A reponse to paramilitary policing in Northern Ireland

This essay arises from the experiences of a practitioner who has, until recently, managed a project offering services to those under threat from paramilitary organisations. This essay is divided into two sections. The first section offers an overview of the ideologies and practices of Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries regarding informal justice. The second section examines the problems of intervention with those under threat and the insights offered by an analysis of the project’s casework. NIACRO     

Diasporas as ‘agents of development’: transforming brain drain into brain gain? The Dutch example

This article is based on research that explored and analysed the potential role of diasporas in development aid in the Netherlands. The research adopted the hypothesis that development agencies could benefit from the knowledge, skills, and views of diasporas as ‘agents of development’ and thereby make aid more effective and sustainable. Data were derived from semi-structured interviews with representatives of diasporas residing in the Netherlands; Dutch NGOs selected by the Dutch government for their capacity-building programmes; official donors, namely the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken); and international organisations, such as the International Organization of Migration (IOM). Secondary data were derived from a literature review.     

Settlement Agreements: The European Perspective

Key points. This note provides a brief consideration of pasttreatment of settlement agreements in Europe and a considerationof the underlying rationale for scrutinizing such agreementsunder EC competition law. It suggests that a reason for lessfocus by the authorities in Europe than in the US is the generalinterest of the parties in keeping the details of such agreementsconfidential, combined with a lack of any obligation to notifythe authorities. Practical significance. Companies should be reminded of thepossible application of the EC rules to patent settlement agreementsat a time when the Commission has shown a renewed willingnessto review conduct relating to IP and when national authoritiessuch as the OFT have reiterated a willingness to get to gripswith conduct that delays generic entry.     

The FTC issues remedy order in the Rambus matter

The FTC ordered compulsory licensing at fixed royalty ratesof the computer memory products developer's SDRAM and DDR SDRAMtechnologies, also ordering Rambus to desist from lying to standard-settingorganizations (SSOs) regarding its patents and patent applications.     

Teacher education and feminism

In this article I argue that recent years have seen a steady “reform” of teacher education. In the latest of a long line of initiatives, teaching is being restructured via a framework of National Professional Qualifications and Standards. These both centrally define the activity of teaching at various stages of the teaching “career” and establish new modes of progression for teachers. I argue that the framework neglects teachers' responsibilities in relation to social justice in ways that are particularly worrying for feminists. In addition, I argue that the masculinist nature of the standards, the managerialist restructuring of the social relations within schools, and the drive to recruit more men into teaching all connect to the international epidemic of concern about the “underachievement” of boys. The article draws evidence from two externally funded projects undertaken with Ian Hextall between 1995–1999.     

FRANDly fire: are industry standards doing more harm than good?

Legal context: The role of IP rights in standards; the meaning of the obligationimposed by many standards bodies on essential patent holdersto licence on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (‘FRAND’)terms; the example of IPR policy of the European TelecommunicationsStandards Institute; recent US developments. Key points: Industry standards are of key commercial and technical significance.Yet many standards are currently burdened by litigation betweenessential patent holders and licensees. Such standards bodieshave been slow to give guidance on the meaning of the obligationsimposed on essential patent holders. This article takes theexample of the obligation to licence essential patents on FRANDterms, analysing the obligation in the context of European competitionlaw. The article concludes with some suggestions for pointsfor companies to include in their internal policies on licensingstandards essential patents. Practical significance: The meaning of the obligation to licence on FRAND terms is veryimportant for licensors and licensees alike. This article putsthe obligation in context and discusses the various approacheswhich may be taken in practice.     

From the Dockyards to the Disney Store: Surveillance,Risk and Security in Liverpool City Centre

This paper critically examines security provision and policing in Liverpool through analysing the development and consolidation of CCTV cameras in the city centre. The paper is less concerned with the technical question surrounding the relationship between CCTV and conventional crime control. Rather it is more concerned with placing the cameras within a broader economic, political and ideological context. In doing so it seeks to explore how the aim of creating a 'safe' and 'secure' city environment through defensible spaces has brought together the local authority, local businesses and public and private police who are involved with developing formal and informal security networks. An examination of the establishment and operation of CCTV in Liverpool city centre illustrates these themes and raises a series of important political and sociological questions regarding the operationalisation of power, the definitions of security, risk and order that underpin the camera network, the new sites of regulation and surveillance that are emerging as a result of the consolidation of the cameras particularly in relation to the militarization of city life and the intensification in the definition of public space as a site for consumptive purposes. The paper concludes with a consideration of the consequences of these developments in relation to recent debates about democratic accountability and the state of British politics.