PRICE SQUEEZE: LESSONS FROM THE TELECOM ITALIA CASE

This paper analyzes a price squeeze case in the provision oftelecommunication services to the Italian Public Administration,in which Telecom Italia, the incumbent company, was condemnedfor bidding below costs. We develop the analysis of the casehighlighting the possible anticompetitive story and the alternativecompetitive explanation. We then construct a quantitative imputationtest to verify the alleged anticompetitive behavior. The methodologicalissues and the assumptions needed to implement the test arediscussed in detail, showing their link to a precise test ofthe anticompetitive story. We discuss the reasons why the AntitrustAuthority and our views diverge over the evaluation of TelecomItalia bidding. The role of judicial review in cases with complexeconomic arguments is discussed.     

Injuries of the Head from Backface Deformation of Ballistic Protective Helmets Under Ballistic Impact

Modern ballistic helmets defeat penetrating bullets by energy transfer from the projectile to the helmet, producing helmet deformation. This deformation may cause severe injuries without completely perforating the helmet, termed “behind armor blunt trauma” (BABT). As helmets become lighter, the likelihood of larger helmet backface deformation under ballistic impact increases. To characterize the potential for BABT, seven postmortem human head/neck specimens wearing a ballistic protective helmet were exposed to nonperforating impact, using a 9 mm, full metal jacket, 124 grain bullet with velocities of 400–460 m/s. An increasing trend of injury severity was observed, ranging from simple linear fractures to combinations of linear and depressed fractures. Overall, the ability to identify skull fractures resulting from BABT can be used in forensic investigations. Our results demonstrate a high risk of skull fracture due to BABT and necessitate the prevention of BABT as a design factor in future generations of protective gear.     

The Relationship Between the bhāvas and the pratyayasarga in Classical Sāṃkhya

The relationship between the two classical Sā?khya paradigms of the conditions (bhāva) and the intellectual creation (pratyayasarga) has been a matter of debate since the early days of modern Indology. The precise role of each of these paradigms in the broader Sā?khya system, as well as the relationship between them, is unclear from the text of ī?varak???a’s Sā?khyakārikā, and most of the classical commentaries on this text offer little clarification. Of these commentaries, the anonymous Yuktidīpikā provides the most detailed and extensive information on many philosophical issues, including the nature of the bhāvas and the pratyayasarga. This article aims to show that previous attempts by scholars to explain the relationship between these two paradigms have not taken the evidence of the Yuktidīpikā fully into account, and to reconstruct a more adequate understanding on the basis of this evidence.     

The Demise of ATSIC? Accountability and the Coalition Government

ATSIC has been portrayed by the Coalition government as an organisation that is not financially accountable and, because of this, is not achieving positive service delivery outcomes for Aboriginal people. Drawing on documentary material and fieldwork data, this article argues that ATSIC is indeed accountable and that the Coalition is putting the accountability argument forward as a means of justifying the dismantling of ATSIC. Given the past and recent actions taken by the Coalition, it is unclear how much longer ATSIC will be able to survive in its current form.     

UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT AND HUMAN CAPACITY The Role of Premises in Mediation Training

In this article, the authors points out that underlying mediator practices and techniques, there are deeper premises and values that guide and shape practice. The authors argue that mediation training should include articulation and explanation of the premises that underlie the form of practice being taught. They describe the particular premises that underlie the transformative orientation to mediation practice and give examples of how those premises can be conveyed within an overall training design, how doing so enriches the teaching of skills and techniques themselves.     

Environmental Insurance: A Risk Management Tool for Real Estate

Traditional risk management tools including contract allocation and reliance upon statutory defenses or government releases can be incomplete, contentious, and costly solutions to address risks associated with environmental liability and cleanup obligations in real estate transfer and property ownership. Such traditional methods leave environmental risk for the interested parties in the real estate transaction to bear over time and bring added new risks to the parties. Environmental insurance transfers all or part of the risk to a third-party insurance company (insurer) that is not a participating party in the transaction, thereby taking insurable environmental risk out of the transaction. Further, environmental insurance can add positive value to the transaction by bringing necessary risk identification and validation, and loss minimization and claims handling expertise to the transaction by virtue of the underwriting and claims management process, and add the financial strength and expertise of a qualified insurer. Insurance is often perceived by lenders, investors, developers, contractors, tenants, and future purchasers as a positive assurance against environmental risk associated with the property, allowing business relationships and financing to proceed more smoothly. In this way, environmental insurance serves as a more comprehensive and complete risk management tool for the real estate transaction and property ownership.