EU update

This is the latest edition of the DLA Piper column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This news article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside web sites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

Multidimensional Impulsive Personality Traits Mediate the Effect of Parent Substance Use Disorder on Adolescent Alcohol and Cannabis Use

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Theory suggests that behavioral undercontrol mediates the effect of parental substance disorder on offspring substance use, but no studies have tested...     

His(Tory): why British History needs Conservatives

British academia today is overwhelmingly left-leaning in its political orientation and especially pro-Labour. This article examines what impact this is having on British political history. It begins by demonstrating just how recent this left-wing preponderance is and how, as late as the 1990s, there remained a strong grouping of right-leaning political historians. This, the article argues, helps in part explain the relative vibrancy of political history in that era compared to today. Turning to the advantages a larger number of conservative voices would bring to the sub-discipline, the article identifies how those on the right are more likely to subscribe to different methodological approaches, have different historical interests and be interested in different kinds of political questions from their left-leaning colleagues. Most of all, it stresses how political diversity would help historians of every persuasion better recognise the ideological frameworks that inform their own work.     

The Sisyphus’s Rock of Prosperity and Disparity in the Global Economy: Giovanni Arrighi and Apple Inc’s Tax Avoidance Strategies from Obama to Trump

The global value chain (GVC) perspective assumes that business firms’ occupation of high value-added nodes in the global production network can promote their countries’ socio-economic development. However, I argue that society-wide benefits that may follow from firms’ profit-maximizing activities are often ephemeral. Over time the middle class can shrink, and economic inequality can increase even when firms continue to move up to higher value-added niches and garner huge profit. I illustrate this disjunction between business activities and societal development with Apple’s strategies of tax avoidance and reduction from the Obama to the Trump administration. I then draw on the theoretical framework that Giovanni Arrighi sets out in The Long Twentieth Century and ideas from The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus to analyze the Apple case. As my analysis makes clear, the flawed assumption of the GVC perspective reveals its practitioners’ failure to recognize that within global capitalism, permanent and sustained societal affluence is unlikely, and what exists instead is a constant alternation between prosperity and disparity.     

Wives’ Relative Income and Marital Quality in Urban China: The Role of Perceived Equity

The debate over the association between wives?? relative income (WRI) and marital quality remain controversial in the west; however, this important research area has been surprisingly under-studied against the backdrop of the fast socioeconomic transition in contemporary China. Using 763 urban Chinese wives, this study examined both the mediating and the moderating role of perceived equity between WRI and marital quality. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated that urban Chinese wives?? relative income had a negative impact on their marital happiness and a positive impact on marital instability to a small extent. The mediating role of perceived equity was not supported in this study; however, perceived equity could buffer the positive effect of wives?? relative income on marital instability, especially for higher-earning wives. This study contributes to understanding wives?? socioeconomic resources and marital quality from an equity perspective in the Chinese context and generates implications for cross-cultural research on perceived equity. It also serves for marital counseling on improving higher-earning wives?? perception of fairness as well as family?Cfriendly policy making.     

“We’re in it to win it”- negotiating successful outsourcing transactions Introduction

Much emphasis has been placed on the continuing growth of the outsourcing sector in the recent recessionary times. However, whilst much of this growth has undeniably been due to the budget-driven imperative to lower costs, the long term advantages of lower cost, guaranteed service levels and access to best practice/latest technology marks out the outsourcing sector as one which is set for sustained growth. In this context, the importance of establishing sound foundations for what are invariably long term deals is clear. This paper will accordingly establish the key stages involved in establishing the foundations for a successful outsource project, and the pitfalls to avoid.     

“Cloud bursts”: Emerging trends in contracting for Cloud services

Contracting for cloud based services might be said to be in its relative infancy, but such contracts as have been promulgated by the major providers have uniformly tended to be extremely restrictive in terms of the rights and means of recourse offered to customers. As contract values and service complexity “in the cloud” increase, however, more and more of such contracts are subject to review and challenge. This article accordingly considers some of the key points of common contention, and offers thoughts as to the direction of travel for such contracts in the months to come.     

Feminist Prosecutors and Patriarchal States

In Prosecuting Domestic Violence: A Philosophical Analysis, Michelle Madden Dempsey focuses on the dilemma prosecutors face when domestic violence victims are unwilling to cooperate in the criminal prosecution of their abusive partners. Starting from the premise that the ultimate goal should be putting an end to domestic violence, Dempsey urges prosecutors to act as feminists in deciding how to proceed in such cases. Doing so, Dempsey argues, will tend to make the character of the prosecutor’s community and state less patriarchal and thus help stamp out domestic violence. This article analyzes two issues arising from Dempsey’s work: first, whether prosecutors can justifiably be viewed as representatives of their states and communities; and, second, how prosecutors committed to using their discretion to battle both domestic violence and patriarchy would go about determining in a particular case whether to pursue criminal charges against the wishes of a victim.