Portugal

European Journal of Political Research -     

Roman and Catholic and American: The transformation of Catholicism in the United States

This paper serves as a preliminary study for an analysis of the public role which the American Catholic Bishops assumed in the 1980s. The analysis is part of a broader, forthcoming study,Public Religions in the Modern World, which includes also studies of Catholicism in Spain, Poland, and Brazil, and a study of Protestant Fundamentalism.     

Erhöhung der Darlegungslast für FFH-Verträglichkeitsprüfung und Abweichungsentscheidung durch das BVerwG

Die Anforderungen an die Zulassung von Infrastrukturvorhaben sind in den letzten Jahren erheblich gestiegen. Ben?tigte der Planfeststeller vor 20 Jahren noch 20 Seiten für einen Planfeststellungsbeschluss, k?nnen es heute schon mal 500 Seiten für eine Ortsumgehung sein. Dementsprechend ist es nicht verwunderlich, wenn das hier zu besprechende Urteil des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts (BVerwG) die Form einer kleinen Monographie einschlie?lich des Inhaltsverzeichnisses annimmt. Die Ursachen sind sichtbar und weithin bekannt. Auf der tats?chlichen Seite liegen sie in der Versch?rfung der Nutzungskonflikte durch die zunehmende Verdichtung der Infrastrukturnetze sowie Siedlungs- und Gewerbefl?chen, dem zunehmenden Umweltbewusstsein der Bev?lkerung und dem Aufbau eines europ?ischen Schutzgebietsnetzes. Auf der rechtlichen Seite wirkt sich die immer tiefer greifende Europ?isierung des deutschen Rechts auf das Fachplanungsrecht aus. Diese Entwicklung in den letzten Jahren hat gezeigt, dass sich das Fachplanungsrecht zwar gegen die verfahrensrechtlichen Anforderungen des Gemeinschaftsrechts durch Regelungen zur Verfahrensbeschleunigung weitgehend zur Wehr setzen kann; die materiellrechtlichen Anforderungen greifen aber und verl?ngern auf ihre Weise die Verfahren. Das von der Abw?gung bestimmte Fachplanungsrecht wird schleichend durch zwingende gemeinschaftsrechtliche Vorgaben ver?ndert. Eine dieser Normen – die auch im Mittelpunkt der Entscheidung des BVerwG steht – ist die Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Richtlinie (FFH-RL).     

Dworkin on external skepticism and moral permissions

This article discusses Ronald Dworkin’s first objection against what he calls external moral skepticism, the view that denies truth-value to moral judgments. According to that objection, an external skeptic denies that substantive moral judgments can be true. But, at the same time, the objection goes, what follows from the skeptical view is that all actions are morally permissible, which is in itself a substantive moral judgment. We call this ‘the self-defeating argument.’ We argue that the objection’s success depends on how we interpret the idea of moral permission, an issue Dworkin does not clearly resolve. Against his objection, we advance two different arguments. First, once we learn what role the idea of moral permission plays in morality, we can see that any plausible view of some agent’s moral permission must acknowledge its complex character, and that the existence of a moral permission must have some impact on the balance of moral reasons for other agents. On this understanding, it is false that it follows solely from external skepticism that everything is permissible. Second, we argue that even if permissions have a simple character, not a complex one, they are plausible only when framed within a moral constellation of rights and obligations. So understood, it is, again, false that it follows from external skepticism that everything is permissible.     

Evaluation of the Forensic Utility of Scanning Electron Microscopy‐Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and Laser Ablation‐Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Mass Spectrometry for Printing Ink Examinations

Improvements in printing technology have exacerbated the problem of document counterfeiting, prompting the need for analytical techniques that better characterize inks for forensic analysis and comparisons. In this study, 319 printing inks (toner, inkjet, offset, and Intaglio) were analyzed directly on the paper substrate using scanning electron microscopy‐energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS) and Laser Ablation‐Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Mass Spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS). As anticipated, the high sensitivity of LA‐ICP‐MS pairwise comparisons resulted in excellent discrimination (average of ~ 99.6%) between different ink samples from each of the four ink types and almost 100% correct associations between ink samples known to originate from the same source. SEM‐EDS analysis also resulted in very good discrimination for different toner and intaglio inks (>97%) and 100% correct association for samples from the same source. SEM‐EDS provided complementary information to LA‐ICP‐MS for certain ink types but showed limited utility for the discrimination of inkjet and offset inks.     

Latent Fingermark Aging Patterns (Part I): Minutiae Count as One Indicator of Degradation

The authors are exploring degradation patterns of latent fingermarks over time which can be quantitatively determined in a predictable manner by visual means. Several physical degradation parameters for assessing this hypothesis are evaluated. This article analyzes the parameter “minutiae count” as a function of time. Experiment variables included were secretion type (sebaceous‐rich and eccrine‐rich), substrate (glass and plastic), and exposure to light (dark, shade, and direct light). Depositions were sequentially visualized with Titanium Dioxide powder over a period of 6 months, photographed, and number of minutiae recorded. Results revealed a significant decrease of minutiae for eccrine‐rich marks on glass but insignificant for sebaceous‐rich marks on the same surface. However, significant degradation was observed for both types of secretions on plastic. The authors conclude that the distinctive prevalence of minutiae changes over time indicates with a high degree of certainty the hypothesis is valid and deserves additional exploration.