An Early Indian Interpretive Puzzle: Vedic Etymologies as a Tool for Thinking

Etymologies are often encountered in Vedic prose, in Brāhma?as and early Upani?ads. Though they have received a fair amount of scholarly attention, Vedic etymologies still present a challenge to interpreters. To respond to it, I critically review previous interpretations, and focus on three case studies, Aitareya Brāhma?a 1.1.2, B?hadāra?yaka Upani?ad 1.3, and Chāndogya Upani?ad 6.8. In my interpretation, I emphasize the need for a contextual reading, foreground Vedic etymologies’ complexity and sophistication, and call attention to the variety of purposes they serve to achieve as well as to Vedic etymologists’ agency. Supplementing conventional interpretations concentrating mostly on their religious-magical aspects, I describe Vedic etymologies as discursive devices used by Vedic authors to further their thoughts and agendas.     

Evaluation of scientific evidence using Bayesian networks

Bayesian networks provide a valuable aid for representing epistemic relationships in a body of uncertain evidence. The paper proposes some simple Bayesian networks for standard analysis of patterns of inference concerning scientific evidence, with a discussion of the rationale behind the nets, the corresponding probabilistic formulas, and the required probability assessments.     

The global reach of the principle of subsidiarity: the case of Australia

ABSTRACT

The diffusion of the principle of subsidiarity across countries and regions has taken on a variety of forms. In the case of the EU and Australia the observed variation is most striking. The detailed comparison of the governance arrangements in a quasi-federal system with those of a fully established federation reveals a continuing divergence in the actual recognition of subsidiarity concerns.     

From electronic health records to personal health records: emerging legal issues in the Italian regulation of e-health

In 2012, the Italian Legislator has provided an appropriate legal framework for the realisation of the national Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, in which the patient plays a pivotal role: with the implementation of the Fascicolo sanitario elettronico (FSE), patients will have access to their EHRs through the online platform, and decide which data to share and with whom. In this perspective, one of the most interesting innovations is the so-called ‘taccuino’, a digital space of patients’ FSE in which they can autonomously record data and information relating to their health. Patients’ ability to access their own health data and EHR at any time and to enter information by themselves in a personal area is a unique form of power at a European level, but their legal consequences are still vague. The aim of this contribution is to offer a first review of the Italian e-health reform, showing the most critical aspects.     

Histopathological findings in 851 autopsies of drug addicts, with toxicologic and virologic correlations

This investigation was carried out on 851 consecutive judicial autopsies of drug addicts who died mostly of heroin overdose from 1977 to 1996. Research of anti-HIV/HBV/HCV antibodies was performed, and histologic sections were retrospectively reviewed. More than 65% were HBV/HCV-positive and about 17% HIV-positive; females were HIV-positive more often than males. Intracranial microhemorrhages were frequently found; cerebral infectious diseases were rare. Inflammatory heart lesions, myocardial fibrosis, and acute ischemia were common. Interstitial nephritis (found in about 8%) was more frequent in females, in older patients, and in those carrying HIV infection; glomerular sclerosis was detected in about 12%. Acute bronchitis and/or pneumonia was demonstrated in 12%, without significant association with HIV infection; pulmonary hemorrhages, foreign body granulomas, and food aspiration were also commonly seen; hyperplasia of pulmonary perivascular lymphatic tissue was rather characteristic. Liver was carrying steatosis in 66.3% and/or hepatitis in 64.5%; acute hepatitis was more frequent in females, chronic hepatitis in older subjects and in those proven positive for hepatotropic viruses; cirrhosis occurred more often in older patients, in those carrying virus infection, and in consumers of nonnarcotics drugs such as ethanol. No pathologic finding was clearly related to drug abuse; therefore, during autopsy, drug addiction can be suspected, but anamnestic and circumstantial data are needed to lead pathologists to request toxicologic analysis to ascertain the cause of death. The present investigation emphasizes that, in addition to the risk of death by overdose, the high incidence of acute and chronic diseases could seriously undermine the health status of heroin and/or other drug consumers.     

South–South cooperation and the future of development assistance: mapping actors and options

International development cooperation is undergoing fundamental changes. New – or often re-emerging – actors have gained importance during the past two decades, and are increasingly challenging the traditional approach to development cooperation associated with the members of the Development Assistance Committee of the oecd. Their supposedly alternative paradigm, ‘South–South cooperation’ (ssc), has been recognised as an important cooperation modality, but faces contradictions that are not too different from those of its North–South counterpart. ssc providers are highly heterogeneous in terms of policies, institutional arrangements, and engagement with international forums and initiatives. This article contributes to current debates on ssc by mapping the diversity of its actors – based on illustrative case studies from the first and second ‘wave’ of providers – and by presenting and discussing some possible scenarios for the future of ssc within the international aid system.     

Delayed privatization

This paper studies the timing of privatization in 21 major developed economies in the 1977–2002 period. Duration analysis shows that political fragmentation plays a significant role in explaining government’s decision to privatize: privatization is delayed longer in democracies characterized by a larger number of parties and operating under proportional electoral rules, as predicted by war of attrition models of economic reform. Results are robust to various assumptions on the underlying statistical model and to controlling for other economic and political factors.