Autorisierung. Eine wissenschafts- und wirtschaftssoziologische Perspektive auf geistiges Eigentum

Property obliges??and intellectual property entails responsibility about the knowledge produced. The theoretical concept of authorization enables the development of a genuinely sociological perspective of intellectual property. Based on this perspective of intellectual property, it is possible to introduce new aspects in the current and for the advanced knowledge capitalism central debate. The concept of authorization is based on the observation that??from the perspective of knowledge users??it is very difficult (if not impossible) to assess in advance the quality of knowledge and knowledge goods, like for example drugs. This uncertainty entails the consumers?? demand for authorization for an attribution of responsibility. The need of authorization is caused by the extent of insecurity and it exists independently from the aspiration of intellectual property by a company or person (for the time being, the debate struggles only with the last problem). Starting from there, the article examines the question how authorization is being established in the social field. Thereby, it is not only contentious whether or not knowledge should be commercialized or is open access. It is also contentious to which extend the power of definition should be hierarchically monopolized or egalitarianly distributed. The theoretical perspective will be illustrated with a case study on the authorization of seed??the latter being an economic resource which is of elementary importance for human life.     

Representing China in the South Pacific

Chinese diplomacy, aid, economic interactions and manifestations of soft power have increased the country??s influence in the South Pacific region. By some accounts, China??s influence is already approaching that of traditional stakeholders Australia and New Zealand. In Africa and other regions state-led and private activities in established powers?? perceived spheres of influence has caused concern and inspired particular narratives about China??s motivations. In this article we examine how media discourses in Australia and New Zealand have represented China??s role in the South Pacific. We find that China??s role has been constructed using multiple negative frames, which seek to establish China as unequivocally ??different??. More than being unencumbered by the constraints of public opinion and a free press, China is portrayed as operating in a different moral universe, in which the cold hearted exploitation of vulnerable island nations (often in cahoots with venal island elites) is entirely normal. The article shows how such constructions reveal some of the complex issues involved in Australia and New Zealand??s relationships both with China and other South Pacific nations.     

The association between body mass index and pulmonary thromboembolism in an autopsy population

Abstract: To evaluate the association between obesity and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) in a forensic context, 160 autopsy cases of fatal PTE were compared with age‐ and gender‐matched controls. The mean age of cases was 66 years (range 26–98 years; M/F 74:86). The mean body mass index (BMI) of cases with PTE was 30.88 (range 14.95–79.51), which was significantly higher than in the controls (mean BMI = 25.33; range 12.49–61.84) (p < 0.0001). Comparing the group with PTE with controls showed that five (3.1%) compared to 20 (12.5%) were underweight, 39 (24.4%) compared to 67 (41.88%) were of normal weight, 49 (30.63%) compared to 43 (26.88%) were overweight, 43 (26.88%) compared to 24 (15%) were obese, and 24 (15.0%) compared to six (3.75%) were morbidly obese. In each category of above‐normal BMIs, there were significantly greater numbers in the groups with PTE: overweight (p < 0.01), obese (p < 0.001), and morbidly obese (p < 0.0001).     

Trace detection of meglumine and diatrizoate from Bacillus spore samples using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, letters containing Bacillus anthracis were distributed through the United States postal system killing five people. A complex forensic investigation commenced to identify the perpetrator of these mailings. A novel liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry protocol for the qualitative detection of trace levels of meglumine and diatrizoate in dried spore preparations of B. anthracis was developed. Meglumine and diatrizoate are components of radiographic imaging products that have been used to purify bacterial spores. Two separate chromatographic assays using multiple mass spectrometric analyses were developed for the detection of meglumine and diatrizoate. The assays achieved limits of detection for meglumine and diatrizoate of 1.00 and 10.0 ng/mL, respectively. Bacillus cereus T strain spores were effectively used as a surrogate for B. anthracis spores during method development and validation. This protocol was successfully applied to limited evidentiary B. anthracis spore material, providing probative information to the investigators.     

Comparative Analysis of the Chemical Profiles of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Based on Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS)*

Abstract: The chemical profiling of illicit drugs is an important analytical tool to support the work of investigating and law enforcement authorities. In our work, comprehensive two‐dimensional gas chromatography–time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC‐TOFMS) combined with nontargeted, pixel‐based data analysis was adapted for the chemical profiling of 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The validity and benefit of this approach was evaluated by analyzing a well‐investigated set of MDMA samples. Samples were prepared according to a harmonized extraction protocol to ensure the comparability of the chemical signatures. The nontargeted approach comprises preprocessing followed by analysis of variances as a fast filter algorithm for selection of a variable subset followed by partial least squares discriminant analysis for reduction to promising marker compounds for discrimination of the samples according to their chemical profile. Forty‐seven potential marker compounds were determined, covering most of the target impurities known from the harmonized one‐dimensional profiling as well as other compounds not previously elucidated.     

Social disorganization, Latinos and juvenile crime in the Texas borderlands

Purpose

Using a time-series cross-sectional design, we estimated the effects of social disorganization on juvenile property crime rates in a predominately Latino, Texas-Mexico border region.

Methods

Eighteen years of data from seven independent sources (Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, Texas State Demographer, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, and Uniform Crime Reports) were examined. Counties were utilized as the unit of analysis, and time-series cross-sectional regression models were estimated.

Results

The analysis showed that per capita income was negatively related to juvenile crime in both rural and urban counties. Ethnic heterogeneity was positively related to the outcome in rural, but not urban, counties; while percent foreign-born was negatively related to juvenile crime in urban, but not rural, counties.

Conclusions

The Latino experience, both native- and foreign-born, is important for improving our understanding how economic and social conditions relate to crime. Comparative analyses between distinct geographical environments, such as rural and urban counties, can yield insight how the local context interacts with social disorganization processes.     

Ausfallshaftung und Kaduzierung

Eine jüngst ergangene Entscheidung des OGH (6 Ob 204/11k wbl 2012, 291) bietet Anlass, über das Verh?ltnis der Ausfallshaftung (§ 70 GmbHG) zum Kaduzierungsverfahren (§ 66 GmbHG) nachzudenken. Die Rechtsfrage lautet: Bedarf die Geltendmachung der Ausfallshaftung der vorherigen Durchführung eines Kaduzierungsverfahrens?     

Does Control Make a Difference? The Moral Foundations of Shareholder Liability for Corporate Wrongs

The doctrine of limited liability, as traditionally understood, prevents shareholders from being held personally liable for corporate wrongs. Several authors have recently argued that the doctrine should be modified to make some or all shareholders individually liable for torts committed by corporations in which they hold shares. This article distinguishes three types of argument that might provide a moral basis for shareholder liability in such cases. I contend that while these arguments support holding at least some shareholders liable for corporate torts, they fail to justify a general regime of unlimited pro rata shareholder liability. The level of control shareholders exercise over a company makes an important difference to their moral duties to compensate victims of corporate wrongdoing.     

Talking Heads and Bleeding Hearts: Newsmaking, Emotion and Public Criminology in the Wake of a Sexual Assault

Using our own experiences in attempting to ‘do’ public criminology in the wake of a violent sexual assault on our campus, we offer a critique of the emerging public criminology framework. Focusing specifically on tensions between fact and emotion and representations of expertise in the news media, we argue for a greater respect for emotional responses to crime in moving the public criminology agenda forward. We suggest that if public criminology sets as its goal educating the public about crime with an eye towards injecting a counter/critical discourse into ‘get tough’ crime control policies, then public criminologists need to recognize and take seriously the public’s emotions rather than negate them. Drawing on the work of Ahmed (The cultural politics of emotion. Routledge, London, 2004), we suggest that the role of the expert is not to simply inform citizens of the ‘facts’ about crime, but to establish—through emotions—the relationship between themselves and the imagined criminal Other (Young in Imagining crime: Textual outlaws and criminal conversations. Sage Publications, London, 1996). Thus, alongside trying to convince the public to be more ‘rational’ when it comes to crime, critical criminologists must start to accept people’s fear and anger as legitimate reactions and try to redirect these emotions toward more productive ends.