Is Canadian intellectual property leaving Canada? A study of nanotechnology patenting

In this study we explore the patent ownership for the innovations created by Canadian nanotechnology inventors. We find that although there is a great innovative potential and inventive productivity among Canadian researchers, a lot of the intellectual property actually leaves the country: Around 50% of the nanotechnology patents invented by Canadian inventors are owned by foreign assignees. We also note the predominance of private companies among the patent owners. Almost one-third of all the Canadian-invented nanotechnology patents is assigned to a single American firm, Xerox Corporation. Furthermore, we explore the role of Canadian nanotechnology star inventors. The results show that the fruits of their great inventive productivity are collected outside Canada.     

Counterterrorism strategies in the lab

We conduct experiments to test the collective action dilemmas associated with defensive and proactive counterterror strategies. Defensive policies are associated with creating public ??bads' (e.g., a commons) whereas proactive policies are akin to the voluntary provision of public goods. When combined, the inefficiency of collective action is exacerbated, resulting in a situation known as a Prisoner??s Dilemma squared (PD²). Deterministic versus probabilistic equivalent versions of the associated externalities are compared within a laboratory setting. Experimental results reveal that the collective action problem associated with counterterror strategies is deepened in uncertain environments, and is indeed a robust regularity that is not easily overcome; as individuals gain more experience, they become even more self-interested.     

Sensitivity of TATP to a TASER Electrical Output

A series of experiments were performed to evaluate and document the effect of a TASER (“stun gun”) on triacetone triperoxide (TATP), an easily manufactured explosive used often in IEDs and suicide bombing vests. TATP samples were synthesized and subjected to several tests of their sensitivity. These samples were run through a BAM Friction test with a result of <0.5 N, Impact Test with a result of 5.8 ± 0.4 cm, and Electrostatic Discharge test with a result of 0.073 ± 0.018 J. In addition, TATP was shocked with a TASER in a variety of configurations. The TATP reacted in 17/17 tests when the TASER arced through the TATP and 0/4 times when the TATP was configured in such a way that the TATP was not subjected to the electrical arc. Based on the experimental data, TATP will readily explode in a variety of configurations by a TASER or similar device. Testing should be expanded, as the data presented here are limited to a single formulation of TATP. Just one of a large array of TASER‐like devices by a single manufacturer were tested; other devices, scenarios and formulations of TATP and other likely threat materials should be assessed.     

Dignity, Democracy, Civilisation

This paper contributes to international discussion about the difficulty of defining human dignity as a legal concept by locating it at the heart of (European) democracy and human rights. Focusing on emerging dignity case law in the United Kingdom, the paper explores the connections among dignity, human rights and democracy, and the uses of dignity to enhance and refine democracy. While judges are key actors in the construction of dignity, they operate within the boundaries of a particular democratic ‘civilisation’ anchored in the core prohibitions of art 2, 3 and 4 European Convention on Human Rights, combined with those of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (art. 2, 3, 4 and 5). This normative core, the paper argues, is to be understood in the wider time frame of democracy and dignity, which is equally important for refining and thickening human dignity’s conceptual and normative definition, as well as for reflecting on the legitimacy of its (judicial) uses.     

Trends in intimate partner violence: 1980-2008

Research on trends in partner violence has primarily relied on official measures of victimization focusing primarily on women's risk for intimate partner homicide. The current study uses 28 years of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to examine the trends of intimate partner violence against female victims and identify variation in women's risk as a function of race and employment. Although it has been theorized that employment is correlated with the risk of intimate partner victimization for women, research has not thoroughly addressed this in a longitudinal context. In addition, research has not explored the extent to which intimate partner violence is correlated with the combined variables of race and employment. The authors find that between 1980 and the mid-2000s employment is associated with an increase in women's risk for intimate partner violence. However, the conclusion that the rate of victimization is higher for employed women appears to be partly contingent on the victims' race. The trend for non-White unemployed women appears to be relatively comparable to both White and non-White employed women, at least for the first 15 years of the series.     

Neutrality: A Guide for the Organizational Ombudsperson

Like dispute resolution practitioners in other arenas, organizational ombudspeople face profound challenges in dealing with the issue of neutrality. For ombuds, it is useful to view neutrality as composed of three major dimensions: the definition or terms of reference for the position; its institutional location; and the interactions of the ombuds within the organization. The authors analyze each of these conditions, and offer advice on how ombudspeople can maintain and enhance their neutrality.     

A deficit of democratic authenticity: Political linkage and the public in Andean polities

The article argues that Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela are political systems suffering from an acute deficit of democratic authenticity, that is, a loss of substance in democratic processes. The deficit in democratic authenticity is a product of malfunctions in the mechanisms of political linkage and multiple barriers that inhibit effective citizen participation in public life. Rather than acceding to minimalist interpretations of democracy that deemphasize the importance, of active citizen participation, the author stresses the importance of maintaining a rigorous normative definition of democracy as the standard by which to assess the state of democractic political development. Catherine M. Conaghan is a Queen’s National Scholar and professor of political studies at Queen’s University. She is the author ofRestructuring Domination: Industrialists and the State in Ecuador (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1988) and co-author ofUnsettling Scatecraft: Democracy and Neoliberalism in the Central Andes (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994).