Latency – Time for lawyers to get up to speed?

While latency issues have always existed in IT systems, it is only in recent years that latency has become a significant focal point for both IT suppliers and customers. This paper will provide an overview as to how latency arises in IT systems, why latency is becoming important across a variety of business sectors and then explores some of the prominent legal issues inherent in contracting for low-latency solutions.     

Rhetoric in municipal amalgamations: a comparative analysis

ABSTRACT

There is a large literature that seeks to evaluate municipal amalgamations ex post, but a relative dearth of scholarly inquiry into the practical political task of persuading the public to accept amalgamations ex ante. We address this important gap in the literature by conducting a rhetorical analysis to ascertain what types of arguments are believed to be efficacious for persuasion on amalgamation. We find evidence to suggest belief in the efficacy of persuading the public through recourse to various projected dreadful consequences, particularly amongst opponents of amalgamation. We conclude by considering some of the reasons behind the observed rhetorics and briefly outline one possible solution.     

Values in international development organisations: negotiating non-negotiables

Values are an important theme in discussions in international NGOs, helping to create the conditions for solidarity among staff. But at the same time they are also frequently a source of demoralisation and destructive conflict. This is because the prevailing perceptions of values as instruments of management or as elements in some inchoate mystical whole render the power relationship between staff and managers undiscussable. Values need not be thought of as an instrument of management, and they are above all idealisations. An alternative theory of values is that they are emergent and intensely social phenomena that arise daily between people engaged in a collective enterprise. They are idealisations, but they must be discussed in the everyday context. Conflict is inevitable, but the exploration of the nature of this conflict in daily practice is the only way of ensuring that the discussion about values is an enlivening process.     

Support for the environment post-transition? Material concerns and policy tradeoffs

Though many individuals are aware of the need to address environmental concerns, fewer are willing to pay for climate action or think the environment should be a priority for government spending. One compelling reason is that they prioritize using scarce resources to address immediate material concerns. This is particularly likely for individuals facing absolute material scarcity or for those who think they are relatively economically worse off, especially in contexts characterized by rapid transformation and volatility in the levels and quality of social welfare provision. To test these expectations, we analyze survey data from formerly Communist economies, which today find themselves with vastly different fortunes. Empirical findings suggest that absolute and relative material scarcity affect opinions regarding government spending on, and the willingness to pay more for, environmental action. However, willingness to pay more for government public services, inclusive of anti-poverty initiatives, has an impact on willingness to pay more for climate action, but in counter-intuitive ways. Overall, the results appear to suggest that explicitly addressing and relating individual living standards and inequality with environmental concerns may expand support for climate action.     

Use of styryl 11 and STaR 11 for the luminescence enhancement of cyanoacrylate-developed fingermarks in the visible and near-infrared regions

In current casework, most post-cyanoacrylate stains rely on luminescence emission in the visible region (400-700 nm). While traditional stains such as rhodamine 6G work well under most circumstances, some surfaces may generate background luminescence under the same conditions. Detection in the near-infrared region (NIR > 700 nm) has shown to be effective in minimizing the interferences from such surfaces. The laser dye styryl 11 generated strongly luminescent fingermarks when applied after cyanoacrylate fuming on all surfaces tested. When compared to rhodamine 6G, the dye was superior only when viewed in the NIR. Styryl 11 was subsequently combined with rhodamine 6G, and the mixed stain formulation (named StaR 11 by the authors) induced stronger luminescence compared with styryl 11 alone with an ability to visualize in both the visible and NIR regions. Reliable and consistent results were obtained when using either styryl 11 alone or the STaR 11 mixture. The enhancement achieved did not otherwise vary depending on the source of the fingermark secretions. With visualization possible in both the visible and NIR regions, the styryl 11/rhodamine 6G mixture showed significant potential as a post-cyanoacrylate stain.     

The power of aspirations and expectations: the connection between educational goals and risk behaviors among African American adolescents

Numerous studies and interventions have been designed to either reduce the prevalence of risky behaviors (substance use, sexual activity, etc.) or increase the level of educational activity for adolescents. Research suggests that these two constructs may be related yet little is known about this relationship among African American youth. Archival data from the Risk Reduction Project was used to explore the connection between the protective factors of educational aspirations/expectations and recent participation in risky behavior. Results suggest that recent use of marijuana, alcohol to the point of intoxication, and sexual activity predicted lower aspirations and expectations among African American youth. From a positive youth development perspective, this study suggests the development of holistic interventions that build educational assets in youth, in addition to working to minimize risk behaviors. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

The (Il)logics of Federal Budgeting,and Why Crisis Must Come

The U.S. federal budgeting system faces severe challenges in coming years. Deficits are being recorded at levels and with regularity not seen in prior periods. This article suggests that such problems reflect the uncomfortable mix of logics informing budgetary and political institutions—that is, the rules of the game. Logics make it appropriate to expect that government be limited in its tax demands but simultaneously responsive in providing expensive services necessary for the achievement of the American dream, for example. Crisis is needed to allow the emergence of institutional forms that mediate between these conflicting logics.     

Attenuated Sovereignty: An Immodest Proposal for Addressing Ethnic Diversity

The conventional sovereignty that has prevailed for the past several centuries restricts the options open to ethnic minorities in multiethnic populations that are subject to a single sovereign authority. Minorities will either trend toward integration with majority populations or else the direction of change will be toward separation and the establishment of new, smaller sovereign states. There are serious problems with both options. The present proposal is for a form of diluted or “attenuated” sovereignty whereby, in its most basic form, a particular ethnic minority would be afforded limited sovereignty in a specified area within an existing sovereign state’s overall territory. An attenuated-sovereignty government established in the specified area would be answerable to—and have authority over—only those persons of the designated ethnic minority who have opted to affiliate themselves with it. Distinctive to this proposal, all other persons, irrespective of their ethnicity, could remain in the delimited area and remain subject to the pre-existing, conventionally sovereign authority. This proposal includes various strategies to make attenuated sovereignty a practical, workable option. The notion of attenuated sovereignty is not as fantastical as it may seem at first glance. Re this assertion, the conventionally sovereign state is everywhere at bay. Its best days are behind it. Under the circumstances, in some situations, attenuated sovereignty could prove advantageous to both ethnic minorities and majority populations willing to accommodate them in the creative manner here proposed.     

Evaluation of different sampling media for their potential use as a combined swab for the collection of both organic and inorganic explosive residues

Commercially available skin cleansing alcohol wipes and conventional swabs were investigated for their use as a universal sampling medium for the simultaneous collection of both organic and inorganic explosive residues. Six compounds with the potential to be encountered in casework [pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), triacetone triperoxide (TATP), ammonium nitrate, and sodium chlorate] were selected as representative target compounds. Quantities of these target compounds were deposited on four different substrates (glass, plastic, aluminium foil and laminate). Two chosen alcohol wipes demonstrated better overall performance in the recovery of both the organic and inorganic representative compounds from each of the test surfaces compared to the results obtained using conventional cotton and polyester swabs, pre-moistened with various solvents, and a direct methanol wash (used as a control). Results obtained using dry cotton swabs indicated that it was not an effective swabbing system for the collection of both organic and inorganic explosive residues on common substrates.     

Intra-provincial fiscal decentralization,relative wealth,and healthcare efficiency: Empirical evidence from China

Decentralizing fiscal power to locally elected governments is often regarded as beneficial for public service efficiency. However, questions remain about whether decentralizing fiscal responsibilities work well in countries lacking political decentralization. In China, fiscal decentralization has significantly strengthened the role of local governments in the provision of healthcare services, but evidence of its efficiency effects is scarce. To cast light on this issue, this study investigates the relationship between intra-provincial fiscal decentralization and the productive efficiency of healthcare services in China. Analysis of panel data for 2006–2017 suggests that expenditure and revenue decentralization from provincial to sub-provincial governments significantly improves healthcare efficiency. Further analysis suggests that the positive impact of healthcare expenditure decentralization on healthcare efficiency may be stronger in wealthier provinces. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications.