The Social Capital of Global Ties in Science: The Added Value of International Collaboration

The globalization of science is demonstrated in the mobility of scientists across national boundaries, the composition of the U.S. scientific workforce, and increased collaboration across national boundaries. While studies based on bibliometric and other data have been useful in identifying trends, collaborative clusters, and other patterns in international collaboration, they do not reveal the social dynamics behind those collaborations. This paper addresses the human and social capital factors that explain whether or not an academic researcher in science and engineering has an international collaborator. Further, through detailed statistical models, the analysis also addresses the factors that differentiate the specific resources derived from those international ties. Results show that non‐U.S. citizens are more likely to have close international collaborators, but that a range of factors explain this relationship. Further, results show that U.S. academic faculty mobilize different collaborative resources from international collaborators, versus their domestic collaborators.     

Die Europäische Bürgerinitiative. Grundlagen, Bedingungen und Verfahren

Mit Inkrafttreten des Vertrags von Lissabon am 1. Dezember 2009 wurde auf Ebene der Europäischen Union erstmals ein Element direkter Demokratie primärrechtlich verankert: die Europäische Bürgerinitiative. Diese stellt ein neues Recht der UnionsbürgerInnen dar, muss aber erst noch sekundärrechtlich näher ausgestaltet werden. Seit Ende März 2010 liegt ein entsprechender Vorschlag der Kommission für eine Verordnung des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vor. Die darin vorgesehenen Verfahren und Bedingungen sollen klar, einfach und benutzerfreundlich sein sowie gewährleisten, dass Bürgerinitiativen einerseits repräsentativ für ein unionsweites Interesse und andererseits als Instrument einfach zu handhaben sind. Sie sollen ferner sicherstellen, dass für alle UnionsbürgerInnen unabhängig von dem Mitgliedstaat, aus dem sie stammen, die gleichen Bedingungen für die Teilnahme an einer Bürgerinitiative gelten. Der gegenständliche Beitrag stellt die Grundlagen sowie die Bedingungen und Verfahren der Europäischen Bürgerinitiative dar und geht (noch) offenen Rechtsfragen nach.     

When the study of delinquent groups stood still: In defense of a classical tradition

This essay focuses on reductionism, the study of delinquent groups, and citation analysis. It describes Frederick Thrasher’s epistemological break with reductionists like Sigmund Freud and William Healy. It shows how Freudian, neoFreudian, and social-control theorists attributed ‘the group factor’ in delinquency to pathological traits, early childhood disorders, frustrated desires for mobility, or social disabilities of group members. From 1950 to 1970, the mobilization of bias accompanying these regressive developments nullified a classical sociological view of delinquent groups by transforming a fruitful legacy of non-reductionist theory and research into ‘non events’. When criminologists employ citation indices to legitimate such degenerative developments, they rely on spurious subjective criteria for gauging scientific contributions to knowledge.     

Elke Fiebig-Bauer: Ressourcenschonung durch das KrW-/AbfG – Eine juristisch-ökonomische Analyse

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Articulated Thoughts of Intimate Partner Abusive Men during Anger Arousal: Correlates with Personality Disorder Features

This study extends Eckhardt et al. (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66:259–269, 1998) research on cognitive correlates of anger arousal among intimate partner abusers (IPA; n = 130), distressed/nonviolent (DNV; n = 27), and satisfied/nonviolent men (SNV; n = 21) during a standardized anger induction task by examining variables thought to differentiate batterers. Variables pertinent to the Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (Psychological Bulletin, 116:476–497, 1994) typology—borderline and antisocial personality, psychopathy, general violence, and partner violence—were correlated to articulated cognitive distortions. Since between group comparisons were not significant, articulated anger was correlated with antisocial, borderline, and psychopathic features. Borderline personality features correlated positively with articulations reflecting jealousy. Articulated themes were more consistently related to psychopathology than to violence, suggesting that tailoring treatments to personality features of clients may prove fruitful.     

New Institutionalism and Naturalism in Socio‐Legal Analysis: Institutionalist Approaches to Regulatory Decision Making

Through drawing on the work particularly of sociological and organizational theorists socio-legal work has added considerably to an understanding of the uses of law and discretion, and shown the contingency of the operation of law on the economic, political and organizational context. Some important questions still remain unanswered, however. In particular, if in decision making law is not determinative, but rather decisions are shaped by other bureaucratic or organizational norms, political and economic pressures and an individual's own world views and interests, what role does law play? Further, what impact does the decision process, in which different norms or considerations all bear, have on law? In starting to answer these questions the article examines the models of decision processes and decision behavior which underly the different new institutionalist analyses, and suggests that whilst they provide some insights, they have their own limits.     

“YFlag” – A Single‐base Extension Primer Based Method for Gender Determination

Assigning the gender of a DNA contributor in forensic analysis is typically achieved using the amelogenin test. Occasionally, this test produces false‐positive results due to deletions occurring on the Y chromosome. Here, a four‐marker “YFlag” method is presented to infer gender using single‐base extension primers to flag the presence (or absence) of Y‐chromosome DNA within a sample to supplement forensic STR profiling. This method offers built‐in redundancy, with a single marker being sufficient to detect the presence of male DNA. In a study using 30 male and 30 female individuals, detection of male DNA was achieved with c. 0.03 ng of male DNA. All four markers were present in male/female mixture samples despite the presence of excessive female DNA. In summary, the YFlag system offers a method that is reproducible, specific, and sensitive, making it suitable for forensic use to detect male DNA.