communication can be said to h ave taken place. Foundation of the speech act theory The best way to analyze the features that form the foundation of the speech act theory is to make a comparison between it and other theories that are presented in the philosophy of language. This part of the essays shall take into consideration the relations between speech acts and aspects like semantics, grammar and meaning. Any act that is presented by observable behavior takes place with an underlying intention. When a speaker says â€Å"you will go to school next week†, generally leaves the person being addressed wondering whether the utterance should be regarded as an order or as a prediction. This statement does not clearly describe the force behind it and hence the unexplained questions. There may be many theories may strive to explain the meaning behind the statement above, it is clear that the speakers intention was to state that the addressee will go to school in the following week (McDowell 1980). If someone asks what the force of the wording in sentence will essentially be seeking to know whether the statement should be received as an order or as a prediction (Michael 2007). He/She (addressee) would therefore not be particularly asking the speaker to add more explanations to the content of the statement. However whether the statement intended to issue an order or make a prediction will only be determined by some details within the statement that were not elaborated. From this proposal, the speaker may have meant either of these two things: 1) â€Å"I predict that you will go to school next week† or 2) I command you to go to school next week. In order to avoid contradictions arising as a result of an individual saying one thing while in essence he/she means another would require the understanding that for a single speech act to occur, a number of different utterances have to be made. Force and content as independent aspects Generally, a proposition on its own is not enough to elicit a particular response from the addressee. For example, by just suggesting that coal is black cannot be regarded as a comprehensive speech act. This is because for a speech act to be seen to have occurred, an illocutionary force has to be included alongside the proposition. This illocutionary force may present in the form of a command, an inquiry, an assertion, and so on (Kriptke 1980). It is by the nature or this illocutionary force that individuals can point out the unifying element in the following three statements, â€Å"You are driving the car†, â€Å"Are you driving the car?†, and â€Å"Drive the car!† The common factor amongst all the three sentences is the fact that the car is being to driven, with the first statement being an assertion, the second being an inquiry and the third being a command. It can also be said that the components of a communicative act will basically dictate the force of the particular act. That is why when someone says â€Å"you wi ll go to school nest week† it is impossible to find out the force behind the statement. However, the relationship between force and the components of a statement can be seen to be symbiotic in the sense that the force of an utterance can also determine the content of the statement (McDowell 1980). The is the basic distinguishing factor between speech act theory and other theories is that speech act theory analyzes statements in terms of two constituent components, viz., content and force. Speech acts and the existence of things/ideas Speech acts have to be distinguished from acts of speech. This is because an individual can perform a speech act such as making an inquiry without necessarily having to make an utterance (Michael 2007). For instance, a shrugging of shoulders can easily be used to mean that the individual is not aware of what is being asked. In the same way, one can make an utterance without it being a considered a speech act. For example, when one is testing a mic rophone, he/she can speak into the equipment without intending for anyone to respond to the message. In general, it is agreeable that in some instances, things can be made to be by simply saying that they should be (Michael 2007). It is physically impossible to say that a person can lose weight by simply saying it. However an individual can promise to buy someone a present by simply making the statement, â€Å"I promise to buy you a present.† The same can be used when religious leaders consolidate marriages, where it is common to here pastors and church ministers say, â€Å"I hereby declare you man and wife.† Such types of speech acts can actually happen without the speaker saying that he/she is performing the act. Components of illocutionary force Searle and Vanderveken (1985) strived to clearly distinguish between illocutionary forces that are used by the speakers of a particular language from all the illocutionary forces possible. In their publication, Searle and Va nderveken identified seven features that can be used to differentiate illocutionary forces. These are explained below: Illocutionary point. This is the basic intention of the speaker by the performance of a particular speech act. For example, the basic intention of a question is to invoke a person to respond in a suitable way. Strength of the illocutionary point. Two illocutionary acts may basically be trying to make the same point (Warnock 1989). However, the strength of the illocutionary force behind the two statements is what will be used to set the two apart. For example when someone requests an explanation and when he/she insists that an explanation be given, both statements will be aimed at getting the person being addressed to offer the explanation. However, insisting is stronger than requesting. Achievement mode. Various illocutionary points of a speech act have different special ways in which they are achieved. For instance, when one testifies that a certain service is the best and when he/she asserts the same, both utterances will be aimed at making a description of the service (Warnock 1989). However, testifying asserts the speaker has been a witness to the quality of service, while asserting does not necessarily require that he/she be a witness. The same can be said of ordering and requesting in the sense that both are intended at getting the person being addressed to do something only that when making an order the speaker has to be in an authoritative position (Kriptke 1980). Contents of the proposition. In some instances, illocutionary statements can only make sense provided the propositional composition of the statement is well accounted for (Recanati 1987). For example an individual can make a promise about something provided it happens in the future and it is within his/her control (Michael 2007). This essentially means that the person cannot promise something that has already happened. Preparatory conditions. This is the sum total of all the factors that must be taken into consideration for the speech act to be seen to have effectively taken place (Recanati 1987). These conditions however mostly depend on the social status of all the parties involved in the performance of the interlocution act. For instance, an individual cannot appoint a person unless he/she already has been given the power to do so by the institution in which he/she is in (Kriptke 1980). Conditions of sincerity. A majority of speech acts are a mainly performed with intention of expressing a particular chain of events in the psychology of the speakers. For instance, a question will express inquiry and an apology illustrates regret (Recanati 1987). A speech act is said to be sincere only if the speaker and his/her speech act are in the same level of psychological conditions. Strength of the conditions of sincerity. When analyzed from a certain viewpoint, two speech acts may be seen to be exactly the same (Recanati 1987). However, they may be seen to be different when viewed in terms of their psychological states. When a person makes a request and when he/she implores, both actions can be said to illustrate some element of desire (Warnock 1989). However, imploring tends to suggest a stronger level of desire for the particular need than a request. According to Searle and Vanderveken, all illocutionary forces can be analyzed based on the above seven aspects. Two illocutionary forces will be seen to be identical if they have the same levels of the seven values discussed above. Grammatical mood and force The relationship between the content of a speech act and the force behind the illocution can be described as symbiotic in the sense that one influences the other. However, some extraneous factors such as the grammatical mood can also be seen to influence the force of the utterance (Michael 2007). The statement â€Å"you will go to school tomorrow† is at basic level in the indicative mood grammatically. However, this grammatical mood cannot determine the force of the statement. This also applies to other moods. If someone hears another person say â€Å"drive the car†, he/she cannot immediately tell whether the person is issuing a command or just making an assertion. If the statement happens to be an assertion, then the speaker will have used the imperative mood. The same relationship can be seen with the interrogative mood. For instance, when a person hears another say â€Å"which visitors are coming†, he/she cannot immediately know whether the speaker has asked a question or whether it is just a statement. The speaker may have been saying â€Å"Patricia is wondering which visitors are coming.† Force conventionalism According to studies conducted by some philosophers in order for a speech act to happen, some form of convention will have to be applied (Warnock 1989). For instance for the statement â€Å"I promise to take you out for lunch† to regarded as a promise, all the words u sed in the statement must be in tandem with their conventional implications. There should also be an already established convention that establishes that when used in a particular way this set of words constitutes a promise (Warnock 1989). Conclusion Since J.L Austin did studies on the speech act theory in 1962, various philosophers have followed on his findings and even gone ahead to broaden the discussions on the subject. Most of the professionals in this school of thought have unanimously support the original findings by Austin that all forms of utterances are essentially independent actions in themselves. Another conclusion that has been agreed upon by a majority of modern day philosophers is that communication cannot occur if all the components of a speech act are not availed which implies that the speech act itself does not take place. In conclusion, it is worth noting that since the inclusion of the speech act theory in the field of philosophy has come to over the years chang e the definition of communicative practices as were hitherto known. The inclusion of propositional content and illocutionary forces into the study has served to not only enable sentences bear meaning but also provide explanations as to why statements that seem inherently alike may be defined as different. This essay has analyzed the speech act theory in detail. A summary of the work of J.L Austin has been provided followed by a summary of the work of his successor John Searle. A further review of the major concepts of the speech act theory has been presented based around literature by later-day philosophy scholars. The theory of speech acts is in itself a wide field of study in itself and could only be briefly detailed in this essay. Reference List Austin, J.L. 1978. Logic and language. Oxford: Blackwell Kriptke, A.S. 1980. Naming and necessity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press McDowell, J. 1980. Meaning, communication, and knowledge. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Michael, M. 2007. An Introduction to the Philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Platts, M. 1979. Ways of Meaning: an introduction to a philosophy of language. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Recanati, F. 1987. Meaning and Force: The Pragmatics of Performative Utterances. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Searle, R.J. 1969. Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Searle, R.J. Vanderveken. 1985. Foundations of Illocutionary Logic. CUP Archive. Sosa, E. Villanueva, E. 2006. Philosophy of Language. Boston MA: Blackwell Tsohatazidis, S. 2007. John Searle’s philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Warnock, G.J. 1989. J.L. Austin: Arguments of the philosophers history workshop  series. United Kingdom: Taylor Francis This essay on Philosophy of language: Speech act theory was written and submitted by user Bo B. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Roman Law Essays (4556 words) - Mythology, Roman Mythology, Trojans

Roman Law Essays (4556 words) - Mythology, Roman Mythology, Trojans Roman Law The Romans have had almost every type of government there is. They've had a kingdom, a republic, a dictatorship, and an empire. Their democracy would be the basis for most modern democracies. The people have always been involved with and loved their government, no matter what kind it was. They loved being involved in the government, and making decisions concerning everyone. In general, the Romans were very power-hungry. This might be explained by the myth that they are descended from Romulus, who's father was Mars, the god of war. Their government loving tendencies have caused many, many civil wars. After any type of government, the change has been made with a civil war. There have also been many civil wars between rulers. But it all boils down to wanting to be involved in government. When the Greeks finally entered Troy after ten long years of siege, a man named Aeneas escaped the city with his father, Anchises, and his son, Ascanius. They went to Mt. Ida, where they were to meet Aeneas' wife, Creusa, but she never showed up. Saddened, Aeneas acquired a boat and sailed around the Mediterranean. He bounced around from Asia Minor to Greece to Crete looking for a place to found a new Troy, but he couldn't find a satisfactory place. As told by Homer in the Aeneid, Aeneas was cared for by the gods. Venus, in particular, was very worried about him. She asked Jupiter, king of the gods about him, and he said this: Since you are so consumed with anxiety for Aeneas, I shall turn forward far The hidden pages of fate and speak of the future. He shall conduct a great campaign for you And conquer all Italy and its haughty peoples. He shall impose laws on his own people And build walled cities for them; the third summer Shall see him rule in Latium, the third winter Of warfare see the Rutulians [an Italian tribe] subdued. But his son Ascanius... It is he who shall consolidate your power- For thirty years with all their turning months; Then shall he move his capital from Lavinium To Alba Longa, which he shall fortify To the uttermost; and there a line of kings... Shall reign and reign till Ilia [Rhea Silvia], a priestess Of royal blood, bear twins begotten by Mars; And one of these, Romulus, fostered by a she-wolf, And joyfully wearing her tawny hide, shall rule And found a city for Mars, a new city, And call his people Romans, after his name. For them I see no measure nor date, I grant them Dominion without end. Yes, even Juno... Even she will mend her ways and vie with me In cherishing the Romans, the master-race, The wearers of the Toga. So it is willed.(Nardo 13) Finally, he wound up at the mouth of the Tiber River in Italy. He went inland up the river, which was a miracle in itself, because the river is very swift. He found Latium, ruled by King Latinus, and married his daughter, Lavinia. With King Latinus' permission, Aeneas and Lavinia founded a city called Lavinium, where they ruled side by side for many years. When Aeneas died, his son Ascanius took over. Ascanius founded a new city, which he called Alba Longa, and made it his capital. Now we advance four centuries. The king of Alba Longa is Numitor. He had a jealous brother named Amulius, who seized the throne and drove out Numitor. To prevent Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, from having children who could claim the throne, Amulius made her a celibate priestess. While she was a priestess, Mars, the god of war, came and visited her and she had twin boys named Remus and Romulus (Burrell 7). When Amulius found out about the twins, he was furious. He ordered Rhea imprisoned and the boys drowned on the Tiber. The slave who was ordered to drown them felt pity for them, and instead sent them down the river in a basket. When they landed, a she-wolf found them and nursed them because her cubs had just been killed and she was still fertile. Romulus and Remus were found by a shepherd named Faustulus, who took them home to his wife to raise them. As they grew up, being sons of Mars, they turned out to be very athletic and natural leaders, especially of the local boys. When

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration Research Paper - 1

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration - Research Paper Example By August 2012 the number of Syrian refugees was believed to have reached 200,000. By March the following year, the number had reached to 1.2 million with a gradual increase expected, according to the statistics on the rate of their increase. By the end of the year 2013 there were more that 2 million Syrian refugees. About 12.5% of the total Syrian population are believed to be refugees in foreign countries. The destination of Syrian refugees includes: Lebanon; Turkey; Jordan; Iraq; Egypt; Algeria; Sweden; Bahrain; Germany; Libya; Italy; Bulgaria; Argentina; Armenia; Romania; Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Russia; Gaza strip; Macedonia; and the United States of America. These destinations are arranged in the descending order according to the number of refugees accommodated. The digits used are believed to be estimates since the Syrian refugees have been moving to other countries through both legal and illegal means. Most of the people who fled Syria are those that have no ability to face the violence that is in Syria. Statistics have proved that more than half of the refugees who flee Syria are children. Children are always the most affected by civil wars, especially due to the fact that they are naà ¯ve and physically incapable to cope with the hard situations that are always brought about by civil wars or any other kind of long term violence (Ullah 167). A majority of the remaining refugees are women. Despite the fact that they might not be naà ¯ve they do not have the physical capability to cope with their male counterparts during civil wars such as that has been experienced in Syria since 2011. The kind of work that Syrian refugees do in the foreign countries highly depends on whether or not they have working permits. Most of the Syrian refugees lack a work permit as a result of not being able to get residential papers. In most host countries, it is always harder for the

External and Internal Environmental Analysis Essay - 6

External and Internal Environmental Analysis - Essay Example Companies should assess their competitive position to come up with strategies to make them outstanding in the industry (Albright 2004). Groups come up with organizational structures that aid the in running the firm operations. These structures affect organization’s performance. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. aims at achieving its goal of the growth of their business. There are several factors that compromise business performance thus there is a need for evaluating them to have successful business growth (Muthaih and Venkatesh, 2012). The external environment is those factors found outside the business and affects how it operates. It may affect the company ability to achieve its goals and objectives in an efficient way. Regardless of operational planning there is a need to assess the external environment. In evaluating this situation, there is a need to view it in terms of both opportunities and threats (Cheermack et al., 2007). It exists in three dimensions, the remote, industrial and operating environment. For Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. to grow as proposed analysis tools have to be used to evaluate these factors. Some of these elements can be changed by the firm’s operations while others push the business to change its structure to counteract its negative impacts. The organization intends to look into the three elements to ensure tha t changes in external factors do not take it by surprise. The remote environment comprises of a set of forces originating beyond an enterprise’s operating situation. They occur irrespective of any single organizations management activities. They involve factors such as technological, economic, social, political and legal opportunities. They work differently to create constraints, threats and also opportunities for the firm. At times, the elements work together to make a meaningful impact to the company for example economy and infrastructure can contribute to each other’s success in affecting

Should Animals be Used in Medical Research Paper

Should Animals be Used in Medical - Research Paper Example When preliminary tests on animals provide promising results, only then these studies are conducted on human beings. Therefore, the use of animals in medical research has been extremely useful in understanding the human body and the changes in functions when dealing with a disease. Hence, animals provide a good testing ground to conduct medical research and should continue to be used within the limits of the code of ethics. This paper will examine the historical background concerning the use of animals in medical research and closely examine the different perspectives pertaining to it. It will also elaborate my arguments supporting the use of animals in medical research and why I feel it is especially critical to do so in this day and age. Relevant History and Background The use of animals in medical and behavioral studies can be traced back to ancient Greek writings which record that Aristotle, the Greek philosopher conducted experiments on live animals. In fact, Aristotle argued tha t, â€Å"animals, having sense perception but lacking reason, fall below humans in a natural hierarchy and are therefore appropriate resources for human purposes† (DeGrazia 3). ... Traditionally, the moral status of animals has been shaped by religion and philosophy. The Bible mentions that God created human beings in His own image and gave him authority over all that was created – including animals. According to DeGrazia, the Bible reinforces the Aristotelian view of animals of using them for human purposes (3). Christian philosophers like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas also emphasized that since animals cannot reason, they are subordinate to human beings (DeGrazia 3). However Hinduism and Islamic beliefs consider animals to have some degree of rationality and at times consider them on par with human beings (DeGrazia 3). Current medical research practices ensure only the least number of the most appropriate animal is used. Again, the U.S. federal law requires all animals to be treated humanely and that they should experience the least amount of pain and distress when used in medical research. For as long as animals have been used for medical research, the re have been people and groups fighting for animal rights through writings and peaceful protests. However, as the experimentation on animals increased over the years, so did the controversy and criticism concerning it, especially with respect to the practice of vivisection – a process which involves conducting surgery on living organisms, usually animals, for physiological or pathological investigations (DeGrazia). Overview of Different Positions on This Issue Broadly there are two opposing positions concerning the issue of the use of animals in medical research: In Favor of Animal Research: The major argument of people favoring animal research is that using animals for medical research is acceptable if the

Community Support Intervention for Alcohol Abuse

Community Support Intervention for Alcohol Abuse Community support intervention (s) for alcohol abuse in adults living in Glasgow, UK; A Proposal Introduction International perspective on alcohol abuse Alcoholism is a collective term for alcohol related disorders including, but not limited to, alcohol abuse, binge drinking and alcohol dependence (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2016). Global alcohol consumption levels in 2010 were estimated to be 6.2 litres of pure alcohol in persons aged 15 years and above (WHO, 2017). In the United Kingdom, the Health and Social Care Information Centre (2014) recommended that among the adult population group, women and men should not consume more than 3 and 4 units of alcohol a day, respectively. Furthermore, existing evidence trends on alcohol consumption levels indicate that the greater the economic prosperity/wealth of the country, the higher the alcohol consumption levels and thus the lower the number of abstainers among the populations (WHO, 2017). Additionally, statistics from the WHO (2017) indicate that in 2012, approximately 3.3 million recorded deaths globally were due to alcohol abuse, and at least 15.3 million people are thought to have a drug and/or alcohol disorder. Furthermore, 7.6% and 4% of the 3.3 million deaths globally were observed in males and females, respectively (WHO, 2017). Similarly, 139 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) recorded in 2012 were associated with alcohol consumption globally (WHO, 2017). Therefore, harmful alcohol consumption is associated with negative health consequences which impact on the quality of life of individuals and their families, as well as society as a whole due to reduced productivity levels and financial costs associated with treating and managing alcohol misuse related conditions (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2011). Alcohol abuse relative to Scotland In 2007, a joint research undertaken by the Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde indicated that increased rates of harmful alcohol consumption have been observed across Scotland, with an estimated increase expected in the next decade (Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2007). The report indicated that at least 20.7% of all hospital admissions in the Glasgow area were associated with harmful alcohol consumption, which was associated with a cost of  £207 million to manage appropriately. In 2015, a survey by NHS Health Scotland, indicated that 1 in 4 Scottish people drink at hazardous levels and about 36% and 17% of men and women, respectively, consume more than 14 units of alcohol each week (NHS Health Scotland, 2015). Furthermore, at least 1,150 alcohol related deaths were recorded in Scotland and 386 of these were women while 764 were males, a figure expected to increase if alcohol misuse is not tackled in Scotland (National Records of Scotland, 2015). Additionally, in those aged between 45 and 59 years, largest proportion of alcohol related deaths are observed each year in Scotland (National Records of Scotland, 2015). Nevertheless, although the statistics indicate that the rates of harmful alcohol consumption have declined over the last few years in Scotland, the rates are on average still relatively higher than those recorded in Wales and England, and therefore more investment in managing alcohol misuse is still a public health priority (Monitoring and Evaluating Scotlands Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) work programme, 2014). Research undertaken by the Information Service Division, NHS Health Scotland (2015/2016) indicated that about 90% and 10% of alcohol related hospital admissions were to either to general acute hospitals or psychiatric hospitals, respectively. Similarly, 48,420 patients are thought to have accessed primary care equating to 94,630 alcohol related consultations in 2012/2013; higher rates observed in those aged 65 years and above (Scottish Public Health Observatory [ScotPHO], 2017). Furthermore, 25% of all trauma patients and 33% of all major traumas in 2015 were associated with alcohol misuse (The Scottish Trauma Audit Group, 2016). In terms of societal costs of alcohol misuse, a report by the Scottish Government (2010) indicated that alcohol related harms cost about  £3.6 million annually in social care, crime, productivity, health as well as wider/indirect costs in Scotland. In addition, at least  £267 million each year is spent by the NHS Health Scotland on alcohol related care, and  £727 million a year on managing alcohol related crimes across Scotland (Scottish Government, 2010). Alcohol policies and interventions are often developed with the main aim of reducing alcohol misuse as well as alcohol related social and health burden (NHS Health Scotland, 2015). Additionally, these policies or interventions may be formulated and implemented at a local, regional, national, sub-national and global level to ensure alignment and consistency of combating alcohol misuse across care settings (WHO, 2017). Nevertheless, the NHS Scotland in joint collaboration with other government bodies such as the Police have expressed a commitment to monitoring and evaluating alcohol misuse in Scotland with the aim of reducing the alcohol related health and social burden (Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2007). The aim of this essay is to explore the extent of alcohol misuse in Scotland and provide community support to the affected populations through the implementation of a relevant strategy/intervention to reduce harmful alcohol consumption. The epidemiological consideration of alcohol misuse/abuse will be discussed first and thereafter followed with the identification of the relevant strategy or intervention in combi nation with the implementation procedures, monitoring and evaluating its progress, based on a pre-specified assessment criteria/framework, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of the population affected by alcohol misuse. Epidemiological consideration to exploring the level of alcohol abuse among adults in Scotland. Research suggests that the most effective alcohol interventions and policies are those that have combined measures that address the issue at a population level (WHO, 2007). Nevertheless, national levels should be aligned to local strategies to ensure consistency in the delivery of care/support for alcohol misuse (Faculty of Public Health UK, 2016). Therefore, to initiate a strategy or intervention to combat alcohol misuse in Scotland it is fundamental that the epidemiology of alcohol misuse (such as risk factors, aetiology, incidence, prevalence, prognosis, current service evaluation and the unmet need) is established based on evidence based medical literature which can take the form of systematic reviews or population longitudinal studies or clinical trials (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2011). Furthermore, having a thorough understanding of the needs and priorities of those affected as well as the payors and clinicians need to be put in to consideration prior to initiating an intervention to combat alcohol misuse (Griffin and Botvin, 2011). This can be undertaken by conducting a needs assessment which aims to identify health issues of the patients as well as establishing resource allocation to help plan, and implement a strategy or intervention that meets the unmet need of alcohol abusers (Care Informatio n Scotland, 2015). The health needs assessment should primarily be undertaken by a team of stakeholders representing various relevant perspectives including, but not limited to, healthcare professionals, patients or patient groups and payors with the aim of ensuring that all perspectives to reduce health inequalities have been explored, thus providing confidence that the proposed intervention to combat alcohol misuse will be accessible to relevant persons across care settings (NICE, 2005). Both quantitative and qualitative data are fundamental in identifying and establishing the community profiles of those affected by alcohol misuse in Scotland (NICE, 2014). A qualitative framework enables the researchers to obtain an in-depth understanding of the views and perception of those consuming alcohol at harmful levels and therefore the themed information can be used to shape the focus and implementation of the proposed intervention (Brownson et al. 2009). Additionally, qualitative framework can be utilised in terms of focus groups, audio recordings and one to one interviews across different sample sizes and sample types to ensure generalisability of study findings across adults in Scotland who misuse alcohol (Wilson et al. 2013). On the other hand, quantitative framework helps researchers to decide on what to focus on within the research based on data collected from participants, and thus quantify the data by analysing it in an unbiased and objective manner (Cairns et al. 20 11). Therefore, this will help researchers profile the trends of alcohol misuse in Scotland and provide potential explanations of the observed relationships between analysed variables (Jones and Sumnall, 2016). Therefore, both quantitative and qualitative data should be put in to consideration by the various stakeholders to help make informed decisions on the most appropriate intervention to tackle alcohol misuse in Scotland (Monitoring and Evaluating Scotlands Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) work programme, 2014). The nature of the data to be collected (i.e. primary and/or secondary) is often determined by the research question at hand (NICE CG21, 2010). For example, with regards to alcohol misuse, both primary and secondary data are critical because in combination, the data provide a comprehensive representation of the extent of the alcohol misuse among adults in Scotland, which could be limited if one or the other were to be used to inform policy making (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2008). Furthermore, the hierarchy of evidence is dictated by the nature of the study design informing the evidence, and thus various stakeholders will put different weight to the study evidence obtained from various study designs (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2015). For example, research recommendations consider randomised controlled trials (RCTS) as the superior study design due to the limited bias associated with the design and exploration of evidence, and therefore evidence from RCTs is considered to be of robust and of high quality (NICE, 2006; Higgins and Green, 2011). Subsequent from the RCTS, the other study designs of interest include cohort studies, case-control, case series and expert, in that order, are considered to be useful in answering certain types of research questions (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2008). Nevertheless, meta-analyses and systematic reviews of RCTs are given more weight in the hierarchy to be able to provide robust data to inform deci sion making. However, it should be noted that conducting a RCT to establish alcohol misuse would be considered unethical by various stakeholders and therefore, qualitative studies or real world evidence studies would be more plausible to explore the concept in detail (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2017). Therefore, after consideration of the nature/type of evidence in combination with the epidemiology of alcohol misuse among adults in Scotland, a brief intervention that would be considered both clinically and cost effective would be a plausible approach (WHO, 2014). The brief intervention incorporates policy guidelines, training, as well as education on alcohol misuse to help patients and healthcare providers make informed decision on its applicability (Anderson et al. 2009). Brief interventions are preferred over other types, such as alcohol taxation because they aim to provide health and social support to alcohol abusers and thus they are more likely to be motivated to help change attitudes towards harmful drinking (Institute for Alcohol Studies, 2013). Therefore, a plausible intervention should include various phases such as planning, preparing other stakeholders for the intervention, establishing an intervention team, identifying consequences/benefits and harms as well as sharing information on the intervention with the relevant stakeholders and ensure that informed consent from users of the intervention is put in to consideration prior to implementation (Holland, 2016). Monitoring and evaluation of the intervention Monitoring and evaluation of an ABI is fundamental in ensuring that the intervention is fit for purpose and delivers expected outcomes to those in need of care (National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools, 2010). Monitoring and evaluation of an intervention follows a set of criteria which measures the effectiveness of the intervention such as the RE-AIM model which aims to evaluate the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (Glasgow et al. 1999). For example, the Reach category puts in to consideration the proportion and characteristics of alcohol abusers that access the intervention and can be assessed on an individual level which aims to provide first-hand information on what patients thoughts are (NICE, 2014). However, given the difficulty in accessing information on the non-respondents it is challenging to establish why the intervention was not deemed essential to suit their needs and therefore, this creates challenges quantifying the cost effectiveness of an intervention that was designed to reach a large proportion of patients (Vogt et al. 1998). Efficacy of the ABI considers the measuring of both positive and negative outcomes to ensure that a balanced evaluation of evidence is assessed on the value of the intervention to individuals who want to reduce alcohol misuse (National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools, 2010). Additionally, the ABI should aim to collect behavioural, biologic, and quality of life outcomes which are fundamental in assessing whether patients are benefiting from the program or otherwise (NHS Scotland, 2017). Additionally, it is essential to establish if payors are investing in a valuable intervention, and if healthcare professionals are delivering the strategy correctly or it needs to be adapted for each individual to optimize outcomes (Kaplan et al. 1993). The adoption of the ABI takes in to perspective the proportion of care settings utilising the intervention across Scotland (NHS Scotland, 2017). This could be within the community, hospitals, and work and leisure settings to ensure that the hard to reach populations are given the opportunity to access the intervention without incurring significant costs (Alcohol Focus Scotland, 2017). Although direct observation may provide measurable outcomes, audits, surveys and interviews may provide further evidence to support the monitoring and evaluation of the ABI (Scottish Government, 2017). Similarly, the implementation and maintenance of the ABI is fundamental in assessing the extent to which the intervention has been executed in the real world setting as intended, as well as the extent to which the intervention is sustained over a pre-specified period of time (WHO, 2014). Implementation can be assessed at an individual level, and maintenance may be accessed both at an individual and organi sation level to ensure alignment and consistency in the delivery of the ABI. Nevertheless, the RE-AIM framework across the five categories is not often put in to consideration across settings to evaluate alcohol interventions, and therefore the time points for evaluation of optimal effectiveness of the ABI in Scotland are often dependent on amount of available resource within the care settings which make generalisability of findings across settings challenging to ascertain (Institute for Alcohol Studies, 2013; Scottish Government, 2017). Conclusions Alcohol misuse presents a significant burden on the health and social aspects of adults in Scotland both in the short and long term. Given the quantifiable burden in the alcohol misuse related illness, crime and costs of management, this has necessitated a change in the harmful consumption levels of alcohol in Scotland through the implementation of ABIs in conjunction with national and local policies. The epidemiology of alcohol abuse in Scotland through existing literature from both primary and secondary data sources is key in providing a comprehensive insight in to the alcohol misuse circumstances over time, and how the issue can be addressed.   Likewise, the implementation of ABI across care settings in Scotland ensures that the population at need is given access to care through education and training on the harms of excessive alcohol consumption in the short and long term. Additionally, this ensures that the patients are given the option to receive care, after informed consent, and are able to take control of their care. Therefore, healthcare providers have the duty of care to promoting confidence among alcohol abusers to help them come up with various coping strategies to change their attitudes and behaviours. For those that decline care, the opportunity to access care in the future should be provided, but most importantly their decisions should be respected. The monitoring and evaluation of the intervention should also encompass a set of pre-specified criteria such as the RE-AIM framework to establish effectiveness of the intervention as well as the cost effectiveness of the ABI over time. References Alcohol Focus Scotland. (2017) Alcohol licencing in your community; how you can get involved [online]. [Viewed 28 March 2017] Available from: http://www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/media/133477/Community-licensing-toolkit.pdf. Alcohol Research UK, 2014. Delivering Alcohol IBA Broadening the base from health to non-health context: Review of the literature and scoping. London. Middlesex University. Anderson, P., Chisholm, D andFuhr, D.C., 2009. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of policies and programmes to reduce the harm caused by alcohol. Lancet [online]. 373(06), pp. 2234- 46. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from:  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60744-3/abstract Brownson R., Chriqui J and Stamatakis K., 2009. Understanding evidence based public health policy. Am J Public Health [online]; 99 (9): 1576-1583. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2008.156224 Cairms, G., Purves, R., Bryce, S andMcKell, J., 2011 Investigating the Effectiveness of Education in Relation to Alcohol: A Systematic Investigation of Critical Elements for Optimum Effectiveness of Promising Approaches and Delivery Methods in School and Family Linked Alcohol Education. [online] [Viewed 28 March 2017] Available from:   http://alcoholresearchuk.org/downloads/finalReports/FinalReport_0083.pdf Care Information Scotland, 2015 Assessment of health or care needs. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.careinfoscotland.scot/topics/how-to-get-care-services/assessment-of-your-care-needs/. Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2008. Systematic Reviews; CRDs guidance for undertaking reviews in health care [Online]. CRD. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: https://www.york.ac.uk/media/crd/Systematic_Reviews.pdf. Elzerbi, C., Donoghue, K andDrumond C., 2015. A comparison of the efficacy of brief interventions to reduce hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption between European and non-European countries: a systematic review. Addiction [online].110 (April), pp. 1082- 1091. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12960/abstract. Faculty of Public Health UK, 2016. Alcohol and Public Health; Position Statement. [Online]. PH UK. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.fph.org.uk/uploads/ps_alcohol.pdf. Fitzgerald, N., Molloy, H., MacDonald, F., and McCambridge, J., 2015. Alcohol brief interventions practice following training for multidisciplinary health and social care teams: A qualitative interview study. Drug and Alcohol Review [online]. 34(March), pp.185-193. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/21668/1/Fitzgerald_et_al-2015- Drug_and_Alcohol_Review.pdf Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Police and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2007. Glasgow City; Joint Alcohol Policy Statement. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3804p=0 Glasgow R, Vogt T andBoles S., 1999. Evaluating the public health impact promotion interventions: the RE-AIM framework. Am J Public Health [online]. 89: 1322-1327. [Online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.89.9.1322 Griffin K and Botvin G., 2011. Evidence based interventions for preventing substance use disorders in adolescents. Psychiatr Clin N Am [online]. 19 (3): 505-526. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1056499310000210 Higgins JPT and Green S., 2011. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions; General methods for Cochrane Reviews [online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from:   http://handbook.cochrane.org/front_page.htm Holland K., 2016 Staging an intervention for an alcoholic. [Online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.healthline.com/health/alcohol-addiction-intervention#Overview1 Information Serviced Division, NHS Health Scotland (2015/2016) Alcohol-Related Hospital Statistics Scotland 2015/16. [Online]. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Publications/2016-10-25/2016-10-25-ARHS-Report.pdf?12266176940 Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2013. Economic Costs of Alcohol. [Online]. London. Institute of Alcohol Studies. [Online]. [Viewed 26 March 2017]. Available from:   http://www.ias.org.uk/Alcohol-knowledge-centre/Economics-impacts/Factsheets/Econ. Jones, L., and Sumnall H., 2016 Understanding the relationship between poverty and alcohol misuse. Centre for Public Health, Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Henry Cotton Campus. Kaplan, RM., 2016. The Hippocratic Predicament: Affordability, Access, and Accountability in American Health Care. San Diego, Calif: Academic Press Inc; 1993. Monitoring and Evaluating Scotlands Alcohol Strategy (MESAS) work programme.,2014. Evaluation of Scotlands Alcohol Strategy. [Online]. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/24485.aspx National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools, 2010. Assessing the public health impact of health promotion initiatives. [Online]. Hamilton. McMaster University. [Viewed 26 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.nccmt.ca/resources/search/70 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2005. Health Needs Assessment: A practical guide. [Online]. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/whoweare/aboutthehda/hdapublications/healthneedsassessmentapracticalguide.jsp. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2011. Services for the identification and treatment of hazardous drinking, harmful drinking and alcohol dependence in children, young people and adults: Commissioning Guide. London: NICE. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2014. Community engagement to improve health [online]. London: NICE. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from:: http://publications.nice.org.uk/lgb16 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism., 2017. Administering alcohol in human studies. [Online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: https://niaaa.nih.gov/Resources/ResearchResources/job22.htm National Records of Scotland., 2015. Alcohol related Deaths. [Online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/deaths/alcohol-related-deaths/main-points NHS Health Scotland., 2015 Alcohol Focus Scotland. Available from: http://www.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk/alcohol-information/alcohol-facts-and-figures/ NHS Scotland., 2017. Alcohol brief interventions; primary care pack. [Online]. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.healthscotland.scot/media/1282/primary-care-cribsheet_jan2017_english.pdf NICE CG24., 2010.   Alcohol-use disorders: preventing the development of hazardous and harmful drinking [Online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.alcohollearningcentre.org.uk/_library/48984.pdf NICE., 2006. Methods for development of NICE public health guidance. [Online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph1/evidence/methods-for-development-of-nice-public-health-guidance-120988045 Scottish Government, 2009. Changing Scotlands Relationship with Alcohol: A Framework for Action. [Online]. [Viewed 28 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/262905/0078610.pdf Scottish Government, 2010. Cost of illness approach to derive estimates of the cost of alcohol misuse in Scotland. [Online]. [Viewed 29 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2009/12/29122804/0 Scottish Government, 2017. Alcohol Brief Interventions. [Online]. [Viewed 29 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.gov.scot/About/Performance/scotPerforms/partnerstories/NHSScotlandperformance/alcoholbriefinterventionsStandard Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2015. A guideline developers handbook. [Online]. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/sign50.pdf Scottish Public Health Observatory, 2017. Alcohol: health harm. [Online]. [Viewed 29 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/alcohol/data/health-harm The Health and Social Care Information Centre, 2014. Statistics on Alcohol. [Online]. [Viewed 28March 2017]. Available from: http://content.digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB15483/alc-eng-2014-rep.pdf The Scottish Trauma Audit Group. (2016) Audit of Trauma Management in Scotland. [Online]. [Viewed 29 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.stag.scot.nhs.uk/Publications/main.html Vogt TM, Hollis JF, Lichtenstein E., Stevens, V. J., Glasgow, R. E and Whitlock, E. 1998.The medical care system and prevention: the need for a new paradigm. HMO Pract. 12:6-14. Wilson, GB., Kaner, EFS., Crosland, A., Ling, J., McCabe, K., Haighton, CA., 2013. A Qualitative Study of Alcohol, Health and Identities among UK Adults in Later Life. PLoS ONE 8(8): e71792. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071792 World Health Organisation, 2016. Alcohol epidemiology, monitoring an information system. [Online]. WHO. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Available from: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/activities/gad/en/ World Health Organisation, 2017. Management of substance abuse; Alcohol. [Online]. WHO. [Viewed 27 March 2017]. Av

Womens Rights Movement in the US :: Womens Liberation Movement

In early societies, women bore children, cared for the home, and helped maintain the family's economic production. Men hunted, made war, and, in settled societies, assumed primary responsibility for field crop production. Male dominance, however, was important from the time of the earliest written historical records, probably as a result of men's discovery of their role in development of hunting and warfare as status activities. The belief that women were naturally weaker and inferior to men was also certified by god- centered religions. In the bible, god placed Eve under Adam's authority, and St. Paul urged women to be obedient of their husbands. In Hinduism the reward of a proper woman is rebirth as a man. Therefore, in most traditional societies, women generally were at a disadvantage. Their education was limited to learning domestic skills, and they had no access to positions of power. Some exceptions to women's dependence on men did exist. In ancient Babylonia and Egypt women had property rights, and in medieval Europe the could join craft guilds. Men of the lower classes also lacked rights, but they could console themselves by feeling superior to women. The Enlightenment, with it's egalitarian political importance, and the Industrial Revolution, which caused economic and social changes, provided a favorable climate for the rise of feminism, along with other reform movements in the late 18th and the 19th centuries. Of deeper significance for women was the Industrial Revolution. The transformation of handicrafts, which women had always carried on at home, without pay, into machine-powered mass production meant that lower-class women could become wage earners in factories. This was the beginning of their independence, although factory conditions were hazardous and their pay, lower than men's, was legally controlled by their husbands. At the same time middle and upper-class women were expected to stay at home as idle, decorative symbols of their husbands' economic success. Such conditions encouraged the feminist movement. Rapidly industrializing Great Britain and the U.S., feminism was more successful. The leaders were primarily educated, leisured, reform-minded women of the middle class. In 1848 more than 100 persons held the first women's rights convention, at Seneca Falls, New York. Led by the abolitionist Lucretia Mott and the feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, they demanded equal rights, including the vote and an end to the double standard. In the U.S. progress was slower. The number of working women increased virtually after the two world wars, but they generally had low paid, female- dominated occupations, such as school teachers and clerical work.

History and Development of Equity Essay

It is important to appreciate, especially when reading older cases on the law oftrusts, that there were, until 1873 in England, two main separate courts – courts of lawand courts of equity. Trust law was a product of courts of equity. We will thus look at:(i)the meaning of â€Å"equity† that is associated with courts of equity;(ii)the origins of courts of equity; (iii) the development of the law of uses and trusts; (iv) the transfer of equity jurisdiction to Canada; (v) the current status of the fusion of law and equity. II. Objective: Be able to describe four different meanings that might be associated with â€Å"equity† andthe definition of â€Å"equity† that is important for our purposes. The word â€Å"equity† has several different meanings. Let’s examine some of thosemeanings and then focus on the meaning that is important to us in understanding the lawof trusts. A. Equity as â€Å"Fairness† One meaning of the word â€Å"equity† is â€Å"fairness† or â€Å"justice†. This is oftenreflected in expressions such as â€Å"employment equity†, â€Å"pay equity† or â€Å"distributionalequity†. People speak in terms of what is â€Å"fair† or â€Å"just† but there is often considerabledisagreement as to what is fair or just. This concept of â€Å"equity† is not the concept ofâ€Å"equity† that we mean when we speak of what courts of equity did. B. Equity as Net Worth The word â€Å"equity† is also used to mean net worth. That is, the amount one retainsafter creditors have been paid. For instance, shares in a corporation are often describedas â€Å"equity investments†. The shareholders are entitled to what is left over after thecreditors are paid off. Similarly, people speak of having â€Å"equity† in their house. Forexample, a person might buy a $400,000 house by making a $100,000 downpayment andborrowing the remaining $300,000 to pay the rest giving the lender a security interest (orcollateral) in the house by way of a mortgage. The $100,000 would be that person’sequity in the house. If the person were able to pay off $50,000 on the loan then theperson’s equity in the house would rise to $150,000 (i. e. the value the person would have 2 invested in the house net of paying the lender (or creditor)). The person’s equity in thehouse would, of course, vary with the market value of the house. This use of the word â€Å"equity† has its origins in a creation of courts of equity. Courts of equity developed the concept of the equity of redemption. To borrow money aborrower often had to provide some form of security interest (or collateral). A commonmethod of doing this was to convey the legal title to the lender until the debt was paid. The agreement under which the loan was made required the lender to reconvey theproperty to the borrower if the debt was paid by a specified date. If the borrower failed topay by that date the lender could keep the legal title to the property. Often lenders wouldretain the property even though the borrower was just a day late in paying. Courts ofequity addressed this by allowing the borrower to pay in a reasonable period of time,often allowing the borrower as much as several years to complete payment on the debt. This was known as the equity of redemption – the right of the borrower to pay off thedebt and get the property back (and thus the value of the borrower’s interest (or equity ofredemption) was the value of the property less the amount of the unpaid debt. While the equity of redemption was a product of the courts of equity it is still notthe concept, or definition, of equity that we are looking for. C. Equity as a Corrective to Law Legal rules can work injustices in situations that weren’t anticipated when the rulewas created. All legal systems need some mechanism to address this problem. In civillaw systems it is usually a combination of broadly drafted code provisions and liberalinterpretation together with a concept of non-binding precedent. In England courts ofequity arguably had their origins in the performance of this corrective to law function. But as courts of equity developed they developed their own rules that were often rigidlyinterpreted and thus arguably came to no longer perform this corrective function. D. Mere Equities There are also what are referred to as â€Å"mere equities†. These are defences to legalactions that were created by courts of equity. Consider, for instance, the defence of setoff in the context of an assignment. In the 17 th century courts of equity developed the concept of assignment. Suppose, for example, A owed B $10,000. B could assign to Cthat right to receive $10,000 from A. But suppose that B owed A $3,000 in a separatetransaction. If B had claimed the $10,000 from A, A could have set the right to receive$3,000 from off against B’s claim for $10,000 (i. e. allowing A to just pay $7,000). C wassaid to take â€Å"subject to the equities† when B assigned to C the right to receive $10,000from A. That allowed A to assert the right of set off against C thus allowing A to just payC $7,000. C would have to seek the other $3,000 from B. Other â€Å"mere equities† that Ctook subject to would include claims that A might have as defences to B’s claim. Forinstance, A might have claimed against B that the debt arose due to duress, mistake,misrepresentation or fraud. A could also assert these defences against C. In other words, 3 C took subject to the equities of the situation between A and B. These defences of Awere so-called â€Å"mere equities†. E. Maitland’s Definition of Equity The meaning of equity that is relevant for our purposes is the meaning thatMaitland gave: â€Å"Equity is now that body of rules administered by our †¦ courts of justice which,were it not for the operation of the Judicature Acts, would be administered onlyby those courts which would now be known as Courts of Equity. † Equity came to be a body of rules. Here is a simple story that perhaps roughlycaptures how this came about. Spouses A and B have two children, X and Y. Oneevening X goes to spouse A and asks to stay up beyond the specified bedtime of 8:00p. m. X argues that there are special circumstances that particular night in favour of beingable to stay up beyond the normal bedtime. A says no. The rule, according to A, is thatbedtime is 8:00 p. m. – no exceptions. X goes to spouse B, the established ultimateauthority in the house, and makes the argument in favour of extending bedtime to 8:30p. . on the particular evening. Spouse B thinks the arguments in favour of extending thebedtime are fair and allows X to stay up until 8:30 p. m. The next night child Y goes tospouse A to ask for an extension of bedtime beyond the normal bedtime of 8:00 p. m. Spouse A sticks to the rule of 8:00 p. m. so Y goes to spouse B. Y makes arguments infavour of extend bedtime on this particular night to 9:00 p. m. The perceptive spouse B(whose pe rception greatly shortens the story) sees the potential for things to unravelthrough a series of claims for exceptions. Spouse B realizes that some restrictions, orrules, will be needed on just when the decisions of spouse A will be interfered with. Spouse A in the story is, of course, intended to be somewhat analogous to a court of lawwhile spouse B represents a court of equity. While spouse B, or a court of equity, mightbegin with the simple notion of doing what is â€Å"fair,† or providing a â€Å"corrective† to thelaw, eventually some rules are created as to when a â€Å"corrective† order will be provided. TheChancellor would draft new writs for actions in the common law courts but by 1350 thecommon law courts had begun refusing new writs on the basis that they were not inconformity with the law. This led to more substantive bases for complaints wherelitigants felt they could not get justice in the common law courts. It was in the context ofthese complaints that the Chancellor began performing equity in the sense of a correctivejustice. For example, courts of law at the time took written documentation of a debt asirrefutable evidence that the debt was owed. Normally when the debt was paid thewritten document would be cancelled. Sometimes, however, the document was notcancelled and the lender would claim again on the debt. Because the written documentwas irrefutable evidence of the debt, the debtor could not prove by other means that thedebt had been paid. The debtor could then file a bill with the Chancellor and provideother evidence that the debt had been paid. The lender would then be called upon toanswer a series of questions posed by the Chancellor. If the defendant (the lender) couldnot provide satisfactory answers the Chancellor would make an order telling thedefendant not to enforce the judgment received from the common law court. This cameto be known as a â€Å"common injunction. † 5 3. Equity Follows the Law and Acts in Personam Here one can see a couple of important things about equity. First, equity followsthe law. The Chancellor did not say the common law rule that written evidence of thedebt was irrefutable. That rule remained. Thus equity took the common law as given andsimply acted in response to decisions of the common law courts. This is sometimesreferred to as the rule that equity follows the law. Second, equity acts in personam. Theorder of the Chancellor did not create a legal right or a property right. If the Chancellorfound in favour of the plaintiff the Chancellor would make an order against thedefendant. 4. From Ecclesiastic Chancellors to Non-ecclesiastic Chancellors Until the early 16 th century chancellors were bishops, archbishops or even cardinals. They were thus usually trained in Roman law and canon law (perhaps lendingsome weight to the notion that the law of trusts may have had its origins in Roman lawand canon law concepts). After the early 16 th century chancellors were seldom ecclesiastics. By the mid 15 th century (around 1430) a court of chancery was set up at Westminster. B. Development of the Law of Uses and Trusts Objectives: 1. Note the early form of the â€Å"use. † 2. Identify and explain three ways in which the â€Å"use† was employed in its earlydevelopment. 3. Note the non-recognition of the use and one of the benefits of its non-recognition. 4. Briefly discuss the recognition of the use. 5. Discuss the reasons for the Statute of Uses and its effect. 6. Note two word formulas that were used in an attempt to avoid the Statute of Uses andthe eventual recognition of these formulas. 7. Explain the reason for the enactment of the Statute of Wills. . â€Å"Uses† – Franciscan Friars, Crusades and the Form of the â€Å"Use† Uses and trusts was an area in which the Chancellor began developing a body ofsubstantive law. As noted earlier, early forms of trusts may have included the concept ofthe use employed by donors to Franciscan friars or by owners of estates leaving on thecrusades. These early forms of t rusts were expressed as conveyances to the use ofanother. In other words, X would convey property â€Å"to A to the use of B† (â€Å"use† derivingfrom the Latin term opus, ad opus meaning â€Å"on behalf of†). In addition to the possible 6 early employment of uses by Franciscan friars or in relation to the crusades, people cameto realize a number of other ways of employing â€Å"uses† to their advantage. 2. Other Ways in Which the Use was Employed a. To Avoid the Feudal Burdens of Wardship and Marriage For instance, the use could be employed to avoid the feudal burdens of wardshipand marriage. The male heir of a tenant under the age of 21 and the female heir of atenant under the age of 16 became the ward of the Lord if the tenant died. The Lord tookthe profits of the land until the child reached the age of 21 (or 16 in the case of a female)and had the right to determine the marriage of the child. This could be avoided byputting the land in the hands of one’s friends, say A, B and C, for one’s own use (i. e. Xconveys to A, B and C for the use of X). This way if X died the feudal burdens ofwardship and marriage did not apply to X’s children since X did not â€Å"own† the land (i. e. was not the legally recognized tenant). A, B and C were the legally recognized tenantsand it was they who owed the feudal burdens. If A died, however, A’s children did notbecome wards of the Lord because the rights in the land passed to B and C by right ofsurvivorship. b. To Avoid the Feudal Requirement of Forfeiture for Treason or Escheat for Felony Feudal land law required that the rights to land be forfeit for treason or wouldescheat to the Lord if the tenant commited a felony. This could be avoided by theemployment of the use since once X conveyed the property to others for the use of X, Xwould no longer be the legal owner (or tenant). Thus commition of treason or a felonycould not result in forfeiture or escheat since X had no property to forfeit. X, however, could still enjoy the profits or use of the land by virtue of the device of the use. c. To Avoid Creditors The use also allowed one to avoid creditors. X would convey to A, B and C to theuse of X. If creditors sought to claim the rights to the land as an asset of X, X’s simpleanswer was that the rights to the land did not belong to X. This was facilitated in theearly days not only by courts of aw not recognizing the use but by the fact thatChancellor also did not, in those early days, recognize the use. Thus X had no legal titlethat the creditors could seize and also had no equitable title that the creditors could claim. d. To Effect Testamentary Dispositions of Land Courts of law held early on that one could not, on one’s death, make a gift of landby testamentary disposition. This was avoided by conveying the property during one’slife to another for the use of oneself and then, on death, to the use of those to whom onewished to make a gift. In other words, X would convey the property to A for the use of Xduring X’s life and then to the use of Y. 7 3. Non-recognition in Courts of Law or byt the Chancellor The use was not recognized in courts of law. Initially it was also not recognizedby the Chancellor. Thus there was no legal mechanism for enforcing uses. It was largelya matter of honour and one had to rely on other mechanisms of enforcement rather thanan order for damages from a court of law. On the other hand, it was the non-recognitionof the use in courts of law that gave it some of its advantages. For instance, theavoidance of creditors or feudal burdens depended on the law not recognizing the cestuique use as having any right or title to property enforceable in a court of law (or even anequitable interest recognized in the Court of Equity). 4. Subsequent Recognition by Chancellor This reluctance of courts of law to enforce uses led to appeals to the King toenforce the use. Appeals to the King were made on the basis that the King was theresidual source of justice. The King could provide justice where the courts wereunwilling to (or unable to because the complaint did not fall within the recognized formsof action). Initially the Chancellor did not recognize the use but, with an increasingnumber of complaints against faithless trustees, the Chancellor began to recognize usesby about the beginning of the 15th century (in 1420). The Chancellor would make anorder against the feoffee to uses (trustee) to comply with the obligations they had agreedto in favour of the cestui que use (beneficiary). For example, if A conveyed land to B forthe use of C but B retained the profits of the land to himself C could complain to theChancellor. The Chancellor would call upon B to explain why he had kept the profitsand if he had no good explanation then he would be ordered to restore the profits to C(i. e. , what we would now call the remedy of â€Å"accounting†). The right of the cestui queuse was against the feoffee to uses and thus a personal (or in personam right) but later itwas held that these beneficial rights could be enforced against third parties other than abona fide purchaser without notice and thus the right of the beneficiary came to lookmore like a proprietary (or in rem) right. 5. Later Statute of Uses to Prevent â€Å"Uses† The recognition of the use by the Chancellor led to an increased employment ofthe use. The employment of the use to avoid feudal burdens led to a reduction in thefeudal rights to Lords, most notably to the ultimate Lord, the King. There was also theconcern that rights created through the use could be created without writtendocumentation (i. e. , orally or by an oral direction to the foeffee to uses). The King’sresponse was to urge Parliament to pass the Statute of Uses in 1535. This statuteprovided that the person in whose favour the use was made became the legal owner of therights to the land. In other words, prior to the Statute of Uses when X conveyed to A for the use ofB, A was the legal owner of the land but it was to be used for the benefit of B. After theStatute of Uses when X conveyed to A for the use of B the conveyance to A was ignored 8 and the whole expression was treated as a conveyance directly to B. Thus B became thelegal owner. So let’s go back to the employment of the use by X to avoid the feudal burdens ofwardship and marriage. X conveys to A, B and C for the use of X. This conveyance onlyoperated to convey property from X to himself and thus was no conveyance at all. Inother words, X could no longer avoid feudal burdens by the employment of the use. Xstill had the legal title to the land in spite of the purported conveyance. 6. Ways Around the Statute of Uses As suggested above, the use had a number of advantages. Not surprisinglyattempts were made to recapture its benefits despite the Statute of Uses. It was not longbefore creative ways were found to avoid the effect of the statute. Of the techniques ofavoiding the Statute of Uses perhaps the most important was the employment of a useupon a use. The use upon a use was effected by conveying â€Å"A to B for the use of C in trust forD† or â€Å"A unto and to the use of B in trust for C†. In the first wording the Statute of Usesoperated to make C the legal owner of the land. But C held the land in trust for D. Courts of law did not recognize the second use (or trust) since it was repugnant to the usegranted to C [Tyrrel’s case (1557), 73 E. R. 336]. Initially Courts of Chancery alsorefused to recognize the second use. Courts of Chancery, however,later came torecognize the second use [in Sambach v. Dalston (1634), 21 E. R. 164]. The effect of this was that the use was restored to its pre Statute of Uses statesimply by the addition of a few words in the form of conveyance. 7. The Statute of Wills One of the advantages of the use was to effect a testamentary disposition of rightsin land. With the enactment of the Statute of Uses, and before the recognition of the useupon a use, the use could no longer be employed to effect a testamentary disposition ofproperty. The apparent abolition of the testamentary employment of the use was not wellreceived. It led to a rebellion which resulted in the Statute of Wills in 1540 whichpermitted a person make a testamentary disposition of property. 9 C. Development of Equity and Trusts After 1550: From â€Å"Conscience† toâ€Å"Equity† Objective: Briefly describe the development of Equity and trusts from 1550 to 1700. 1. Growing Popularity of Courts of Equity and Conflict with Courts of Law The early simplicity of procedure in Chancery courts made them popular. Thenumber of matters brought before the court of chancery in the 16 th century grew significantly. This led to competition between Chancery and common law courts. Judges in common law courts did not like the common injunctions issued by Chancerycourts. In Finch v. Throgmorton in 1598 [3 Bulstr. 118] the validity of commoninjunctions was referred to all the judges of England and were pronounced by them to beinvalid. Lord Chancellor Ellesmere continued to issue common injunctions. Lord Coke,who became chief justice of the Court of King’s Bench in 1613, criticized commoninjunctions claiming that the tendency of courts of equity to re-examine common lawjudgments and to issue orders against the enforcement of common law judgments tendedto subvert the common law. In Heath v. Ridley in 1614 [2 Cro. 335] Lord Coke broughtthe issue to a head when he refused to accept a common injunction issued by LordEllesmere. The King ruled in favour of Lord Ellesmere and Lord Coke was laterdismissed from office. 2. Courts of Equity Survive the Civil War and Removal of the Monarchy After the English Civil War in the 1640s and 1650s Parliament voted in favour ofthe abolition of the court of chancery (in part because of its close association with themonarchy) but the House could not agree on legislation to transfer chancery jurisdictionto the common law courts. Thus the court of chancery survived through to the restorationof the monarchy. 3. Seventeenth Century Developments – Equity as a Body of Substantive Law By the late 17th century the role of Chancery was expanding with control overwardship and the development of fiduciary guardianship, the equity of redemption, andassignment of choses in action. In other words, the court of chancery was developing itsown substantive law. The court was applying â€Å"equity† as a body of substantive law ithad developed and was less the court of â€Å"conscience† it had been in the past. Many developments in equity came to be reflected in the â€Å"common law† itself oftenthrough legislation (e. g. Statute of Wills), but sometimes by common law courtsborrowing concepts from equity. The development of reporting of Chancery decisionsafter 1660 contributed to the development of a body of principles of equity. By the endof the 17th century the court of chancery had developed concepts such as the equity ofredemption and the assignment of choses in action. 10 The way the trust was being used was also changing. By the late 17th century thetrust was being used not just to hold property but to manage property by giving trusteeswide powers to manage the property, improve it, mortgage land, pay off debts, provideincome for widows and dependants, educate children, etc. D. Equity and Trusts, 1700-1900: Disaffection, Reform and FusionObjective: Briefly describe the development of Equity and trusts from 1700 to 1900. There were developments of equity in the 18th century. Equity was the mainsource of protection of copyrights and trademarks since these could be protected throughthe equitable remedy of injunction. Equity† was becoming more and more a body ofsubstantive law rather than just a collection of equitable maxims. The 18 th century also saw the development of of the business trust in part inresponse to the Bubble Act of 1720 that had prohibited an early precursor to thecorporation referred to as a joint stock company (which was really a large partnership). Trusts in the 18 th century in creasingly took the form of a fund of investments, such asstocks and bonds, that the trustee would administer for the benefit of others rather thanbeing used primarily for the holding of land. However, growing procedural complexity caused the court of chancery to becomeincreasingly slow and inefficient resulting in a reduction in cases. The Chancellor dealtwith all cases directly. Proceedings were done by way of written interrogatives followedby written depositions in response. Copies were made for all parties and werehandwritten by law writers. Fees were paid instead of salaries which gave personsinvolved an incentive to prolong proceedings. The slow process was remarked on by aToronto lawyer (Skivington Connor) in 1845 concerning the process of the court ofchancery in Ontario at the time, That’s the business I like, the pace slow and dignified, the pay handsome, and agentlemanly understanding among practitioners to make it handsomer. †There was some response to the slow pace of the court of chancery prior to the enactmentof the Judicature Act of 1873. In 1813 a vice-chancellor was appointed. A Court ofAppeal in Chancery was created in 1851 and the Court of C hancery was given powers touse juries to try facts. Similarly in the 19 th century common law courts were given powers to grant injunctions and admit equitable defences. Thus there was somemovement toward fusion of courts of law and courts of equity. Eventually the Court ofChancery was abolished in 1873 and the common law courts took over the administrationof both the common law and equity. 11 III. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF EQUITY IN CANADA Objectives: Be able to briefly trace the history of the exercise of equitable jurisdiction in the Atlanticprovinces, Ontario, Quebec, the West and the North. The reception of equity jurisdiction in Canada varied from province to province inthe eastern provinces. The timing of the settlement in and creation of most of the westernprovinces was in the latter part of the 19 th century when the merging of courts of law and courts of equity was already being considered in England. A. Atlantic Provinces In Nova Scotia the Governor, as Keeper of the Great Seal, exercised equityjurisdiction (as early as 1751 when the first bill in equity was filed). This approach wasextended to Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick when these colonies were created(in1769 and 1784 respectively). In Nova Scotia matters were decided on the advice of acouncil until 1764. In 1764 three â€Å"Masters in Chancery† were appointed to assist theGovernor. Initially these Masters in Chancery were not legally trained but by later in the19th century legally trained masters of the rolls were appointed in Nova Scotia, NewBrunswick and Prince Edward Island. The merging of law and equity jurisdiction occurred in New Brunswick and NovaScotia well before the enactment of the Judicature Act in England in 1873. In NewBrunswick in 1854 and in Nova Scotia in 1855 the position of master of the rolls wasabolished and equity jurisdiction was transferred to the Supreme Court. The merging ofcourts of law and courts of equity in Prince Edward Island did not occur until 1974. Newfoundland did not follow the model of the Governor exercising equityjurisdiction. Instead equity jurisdiction was exercised by the Supreme Court and thispractice was later codified in 1825 (almost 50 years before the merging of courts of lawand courts of equity in England). 12 B. Ontario and Quebec Quebec Equity jurisdiction lasted only briefly in Quebec. From the Royal Proclamationof 1763 the Governor of Quebec sat as Chancellor until Quebec Act of 1774 restored thecivil law system to Quebec. Ontario Governors in Ontario, curiously, refused to exercise equity jurisdiction. It hasbeen suggested that this may have been due to pressure from lenders since without theexercise of equity jurisdiction there would be no equity of redemption in favour ofdebtors. Eventually pressure from debtors mounted and a legislative form of equity ofredemption was adopted. The establishment of a Court of Chancery followed shortlyafterwards in 1837. This may have been in response to pressure from lenders again. Thelegislature having created a legislated equity of redemption for borrowers, the lendersmay have wanted to have the corresponding right of foreclosure which was also adevelopment of equity cutting off the right of redemption after a reasonable period oftime. The Ontario Court of Chancery was later absorbed into High Court of Ontario in1881. C. The West and North When courts were being established in the west and north the move towardsunifying courts of law and equity was well advanced. Thus when courts were establishedin these jurisdictions they were given jurisdiction over both law and equity. It was,however, the practice in Manitoba and British Columbia to have divisions of the courtwith a division administering law and another division administering equity with theusual restrictions on courts of law not being able to give equitable remedies. Later thesedivisions were abolished (e. g. , in Manitoba in 1895). 13 IV. FUSION Objectives: Be able to: (i)Distinguish between procedural and substantive concepts of fusion. (ii) Provide an example of the potential practical effect of the distinction. (iii) Briefly discuss the current status of the debate over the fusion of law and equity. A. Procedural vs. Substantive Fusion What did the Judicature Act in England in 1873 do? Did it merge the rulesapplied by courts of law and the rules applied by courts of equity into a single body oflaw? Or did it simply allow for court proceedings to be started in one court that hadjurisdiction to apply rules of law and rules of equity without any formal merging of thetwo bodies of rules? In other words, did it provide for substantive fusion or proceduralfusion? Substantive fusion means that the rules of law and equity are merged into a singlebody of rules. Procedural fusion means that one can apply to a single court following asingle court procedure and that court could administer both rules of law and rules ofequity and apply remedies of the sort that were formerly available in either a court of law(e. g. damages) or a court of equity (e. g. injunction, specific performance, accounting). The difference is often captured by the Ashburner’s [Principles of Equity (London: Butterworths, 1902)] so-called fluvial metaphor: â€Å"The two streams of jurisdiction, though they run in the same channel, run side byside and do not mingle their waters.In that metaphor law and equity are perceived as two separate streams (courts) that cometogether (in one court). Ashburner’s statement using the fluvial metaphor says that thefusion was procedural only. In other words, the two streams came together but the watersof the two streams (rules of law and rules of equity) did not intermingle but ran side byside in the same channel (i. e. could be applied by the same court). In the metaphorsubstantive fusion is perceived as an intermingling of the water from the two streams intoa single integrated stream. The Judicature Acts dealt with some areas of conflict and provided a general rulethat where rules of law conflicted with rules of equity the rules of equity were to prevail. Cases: [Walsh v. Lonsdale (1882)] [United Scientific Holdings v. Burnley Council, [1978] A. C. 904 (H. L. )] 14 [Fusion resulting in equity prevailing over common law or was it in fact common lawprevailing over equity] [LeMesurier v. Andrus (1986) Ont. C. A. ] B. An Example of the Practical Legal Effect Canson Enterprises Ltd. v. Boughton [1991] 3 S. C. R. 534 In Canson Enterprises Ltd. . Boughtonthe plaintiff had purchased land and thenbuilt a warehouse on the land. The warehouse was severely damaged when thesupporting piles began to sink. The plaintiff successfully sued the engineers but theyturned out to be judgment proof. The plaintiff then sued its solicitor who had made asecret profit from the purchase of the land. They claimed that as a solicitor the solicitorowed them a fiduciary duty not to make a secret profit from a transaction in which thesolicitor was acting on behalf of the plaintiff as purchaser. That claim was based onprinciples developed by courts of equity which had long held solicitor’s to owe fiduciaryduties to their clients and had drawn on the fiduciary duty principles they had developedin the context of trustees in setting out the scope of a solicitor’s fiduciary duties. The defendant solicitor claimed that while he would be required in equity toaccount for the profit he had made he would not be liable for the damages to thewarehouse (which were much greater than the secret profit) because his secret profit didnot ause the loss to the plaintiff from the damage to the warehouse. The plaintiff arguedthat since the claim for breach of fiduciary duty was a claim in equity principles such asremoteness, mitigation, and causation which were principles developed by courts of law,did not apply. In other words, the plaintiff was saying that there was procedural fusiononly. If a claim was based on principles that had been developed in courts of equity thenthe appli cable rules were only those drawn from developed by courts of equity not thosedeveloped by courts of law. C. The Current Status of the Fusion Debate A majority of the Supreme Court of Canada held that there was no real distinctionbetween damages in a common law claim and equitable compensation in a claim inequity and thus common law concepts of remoteness and causation could be used inassessing the remedy. In other words, they did not stick the solicitor with the fulldamages to the warehouse. Madam Justice McLachlin, as she was then, felt that theresult could be reached on equitable principles with respect to equitable compensation. Neither the majority judgment nor the judgment of Madam Justice McLachlin make itclear whether law and equity were substantive fused or merely procedurally fused. Theyboth seemed to feel that the application of common law principles and equitableprinciples in the particular case were consistent so their was no need to draw on commonlaw principles into an equitable claim. However, Madam Justice McLachlin did note thatâ€Å"we may take wisdom from where we find it, and accept such insights offered by the lawof tort, in particular deceit, as may prove useful. It thus appears that where there is aconflict one the court will resolve it with broader policy considerations. 15One should thus be alert to the potential differences between rules of law andequity and how they may impact the result but also be ready to argue for a particularresult from a policy perspective (much as the plaintiffs did in Canson by arguing that toensure that fiduciaries are held to high ethical standards they shou ld be strictly liable forall losses flowing from a breach of duty).