Vital animal predation of the genital region caused by a mongrel dog

A 79-year-old man, who was in a helpless situation due to cardiac decompensation, suffered dog bite injuries on the left thigh and in the genital region while still alive. Two extensive soft-tissue defects with contused and bruised wound edges were surrounded by multiple slit-like skin lesions. The outer genitals were almost completely missing. Because of surgical emergency treatment, molecular biological investigations were no longer possible. Therefore, the cause of the bite injuries had to be determined solely on the basis of the documented morphology of the wounds.     

European interests in the SALT process

The ambitions of the global South for a larger share of global wealth and political power are at least partly being played out on the African continent. The increasing Africa--South relations seem to indicate a relative decline in Africa--North ties, with the shift in Africa's trade relations from North to South resulting in trade creation rather than trade diversion. The South partners are also providing much needed infrastructure development assistance to the continent. Politically, these relations are formalised in a host of frameworks and associations and operate in fundamentally different ways from those between Africa and its erstwhile colonial masters. It is doubtful, though, to what extent Africa's capacity to influence the global agenda is strengthened, especially given that not a single African country is (yet) a member of the ‘South Big Four’, the BRICs.     

Informal Circles of Ministers: A Way Out of the EU's Institutional Dilemmas?

This contribution argues that the particular relevance of informal circles of ministers lies in their ability to routinise and communise the process of the interpretation of constitutional norms at the intergovernmental level. The informal setting triggers a particular mode of interaction—deliberative intergovernmentalism. In the case of economic policy coordination among the euro–zone countries, which is analysed in this article, this interaction produces common standards for the assessment of the economic situation in the member states and guidelines on appropriate policy responses in particular budgetary and economic situations. In a situation, in which there is growing need for closer policy coordination but European Union member states are reluctant to transfer further decision–making competences to the supranational level, the mediation between diverging interpretations of the rather 'thin' formal constitutional norms governing the coordination process is crucial in order to ensure the overall stability of the coordination framework. Informal circles of ministers can therefore be a way out of the current institutional dilemmas arising from the attitude of national governments to move towards new areas of common engagement while being increasingly reluctant to transfer further formal decision–making competences to the supranational level.     

Accounting. Die Macht der Zahlen im gegenwärtigen Kapitalismus

Calculative schemes (e.g. gross national product, rate of unemployment, return on investment) are tools for the control of contemporary capitalist societies as well as means for its self-perception. Politically the power of numbers draws on its institutionally secured ability to define, respectively reconstruct, relevant ends and performance-parameters for organizations as well as individuals or entire systems of action. Moreover, the calculative practices of accounting represent socially and individually hardly contestable patterns, shaping or even constituting the construction of our selfs as well as constellations of social problems, being part of the overall constructive process of the world and attaching meaning to it. This article outlines relevant aspects of accounting-research in the Anglo-Saxon context on the level of organization, profession and the individual, and points to some theoretical shortcomings particularly of the so-called post-modern strand in this field. However, an analysis of the calculative practices of accounting will contribute to a better understanding of contemporary capitalism.     

The sovereign debt crisis: why Greece,but not Japan?

This paper asks why Japan has not yet suffered from a sovereign debt crisis, although its gross public debt as a percentage of GDP is much higher than in Greece. We use a simple stylized model to explain the occurrence of both a fundamental and a speculative debt crisis. We apply this model to both countries and derive some hypotheses about why investors are still ready to hold Japanese Government Bonds. In particular, we point to the significance of domestic debt holdings, to the central bank’s government debt purchases, to investors’ access to “safe havens,” and to the role of an autonomous monetary policy. We also analyze potential challenges to Japan’s long-term fiscal situation, resulting from its aging population.