bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Realism, Utopia, and the Future of International Environmental Law
Authors: Francioni Francesco
Published: September 2012

International environmental law, in spite of its impressive development at the level of treaty law and notwithstanding the abundance of soft law instruments, declarations, and ‘understandings’, remains an immature and underdeveloped body of law. What are the prospects for further developments? At the normative level, a ‘realistic utopia’ entails the recouping of the original promise of the environmental movement, that is the conceptualization and the legal treatment of the natural environment as a ‘public good’ to be administered in the interest of all and of the generations to come. At the institutional level two approaches are possible: consciously to shunning the need for institutional reform as too costly and ineffective and rely on market mechanisms of self-regulation and transnational private enforcement; and a reform of the institutional system of environmental governance by creating effective multilateral institutions that can mirror what has been done in international economic law and human rights. The two approaches are not mutually exclusive. They should be complementary because the first one can hardly work without the other.
Combating Terrorism: Proposals for Improving the International Legal Framework
Authors: Ginkel Bibi van
Published: September 2012

This chapter assesses the bottlenecks and pitfalls identifiable in the counterterrorism system of the UN, as well as in the international legal system. The success rate of any possible suggestions for improving these measures will depend on evolution geopolitics and the power structures as we know them today. Thus, before anything else, the scenarios of different developments in geopolitics are discussed. Finally, some proposals for improving the current system are made, thereby taking into account the circumstances necessary to make that happen.
Uses and Abuses of Cyberspace: Coming to Grips with the Present Dangers
Authors: Murray Andrew
Published: September 2012

Of key importance to the challenge of cyberspace to all areas of law is the distinction between space and cyberspace. Space is the lawyer's natural environment. It represents our place in the physical environment and is the cornerstone of our legal systems, domestic and international. Cyberspace is the global network of interdependent information technology infrastructures, telecommunications networks, and computer processing systems. How does the rule of law apply in cyberspace? If we are to have any hope of producing effective de facto jurisdiction for cyberspace content, international lawyers must first accept there is a distinction between space and cyberspace. Cyberspace may (when viewed from the space of the physical environment) look like a communications media. There are areas where international cooperation and perhaps even formalization of law through treaty obligations are likely to be successful. They include e-commerce where the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce has been extremely successful in bringing harmony and international recognition; intellectual property rights where a number of the World Intellectual Property Organization treaties and others such as the recently finalized Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement have been or are likely to be effective; and a number of criminal law measures where the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime has been effective in providing cooperation on matters of illegal interception and computer-related fraud. However, if lawyers want to create de facto control over content it cannot be done through legal documents; it must be done through a web of terms and conditions of service and through Lessigian code-based solutions.
How to Improve upon the Faulty Legal Regime of Internal Armed Conflicts
Authors: Sivakumaran Sandesh
Published: September 2012

There are two major gaps in the law governing non-international armed conflicts: not infrequently, armed groups do exercise territorial control, yet international humanitarian law has little to say on the point and rebels lack combatant immunity and the associated prisoner of war status; whether or not such individuals respect the law of internal armed conflict, they may be prosecuted and even sentenced to death. Another problem is that there is a growing view that human rights law offers greater protection to the individual and should therefore replace international humanitarian law in the regulation of internal armed conflict, at least when the violence is below the threshold of Protocol II. However, the consequences of a shift from regulation through international humanitarian law to regulation through human rights law have not been fully explored. A study needs to be undertaken to determine whether all rules now applicable in internal armed conflicts are within the capacity of armed groups, whether certain rules need tailoring to meet the involvement of this category of actor, and whether other norms are needed. In the area of enforcement, three recent initiatives suggest that although traditional enforcement approaches may be of limited value, more creative approaches may prove workable. A way forward might reside in working out a new instrument designed to bind armed groups in each situation.
Good Time for a Change: Recognizing Individuals’ Rights under the Rules of International Humanitarian Law on the Conduct of Hostilities
Authors: Pinzauti Giulia
Published: September 2012

Given the current state of international law and international relations, in the near future it would be impossible, though highly desirable, to improve the situation of all civilians adversely affected by the outbreak of an armed conflict. It is, however, both necessary and realistic to address the condition of at least those individuals who suffer damage as a result of violations of the rules of jus in bello on the conduct of hostilities (the so-called ‘Hague law’). A belligerent violating international humanitarian law bears responsibility for the breach of such rules and is liable to make reparation for the consequences thereof. Arguably, the time is ripe for recognizing that the rules of the Hague law also protect individuals' rights, and that injured individuals are therefore entitled to remedy and reparation for the wrong suffered. The shift from the traditional paradigm of inter-state responsibility to responsibility of the state vis-à-vis individuals could be achieved through the creation of ad hoc international mechanisms (such as claims commissions) for the processing of individual complaints. In addition, the task of making a major breakthrough would fall to domestic courts and human rights supervisory bodies, which have ample potential for affirming the existence of individuals' rights under the rules of international humanitarian law regulating means and methods of warfare.
The Low Road: Promoting Civil Redress for International Wrongs
Authors: Menon Jaykumar A.
Published: September 2012

International law lacks muscle or, in other words, enforcement power; bones, that is, institutional infrastructure and capacity; and even heart, namely, the capacity to face up to some of the largest issues of our times. Civil litigation in domestic courts offers tremendous potential for redressing international wrongs, loosely defined to be of two types: cross-border matters; these can be addressed either by applying rules of international law, or solely through domestic laws as applied across borders and acts that take place strictly domestically but that nonetheless violate international law, even if their physical aspects are limited to a small inquisition room. Measures designed to improve upon the present conditions include: existing educational efforts for current and future practising lawyers should be increased, and also broadened to include legislators and judges; the collection of evidence in one country for use in litigation in another should be facilitated; and heads of jurisdiction should be broadened: for instance, often the jurisdictional peg is presence of the defendant's offices or person within the forum; property, however, can be an alternate base of jurisdiction.
Another look at accomplishments and incrementality
Authors: Rothstein Susan
Published: September 2012

The chapter reexamines the semantics of accomplishments predicates and argues that despite recent proposals to the contrary, there is a genuine class of accomplishment verbs which is linguistically useful. The chapter argues that lexical classes in general characterise the underlying types of events denotes by verbs. Following Kamp (1979 a,b,) the chapter suggests that the two basic types of events are states and instantaneous changes (what Vendler called States and Achievements). Activities are extended dynamic events, which are iterations of the series of changes which constitutes the minimal activity event (Dowty 1979; Rothstein 2004, 2008a). Accomplishments are likewise extended and dynamic, but are not iterable, since the lexical definition of the event type determines its endpoint. However, within this characterisation of accomplishments, there are subclasses of accomplishments, since different kinds of extended, dynamic, non-iterable events have different properties and may determine their endpoints in different ways. These different subclasses of accomplishments have different grammatical properties, and crosslinguistically the differences may show up in different ways.
The monotonicity hypothesis
Authors: Koontz-Garboden Andrew
Published: September 2012

This chapter addresses the issue of what are possible and impossible word formation operations from a semantic perspective, exploring the Monotonicity Hypothesis, the idea, itself a consequence of compositionality, that word formation operations do not remove operators from lexical semantic representations. The nature of morphology in the evaluation of this hypothesis is discussed, followed by the presentation of a case study that examines the derivational relationship of state-denoting words (red, broken) to their change-of-state counterparts (redden, broken). Potential counterexamples to the predictions of the hypothesis are discussed and shown ultimately to provide support for the hypothesis, when properly understood. Finally, additional empirical domains worth exploring are discussed.
The Origins of Music
Authors: Stumpf Carl
Published: September 2012

This book was first published in German in 1911. The text sets out a path-breaking hypothesis on the earliest musical sounds in human culture. Alongside research in such diverse fields as classical philosophy, acoustics, and mathematics, Stumpf became one of the most influential psychologists of the late 19th century. He was the founding father of Gestalt psychology, and collaborated with William James, Edmund Husserl, and Wolfgang Köhler. This book was the culmination of more than twenty-five years of empirical and theoretical research in the field of music. The first part of the book discusses the origin and forms of musical activities as well as various existing theories on the origin of music, including those of Darwin, Rousseau, Herder, and Spencer. The second part summarizes his works on the historical development of instruments and music, and studies a putatively global range of music from non-European cultures to demonstrate the psychological principles of tonal organization, as well as providing a range of cross-cultural musical transcriptions and analyses. This became a foundation document for comparative musicology, the elder sibling to modern Ethnomusicology, and the book provides access to the original recordings Stumpf used in this process. This book is available for the first time in the English language.
Carl Stumpf: Impulses towards a cognitive theory of musical evolution
Authors: Motte-Haber Helga de la
Published: September 2012

The translation of a text from 1911 in the year 2011 is indicative of the historical significance that befits the author who, for his part, made his mark with seminal writings on music psychology, even if he is not really the founder of the discipline of psychology. Can we still regard Stumpf's consideration of The Origins of Music as timely, or is this merely an interesting historical document? A review of differing theoretical concepts answers these questions and clarifies the significance of Stumpf's text within the framework of an intensive, fifteen-year discussion on the evolutionary origins of music. This chapter discusses the self-contradictory concepts of the evolution of music; a brief summary of significant aspects of the 1911 text; and the psychology of tone instead of psychophysics.
Cognitive Constraints on the Understanding and Acceptance of Evolution
Authors: Shtulman Andrew , Calabi Prassede
Published: September 2012

Evolution by natural selection is a theory that has revolutionized the biological sciences yet has remained largely misunderstood by the public. We present an analysis of how evolution understanding is constrained by early developing essentialist biases and test that analysis with a teaching intervention targeted specifically at those biases and the various “pre-Darwinian” misconceptions they license. The intervention was successful not only at increasing students’ understanding of evolution, at both the micro level and the macro level, but also at increasing their acceptance of evolution as a whole. These results suggest that attending to the essentialist nature of students’ preinstructional misconceptions may help improve evolution education and that improving evolution education may, in turn, help improve public attitudes toward evolution.
Encountering Counterintuitive Ideas
Authors: Evans E. Margaret , Rosengren Karl S. , Lane Jonathan D. , Price Kristen L. S.
Published: September 2012

This chapter provides evidence for a developmental learning progression, which can bridge the gap between everyday intuition and scientific reasoning about evolutionary change. First, it describes the learning principles that motivate a developmental learning progression and how they differ from those found in the learning progressions constructed by researchers working in formal education. The chapter then focuses on a developmental learning progression for biological evolution and details how children's and adults' intuitive theories about the natural world constrain their understanding of evolutionary theory, rendering it counterintuitive. The chapter then applies the proposed learning principles to children's and adults' emerging grasp of evolutionary theory and describe both age-related changes in children's and adults' reasoning and changes in reasoning following visits to informal science exhibits on evolution.
Commentary on Section I
Authors: Thanukos Anna , Rosengren Karl S. , Evans E. Margaret
Published: September 2012

This chapter summarizes the content of the first section of the book highlighting factors that influence the acceptance and understanding of evolution. These factors are described as constraints within the child, the specific task, and the broader social-cultural environment. It is argued that some of these constraints may lead to misconceptions, and that discussion of how multiple constraints interact to influence both acceptance and understanding of evolution may help educators design more effective methods for teaching about evolution. Other implications for education drawn from the individual chapters are highlighted.
Pattern and Process
Authors: Diamond Judy , Kociolek Patrick
Published: September 2012

Of any public institution, natural history museums have the most extensive intellectual and physical resources for teaching the public about evolution. This chapter traces how evolution exhibits in natural history museums have changed over the past century from displays based on collections of biological diversity to experiential teaching units that focus on processes and mechanisms of evolution that are based on contemporary research findings. To assess how well these efforts help people understand evolution will require a significant commitment to experimentally-based learning research to determine how to create meaningful educational change through the experience of visiting exhibits.
Making Connections
Authors: Thanukos Anna , Scotchmoor Judy
Published: September 2012

This chapter explores ways that learners’ perceptions of evolution and their perceptions of the nature and process of science may be intertwined. Literature from relevant research in cognitive psychology related to this connection is reviewed. The chapter also examines how misconceptions about the nature and process of science relate to both the learning and acceptance of evolution. The chapter also describes one effort, the Understanding Evolution website, to address public understanding of evolution and the nature of science. The description focuses on the design and goals of the website and evaluates the effectiveness for teaching and learning about evolution.
Cultural Warfare and Styles of Representation in the United States
Authors: Barker David C. , Carman Christopher Jan
Published: September 2012

This chapter lays out the argument in a detailed and systematic way. The chapter argues: (a) ordinary people do hold ideological predilections regarding the nature of democratic governance; (b) those predilections stem, in part, from different expectations regarding the nature of democratic governance; (c) such differences in democratic worldviews are partially a byproduct of cultural progressivism/traditionalism. That is, this chapter provides the detailed theoretical rationale undergirding the empirical analyses that follow.
Constituent Perceptions of Representation Styles and Democratic Accountability
Authors: Barker David C. , Carman Christopher Jan
Published: September 2012

This chapter explores other ways that trustee-style representation preferences within constituencies could ultimately translate into trustee-style governing styles on the part of elected representatives (and vice versa). Using the same data from previous chapters, the chapter demonstrates that citizens who are represented by Republicans are more likely to say that their representative is a trustee, regardless of their own preferences regarding one or the other style. The chapter also explores matters of democratic accountability: does disappointment in a legislator's representation style translate into lower job-approval ratings (and thus job insecurity) for that representative? And is it worse for those representatives who are deemed not responsive enough, as opposed to those who are considered too responsive? Democratic theory answers both of these questions in the affirmative, and so do our empirical tests. However, Christian traditionalists (and Republicans) are much less likely to express disapproval toward a legislator who is perceived as nonresponsive than are secular progressives (and Democrats). This pattern suggests that trustee-style representatives are much less likely to suffer electoral defeat if they represent culturally Red districts than if they represent culturally Blue ones.
Red Representation, Blue Representation
Authors: Barker David C. , Carman Christopher Jan
Published: September 2012

This chapter assesses one of the major implications of our findings that are discussed in the previous chapters. That is, if secular progressives are more inclined to expect instructed delegate-style representation, elect representatives with instructed delegate-styles of governance, and hold those representatives accountable when they fail to deliver, then we should expect elected officials who represent progressive (especially secular) constituencies to respond more consistently to constituent opinion than do those who represent traditionalistic constituencies. Looking directly at roll-call voting behavior on the part of legislators from 1985 to 2010, the chapter provides direct evidence in support of that narrative.
Quieting the Stable, Polarizing the Ranch
Authors: Barker David C. , Carman Christopher Jan
Published: September 2012

This chapter summarizes all of the findings, discusses their implications as they pertain to empirical democratic theory, and addresses the many questions left unresolved.
Concepts and Terms
Authors: Peponi Anastasia-Erasmia
Published: September 2012

Though absent from the Greek language as a term, the notion of the aesthetic is embedded in archaic and classical thought and encountered in different but equally complex modes of thinking in both poetic and philosophical texts. Early modern approaches to the aesthetic were associated to a considerable extent with a struggle over the definition of the so-called fine arts, emphasizing their exclusiveness, an attitude that encouraged similar approaches to beauty. Such perceptions of the aesthetic were contingent on the cultural conditions within which the discipline emerged in the eighteenth century. Based on the examination of the way intense manifestations of aural pleasure are meditated upon (and not just mentioned) in Greek texts, the book suggests a flexible understanding of the aesthetic, freed from the influential preconceptions of the last two centuries.
Fusion
Authors: Peponi Anastasia-Erasmia
Published: September 2012

Kêlêsisand thelxis, conveying slightly different nuances of intense auditory fascination and enchantment, are often discussed in archaic and classical texts in relation to the Sirens’ song. A re-reading of the Odyssean episode alongside passages from choral poetry illuminates the distinctive position of the Sirens’ listener, an intermediate state between pure attendance and full participation in performance. The chapter finally argues that, in archaic thought, listening to the Sirens is conceptualized as a mode of fusing the listener into the performer. This unusual model of aesthetic response further explains Odysseus’s own prominent position as a listener in the Odyssey. It also serves as an example of how Greek thought, along with more familiar perceptions of the aesthetic, envisioned the death of the listener in his blissful union with the performer. This point is further discussed in relation to brief but incisive comments by Nietzsche about substantial gaps in modern aesthetic thought.
Eros (I)
Authors: Peponi Anastasia-Erasmia
Published: September 2012

One of the dividing lines Kant drew between the “beautiful” and the “agreeable” was the border between the absence and the presence of desire for an object apprehended aesthetically. Several modern (and modernist) approaches to aesthetic response seem to question such convictions. Starting with Swann’s falling in love with a sonata in Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, the chapter proceeds to a discussion of the way mousikê is represented as eliciting a thoroughly mystifying type of desire in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes. Further discussion of Plato’s Philebus brings up crucial aspects of the type of aesthetic pleasure that is associated with desire and puts into new perspective an important concept surfacing in various Greek texts: the coexistence of pleasure and pain in the process of apprehending the beautiful.
Reconciliation in the Christian Tradition
Authors: Philpott Daniel
Published: September 2012

This chapter provides a justification for the ethic of political reconciliation from the Christian tradition. It seeks to show how the Christian tradition provides a grounding for the concepts of reconciliation, justice, peace, and mercy that the previous chapters set forth. For these tasks, it turns both to an analysis of language as found in the New Testament and an analysis of God's response to evil as found in the Christian tradition.
Reconciliation in the Islamic Tradition
Authors: Philpott Daniel
Published: September 2012

This chapter provides a justification for the ethic of political reconciliation from the Islamic tradition. It seeks to show how the Islamic tradition provides a grounding for the concepts of reconciliation, justice, peace, and mercy that the previous chapters set forth. For these tasks, it turns both to an analysis of language as found in Islamic scriptures and an analysis of God's response to evil as found in the Islamic tradition. The chapter explores musalaha rituals as rich examples of reconciliation.
Forgiveness
Authors: Philpott Daniel
Published: September 2012

This chapter analyzes in depth the practice of forgiveness. It begins by confronting criticisms of this controversial practice. Next it sets forth five stories of forgiveness as actually practiced in the political realm. Then follows an exploration of what forgiveness is and what its practice involves. The heart of the chapter is a defense of forgiveness as a practice that reflects the ethic of political reconciliation. How forgiveness furthers the justice of reconciliation is shown through a description of its primary restorations and secondary restorations. The chapter explores questions and moral dilemmas centering on forgiveness. It then shows how forgiveness is rooted in religious traditions. Finally, it explores particular problems that pertain to forgiveness in the political realm.
Who Is the Enemy?
Authors: Firestone Reuven
Published: September 2012

The mortal enemies of Israel become schematized in Rabbinic Judaism into two paradigmatic entities: the seven Canaanite nations and the Amalekites, both of which disappeared from history. The Amalekites, although destroyed physically, live on as a metaphor for both the external and internal evil that weakens Israel. Jewish aggression is thus redirected to imagined paradigms rather than real groups, further limiting the possibility of Jewish war in real time. A further limitation is imposed by the rabbis by insisting that a discretionary war may be prosecuted only under the authority of both the king and the Sanhedrin, a court of seventy-one rabbis.
Nahmanides’ Critique, and Other Thinkers
Authors: Firestone Reuven
Published: September 2012

Nahmanides criticizes Maimonides for omitting the commandment to conquer the Land of Israel from his enumeration of God’s commandments. To Nahmanides, conquest of the land is an eternal command that is not restricted to the conquests of the ancient Israelites but applies in every generation. But the divine command to “conquer” can be fulfilled also by moving to the Land and settling it peacefully. Control of the Land of Israel must remain in the hands of the People of Israel. The command to conquer and possess the Land of Israel is not bound by time but is in force forever, but it is not necessarily through military triumph that one fulfils one’s divine obligation of conquest. Alternatively, settling it by establishing Jewish communities and developing the Land fulfils one’s obligation.
The Crisis of Modernity and Jewish Responses
Authors: Firestone Reuven
Published: September 2012

Modernity represented a crisis for Jewish continuity since it effectively challenged the authority of the tradition that had served as the glue holding most of the Jewish people together for nearly two millennia. Traditional Jewish identities in the European milieu were replaced in the religious spectrum by Reform, Conservative, neo-Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism, and in the secular spectrum by the Jewish “enlightenment” (haskalah), various political movements, and Jewish nationalisms including Zionism. For most Jews the old paradigms were re-evaluated and often rejected, and emerging Zionism began to challenge the rabbinic instruments that had hitherto prevented mass immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel. Thus erupted a conflict among religious Jews as to whether or not Zionism was an acceptable Jewish movement. Most religious (or Orthodox) Jews rejected Zionism, while a stalwart few were active in what was becoming a largely secular Jewish national movement to return Jews to the Land of Israel and develop it.
From Holocaust to Holy War
Authors: Firestone Reuven
Published: September 2012

The overwhelming tragedy of the Holocaust changed the rules of engagement according to many Jews, convincing most that a Jewish safe-haven is more necessary than ever and only acceptable under Jewish self-government. Many Orthodox Jews who were a-Zionist or anti-Zionist changed their position on the establishment of a Jewish homeland or state. But mass immigration to the Land of Israel and creating a military force to protect the community there were considered by many to be an act of defiance against God’s dictate that Jews vow to refrain from mass immigration to Palestine. The problem was resolved for many by the Holocaust, which represented to them Gentile rebellion against their own divinely dictated vow not to persecute the Jews living among them too harshly. Historical crisis and the meaning applied to it thus began the process of breaking down the traditional rabbinic barriers to engaging in war.
1967 to 1973
Authors: Firestone Reuven
Published: September 2012

It was only after the extraordinary victory of the 1967 War that most religious Zionists acknowledged what they considered to be the truly messianic, redemptive nature of Zionism. Military success was often articulated in religious Zionist publications through such imagery as the “hand of God.” If it was God’s design, then was it not a holy war? The miraculous victory of the war was a clear sign to many that God intends for Jews to conquer and settle all of the Biblical Land of Israel, including those lands extending beyond the borders established by the United Nations Partition Plan and armistice agreements of 1947-48. The failure of the 1973 War actually caused an increase in rationalization and a resurgence of messianic, militant activism. Fear that the war would result in concessions of territories energized many to hold onto them. Revitalization efforts emerged among a generation of Orthodox youth disaffected with the ways in which their parents’ generation expressed its religiosity and Zionism, and the Settler Movement appropriated many of the classical symbols of classical secular Zionism that had since declined.
The Resurrection of Holy War
Authors: Firestone Reuven
Published: September 2012

This section summarizes the research of the previous chapters and brings the historical analysis to a close. The Religious Zionist community remains tightly knit and self-reinforcing, so despite its detractors even from within, a well-organized core succeeds in sustaining what was in some ways a hermetic interpretive stance. Partly in order to remain on track in the face of opposition, frustration and anxiety, it radicalized and became even more inward-looking. While it once captured the imagination of many outside the community, its influence has since declined, but not its fervour.
Confidentiality, Transparency, and the U.S. Civil Justice System
Authors: Doherty Joseph W. , Reville Robert T. , Zakaras Laura
Published: September 2012

The lawsuit is the cornerstone of the civil justice system in America, and an open court the foundation of American jurisprudence. In a public setting, we resolve disputes, determine liability, and compensate injuries. In recent decades, however, more civil disputes have been resolved out of court and the outcomes have been kept secret. Fewer than 5% of the tens of millions of injury claims annually are actually resolved through a public trial with a jury, and the vast majority are settled out of court or through private forums, such as mediation or arbitration, with undisclosed terms. Some argue that the confidentiality of the system keeps it working efficiently and fairly; others argue that the public is being denied information about hazards that may cause harm and that a public system with no data lacks oversight. This book approaches the issue in a multidisciplinary, nonpartisan, and empirical manner. The chapters provide empirical analyses and case studies of the impact of greater disclosure on various aspects of the system, ranging from settlement values to fraud, and propose several novel prescriptions for reform. With special attention to the emergence of modern mass litigation, the chapters identify a number of benefits to increasing access to information, including decreased fraud, improved public understanding and confidence in the system, and lower transactions costs. The chapters make policy recommendations—such as expanding access to existing databases and using technology to create new databases—that increase transparency while protecting the need for privacy.
TO THE EXTENT THAT PARTICIPATION IS A MEASURE OF SUCCESS: TRANSPARENCY IN THE SEPTEMBER 11TH VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND
Authors: Reville Robert , Goulka Jeremiah
Published: September 2012

This chapter investigates options and tensions in the implementation of transparency policy through a case study of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), a federally funded administrative compensation system for the victims of the 9/11 attacks. The VCF offers a useful example of how information disclosed by a compensation program may be intended both to promote the program's democratic legitimacy through accountability—transparency's usual justification in the context of public programs—and also to encourage participation in the program. The chapter begins by discussing key concepts in transparency theory, such as the relationship between transparency and accountability. Next it describes the circumstances that forged the VCF, the nature and extent of the program's disclosure of information, and the purposes these disclosures served. It concludes by drawing implications of this case study for other government programs and for the civil justice system.
UNDERSTANDING MASS TORT DEFENDANT INCENTIVES FOR CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS: LESSONS FROM BAYER’S CERIVASTATIN LITIGATION STRATEGY
Authors: Anderson James
Published: September 2012

This chapter describes the product liability case brought against Bayer for the cholesterol-lowering drug cerivastatin (Baycol), a powerful statin that was discovered to cause a muscular deterioration (rhabdomyolysis) that caused extreme pain and, in rare cases, death. After withdrawing it from the market, Bayer faced over 12,000 claims, which could have evolved into a mass tort. Instead of pressing for secret settlement agreements, as is common in such cases, Bayer chose to settle nearly all its cases according to a fixed schedule, without confidentiality. The chapter describes the benefits of such a strategy for both defendants and plaintiffs, arguing that it resembles “most-favored nation clauses” that prevent one contracting party in a trade agreement from reaching a separate agreement that offers a third party better terms than the initial contract. It was attractive to Bayer because it reduced the overall costs of a mass tort, and it was attractive to plaintiffs, who were assured that they were getting the same treatment as others with similar injuries.
TRANSPARENCY AND EXPERT EVIDENCE IN MASS TORTS: INSIGHT FROM SILICA LITIGATION
Authors: Dixon Lloyd , Carroll Stephen
Published: September 2012

Reliable expert evidence is critical to the performance of the civil justice system. A major sea change in the treatment of expert evidence occurred with the Daubert decision in 1993. While research has suggested that the Daubert decision has increased the scrutiny of expert evidence, troubling examples continue to surface in which expert evidence appears to be of very low reliability. The recent silica litigation provides such an example. In the early 2000s, the number of people filing claims for silica-related injuries skyrocketed. In 2003, U.S. District Court Judge Janis Graham Jack (in the Southern District of Texas) was assigned to preside over a consolidated action that included over 10,000 silica claims, and in June 2005, she issued an order questioning the validity of virtually every claim. The court explicitly criticized the procedures used by the doctors who diagnosed the vast majority of the plaintiffs and concluded that thousands of silicosis claims had been manufactured for money. Judge Jack found that the testimony of experts raised “great red flags of fraud”. The findings of Judge Jack have been widely accepted, and as a result, both the number of pending silica cases and the number of new filings plummeted following the proceedings in her court. This chapter draws on the experience with silica litigation to explore the role that increased transparency can play in improving the quality of expert evidence in mass personal injury litigation. It identifies the key factors that contributed to, or hindered, the discovery of fraud in diagnosing injuries. It then explores how increased transparency might be able to create the conditions in other settings that work in favor of uncovering fraud and to limit the influence of factors that work against such outcomes.
Brain region-specific activity patterns after recent or remote memory retrieval of auditory conditioned fear
Authors: Kwon Jeong-Tae , Jhang Jinho , Kim Hyung-Su , Lee Sujin , Han Jin-Hee
Published: September 2012

Memory is thought to be sparsely encoded throughout multiple brain regions forming unique memory trace. Although evidence has established that the amygdala is a key brain site for memory storage and retrieval of auditory conditioned fear memory, it remains elusive whether the auditory brain regions may be involved in fear memory storage or retrieval. To investigate this possibility, we systematically imaged the brain activity patterns in the lateral amygdala, MGm/PIN, and AuV/TeA using activity-dependent induction of immediate early gene zif268 after recent and remote memory retrieval of auditory conditioned fear. Consistent with the critical role of the amygdala in fear memory, the zif268 activity in the lateral amygdala was significantly increased after both recent and remote memory retrieval. Interesting, however, the density of zif268 (+) neurons in both MGm/PIN and AuV/TeA, particularly in layers IV and VI, was increased only after remote but not recent fear memory retrieval compared to control groups. Further analysis of zif268 signals in AuV/TeA revealed that conditioned tone induced stronger zif268 induction compared to familiar tone in each individual zif268 (+) neuron after recent memory retrieval. Taken together, our results support that the lateral amygdala is a key brain site for permanent fear memory storage and suggest that MGm/PIN and AuV/TeA might play a role for remote memory storage or retrieval of auditory conditioned fear, or, alternatively, that these auditory brain regions might have a different way of processing for familiar or conditioned tone information at recent and remote time phases.
Administration of the phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitor rolipram into the amygdala at a specific time interval after learning increases recognition memory persistence
Authors: Werenicz Aline , Christoff Raissa R. , Blank Martina , Jobim Paulo F.C. , Pedroso Thiago R. , Reolon Gustavo K. , Schröder Nadja , Roesler Rafael
Published: September 2012

Here we show that administration of the phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) inhibitor rolipram into the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA) at a specific time interval after training enhances memory consolidation and induces memory persistence for novel object recognition (NOR) in rats. Intra-BLA infusion of rolipram immediately, 1.5 h, or 6 h after training had no effect on retention tested at 1, 7, and 14 d later. However, rolipram infused 3 h post-training promoted memory persistence for up to at least 14 d. The findings suggest that PDE4 inhibition in the BLA can enhance long-term memory formation when induced specifically 3 h after learning.
Functional Characterization of a Silicon Transporter Gene Implicated in Silicon Distribution in Barley
Authors: Yamaji Naoki , Chiba Yukako , Mitani-Ueno Namiki , Feng Ma Jian
Published: September 2012

Silicon (Si) is a beneficial element for plant growth. In barley (Hordeum vulgare), Si uptake by the roots is mainly mediated by a Si channel, Low Silicon1 (HvLsi1), and an efflux transporter, HvLsi2. However, transporters involved in the distribution of Si in the shoots have not been identified. Here, we report the functional characterization of a homolog of HvLsi1, HvLsi6. HvLsi6 showed permeability for Si and localized to the plasma membrane. At the vegetative growth stage, HvLsi6 was expressed in both the roots and shoots. The expression level was unaffected by Si supply. In the roots, HvLsi6 was localized in epidermis and cortex cells of the tips, while in the leaf blades and sheaths, HvLsi6 was only localized at parenchyma cells of vascular bundles. At the reproductive growth stage, high expression of HvLsi6 was also found in the nodes. HvLsi6 in node I was polarly located at the transfer cells surrounding the enlarged vascular bundles toward the numerous xylem vessels. These results suggest that HvLsi6 is involved in Si uptake in the root tips, xylem unloading of Si in leaf blade and sheath, and intervascular transfer of Si in the nodes. Furthermore, HvLsi2 was found to be localized at the parenchyma cell layer adjacent to the transfer cells with opposite polarity of HvLsi6, suggesting that the coupling of HvLsi6 and HvLsi2 is involved in the intervascular transfer of Si at the nodes. Si translocated via the enlarged vascular bundles is unloaded to the transfer cells by HvLsi6, followed by HvLsi2 to reload Si to the diffuse vascular bundles, which are connected to the upper part of the plant, especially the panicles, the ultimate Si sink.
Proteasome-Mediated Turnover of Arabidopsis MED25 Is Coupled to the Activation of FLOWERING LOCUS T Transcription
Authors: Iñigo Sabrina , Giraldez Adrián N. , Chory Joanne , Cerdán Pablo D.
Published: September 2012

The Mediator complex is a greater than 1-megadalton complex, composed of about 30 subunits and found in most eukaryotes, whose main role is to transmit signals from DNA-bound transcription factors to RNA Polymerase II. The proteasome is emerging as an important regulator of transcription during both initiation and elongation. It is increasing the number of cases where the proteolysis of transcriptional activators by the proteasome activates their function. This counterintuitive phenomenon was called “activation by destruction.” Here, we show that, in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), PHYTOCHROME AND FLOWERING TIME1 (PFT1), the MEDIATOR25 (MED25) subunit of the plant Mediator complex, is degraded by the proteasome and that proteasome-mediated PFT1 turnover is coupled to its role in stimulating the transcription of FLOWERING LOCUS T, the plant florigen, which is involved in the process of flowering induction. We further identify two novel RING-H2 proteins that target PFT1 for degradation. We show that MED25-BINDING RING-H2 PROTEIN1 (MBR1) and MBR2 bind to PFT1 in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and in vitro, and they promote PFT1 degradation in vivo, in a RING-H2-dependent way, typical of E3 ubiquitin ligases. We further show that both MBR1 and MBR2 also promote flowering by PFT1-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Our findings extend the phenomenon of activation by destruction to a Mediator subunit, adding a new mechanism by which Mediator subunits may regulate downstream genes in specific pathways. Furthermore, we show that two novel RING-H2 proteins are involved in the destruction of PFT1, adding new players to this process in plants.
Eight isostructural 4,4′-disubstitutedN-phenylbenzenesulfonamides
Authors: Gelbrich Thomas , Threlfall Terence L. , Hursthouse Michael B.
Published: September 2012

The isostructural crystals of 4-cyano-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzenesulfonamide, C14H12N2O3S, (I),N-(4-methoxyphenyl)-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzenesulfonamide, C14H12F3NO3S, (II), 4-iodo-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzenesulfonamide, C13H12INO3S, (III), 4-bromo-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzenesulfonamide, C13H12BrNO3S, (IV), 4-chloro-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzenesulfonamide, C13H12ClNO3S, (V), 4-fluoro-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)benzenesulfonamide, C13H12FNO3S, (VI),N-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-methoxybenzenesulfonamide, C13H12ClNO3S, (VII), and 4-cyano-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide, C13H10N2O2S, (VIII), contain infinite chains composed of N—H...O(sulfonyl) hydrogen-bonded molecules. The crystal structures of (I)–(VIII) have been compared using theXPac software and quantitative descriptors of isostructurality were generated [Gelbrich, Threlfall & Hursthouse (2012).CrystEngComm,14, 5454–5464]. Certain isostructural relationships in this series involve molecules with substantially different spatial demands,e.g.(VI) and (VIII) are related by the simultaneous interchange of F→CN on the benzenesulfonamide ring and OMe→H on theN-phenyl ring, which indicates that the geometry of the three-dimensional crystal-packing mode of (I)–(VIII) is unusually adaptable to different molecular shapes.
Researching the adoption of ICT in Ethiopia: a case study of small hotels in Addis Ababa
Authors: Demeke Wegene , Olden Anthony
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the difficulties encountered when researching the adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) by small hotels in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and to indicate how some of these difficulties were overcome.

Design/methodology/approach

The background and theoretical framework of the research project is described, and the research difficulties analysed in the context of the literature and of experience elsewhere in Africa. Issues such as informed consent are considered from different cultural perspectives.

Findings

The conclusion is that an understanding of the political, economic and cultural context is essential to the carrying‐out of a successful research project in Ethiopia, and that these same factors are likely to have a major influence on the diffusion of ICT within the country.

Practical implications

An Ethiopian case study is of particular interest because unlike Tanzania, Kenya and much of the rest of Africa, the country's telecommunications industry remains in government hands, a broadband connection is very expensive, and the percentage of Ethiopians using the internet is very small – no more than 0.75 percent of the population in 2010 according to the figures of the International Telecommunication Union.

Originality/value

Little has been written about small hotels and other small and micro businesses in Addis Ababa, and little or nothing about the setbacks that can occur when researching them. This paper fills some of the gaps in the literature.
A review on dimensional tolerance synthesis: paradigm shift from product to process
Authors: Karmakar Sandipan , Maiti Jhareswar
Published: September 2012

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a state‐of‐the‐art review of dimensional tolerance synthesis and to demonstrate the evolution of tolerance synthesis from product to process‐oriented strategy, as well as to compare the same for single stage and multistage manufacturing systems (MMS). The main focus is in delineating the different approaches, methods and techniques used with critical appraisal of their uses, applicability and limitations, based on which future research directions and a generic methodology are proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

Starting with issues in tolerancing research, the review demonstrates the critical aspects of product and process‐oriented tolerance synthesis. The aspects considered are: construction of tolerance design functions; construction of optimization functions; and use of optimization methods. In describing the issues of process‐oriented tolerance synthesis, a comparative study of single and multistage manufacturing has been provided.

Findings

This study critically reviews: the relationship between the tolerance variables and the variations created through manufacturing operations; objective functions for tolerance synthesis; and suitable optimization methods based upon the nature of the tolerance variables and the design functions created.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to dimensional tolerance synthesis problems and evolution of process‐oriented tolerance synthesis to counteract dimensional variation problems in assembly manufacturing.

Originality/value

The paper provides a comprehensive and step‐by‐step approach of review of dimensional tolerance synthesis.