The internationalization of science and its influence on academic entrepreneurship

We examine whether scientists employed in foreign countries and foreign-educated native researchers are more “entrepreneurial” than their “domestic” counterparts. We conjecture that foreign-born and foreign-educated scientists possess broader scientific skills and social capital, which increases their likelihood that they will start their own companies. To test this hypothesis we analyze comprehensive data from researchers at the Max Planck Society in Germany. Our findings provide strong support for the conjecture that academic entrepreneurship can be stimulated by facilitating the mobility of scientists across countries.     

Separation and structural characterization of the synthetic cannabinoids JWH-412 and 1-[(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indol-3yl]-(4-methylnaphthalen-1-yl)methanone using GC-MS, NMR analysis and a flash chromatography system

The 'herbal highs' market continues to boom. The added synthetic cannabinoids are often exchanged for another one with a high frequency to stay at least one step ahead of legal restrictions. While most of these substances were synthesized for pharmaceutical purposes and have been described in the scientific literature before, others originate from clandestine laboratories supplying this lucrative market. In this paper, the identification and structure elucidation of two synthetic cannabinoids is reported. The first compound, 1-[(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indol-3yl]-(4-methylnaphthalen-1-yl)methanone, was found along with AM-2201 in a 'herbal mixture' obtained via the Internet. For isolation of the substance from the mixture, a newly developed flash chromatography method was used providing an inexpensive and fast way to gain pure reference substances from 'Spice' products for the timely development or enhancement of analytical methods in the forensic field. The second substance, 4-fluoronaphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl)methanone (JWH-412) was seized by German authorities as microcrystalline powder, making it very likely that it will be found in 'herbal mixtures' soon.     

Offence Definitions in the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics and Their Influence on Data Quality and Comparability

Reaching a high conformity of reported data for different offence groups with the standard definitions provided for these offences is a crucial issue in order to improve comparability of crime and criminal justice data from official sources between countries. Based on data and metadata collected for the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics (ESB), this article takes a close look at the offence definitions used in the 4th edition Sourcebook. After an overview on ESB methodology, namely on questionnaire design and data validation procedures, the general structure of offence definitions in the ESB context is shown and changes compared to earlier editions are explained. Afterwards, ESB data and definition metadata are used to check the quality of the definitions used. Overall and item conformity rates for each offence definition are calculated and assessed. Missing data rates as another indicator for quality problems of definitions are also evaluated. Then, variation coefficients for the different offence groups are compared and critically assessed. The final part of the article contains a view on the distribution of conformity with definitions across Europe. Altogether, offence definitions in the ESB turn out to work very well. Conformity rates tend to be high and variation coefficients are mostly quite uniform for the different offence categories. However, some problematic offence definitions can be identified. As a result of regional analysis it can be shown that conformity rates across Europe do not vary randomly, but follow a certain pattern.     

Die Zitadellengesellschaft: Soziale Exklusion durch Privatisierung und Befestigung urbaner Lebenswelten

In den Vereinigten Staaten wie auch in einer Reihe anderer westlicher Industrienationen ist seit einiger Zeit eine radikale Privatisierung und Befestigung von urbanen Lebensr?umen zu verzeichnen. In sogenannten „gated communities“ wird kollektiver und traditionell ?ffentlich genutzter Raum zum interdiktorischen Raum redefiniert. Der breiten ?ffentlichkeit wird der Zutritt zu diesen Territorien mit Hilfe von Z?unen, Mauern und überwachung der Zug?nge durch moderne Sicherheitssysteme bzw. durch Angeh?rige privater Sicherheitsdienste verwehrt. Hauptziel dieser Einrichtungen ist die soziale Exklusion unerwünschter Personen zur Sicherstellung physischer, sozialer und kultureller Integrit?t der Bewohner. Inzwischen existieren in den USA sch?tzungsweise mehr als 20.000 dieser Anlagen, in denen etwa acht Millionen Menschen Zuflucht vor den insbesondere in den Gro?st?dten virulenten sozialen Problemen suchen. Die radikale r?umliche Abschottung hat jedoch gravierende soziale, kulturelle, politische und psychische Konsequenzen. In diesem Beitrag werden Ursachen, Typen und Formen der als „Zitadellen der Sicherheit“ bezeichneten Lebensr?ume sowie Konsequenzen ihrer Proliferation kritisch diskutiert.     

A crisis of public affairs in Europe?

Public affairs, in relation to European governance system, checks and balances between country interests and public affairs operations at different levels of governance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.