Laminated safety glass as an intermediate target: a wound ballistic study

Various 9‐mm ammunitions (A1, A4, A5, ST, GS, GSb, P.E.P., SeCa, HP, PTP/s, VM, McVG, DM41, PTP, SX2, PT, and MEN frangible) were tested regarding their velocity, energy, angle of impact, and potential wound channel after penetrating a car window at 30° and 90°. Test materials were gelatine, soap, and pig cadavers. The velocities of the projectiles were between c. 288 and 430 m/ses, the energy spread between 394 and 564 J. Handgun bullets fired through vehicular side window glass lose substantial energy reducing the effectiveness of the ammunition. This effect is greater when fired at an angle of 30° compared to 90°. At a shooting angle of 90°, none of the different projectiles showed remarkable differences considering its wound ballistic features. Accuracy is maintained at a 90° angle but seriously impaired at 30°. None of the examined ammunition complied with the demanded wound channel effectiveness of 30–60 J/cm.     

RegData 2.2: a panel dataset on US federal regulations

Public Choice - How much regulation exists? Can short- and long-term growth trends in regulation be identified? Which agencies produce the most regulation? Are some sectors of the economy more...     

Non-metric data: a note on a neglected problem in DEA studies

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is widely used to compare the empirical performance of public institutions such as law enforcement agencies, judicial authorities or national health care systems. Many DEA analysts, however, ignore the fact that DEA efficiency values are non-metric. They consequently do not hesitate to compute (arithmetic) means. They do not hesitate either to treat DEA values as metric data in econometric analyses. Instead of providing useful insights into the performance of public bodies, the confusion of non-metric data with metric data constitutes a lack of internal validity that may cause serious fallacies. Against this background, we believe that a clear warning against an uncritical processing and interpretation of DEA values is pertinent and should be routinely considered by efficiency analysts as well as referees of efficiency papers.     

Dominant Rail Undertakings under European Competition Policy

Abstract: For the last 30 years, railway transport has been in steep decline within the Community. It is argued that such a decline is not inevitable, but it is partly due to regulatory distortions that favour other transport modes. As a result of the delay in liberalisation, railways lose out in comparison to air and road transport where market opening triggered a restructuring process of the industry much earlier. An important step towards more competition has been taken with a new ‘railway package’, which liberalises rail freight transport from 2003 on. This article gives an overview of recent developments in the sector, including the status quo of liberalisation and the recently adopted legislation. Taking into account recent jurisprudence, it then analyses competition policy issues with a focus on obligations that arise for dominant railway companies under Article 82 EC. The article lastly discusses what structural changes are required to deal with structural obstacles to a competitive European railway market. It is argued that a complete separation of infrastructure operation and transport services would be the solution most compatible with the railway directives and Article 86 EC.     

The impact of the U.S. war on terrorism upon U.S.-China relations

Using a framework of geopolitical analysis. Oliver Lee argues that the fundamental geopolitical relationships between the United States and China, namely the relationship between the world’s strongest naval and air power and the world’s strongest land power, would not be upset even after the American military presence in central Asia since September 11, 2001. The relationship would remain essentially unaltered because — American initiation of the use of nuclear weapons against China being ruled out for fear of Chinese retaliation — China would be able to withstand any U.S. military offensive conducted with conventional land, sea, and air forces, regardless of whether the U.S. possesses permanent air bases in Central Asia or not, and regardless of how many troops it may station on them. His teaching and research interests include domestic and foreign policies of China and power in America and U.S. foreign policy.     

„Allgemeine Grundsätze“ als abweichungsfester Kern der Naturschutzgesetzgebung des Bundes

Die mit der F?deralismusreform erfolgte Neuordnung der Gesetzgebungskompetenzen markiert einen epochalen Einschnitt für die Naturschutzgesetzgebung. Der Bund hat nun die M?glichkeit umfassende Vollregelungen zu erlassen, jedoch k?nnen die L?nder hiervon abweichen. Beschr?nkt wird dieses Abweichungsrecht insbesondere durch die „allgemeinen Grunds?tze des Naturschutzes“ im Sinne von Art. 72 Abs. 3 S. 1 Nr. 2 GG, die im Fokus des Beitrags stehen. Eine verfassungsrechtliche Auslegung führt zu dem Ergebnis, dass der Bund verbindlich und unmittelbar geltend zentrale Inhalte und Instrumente des Naturschutzes und der Landschaftspflege abweichungsfest formulieren kann. Eine v?llige Zersplitterung des Naturschutzrechts ist somit zu verhindern.     

National Parliaments in the European Union: Are There Any Benefits to Integration?

Abstract: Scholars and observers alike agree that the European Union has weakened national parliaments. This article posits that such a view, while generally accurate, ignores ways in which the EU has helped national parliaments in their function as regulators of society. It identifies two key mechanisms: precedent setting and policy transfer. First, the EU has produced laws on topics considered beyond the traditional remit of national parliaments. The EU's intervention has justified the production of unprecedented domestic laws that go well beyond the incorporation of EU principles. This has expanded the legislative reach of national parliaments. The article considers the experiences of Italy and The Netherlands in the area of antitrust. Second, the EU has fostered an environment conducive to cross‐national lesson drawing. The resulting knowledge has helped the design of more effective domestic legislative frameworks. This has confirmed the viability of national parliaments as regulatory institutions. The article examines the Open Method of Co‐ordination and its application to the areas of employment and social inclusion. It concludes with a discussion of parliaments in future Member States and in Mercosur.