Is embryo research and preimplantation genetic diagnosis ethical?

The legal position in the UK on embryo research and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is outlined and contrasted with the position in other EU countries. The "gradualist" position of the UK on the moral status of the embryo is defended on the basis of an argument that precaution must be applied in proportion to the degree to which the embryo has developed to display components of agency, on the assumption that mortality is categorically binding and requires agents to be granted rights and that it cannot be known with certainty that the embryo is not an agent. The extent to which this argument, when combined with vicarious protections that the embryo should receive in order to protect the rights of other agents, limits embryo research and PGD, is discussed. It is concluded that the complexities that attend deliberation about the moral problems attending embryo research and PGD are such that the proper response to these problems is via the procedures of political democracy to achieve accountable answers rather than "correct" answers. This allows for a variety of judgements.     

Research on organized crime in Western Europe — 4th research conference “OC research in Western European states” in Wiesbaden

The 4th Research Conference ??OC research in Western European States?? took place in November 2011 in Wiesbaden. The conference was organized by the Bundeskriminalamt and is part of the project ??International Research Network on Organized Crime??, funded by the European Commission in the framework of the ISEC programme. This article provides an insight into the current state of research on organized crime in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.     

Postdoctoral training,departmental prestige and scientists’ research productivity

An implicit assumption prevailing in the science community is that scientists with postdoctoral training demonstrate a higher rate of productivity than their peers without such experience (Folger et al. in Human resources and higher education. Russell Sage, New York, 1970; NRC in Postdoctoral training in the biomedical sciences. National Academy of Science, Washington DC, 1974; NRC in Research training and career patterns of bioscientists: The training programs of the National Institutes of Health. National Academy of Science, Washington DC, 1976; Reskin in Am Sociol Rev 41(4):597–612, 1976), and especially so if postdocs are employed in research intensive settings (McGinnis et al. in Soc Force 60(3):701–722, 1982; Zumeta in Extending the educational ladder: The changing roles of postdoctoral education in the United States. National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va, 1985). In contrast, by exploring the reward structure of the science system, sociologists contend that departments where scientists obtain positions play a substantial role in shaping their research productivity (Long in Am Sociol Rev 43(6):889–908, 1978; Long and McGinnis in Am Sociol Rev, 46(4):422–442, 1981; Allison and Long in Am Sociol Rev, 55(4):469–478, 1990). This study investigates both theories in an attempt to unfold how these factors impact scientists’ research productivity over time. Using curriculum vitae (CV) from a nationally representative sample of academic scientists and engineers, the findings suggest that postdoc training indeed boosts individual research productivity during scientists’ early career periods (the first 3 years after the doctoral degrees), however, the effect fades quickly. While departmental prestige plays a role in scientists’ research productivity, further investigation indicates that only scientists placed in highly prestigious departments demonstrate a consistently higher productivity level than their peers in other departments. Given that postdoc training contributes significantly to the higher likelihood of being placed in highly prestigious departments, postdoctoral training and the subsequent placement in highly prestigious departments together are conducive to the presence of the accumulative advantage effect.     

European legal history – a new field of research in Germany

John Austin's essay, ‘A Note on Interpretation’, appears in his Lectures on Jurisprudence or the Philosophy of Positive Law.¹ At the end of the essay is a note by Austin's wife, Sarah. The note states that the conclusion of the essay is missing. In this paper I argue that the conclusion of the essay appears 363 pages earlier as a fragment following Lecture XXXVII.     

The utility of sex offender registration: a research note†

ABSTRACT

Sex offender registries are one of the more hotly debated and polarising topics in criminology. Registries are generally perceived as valuable by the public, legislators, and law enforcement. However, academics and treatment providers have largely remained critical, arguing registries are costly and ineffective. Continued support despite these claims has led some scholars to suggest that proponents are unaware of evidence, indifferent to science, and perhaps driven by emotions. Yet this conclusion denies important facts. First, statistical evidence shows that registrants are at far higher risk of committing a sex crime than the general public. Second, high-quality empirical research suggests that enacting registries is associated with significant decreases in sex offences. Third, there is prima facie evidence that registration has assisted in police investigations and prevented sexual crimes. Recognising these arguments is likely an important step towards improving the quality of debate, science, and policy on registration.     

Identifying “deterrable” offenders: Implications for research on deterrence

This article outlines a theoretical framework that distinguishes three forms of responsiveness to legal sanction threats: acute conformist, deterrable, and incorrigible. It then investigates the implications of the framework with data from a perceptual deterrence survey administered to 412 university students. The findings suggest the preeminent empirical regularity in deterrence research—that the deterrent effect of the certainty of punishment far exceeds that of the severity of punishment—may be overstated. An analysis confined to deterrable offenders suggests that the severity effect (relative to the certainty effect) may exceed that reported in extant research.     

Industrial application of a government laboratory's research — The SIROTECH experience

CSIRO — Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization — is a large federal government research body with a central role in generating technology for the country's industrial development in the broad. The Organization has recently developed and reoriented its policies, procedures and mechanisms to provide stronger technological support for Australia's manufacturing industries: industries which are generally accepted to be badly in need of technological innovation. This article discusses the background to the changes made and the alternative pathways that were available to the Organization to effect the changes. It concentrates on the decision to establish a free-standing technology transfer and commercial assessment company, SIROTECH Limited. The article identifies the steps taken to bring the company to be, even after only two years' operation, a vital and valued part of CSIRO's system for planning, pursuing and applying industrial research with, and for, Australian industry. The main principles underlying the apparent success of the SIROTECH experience are identified.     

Counting Portuguese colonial populations, 1776–1875: a research note

In 1776 the Portuguese Crown decreed that statistical population tables were to be compiled in all its overseas possessions. Using a defined model, each governor was to send annually a population count for the area under his jurisdiction. In the Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino (AHU) in Lisbon there are over a thousand statistical population tables from Brazil to Macau. This documentary corpus opens up important horizons for demographic, social and colonial history, though it has been relatively ignored by historians and demographers. These sources enable us to study the demography and the administrative processes adopted in census-taking during the construction of the Portuguese Empire between 1776 and 1875. The following research note emphasizes the distinctive aspects of the sources, the data and its potential, and the research agenda.