Innovation practices in emerging economies: Do university partnerships matter?

The Journal of Technology Transfer - Enterprises’ resources and capabilities determine their ability to achieve competitive advantage. In this regard, the key innovation challenges that...     

Ethics and good urban governance in Toronto: The Bellamy report and integrity in public service

Abstract: Ethics has often been of central academic and policy concern but has also emerged as a central public and media issue in Canadian politics. In Toronto, there have been a number of scandals over the past few years that have brought the discussion of ethics in the municipal public service to the forefront as well. This article analyses some of the ethical problems that municipal public servants face and the institutional culture that allows ethics violations to occur. These are illustrated by the Toronto computer‐leasing and external contracts scandals, which were the subject of an inquiry, beginning in 2002, and subsequent report by Madam Justice Denise E. Bellamy, in 2005. The author looks at the case of Wanda Liczyk to illustrate how the decision‐making process can be corrupted and how this can lead to loss of public trust and inefficient and inequitable government. The challenge for urban governance is to create a municipal public service that is professional and accountable and that follows an ethical public‐service model based on ethical codes, leadership and an understanding of underlying ethical principles. This would help regain public trust and maintain a public service that is efficient and therefore better able to handle the increasing challenges of local government. Sommaire: L'éthique a souvent été une préoccupation fondamentale sur le plan de la theorie et de la politique, mais elle est également devenue une question d'intérêt public et une question médiatique dans la politique canadienne. Å Toronto, un certain nombre de scandales survenus ces derniéres années ont également porté le debat sur 1'éthique dans la fonction publique municipale à l'avant‐scéne. Le présent article analyse certains problemes d'éthique auxquels font face les fonctionnaires municipaux et la culture institutionnelle qui permet la violation de l'éthique. De tels cas sont illustrés par les scandales concernant la location d'ordinateurs et les contrats externes qui sont survenus à Toronto et ont fait l'objet d'une enquete à partir de 2002, puis d'un rapport par Madame la juge Denise E. Bellamy, en 2005. L'auteur prend le cas de Wanda Liczyk pour illustrer la manière dont le processus de prise de décision peut être corrompu et comment cela conduit à la perte de la confiance du public et a un gouvernement inefficace et inéquitable. Le défi pour la gouvernance urbaine consiste à créer une fonction publique municipale qui soit professionnelle et imputable et qui suive un modèle de fonction publique éthique fondé sur des codes déontologiques, le leadership et une compréhension des principes éthiques sous‐jacents. Cela aiderait à regagner la confiance du public et à maintenir une fonction publique qui soit efficace et par conséquent mieux en mesure de relever les défis croissants auxquels fait face le gouvernement local.     

Spain: Local Democracy and Citizen Participation

This article focuses its attention on the democratic practice of local governments, taking the Spanish experience within its European context as the main point of reference. The analysis of democratic practice in local governments takes into consideration not only the collective decision-making processes, but also the real possibilities of citizen participation, assessing the urban model they lead to in the medium to long term. Such an analysis could help to determine if cities are moving towards more democratic and egalitarian forms of social organisation. Large urban projects in Spain have not been debated and agreed upon previously despite the fact that such works have a transcendental impact of the lives of millions of citizens. Simultaneously, different local authorities have put into place new experiences of participative government since the late 1990s, arising from a shared diagnosis indicating the existence of a democratic deficit that should be overcome.     

3D GPR in forensics: Finding a clandestine grave in a mountainous environment

In the present work we show a forensic case study carried out in a mountainous environment. Main objective was to locate a clandestine grave which is around 10–20 years old and contains human remains of one individual and a metallic tool, probably a pick. Survey design started with an experimental burial of a pick at the expected depth (1 m) as well as the calculation of synthetic radargrams in order to know if the 250 MHz antenna was suitable for its detection and to have a record of the reflection of the pick. Conclusions extracted from the experiments together with rough terrain conditions suggested the use of the 250 MHz antenna which allowed a good compromise between target detection and dense grid acquisition of an extensive survey area.     

Two arch criteria of the ilium for sex determination of immature skeletal remains: A test of their accuracy and an assessment of intra- and inter-observer error

Although the assignment of sex to immature skeletal remains is considered problematic, some traits have been considered useful for both forensic and bioarchaeological applications. One such trait is the arch criterion found in subadult ilia, which is defined relative to the greater sciatic notch-auricular surface area. In adults, the composite arch has also been described in relation to this area and has proven relatively successful in sex determination. This study offers an examination of the accuracy of the arch criterion and the composite arch in determining the sex of subadult skeletal remains, and an assessment of intra- and inter-observer scoring error. A sample of 97 skeletons of known sex and age (<15 years) from the Lisbon collection (Portugal) were selected and the traits were scored by three observers on orthogonal photos of each ilium. In general the agreement within (67.7–88.5%) and between (50.5–76.3%) examiners was poor and overall accuracy (26.7–52.6%) did not meet the expectations of that reported in previous studies. The authors suggest that this derives from great variation in morphology, difficulties in interpreting criteria and possibly a lack of association between the expression of the traits and sex. Careful examination of sex-related morphology in the immature skeleton and additional blind tests of so-called useful traits should continue to be carried out.     

Institutional Suicide and Elite Coordination: The Spanish Transition Revisited

ABSTRACT

In the literature on democratisation, the Spanish case has a paradigmatic status, especially for the negotiations between the regime and the opposition. While these negotiations did stabilise the new regime, the transition was driven by the regime’s elites. The key event was the approval of the Law for Political Reform in November 1976, when the legislature voted its own demise. The change was done according to the rules of the system. To explain this reform, we offer a formal model of coordination and a statistical analysis of an original dataset of the 531 legislators. The reform was possible because of elites’ belief coordination.     

A large-scale study of the relationship between blood and breath alcohol concentrations in New Zealand drinking drivers

Blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) and corresponding breath alcohol concentrations (BrAC) were determined for 21,582 drivers apprehended by New Zealand police. BAC was measured using headspace gas chromatography, and BrAC was determined with Intoxilyzer 5000 or Seres Ethylometre infrared analysers. The delay (DEL) between breath testing and blood sampling ranged from 0.03 to 5.4 h. BAC/BrAC ratios were calculated before and after BAC values were corrected for DEL using 19 mg/dL/h as an estimate of the blood alcohol clearance rate. Calculations were performed for single and duplicate breath samples obtained using the Intoxilyzer (groups I-1 and I-2) and Seres devices (groups S-1 and S-2). Before correction for DEL, BAC/BrAC ratios for groups I-1, I-2, S-1, and S-2 were (mean+/-SD) 2320+/-260, 2180+/-242, 2330+/-276, and 2250+/-259, respectively. After BAC values were adjusted for DEL, BAC/BrAC ratios for these groups were (mean+/-SD) 2510+/-256, 2370+/-240, 2520+/-280, and 2440+/-260, respectively. Our results indicate that in New Zealand the mean BAC/BrAC ratio is 19-26% higher than the ratio of the respective legal limits (2000).