THE POTENTIAL DEMISE OF ANOTHER NATURAL MONOPOLY: RETHINKING THE COLLECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF PERFORMING RIGHTS

In most countries the right to publicly perform music is notadministered individually by the copyright holders but rathercollectively by performing rights organizations (PROs). Thecommon explanation behind the proliferation of collective administrationis that some aspects of copyright administrations are naturalmonopolies. It is often argued that individual administrationis impracticable or at least non-economical. Collective administrationis therefore promoted as the most efficient method for licensing,monitoring and enforcing those rights. In addition, becausethe market is a natural monopoly, regulation, rather than anattempt to foster competition, is thought to be the optimalregulatory response. This is the first in a series of two articlesthat critically analyzes this natural monopoly argument. Inthis article I argue that the case for PROs is not as straightforwardas it is assumed to be. I show that many of the underlying costefficiencies that are attributed to PROs are usually simplyassumed and, in many cases, could be equally achieved underless restrictive arrangements.     

Evaluation of cast methods for estimating age from the os pubis.

Age-related changes of the pubic symphysis have gained wide acceptance among physical anthropologists as one basis for estimating adult skeletal age. However, these methods have not been tested by independent observers on large samples with known ages at death that represent contemporary populations. In this study 202 female and 116 male pairs of pubes collected at autopsy were blindly evaluated for age using the McKern-Stewart or Gilbert-McKern and Suchey-Brooks methods. Performance of the methods was measured by mean absolute deviation of true age from scored interval means and frequencies of true age falling within +/- 1 and +/- 2 standard deviations from the mean. The results suggest that the Suchey-Brooks methods are superior in forensic applications and that the racially specific refinement for males should be used. Age estimates should include +/- 2 standard deviations, and chances of error should be considered, especially when advanced age or debilitation is suspected.     

A new method for casting three-dimensional shoeprints and tire marks with dental stone

Dental stone is used as the major material for recovering three-dimensional shoeprints and tire tracks from crime scenes. The procedure for using dental stone sparsely changed over the years. There are two common methods for mixing dental stone: (i) a premeasured amount of dental stone is put in a zip-lock bag to which water is added, and (ii) the water and dental stone are mixed in a bucket. We suggest a novel rapid and efficient method of mixing dental stone and water in a bottle. These methods were compared at equal conditions. The parameters measured were the number of air bubbles, the strength of the cast, the ease of use, and the sharpness and quality of the accidental characteristics present in the cast. The proposed bottle method has the advantages of both the bucket and the zip-lock methods hence it combines strength, sharpness, high quality, and ease of use.