The Bologna Process: Impact on Interdisciplinarity and Possibilities for Women's Studies

This article discusses the impact of the so‐called Bologna process on possibilities for interdisciplinary higher education and research, in particular in relation to Women's Studies. Based on findings from two European research projects, it argues that the spaces open to interdisciplinarity and Women's Studies in higher education under the Bologna process are strongly marked by national systems and their interpretations of the Bologna requirements. The opportunities in the educational field (whether at undergraduate or post‐graduate level) to innovate and flexibilize, key requisites for Women's Studies as a discipline, are impaired by institutional structures of administration, research, evaluation, accreditation and career development that rely on disciplinarity as their core categories. The Nordic countries seem to have moved more clearly than others, such as Hungary or Spain, towards an implementation of the Bologna agreement in a manner that facilitates both interdisciplinarity and Women's Studies.     

The Role of Ego-Resiliency as Mediator of the Longitudinal Relationship between Family Socio-Economic Status and School Grades

Family socio-economic status (SES) represents one of the major determinants of youth’s scholastic achievement, and thus it is important to unravel the psychological factors underlining this relation. In this article, we examined youth’s ability to flexibly adapt and, thus, cope with harsh environmental conditions—assessed by the construct of ego-resiliency—as a mediating mechanism in the across-time association between family SES and academic achievement. The longitudinal sample was composed of 265 (56% females) Italian students who were about 13 years old at Time 1 (T1) and about 18 years old at Time 2 (T2). In a structural equation model analysis, family SES significantly predicted ego-resiliency 6 years later while controlling for the latter’s strong longitudinal stability. Students’ school grades at the end of senior high school were also predicted by ego-resiliency assessed at the age of 13, controlling for grades in the last year of junior high school, gender, and initial differences in ages. In accordance with the posited hypothesis, this study provided support for a two-wave meditational model in which the relation between family SES at 13 years and later school grades at 19 years was mediated by ego-resiliency. All in all, results support the argument that being resilient, and thus being able to flexibly adapt one’s own emotional state and resultant behavior, matters to school success.     

Women talking : Creating knowledge through difference in cross-cultural research

This paper discusses the research process of a cross-cultural study investigating the health care experiences of Chinese Canadian and Indo-Canadian women. Employing the notion of reflexivity, the paper discusses the use of an accepted feminist method, the in-depth interview, in a study involving women from racialized groups. The paper discusses the layering of power relations at the different sites of data gathering, and the negotiation of “difference” between researchers, research assistants, and study participants throughout the study. The position of research assistants, as mediators of the research process, is given particular attention. In discussing our attempt to put the principles of feminist research into practice in cross-cultural research, we argue that problems encountered in the interview method require critical reflection, not only on the grounds of the practical issues of gaining detailed, narrative accounts of women's lives, but also in relation to the way in which “others” are constructed through research practices.     

New pitfall for the pharmaceutical industry

Legal context This article reviews the Commission decision thatfined AstraZeneca 60 million for abuse of Article 82 EC. Itlooks at the decision in the context of the EU legal frameworkfor pharmaceuticals and considers the legal basis for the Commissiondecision. Key points The article highlights the key points of the allegedabusive practices that do not appear to be consistent with theEU regulatory legal framework and the ECJ jurisprudence in particular,read in conjunction with the principle of commercial freedom. Practical significance The Commission decision (if upheld bythe courts) would have an significant impact on the way thatpharmaceutical companies run their business. This would constitutean unprecedented interference with the principle of commercialfreedom afforded to pharmaceutical companies and specificallyrecognised by the ECJ.     

Validation of a male-specific, 12-locus fluorescent short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex

Y chromosome-specific short tandem repeat (Y-STR) analysis has become another widely accepted tool for human identification. The PowerPlex Y System is a fluorescent multiplex that includes the 12 loci: DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I/II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439. This panel of markers incorporates the 9-locus European minimal haplotype (EMH) loci recommended by the International Y-STR User Group and the 11-locus set recommended by the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM). Described here are inter-laboratory results from 17 developmental validation studies of the PowerPlex Y System and include the following results: (a) samples distributed between laboratories and commercial standards produced expected and reproducible haplotypes; (b) use of common amplification and detection instruments were successfully demonstrated; (c) full profiles were obtained with standard 30 and 32 cycle amplification protocols and cycle number (24-28 cycles) could be modified to match different substrates (such as direct amplification of FTA paper); (d) complete profiles were observed with reaction volumes from 6.25 to 50 microL; (e) minimal impact was observed with variation of enzyme concentration; (f) full haplotypes were observed with 0.5-2x primer concentrations; however, relative yield between loci varied with concentration; (g) reduction of magnesium to 1mM (1.5 mM standard) resulted in minimal amplification, while only partial loss of yield was observed with 1.25 mM magnesium; (h) decreasing the annealing temperature by 2-4 degrees C did not generate artifacts or locus dropout and most laboratories observed full amplification with the annealing temperature increased by 2 degrees C and significant locus dropout with a 4 degrees C increase in annealing temperature; (i) amplification of individual loci with primers used in the multiplex produced the same alleles as observed with the multiplex amplification; (j) all laboratories observed full amplification with >or = 125 pg of male template with partial and/or complete profiles observed using 30-62.5 pg of DNA; (k) analysis of < or = 500 ng of female DNA did not yield amplification products; (l) the minor male component of a male/female mixture was observed with < or =1200-fold excess female DNA with the majority of alleles still observed with 10,000-fold excess female; (m) male/male mixtures produced full profiles from the minor contributor with 10-20-fold excess of the major contributor; (n) average stutter for each locus; (o) precision of sizing were determined; (p) human-specificity studies displayed amplification products only with some primate samples; and (q) reanalysis of 102 non-probative casework samples from 65 cases produced results consistent with original findings and in some instances additional identification of a minor male contributor to a male/female mixture was obtained. In general, the PowerPlex Y System was shown to have the sensitivity, specificity and reliability required for forensic DNA analysis.