How "natural' are "kinds' of sexual orientation?

Law and Philosophy -     

How “Natural” are “Kinds” of Sexual Orientation?

Law and Philosophy -     

Crime and Security in Cyberspace

As we have become dependent on the internet, as the ‘network of networks’, so we have become vulnerable to criminal and terrorist networks that use cyberspace as a means to undermine and circumvent state control. Protecting against those that wish to attack the integrity, confidentiality and availability of systems, and the data they process, is primarily an issue of implementing appropriate security measures. But how do governments react to such threats against social and economic stability? This article examines recent inter-governmental harmonisation initiatives addressing the suitability of the criminal code, the adequacy of law enforcement powers to investigate cyberspace activities and the need for greater transnational co-operation. Such reforms challenge some traditional conceptions of state control and authority and can be seen as threatening existing rights and interests.     

大学与创新：多样性和临界质量（critical mass）

创新指以新的方式应用知识,以解决实际问题。与大学相关的知识创新模式主要有三种,即传统模式、线性模式和互动模式。临界质量(criticalmass)是指为提供一个可实现充分互动的环境而进行的资源集中。而最明显的资源集中就是人员的集中。这适用于大学内的各个组织、作为一个整体的若干大学、大学所在的地区以及各大学的联合。促成资源集中的体制所实现的临界质量对创新具有深远的积极影响。在一个地区内,所有的智力资本都为临界质量服务。智力资本能够进一步吸引投资和服务。具有足够临界质量的大学能够积聚极其庞大的智力资本。临界质量既有其深度又有其广度,而广度才是创新的关键。多样性和拥有自主权的参与者之间的互动有助于创新,因此大学应保留学术价值、保持传统角色。教学和研究是大学的主要任务,是大学推动创新的主要途径。我们应该将提高学生创新才能战略纳入大学教育的总体任务中。对大学而言,人员的流动可能比思想的交流更为重要。在大学创新与研究机构的关系方面,大学除了让学生体验创新以外,还应考虑其多样性和临界质量战略的重要性,在拓宽其学科范围的过程中提供一些有价值的东西。     

Making a Crisis out of a Drama: The Political Analysis of BSE Policy-Making in the UK

Political analysis presents the episode of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) as a crisis, a policy failure and a policy disaster, revealing fundamental problems with the political and administrative system in the UK. Associated with this finding is the view that trust in government has been damaged by the failure to communicate fully the potential risks to the public of eating beef. These conventional judgements are challenged here, on the basis of an exploration of the episode, the findings of the official inquiry into BSE, and the relationship between risk and trust. I conclude that the drama over BSE and variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease does not amount to a crisis, a failure or a disaster, and cannot serve as a critique of the UK political system. Instead, the complexity of the case suggests that it is an intractable policy problem.     

Drugs in oral fluid in randomly selected drivers

There were 13,176 roadside drug tests performed in the first year of the random drug-testing program conducted in the state of Victoria. Drugs targeted in the testing were methamphetamines and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). On-site screening was conducted by the police using DrugWipe^®, while the driver was still in the vehicle and if positive, a second test on collected oral fluid, using the Rapiscan^®, was performed in a specially outfitted “drug bus” located adjacent to the testing area. Oral fluid on presumptive positive cases was sent to the laboratory for confirmation with limits of quantification of 5, 5, and 2 ng/mL for methamphetamine (MA), methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), and THC, respectively. Recovery experiments conducted in the laboratory showed quantitative recovery of analytes from the collector. When oral fluid could not be collected, blood was taken from the driver and sent to the laboratory for confirmation. These roadside tests gave 313 positive cases following GC–MS confirmation. These comprised 269, 118, and 87 cases positive to MA, MDMA, and THC, respectively. The median oral concentrations (undiluted) of MA, MDMA, and THC was 1136, 2724, and 81 ng/mL. The overall drug positive rate was 2.4% of the screened population. This rate was highest in drivers of cars (2.8%). The average age of drivers detected with a positive drug reading was 28 years. Large vehicle (trucks over 4.5 t) drivers were older; on average at 38 years. Females accounted for 19% of all positives, although none of the positive truck drivers were female. There was one false positive to cannabis when the results of both on-site devices were considered and four to methamphetamines.