bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘Who Rates the Raters?’ The Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies in the EU
Authors: Oster Jan
Published: February 2017

Recent regulatory measures in the EU give reason to scrutinize the rules by which credit rating agencies have to abide. The article explains the functioning and the previous regulation of credit rating agencies. Since this regulation has proved to be insufficient in preventing the failure of rating agencies in the financial turmoil, the EU took regulatory measures by adopting Regulation 1060/2009 on credit rating agencies (subsequently referred to as CRA Regulation) and recently proposed amendments, thereby addressing the main failures of the credit rating industry: conflicts of interest, lack of transparency and weaknesses in the methods and models used by credit rating agencies. Despite well-founded criticism concerning details, the article finds that the EU principally took a well-balanced approach by leaving credit rating a private, but regulated, business. However, the Commission should reconsider one aspect of the regulatory concept that seems to be flawed: the instrumentalization of credit ratings for regulatory purposes and the limitation of the scope of the CRA Regulation thereon.

Concluding observations illustrate the Regulation's integration in the broader context of the developing European financial market regulation.
China's Public Procurement Regime — Comparative and Theoretic Insights
Authors: Weishaar Stefan
Published: February 2017

Bid rigging conspiracies have long been recognized as significantly inflating public expenditures. Anecdotal evidence suggesting bid rigging offences and a general dissatisfaction about procurement prices and the contracted quality in China is taken as an indication of a lack of competition in public procurement tenders. Because procuring entities are unable to monitor industrial markets effectively, it is submitted that well designed public procurement regimes can help to prevent bid rigging conspiracies.

Since structural market determinants are largely beyond reach of public procurement laws, auction theory is used to address cartel formation and cartel stability. Applying this theory to the Chinese public procurement regime identifies concrete actions for procurement entities to undermine cartel formation and stability. The insights gained are compared to the EU public procurement regime in order to examine in how far other legislators have chosen different solutions. It is found that the Chinese legal regime does facilitate both the formation and stabilization of bid rigging cartels and that the European public procurement regime is also subject to criticism in some respects.
The Novel Approach of the CJEU on the Horizontal Direct Effect of the EU Principle of Non-Discrimination: (Unbridled) Expansionism of EU Law?
Authors: de Mol Mirjam
Published: February 2017

The application of the EU principle of non-discrimination in private disputes is a sensitive issue. Recent case-law of the CJEU (cases Mangold and Kücükdeveci) conveys a novel approach that disturbs the pattern of the previous case law. The result of the novel approach is the possibility of horizontal direct effect in a much broader range of situations than before. It for instance leads to the de facto horizontal direct effect of anti-discrimination directives. The approach seems to go beyond the mere circumvention of the lack of horizontal direct effect of anti-discrimination directives. It seems that the horizontal direct effect of the principle applies in all cases falling within the scope of EU law. This raises an important question: when should private legal relationships be considered as falling within the scope of EU law? This question is a challenge for future case law. A prudent approach is recommended.
National Equality Institutions and the Domestication of EU Non-Discrimination Law
Authors: de Witte Bruno
Published: February 2017

The recent evolution of European Union equality law, and the equality law of European countries more generally, is marked by the increased attention given to the procedural and institutional preconditions for the effective protection of equal treatment. The creation of public bodies, specifically tasked with the advancement of equality law and equality policies (equality institutions), is an important element of this evolution. Within Europe, they were first experimented with in the United Kingdom and then gradually adopted in a small number of other countries. In 2000 and subsequent years, though, the creation of equality institutions was imposed on all EU Member States by means of three anti-discrimination Directives. The concrete shape and scope of activity of those institutions is still very different from country to country, though. The development of new equality institutions in Europe was facilitated by other legal traditions and processes: the separate ombudsman tradition developed in Scandinavia but with a strong influence also in Southern Europe; the international movement towards the creation of national human rights institutions; and endogenous developments of EU law, such as its increased concern for the institutional dimension of the effective application of EU law, and its experimentation with new modes of governance.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the OPCAT) in Europe: Duplication or Reinforcement?
Authors: de Beco Gauthier
Published: February 2017

This article examines whether the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the OPCAT) leads to duplication or reinforcement in Europe. In addition to creating the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), the OPCAT requires that states parties establish or designate national preventive mechanisms. In the Council of Europe, states adopted the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture (the ECPT), which created the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (the CPT). After having outlined the history of the OPCAT and the ECPT and the function of the CPT and the SPT, the article examines the differences between the OPCAT and the ECPT and the sharing of tasks between the SPT and the CPT. It also discusses cooperation between the two bodies as well as cooperation between the CPT and national preventive mechanisms. Finally, it examines obstacles to cooperation between the SPT and the CPT. The article comes to the conclusion that the SPT could focus on the establishment and strengthening of national preventive mechanisms, whereas the CPT could continue to visit places of detention to prevent torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against persons deprived of their liberty in European states.
The Court of Justice of the European Union as a Rhetorical Actor
Authors: Paso Mirjami
Published: February 2017

The aim of this article is to discuss the nature of power the Court of Justice of the European Union exercises. It has been argued that the Court of Justice is a political actor. If it is, then it would make perfect sense to assume that the language used in the Court of Justice would resemble the language used in political forums. The aim of the present article is to examine whether the rhetoric that the Court of Justice uses includes elements of political rhetoric. The present author's first argument is that the rhetoric of the Court of Justice does have similar features to the rhetoric used in political speeches. The second argument is that reasoning that has a political flavour or a purely persuasive effect cannot be simply treated as bad and unacceptable. The legal decision is not purely legal but also a decision to solve a given problem of everyday life. Additionally, courts are social institutions with discretionary power. Legal decisions cannot therefore be void of emotional references.
The Revival of Romanistic Scholarship between the 19th and 20th Centuries as a ‘Centralizing Force’ in European Legal History
Authors: Furfaro Federica
Published: February 2017

This article analyses the connections between German and Italian scholars, as leading authorities of Roman law between the 19th and 20th centuries, by examining Italian translations of German Pandectist literature. It applies a comparative legal historical approach, in order to appreciate similarities and differences between these models. Particular attention is paid to the translation of Bernhard Windscheid's Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts carried out by Carlo Fadda and Paolo Emilio Bensa, as it significantly contributed to the development of a ‘General Part’ of Italian private law. Furthermore, their translation is compared to the one by Filippo Serafini of the Lehrbuch der Pandekten by Karl Ludwig Arndts. The analysis of the marginal notes in the translation by Fadda and Bensa on the matter of interpretation of Italian law and the relative tasks of the interpreter show the influence that German Pandectist literature had on the way of conceiving the role of the Italian jurist in that time period.
Some More Equal Than Others? Matrimonial Benefits and the CJEU's Case Law on Discrimination on the Grounds of Sexual Orientation
Authors: Mulder Jule
Published: February 2017

This article discusses the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) dealing with discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in relation to matrimonial benefits. It argues that the Court, by focusing on direct discrimination and by separating sex and sexuality, upholds the normative value of marriage, and consequently reinforces the traditional hetero-normative ideal of the nuclear family which privileges dependencies and gender roles. This should be criticized because the hetero-normative ideal continues to privilege the normative society which is detrimental for homosexuals as well as women. If European non-discrimination law aims at fostering equality within diversity, the Court needs to refrain from focusing on similarities and avoid making essential certain characteristics such as sex and sexuality. Instead it should evaluate the cases under indirect discrimination which are more sensitive to structural or social differences and therefore are better suited to foster equality despite differences.
Informal Authorities in European Private Law
Authors: Jansen Nils
Published: February 2017

This article considers the nature of authorities in the law, and, specifically, the often undervalued yet important role played by informal auctoritas, in contrast to formally binding enactments. It explores the terminological difficulties within modern discourse which make discussion and understanding of such informal authorities difficult. Exemplarily, the status of Roman sources in the ius commune is considered in detail, establishing the informal criteria which determine their authoritative quality – belief in the extraordinary quality of the texts and the jurists' mutual expectations of applying them. The analysis then proceeds to modern German practice and the enormously significant role played by learned commentaries in the work of practising lawyers and courts – a phenomenon difficult to explain without recourse to a concept of informal authority. Finally, this understanding is demonstrated in the context of transnational private law by reference to the modern phenomenon of non-legislative codifications, such as the American Restatements, the Principles of European Contract Law and the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts: all those codifications have gained substantial informal authority as reference texts for international legal discourse.
The Application of National Banking Supervision Law by the ECB: Three Parallel Modes of Executing EU Law?
Authors: Witte Andreas
Published: February 2017

The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), which establishes the European Central Bank's (ECB) competence for the prudential supervision of banks, will assume operations in the course of 2014. This mechanism will have to rely on various acts across which the material provisions of EU banking regulation are to be found: regulations, directives and national statutes that implement directives. The purpose of this paper is to examine different ‘modes' of executing substantive European legal provisions, that is, the avenues by which the legal norms are translated into binding decisions which are addressed to a specific credit institution, in an individual case. After setting out the context in which the establishment of the SSM is taking place, this paper concludes that the SSM Regulation contains three such modes for executing banking law: direct powers drawn from the SSM Regulation itself; powers of instruction for the ECB to command national supervisors to use their powers under national law in a particular way; and an application of national statutes by the ECB as a European organ. The first mode is trivial; the second is not novel, but such powers have significantly expanded in the SSM Regulation; and the third mode is genuinely novel. This paper discusses the three modes and attempts to conceptualize the third in a theoretical framework. It also discusses the implications of the three modes regarding the availability of judicial review.
Deliberate Breach of Contract and Consequences for Remedies: Exploration of a Neglected Area in the Law of Contract
Authors: van Kogelenberg Martijn
Published: February 2017

This contribution argues that motive matters in cases of breach of contract. More specifically, deliberateness of breach of contract matters in the application of remedies for breach of contract. This comparative contribution focuses on US law and English law, because the discussion on deliberate breach is most explicit in these jurisdictions. Nevertheless, references to continental European jurisdictions and to soft law instruments with a strong ‘continental’ nature such as the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) are also included. Sometimes, in the jurisdictions and instruments mentioned, deliberateness of the breach is considered to be relevant, but more often the element of deliberateness is neglected or even denied when disappointed creditors seek remedial relief. This contribution pleads for a more consistent approach to the phenomenon of deliberate breach of contract and for improving the position of the creditor in terms of access to remedies in contract. Creditors should have easier access to performance of the contract and termination. Barriers to expectation damages in terms of burden of proof and foreseeability should be lowered. Creditors should have access to account of profits. Penalty clauses should be upheld and not be subject to mitigation in case of deliberate breach of contract, and debtors should not be able to rely on exclusion or limitation clauses in case of deliberate breach of contract.
Asymmetry and Complex Adaptive (Legal) Systems: The Case of the European Union
Authors: Martinico Giuseppe
Published: February 2017

The aim of this article is to investigate the consistency between asymmetry and integration in light of the specific features of EU law, described in this paper as a complex legal order. In order to do that I shall structure this work as follows: firstly, I shall briefly recall the relevant literature on asymmetry in EU law and the debate triggered by the measures adopted in the frame of the European economic governance, paying particular attention to the provisions included in the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (TSCG). The TSCG has been seen as a kind of return of international law dynamics with an evident loss in terms of supranationalism. This is only partly true and as I shall try to show in the second part of the article, the flexibility and the asymmetry offered by this instrument of international law responds – to a certain extent – to the ‘elasticity’ necessary in every complex adaptive system.
English Pragmatism and Italian Virtue
Authors: Breda Vito , Vricella Matteo
Published: February 2017

This article provides a comparative analysis of the Italian and the English regimes of improperly or illegally obtained evidence (hereafter IOE) in civil law cases. We will use the term regime to indicate the system of rules and juridical practices that regulate IOE. In the past decade, the Italian and the English regimes of IOE have been adapting to new institutional and economic demands. Until recently, the Italian civil justice system mechanically assumed that IOE was inadmissible. In contrast to the Italian regime, IOE was normally allowed in English courts. However, a series of court decisions has changed the assumption of admissibility of IOE. In England and Wales (the two nations share the same civil procedure system), the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (hereafter CPR) and the Human Rights Act 1998 (hereafter HRA) has instead imposed a duty to exclude an IOE that has been obtained as a result of an outrageous violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. This article contends that the two regimes of IOE are moving into an untested terrain, albeit from different starting points, and that a comparative analysis might help clarify the relation between the admissibility of IOE that triggers protected rights, such as Article 8 ECHR, and the functioning of the civil justice system. The article is divided in three sections preceded by an introduction and followed by a conclusion. The first two sections discuss the English and Welsh as well as the Italian regimes of IOE. The third section focuses on how the two legal systems seek to strike a balance between the violation of rights and the compelling demand for efficient civil trials.
A Very Fearful Court?
Authors: Spaventa Eleanor
Published: February 2017

In December 2014 the Court of Justice of the European Union found, in Opinion 2/13, that the Draft Agreement for the EU accession to the ECHR was not compatible with the Treaties; unfortunately, some of the grounds relied upon by the Court will be difficult to remedy in a new agreement, even should the other parties to the ECHR be willing to negotiate a new agreement. This contribution recalls the reasons why accession was deemed necessary, and engages in a critical analysis of the Court's ruling. In particular, it takes issue with the Court's approach to justice and home affairs, where the Court would like the accession agreement to somehow relieve the Member States of some of their ECHR obligation when giving effect to legislation based on ‘mutual trust’. The article then suggests that the three political institutions should simply declare that they consider themselves bound by the ECHR and that they will act without delay when and if the European Court of Human Rights should find that a piece of Union law is incompatible with the Convention.
Mind the Gap
Authors: Hoogenboom Alexander
Published: February 2017

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it aims to examine the phenomenon of student mobility and the benefits associated therewith, arguing that there are real benefits attached to free movement of students: in short, student mobility promotes the creation of a mobile, highly skilled and ‘EU aware’ citizenry. It will further be submitted that, when analysed from the perspective of this ‘output’, student mobility qualifies as a public good. This carries with it important implications: decentralized provision is unlikely to lead to a socially optimum ‘production’ of the public good that is student mobility. Rather, there is scope for centralized intervention by the community, here the EU. Secondly, the article will examine the extent to which such intervention has already taken place. By examining the case law of the Court of Justice, it seeks to investigate whether the accumulated decisions have led to a system of rules whereby, in any situation involving a mobile student, a Member State is designated as financially responsible (in the sense of being obliged to provide study grants and/or loans under its domestic system) for that student. The article will eventually conclude that there are still significant gaps in the framework established by the Court, and that the framework also is plagued by questionable principles, requiring further action at EU level.
The Stamina of the Bosman Legacy
Authors: Kornbeck Jacob
Published: February 2017

The article argues that athletes' right to take decisions from sports governing bodies and specialized sporting bodies to court for judicial review and redress is a cornerstone of the ‘Bosnian legacy’ which can be said to have been produced by the CJEU (then ECJ) Bosnian ruling. The article makes an empirically grounded assessment of this legacy by drawing on the four contributions made by the EU to the revision of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) 2009 (2011–2013) to show how the EU used this opportunity to defend athletes' right to challenge sporting decisions in court, and how the new post-Lisbon sports policy competence granted in Article 165 TFEU (a merely supporting and coordinating competence) has been used in this regard.
The Concept of ‘Abuse of Law’ in the Case Law of the European Court of Justice on Direct Taxation
Authors: Lenaerts Koen
Published: February 2017

Time and again, the Court of Justice has made clear that EU law does not protect natural or legal persons who seek to pay less tax by creating situations that artificially fall within the scope of application of the fundamental freedoms. In the light of the judgments of the Court of Justice in Cadbury Schweppes, Thin Cap and Glaxo Wellcome, this contribution describes the steps that a national court must follow when determining whether a particular behaviour constitutes an abuse of law in the field of direct taxation.
The ‘Market Economy Investor Principle’ to Evaluate State Aid
Authors: Cornella Samuel
Published: February 2017

The MEW has traditionally played a central role to establish whether State measures entail a selective advantage under Article 107 TFEU. However, it is not completely clear whether the MEW can be considered a ‘principle’, or a ‘test’, since both definitions are currently utilized by practitioners and scholars. The thesis put forward here is that the MEW is an interpretative principle composed of the private investor test, the private creditor test, and the private vendor test. The application of the MEW has witnessed a constant evolution over the years, which brought about an increased relevance of the principle. In this respect, it is interesting to consider whether the major changes in the application of state aid rules triggered by the financial crisis have somehow affected the MEW and its traditional features. The analysis carried out on this specific point shows the MEW has maintained substantially unmodified its functional role and centrality.
The EMU after the Gauweiler Judgment and the Juncker Report
Authors: Louis Jean-Victor
Published: February 2017

In drawing heavily on its case law related to the distinction between the economic and monetary policy (EMU), the extent of control of discretionary power, motivation and proportionality, and the prohibition of monetary financing, the Court of Justice of the European Union has made legitimate unconventional measures of the European Central Bank. The judgment on the Outright Monetary Transaction (OMT) offers guidelines for future action. The Juncker Report builds on the reflection process started by the Van Rompuy Reports and the Commission blue-print of 2012. Among the questions raised are: how much centralization is necessary? How many competences should remain in the national domain? To what extent should EMU rely on strict rules'? To what extent are strong institutions necessary? How can political accountability be increased and what role should the European Parliament and national parliaments play, especially in the framework of the renewed ‘European semester’? What place could a European treasury, meaning a Ministry of Finance of the EU or the Eurozone, play in a reformed EMU? The Juncker Report proposes a calendar for the ten years to come. Do the answers given in the Juncker Report appropriately address the necessity of reform?
The Gauweiler Judgment in View of the Case Law of the European Court of Justice on European Central Bank Independence
Authors: Baroncelli Stefania
Published: February 2017

This article attempts to highlight the difference between the form and the substance of the Gauweiler judgment on the OMT programme undertaken by the European Central Bank. While the case is based upon a formal interpretation, reference to the substantive concept of independence of central banks is analyzed only indirectly by the Court of Justice. The author tries to reconstruct the essence of the Court's reasoning by resorting to the doctrinal concept of central bank independence, the previous case law of the Court of Justice concerning central bank independence, the judgment of the German Constitutional Court, the Opinion of the Advocate General, and the case law of the US Supreme Court, for comparative purposes.
Digital Rights Ireland as an Opportunity to Foster a Desirable Approximation of Data Retention Provisions
Authors: Galli Francesca
Published: February 2017

Directive 2006/24/EC sets out data retention rules and is a useful tool for the investigation, detection and prosecution of serious crimes. The implementation process has been complex mainly due to concerns about data privacy rights, and led to ‘patchwork’ approximation of data retention provisions within the EU. The CJEU's ruling in Digital Rights Ireland eventually invalidated the Directive so that EU policy makers must urgently reinvent the entire framework. In this context, this article argues that approximation is the most desirable policy option to ensure a balance between enhancing security and safeguarding data privacy rights, and assesses what form the new instrument could take. It explores selected factors that are likely to influence the policy design: unresolved issues at the time the Directive was negotiated; interplay between national/EU data retention frameworks; CJEU's stringent requirements set out in Digital Rights Ireland and Schrems; current progress of the Data Protection Package.
Discretion and the Economics of Defensive Behaviour by Public Bodies
Authors: De Mot Jef , Faure Michael G.
Published: February 2017

While in many countries the liability of public authorities in negligence resembles the liability of ordinary persons quite well, several exceptions which shield public authorities from liability remain important. A policy consideration which often seems to be given weight is the risk of defensive behaviour by public officials. From a legal perspective, concerns regarding defensive behaviour are often dealt with by the rules related to discretionary decisions. We examine to what extent these rules in England, France and Germany are in accordance with the most elementary principles of the economics of defensive behaviour. We find that the rules are compliant to a considerable extent in France and Germany, and to a lesser extent in England, with the economic principles underlying defensive behaviour. Immunity is mainly granted when there is considerable uncertainty in decision-making and often is not granted when the law specifies the precise action to be taken by the public authority or when no reasonable person could come to the decision made by the public authority.
Article 51 of the Charter in the Legislative Processes of the Member States
Authors: de Mol Mirjam
Published: February 2017

Member States have to comply with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (the Charter) in their national legislative processes, but only with regard to legislative acts qualifying as the implementation of Union law in the sense of Article 51(1) of the Charter. National legislative proposals therefore need to be assessed in the light of this provision. This assessment is sometimes simple, but can also be complex. The rather abstract concept of ‘Article 51 implementation covers a wide range of concrete situations. The dividing line between legislative proposals within the scope of EU law (which must be Charter compliant) and purely national legislative proposals (which do not need to be checked against the Charter) might be difficult to discern. The challenge is to create alertness in the legislative process for the possible application of the Charter and to develop methodological steps necessary to identify Article 51 proposals.
Identities in Contract: Merchant Law in Europe and the Future of European Contract Law
Authors: Heidemann Maren
Published: February 2017

The European Union legislator has concentrated on the consumer contract neglecting its counterpart, the commercial contract, the B2B transaction. The result is the absence of any dedicated EU commercial contract law. By contrast, international codification work has concentrated only on commercial contract law. A new dichotomy of consumer and trader or entrepreneur has thereby emerged. This is not part of the traditional legal orders of the EU Member States. Most European jurisdictions except the UK maintain another dichotomy, that of merchant and non-merchant. Another distinction remains, that of the objective and subjective approaches taken towards defining commercial transactions. This article observes that only the subjective approach has inspired EU legislation which has led to an identity-based structure of European contract law of which the trader and consumer dichotomy is one expression. The author criticizes this approach and proposes to explore the objective basis for future European contract law.
Referral to an Acute Child and Adolescent Inpatient Unit: The Experiences and Views of Community Mental Health Referrers
Authors: Stanton Josephine , Lahdenperä Viktor , Braun Virginia
Published: February 2017

Admission to an acute mental health inpatient unit is a significant event for a young person. The interface between inpatient and community teams negotiating the admission and later discharge can be fraught. To understand how to improve the transition between inpatient and community care, we interviewed 48 community clinicians about their experiences of engaging with an acute child and adolescent mental health inpatient unit. Through thematic analysis, we identified management of risk was a central issue. Participants wanted more time in hospital, and more communication and collaboration. They expressed appreciation, but some gave intense descriptions of dissatisfaction. The analysis suggests avenues to improve communication and experience, recognizing the (felt) power differential between inpatient and referring community clinicians. Managing the power dynamics requires inpatient clinicians to use active inquiry to bring forward community clinicians’ views and be mindful of the risk of community clinicians experiencing communication as criticism.
Biosimilars: Practical Considerations for Pharmacists
Authors: Stevenson James G. , Popovian Robert , Jacobs Ira , Hurst Susan , Shane Lesley G.
Published: February 2017

Objective: To review the scientific and regulatory aspects of biosimilar development and practical considerations for the use of biosimilars that are relevant to pharmacists. Data Sources: Literature searches of PubMed and congress abstracts for publications pertaining to biosimilars were conducted from January 2016 to January 2017. Individual drug company web pages and governmental, regulatory, and other agency websites were also reviewed. Study Selection/Data Extraction: Published articles, regulatory guidelines, and other sources covering biologic/biosimilar development and approval, reporting results of biosimilar studies or survey research, and/or identifying biosimilars in development or approved for use in Europe or the United States were reviewed and included. Data Synthesis: Biologic therapies have revolutionized the treatment of serious diseases, including hematological or autoimmune disorders and cancers. A biosimilar is highly similar to a licensed biologic (ie, reference or originator) and has no clinically meaningful differences in safety, purity, and potency. Unlike small-molecule drugs, biologics are large, complex proteins that cannot be exactly replicated, so the concept of a generic equivalent cannot be applied to biologics. Regulatory agencies have provided a framework for biosimilar approval, but there are many practical considerations for pharmacists, including interchangeability, substitution, naming, indication extrapolation, product labeling, therapeutic drug monitoring, manufacturer attributes, logistics of product use, and reimbursement. Conclusions: Pharmacists will play a key role in managing the introduction of biosimilars into health care systems. Understanding the principles of biosimilar development and evolving regulatory guidelines relevant to their use will allow pharmacists to make informed decisions regarding formulary inclusion and educate patients and other health care providers about biosimilars.
Distributed Cognition Sheds Light on Munitions Trajectories in Close Air Support
Authors: Hew Patrick Chisan
Published: February 2017

Close air support is characterized by aircraft delivering munitions onto ground targets. I applied Hutchins’s theory of distributed cognition to understand how the trajectories of munitions were specified. In the baseline case, the aircrew specifies the munitions’ entire trajectory. With alternative options enabled by information and communications technologies, the joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) specifies the munitions’ impact point, time on target, and even the direction and angle of impact. The desire to affect the trajectories increases the amount and specialization of equipment and training placed onto the JTAC, aircraft, and aircrew. The analysis was important to the people who advance and sustain the capabilities of close air support by identifying the effects that are desired and developing new and better ways of providing those effects.
Mediated Effects of Coping on Mental Health Outcomes of African American Women Exposed to Physical and Psychological Abuse
Authors: Mills Chmaika P. , Hill Hope M. , Johnson Joshua A. D.
Published: February 2017

Few studies have assessed the individual symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as separate mental health consequences of intimate partner abuse (IPA). This study examined the role of coping strategies associated with symptoms of PTSD in a community sample of African American women who have experienced abuse ( N = 128). The results revealed that nonphysical abuse was more prevalent than physical abuse. Specific symptoms of PTSD expressed depended on the type of abuse experienced and the type of coping strategies utilized. The findings have multiple implications on how IPA is studied as well as its clinical screening and treatment processes.
Exploring the Moderating Role of Problematic Substance Use in the Relations Between Borderline and Antisocial Personality Features and Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Armenti Nicholas A. , Snead Alexandra L. , Babcock Julia C.
Published: February 2017

Borderline and antisocial personality features relate to multiple externalizing behaviors, including intimate partner violence (IPV). However, not all individuals with borderline and antisocial traits perpetrate IPV. The strength of the personality-IPV link may be related to problematic substance use. We examined borderline and antisocial personality features, problematic substance use, and IPV in a community sample of couples. Positive relations between both borderline and antisocial features and IPV were stronger in conditions of high problematic alcohol use relative to low problematic alcohol use. Alcohol misuse may be an important factor to consider for IPV reduction in men with these personality features.
Grandma knows best: Family structure and age of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Sicherman Nachum , Loewenstein George , Tavassoli Teresa , Buxbaum Joseph D
Published: February 2017

This pilot study estimates the effects of family structure on age of diagnosis, with the goal of identifying factors that may accelerate or delay diagnosis. We conducted an online survey with 477 parents of children with autism. In addition, we carried out novel, follow-up surveys of 196 “friends and family,” who were referred by parents. Family structure and frequency of interactions with family members have significant effects on age of diagnosis (p < 0.05). In all, 25% of parents report that other individuals indicated that their child might have a serious condition before they themselves suspected it. Moreover, around 50% of friends and family report that they suspected that the child had a serious condition before they were aware that either parent was concerned, suggesting that the clues were there to see, especially for experienced viewers. While half of those individuals shared their concerns with the parents, the other half either did not raise any concern (23%) or just “hinted” at their concern (27%). Among children with siblings, children with an older sibling are diagnosed approximately 10 months earlier (p < 0.01) than those without, and children with no siblings were diagnosed 6–8 months earlier than children with siblings (p < 0.01). Interestingly, frequent interactions with grandparents, especially grandmothers, significantly lowered the age of diagnosis by as much as 5 months (p < 0.05). While this pilot study requires replication, the results identify potential causes for accelerated or delayed diagnosis, which if better understood, could ultimately improve age of diagnosis and treatment, and hence outcomes.
Crossing borders to buy sex: Taiwanese men negotiating gender, class and nationality in the Chinese sex industry
Authors: Chen Mei-Hua
Published: February 2017

As a rising economic power in East Asia, Taiwan once served as a destination of sex tourism, now gradually it is becoming a country of buyers seeking sex abroad. Currently, China appears to be one of the most popular destinations. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with 40 Taiwanese male sex buyers and ethnographic data collected by traveling with a group of five men, this article aims to explore how buying sex abroad appears to be the complicated site of power struggles where sexuality intersects with gender, nationality, and global economic hierarchy. By conceptualizing men’s buying of sex abroad as sexual migration, I illustrate the ways in which men’s border crossings for buying sex are complexly embedded in the gender, sexuality, and class relations in Taiwan, and how their sexual encounters with Chinese women are always contaminated by the politics of nationalism which derive from the unsettled political atmospheres across the Taiwan Strait. I argue that sexual migration is made attractive mainly because of the sexual discontent caused by the stratification of the Taiwanese sex industry and the sexual constraints and routineness of heterosexual monogamy. Buying sex abroad therefore appears as a temporary escape from this mundaneness and banality. Conceptualizing men’s buying sex abroad in dynamic transnational contexts, we could illustrate how men actively negotiate sexual desires at both ends of the Taiwan Strait, and go further to analyse how sexuality serves to shape regional migration, and how it interweaves with gender, class and nationality.
‘Straight with a pinch of bi’: The construction of heterosexuality as an elastic category among adult US men
Authors: Carrillo Héctor , Hoffman Amanda
Published: February 2017

The sexualities of men who have same-sex desires yet identify as straight have attracted significant attention in recent years. We present findings from interviews with 100 such men, whom we recruited while they were seeking sex with men online, and examine the logics that allow them to maintain an identity as straight. Our sample is somewhat unique in that it included men across a wide age range (from 18 to 70), and also because many of our participants are white adult US men who are married or in stable relationships with women. Based on their patterns of sexual interpretation, we discuss how these men make their same-sex desires and behaviours consistent with a primary self-identification as straight. We argue that, in the process of maintaining identities as straight men, they change the definition of heterosexuality, in effect turning it into a considerably elastic category that is perceived as fully compatible with having and enacting same-sex desires.
‘I don’t mind watching him cum’: Heterosexual men, threesomes, and the erosion of the one-time rule of homosexuality
Authors: Scoats Ryan , Joseph Lauren J , Anderson Eric
Published: February 2017

In this qualitative research, conducted on 30 gay-friendly, heterosexual, undergraduate men, we examine actual and hypothetical experiences of sexual threesomes, both with two women and one man (FFM), and two men and one woman (MMF). We show a cultural willingness for heterosexual men to engage in not only FFM threesomes, but also MMF threesomes. A year and a half into their university experience, seven of our participants had had at least one FFM threesome, and five of our participants had had at least one MMF threesome. We argue that this threesome experience is a component of cultural progression toward a more liberal, recreational culture of sexuality that encourages play and experimentation instead of a procreative model of sexuality. Thus, this research contributes to the growing body of literature showing that the cultural boundaries of heterosexuality are rapidly expanding for males, permitting more same-sex sexual contact without triggering the one-time-rule of homosexuality.
‘Totally straight’: Contested sexual identities on social media site reddit
Authors: Robards Brady
Published: February 2017

This article is centred on a case study of the ‘Totally Straight’ (r/TotallyStraight) ‘subreddit’ on social media site reddit. r/TotallyStraight serves as a web forum for sharing gay pornography amongst men who identity as straight. I draw on a small-scale study of the r/TotallyStraight subreddit, conducted over a period of three months. Analysis reveals that while r/TotallyStraight is largely used as a forum for sharing porn depicting men, it also serves as a space for affirmation and sharing personal narratives related to contested ‘mostly straight’ sexual identities. The moderators of the subreddit, and the users themselves, foster a supportive, non-judgemental discourse. It is argued that this phenomenon could be representative of broader cultural shifts towards less rigidly defined sexual identities.
Effect of friction stir lap weld and post weld heat treatment on corrosion behavior of dissimilar aluminum alloys
Authors: Rajesh S , Badheka Vishvesh J
Published: February 2017

This study has been undertaken to evaluate the electrochemical behavior of friction stir lap welded V-95CHT1 and D19CHT plates and to study the effect of post weld heat treatment on the corrosion characteristics of the welded alloys. The corrosion characteristics were tested as per ASTM G-34 standard by immersion in EXCO solution and analyzing the corroded plates through optical imaging and scanning electron microscopic analysis. Cyclic polarization tests were also undertaken to validate the results of the immersion test. It was observed that friction stir lap weld had sensitized the V-95 plate with the heat-affected zone of the joint found most susceptible and weld nugget least susceptible to corrosion. Corrosion resistance of the welded plates was also found to be higher for those joints that were welded employing process parameters providing higher weld heat input. Post weld retrogression and re-aging heat treatment was also found to be beneficial in increasing the corrosion resistance of the alloy.
What’s Islam got to do with it? Attitudes toward specific religious and national out-groups, and support for EU policies
Authors: Azrout Rachid , Wojcieszak Magdalena E
Published: February 2017

Previous studies predicted European Union attitudes using anti-immigrant attitudes, but without explicitly accounting for attitudes toward different out-groups. We propose that group-specific attitudes independently predict attitudes toward the European Union, but only when the out-group is linked to the European Union issue in question. We additionally argue that realistic or symbolic threat associated with specific out-groups determines whether utilitarian or identity considerations are more important in predicting European Union attitudes. Using a nationally representative Dutch sample ( N = 2347), we focus on attitudes toward Polish and Muslim immigrants to predict strengthening of European Union integration and Turkey’s potential accession and find support for our hypotheses. The findings indicate the need to rethink the relationship between out-group perceptions and European Union attitudes.
Anti-immigration attitudes and the opposition to European integration: A critical assessment
Authors: Kentmen-Cin Cigdem , Erisen Cengiz
Published: February 2017

The aim of this overview is to critically examine the state of research on the relationship between anti-immigrant attitudes and attitudes toward European integration. We argue that the two most commonly used measures of anti-immigrant attitudes do not fully capture perceived threats from immigrants and opinion about different immigrant groups. Future research should pay more attention to two particular issues: first, scholars could employ methodological techniques that capture the underlying constructs associated with attitudes and public opinion; second, researchers could differentiate between groups within the overall immigrant population. This overview identifies themes in the literature while drawing attention to the need for more research on the behavioral underpinnings of anti-immigrant attitudes and public opinion on European integration.
Offering architects insights into experiences of living with dementia: A case study on orientation in space, time, and identity
Authors: Van Steenwinkel Iris , Van Audenhove Chantal , Heylighen Ann
Published: February 2017

Due to memory loss, people with dementia are increasingly disorientated in space, time, and identity, which causes profound experiences of insecurity, anxiety, and homesickness. In the case study presented in this article, we explored how architecture can support people in coping with this challenge. We took a novel approach to offer architects insights into experiences of living with dementia. Starting from a critical realist and constructionist approach, we combined ethnographic techniques with an architectural analysis. This case study offers insights into the experiences and activities of a woman living with dementia within the architectural context of her home. We describe how the physical and social environment provided her guidance through sequences of day-to-day activities. This study highlights how architecture can support people with dementia in orientating by accommodating places for (1) everyday activities and (2) privacy and togetherness.