India-EU strategic partnership: a new roadmap

Asia Europe Journal - This article examines the role of strategic partnerships in Indian foreign policy and the nature and perceptions of India and the European Union about the strategic...     

Genetic variation of 13 STR loci in the four endogamous tribal populations of Eastern India

We have analysed 13 autosomal STR loci in four endogamous tribal populations from two eastern states (Orissa and Nagaland) of India. The Gadaba, Kuvi Khond and Lotha Naga populations have not been analysed for microsatellite genetic variation previously. The allele frequencies for all loci are within the range observed in the geographical region and racial background, though some alleles showed greater variation. Departures from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were tested by three methods and two loci (THO1 and TPOX) showed significant departures for all measures in Gadaba and Lotha Naga populations. The exclusion probability and discrimination probability were high for all analysed loci in all populations. There is no evidence for association of alleles among the STR loci studied. This allele frequency information will be useful for forensic, paternity and population genetic studies.     

Regulatory competition in European company law

States have customarily tended to compete with one another. Not always, however, is this tendency, or the underlying methods put to use, obvious. That states (provincial divisions in the US) were competing to attract incorporations by relaxing their regulatory standards, couldn’t be seriously observed and highlighted until mid-1970s. Today, a few would doubt the existence of regulatory competition in corporate law in the US. In this paper, the author examines the issue whether the EU is (likely to be) engaged in regulatory competition in the area of company law. Answering the question in affirmative, the author proceeds to examine the strength of the race to the bottom and the race to the top theories, as developed and argued in the US, for the European setting. Since the legal systems of Member States of the EU have certain very disparate “core values” along which those systems have historically developed, relaxation of standards in the EU would take place against different variables. Because of the multitude of variables, comparable variables are unlikely to yield comparable results; either of the race theories is unlikely to satisfactorily predict the regulatory behaviour of EU Member States. Instead, since “laxation” in respect of one variable would be met by “optimisation” in respect of the other, there is likely to be simultaneous races to the top and to the bottom among the EU Member States.     

Race and a decolonial turn in development studies

Abstract

This paper reviews and revives a longstanding conversation about race and development studies, which was prominently explored in a collection of papers on race and racism in the journal Progress in Development Studies back in 2006. This revival is timely in the context of a global call to decolonise higher education. Given the central logic of race and racism in European colonialism, and the decolonial argument that colonialism continues in the production and value of knowledge, I examine the presence and absence of race and racism in discussions of decolonising higher education and in development studies. Through a systematic review and content analysis of papers published in six major development studies journals over the past 13?years, I identify where and how race is present in current development scholarship and explore the implications of this for a decolonial turn in development studies.     

Agriculture in the western Himalayas – an asset turning into a liability

Agriculture in the Himalayas has witnessed dynamic shifts and acute crises over the last decade. This viewpoint identifies and discusses the factors leading to de-agrarianisation and land abandonment in the western Himalayas. Data on farming preferences and bottlenecks for agricultural production were also gathered through a short survey with farmers. Escalating male out-migration, land fragmentation and heightened exposure to uncertain environmental conditions have transformed agriculture into a liability for the farmers. The viewpoint suggests that effective implementation of land consolidation reforms in the region would enhance agricultural production, curtail mass migration, and potentially insulate farmers from the ongoing agrarian crisis.     

Viewpoint: New Ethics for Space Commerce

The space age is likely to be dominated by space commercial activities. As these activities develop, it is important to consider business values, commercial ethics, and trade discipline. The failure to do so could result in space commercial development on the basis of greed for profit and competitive advantage for advancement, as has taken place on Earth. To better prevent this possibility, this article proposes that there is the need to develop a “New Ethics for Space Commerce” based on high standards of business morality and commercial honesty, with moorings in conscious social responsibility and due regard to ecological sustainability.     

Commercial Mining of Celestial Resources: Case Study of U.S. Space Laws

ABSTRACT

The fact that there are abundant mineral resources in space is shown by remote sensing and observation through space probes and analysis of samples, in situ and otherwise. That these resources are useful to humanity and can augment depleting Earth resources is also established beyond a doubt. Further, the technology to excavate and process the same in situ is feasible. The end-product can be used for other activities on the mined planet or transported to Earth. The processed material can also be recycled for use and manufacturing on the celestial body itself, or to refuel space probes on deep space missions. Thus, the utility of celestial natural resources to mankind is obvious, but the algorithms of law and economics in regard to excavation, processing, transportation, and use in situ are not yet adequately clear for business viability and reasonable profits. This article discusses the prospects of space mining on celestial bodies in this context, focusing on the case of U.S. space laws.     

Space Mines: Dialectics of Legality

The development of micro-satellites, including nano-satellites, has opened up opportunities for their varied uses. One such utility is as space mines. The purpose of this instrumentality is protective and defensive to escort important space-mission vehicles. These act as security commandoes till impelled to action by anticipated threat or hostile intruder entering the path. Similarly, conventional land mines can be adapted for use on the surface of the moon. These, also termed “space mines,” can serve as proximity or peripheral defense to installations and national assets on the moon and other celestial bodies.

Space mines by their small mass and weight or nature of operation cannot be regarded a weapon of mass destruction or used as nuclear weapon prohibited under the Outer Space Treaty. Secondly, their deployment in passive defensive role does not foul with any substantive provision of space law. Nor are these prohibited by any definitional embargo. Illusioned by the apparent legality, space mines could be strategized in large configurations making outer space environment denser for safe space traffic. Modern satellites are high-cost vehicles and their operational economics cannot brook attrition.

Considering the comparable purpose and role of space mines, one needs to draw wisdom from experience with landmines or cluster bombs. These have been banned on the earth after suffering enormous losses and tragedy. Prudence ordains to learn from past mistakes and it would seem sagacious to nip the evil of space mines in the bud itself.     

Electronic healthcare data collection and pay-for-performance: translating theory into practice

With insight grounded in his work for a national data collection consortium and as Vice President of Quality and Outcomes at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, the author connects the theory of pay-for-performance to the realities of its implementation. The author expands the Diagnosing the Data conversation by describing the challenges of collecting meaningful data and by addressing the potential legal issues that data use raises. Drawing on his national and local experience, the author concludes with suggestions for adopting data collection programs that are both clinically relevant and scientifically reliable.     

Reviews

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Christopher T. Saunders, ed., Economics and Politics of Transition. New York: Macmillan Press, 1992, x + 419 pp., £50.00.

David Lane, Soviet Society under Perestroika, Completely revised edition. London and New York: Routledge, 1992, xvi + 441 pp., £15.99.

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