bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Technology first, sustainability later: a systematic review on the literature on the policy development of China’s smart city strategy
Authors: Ge Ke , Creutzig Felix , Hintz Marie Josefine 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
In China, like in other countries, smart cities have been proposed to make cities more efficient and, ideally, also more sustainable and low-carbon. Unlike other countries, China pursued a smart city strategy since 2008 with substantial funding and intermediate goals, resulting in high data and computational-intensive digital infrastructures in some cities. However, there is a lack of systematic understanding of how Chinese smart city policies and practices evolved. It is also unclear if and how smart cities achieve sustainability goals. Here, we fill these gaps by conducting a systematic literature review on the timeline of China’s smart city policies during the past three Five-Year Plans. The literature review, based on screening 7995 papers, and analyzing 364 relevant articles, shows that priority research topics are smart city systems and governance, including surveillance, with a more limited focus on policy. China’s net-zero carbon strategy is far less developed than its smart city strategy. The funding and development of large-scale data and AI technology is exemplified in Hangzhou’s ‘Urban Brain’. While sustainability goals are often associated with smart cities, we find few applications with demonstrated sustainability benefits. We suggest that mutual learning is possible by combining the net zero strategy and sustainable city strategy of cities like Copenhagen, Nairobi, Singapore and Toronto with the urban brain strategy of cities like Hangzhou.
Introduction
Authors: Bright David 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This book comprises chapters that aim to reveal insights into the intersection between illicit firearms markets, organized crime, and organized criminal groups (OCGs). The book employs a regional lens on illicit firearms markets, while concurrently exploring key emerging themes and challenges that lie at the intersection of illicit firearms markets and organized crime, such as the trafficking of firearms by OCGs and the facilitation of other organized crimes (e.g. drug trafficking) through the use of illicit firearms. In this introductory chapter, I address the contested nature of ‘organized crime’. Rather than endorse any specific definition of ‘organized crime’, I articulate a framework that incorporates the key characteristics of organized crime: the criminal activities associated with organized crime, the organization of criminals who undertake such activities, and extra-legal governance. I also provide an overview of the use of illicit firearms by organized criminal groups. I then introduce the concept of illicit markets and how they differ from legal markets, and provide a brief overview of the trafficking in illicit firearms including a review of some cross-regional similarities and differences. I conclude the chapter with an overview of the structure of the book with reference to the chapters that are to follow.
The Illicit Sources of Guns to Criminal Groups in the United States
Authors: Braga Anthony A 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Gangs, drug-selling crews, and other criminal organizations generate a disproportionate amount of gun violence in US cities. Gangsters and members of other criminally active groups generally do not purchase their firearms from licensed retail dealers. Instead, they acquire guns from private transactions with friends and family, or from the street. Analyses of crime gun tracing and firearm trafficking investigation data reveal that underground gun markets are supplied through a variety of illegal pathways including unregulated private sellers, straw purchasers, corrupt licensed dealers, gun thieves, and privately made firearms. The types of illegal sources supplying firearms to specific underground markets is influenced by community gun prevalence and the strength of gun control in jurisdictions. Increasing the time, effort, and expense of illegally acquiring guns can reduce gun use in violent crime. Problem-oriented policing strategies can be effective in disrupting local underground gun markets.
Not Just a Ballistic Affair
Authors: Florquin Nicolas , Anderson Simon , Fabre Anne-Séverine , Joseph Callixtus , St. John Joy 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This chapter examines the trafficking of firearms in the Caribbean, including the sources of these weapons, the actors involved—notably gangs and organized crime groups—and the impact of these activities on violence and crime. Given that firearms are the most commonly used weapon in homicides in a number of Caribbean countries, the chapter pays particular attention to the impacts of trafficking and violence on public health and highlights the need for measures to reduce the burden of firearm injuries. When reviewing trends in illicit firearms in the region, the chapter examines the types of firearms, sources, concealment methods, and modes of transport used by criminals. The chapter finally explores the policy implications for the region and reviews key regional efforts underway to counter the twin challenges of firearms trafficking and violent crime.
A Multiplex Network Perspective on Illicit Firearms Trafficking
Authors: van der Wijk Fenna , Bright David , Kootstra Freddie 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Illicit firearms trafficking is a transnational problem affecting communities worldwide. It enables, and is frequently intertwined with, other organized crime activities, such as drug and human trafficking. Illicit firearms trafficking is considered to be primarily carried out by organized criminal groups. A way to map and measure relationships and flows between individuals in firearms trafficking groups is provided by social network analysis (SNA). This chapter focuses on using SNA to understand the criminal activities in firearms trafficking networks and the social structures facilitating those activities in the European context. By means of a multiplex network approach, six network layers or tie types were examined, including ties that support the flow of commodities (firearms, money, and equipment) and those that facilitate social dynamics (orders, negotiation, and planning). A case study of a Dutch firearms trafficking network that was subject to police investigation was used. The merged network consisted of forty-two actors with 224 ties between them, including ties of which the link type was unknown. SNA metrics (density, degree centralization, average degree, degree centrality, and betweenness centrality) were calculated for the merged network and the six individual network layers. Results are discussed in light of the literature on the social organization of criminal groups. The chapter concludes with implications of results for policy and practice.
‘If You Get into the Business, You Have to Arm Up’
Authors: Bright David , Halsey Mark 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The chapter examines the use of illicit firearms in the context of organized criminal activities and by members of organized criminal groups. In this context ‘use’ includes carrying, displaying, and discharging guns for instrumental reasons during a crime or as a symbolic gesture such as to prove one’s mettle to peers. The chapter draws from seventy-five in-depth interviews with prisoners convicted of firearms-related crime in Australia and focuses specifically on the lived experience of participants in the context of illicit firearms markets and organized criminal groups. In this chapter, we explore the use of crime guns by members of organized criminal groups and in the commission or ‘organized crime’-type offences such as dealing and trafficking in illicit drugs. We explore a range of themes drawing on interviews including: preferences for specific types of firearms; the use of firearms to enhance status and power; the use of firearms for protection in illicit drug markets; firearms as a tool to steal drugs and money from drug dealers; and the use of firearms in conflicts between organized criminal groups. We discuss the implications of our results for policy and practice.
Redefining Codification
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
More than half of the world’s population lives under law codes. Yet, defining the concept of codification remains elusive. Rather than delving into abstract theories, this book provides a rich, contextual comparative legal history of codes in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium from the late eighteenth century to the present. The first part studies the evolution of French, German, Dutch, and Belgian codes in their political and comparative context, thus challenging deeply rooted national narratives. It covers not only the well-studied French, German, Dutch, and Belgian civil codes but also their often-overlooked commercial and procedural counterparts and drafts that failed to become law. The second part embarks on a comprehensive analysis of the factors contributing to the success or failure of codification efforts. Employing an innovative method of comparative legal history, it explores the key players and objectives behind codification, revealing that traditional notions of codification are far removed from reality. Following this deconstruction of some ‘universal truths’ about codifications, the book proposes a fresh, empirically based definition of codification, offering new insights. This book is essential for law scholars in civil and common law countries who study codification. For both beginners and specialists, it can also serve as a gateway to the histories and recent developments in private, commercial, and procedural law in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Historians and political scientists will find a behind-the-scenes analysis of the machinery of lawmaking in this book. Politicians and drafters of new codes can use this book as an overview of best practices in codification.
Introduction
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Codification history fascinates comparative lawyers and legal historians, yet codification is a hard-to-define concept. The word ‘code’ has many meanings for jurists, referring to both compilations and original texts. In the traditional view, the latter, the so-called true codes, must be original, innovative, accessible, and systematic. However, in reality, no current or past code fulfils all these criteria. Therefore, it is necessary to work empirically, by looking at actual codes to determine what codes really are and to arrive at a new definition. As it is impossible to look at all the available material, the focus is on four countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium) from the late eighteenth century until now. Studying them in a comparative approach remedies the defects of current national historiographies. To counteract the emphasis on civil codes, commercial and civil procedure codes are also considered. Given the interaction between law and politics, the research looks at codes in their context and not as autonomous phenomena. In addition, including failed draft codes helps to understand better the nature of codifications, which makes it possible to construct a definition of the concept ‘code’ that better reflects current and past reality.
Germany
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Due to political division, both in the nineteenth century before unification and after World War II before reunification, Germany has been a laboratory for codification. In nineteenth-century Germany, only one state managed to enact a civil code, and for commercial law no state got that far, but for civil procedure we find a plethora of codes. A national commercial code, the General German Commercial Code, arrived in 1861 before political unification in 1871, followed in 1877 by the Imperial Civil Procedure Rules. The German Civil Code was only enacted in 1896, with the revised German Commercial Code coming one year later. Prussia played a crucial role in unifying German law, but it could not always simply impose its wishes on the other German states. None of the three codes followed the normal pattern for legislation in Germany, in which the national Ministry of Justice (or its equivalent) steers the drafting process from the beginning to the end. In the twentieth century, the Nazi regime did not make new codes because Hitler did not want to be bound by the law. After his fall, communist East Germany wrote new codes, but they disappeared after reunification. The 2002 reform of the law of obligations proves that Germany can still enact major legislation, but in general, today’s Germany seems to be satisfied with its nineteenth-century codes. Meanwhile, civil procedure, the most urgent priority of the nineteenth century, has become a side topic, whereas the originally unpopular Civil Code has become well entrenched.
The Netherlands
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Dutch codification history proves that the size of a country is less important than the quality of its drafters. Napoleon imposed his codes on the Netherlands, ignoring local efforts to write codes based on the Dutch legal tradition. The United Kingdom of Belgium and the Netherlands drafted new codes in 1815–1830, which entered into force in 1838 after the secession of Belgium. Although these codes remained within the French orbit, Dutch jurists were satisfied with them, and attempts to revise them failed at the end of the nineteenth century. After World War II, however, Meijers started to draft a new code integrating commercial law. As this codification effort was very much linked to the personality of Meijers, his death bogged down the drafting process, but most of the new Dutch Civil Code entered into force in 1992. Two of its books followed later, and one is unlikely to become a reality, but the Dutch Civil Code still comes close to incorporating all substantive private law. Because it was meant to show the nation’s greatness, the Dutch Civil Code has received the most attention. The 1838 Dutch Code of Civil Procedure still exists, as no plans for a new code were successful. However, a new code may not even be necessary as the mindset of many jurists on an efficient civil procedure has changed anyway.
Belgium
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The constant of Belgian codification history is the pragmatism of Belgian jurists. Although the 1831 Constitution of newly independent Belgium called for new codes, Napoleon’s codes survived for a long time because they fit the needs of Belgian jurists. A very partisan draft by Laurent soured Belgian jurists and politicians on a new civil code, and a draft code of civil procedure foundered on resistance from a group of practitioners. Parliament reformed commercial law completely during the second half of the nineteenth century, but only because it had to do so, as Belgium was the first country after the United Kingdom to industrialize. The 1967 Belgian Judicial Code did not fundamentally change the pattern of loyalty to Napoleon’s codes, as it strengthened the main tendencies of the French 1806 Code of Civil Procedure. In 2013–2014, the Belgian Code of Economic Law proved that the country could still make great codes, but not with the minister of justice at the helm. This suddenly changed in 2016 when Minister of Justice Geens announced his plan for new codes. By now, this has resulted in major reforms in economic law and a new Belgian Civil Code, which is well on its way to completion. However, although the 1967 Judicial Code is defective, no plan exists to replace it.
The Lack of an Ideal Code
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The best-known code is the French 1804 Civil Code, which, even today, many scholars consider the ideal codification model. However, it was imposed by a military dictator and is therefore not a good example for today’s democratic societies. France does not offer the ideal model, and neither does any other country. Civil, commercial, and procedural codes are so diverse that it is impossible to see one of them as the mould in which others were cast. The codes’ diversity also extends to decodification, which is not a necessary corollary of codification but a result of political choices. Whatever their differences, codifications have in common that success comes at a price. At least one of the traditional characteristics of a code (innovation, consistency, exclusivity, or accessibility) has to be sacrificed for a draft to become law. Researchers who want to study what would have happened if other choices had been made can use comparative legal history to find realistic alternative scenarios.
A Comparative Legal History Method for Studying the Success and Failure of Draft Codifications
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
As no ideal model of making a code exists in reality, it is necessary to empirically look at the causal factors for the success or failure of attempts to promulgate a new code. The criterion for success or failure is, in this case, whether or not a draft code becomes legislation that enters into force. Studying successful and failed drafts in several countries is an exercise in comparative legal history, a discipline which does not have much in the way of a distinct methodology. At first, contradicting national historiographies look like obstacles to research. However, they can also indicate that a previously ignored factor is at work. Therefore, this source of frustration for the comparative legal historian turns out to be a blessing in disguise, the building block for a methodology adapted to the current needs of comparative legal history.
Actors: Drafters, Politicians, and Other Stakeholders
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
The actors of a codification are drafters, politicians, and other stakeholders. Literature on codification extensively debates whether a single person or a commission is more apt to write a code, but the selection of the drafters matters more than their number. Drafters must be legal experts with free time to work, and the higher their number, the more they have to organize their activities. Amongst the drafters and the politicians, a stable consensus has to exist on the necessity and priority of a codification and its aims. This consensus is anchored in nationalism, including not just openly professed nationalism but also the wish to stimulate the national economy. To preserve or construct this stable consensus, drafters and politicians need to consider a diversity of opinions one way or another, and they have to be willing to make compromises amongst themselves and with other groups. Lobbying by special interest groups does not stand in the way of a codification, as lobby groups are more interested in specific issues than in the principle of a code. The opinions of law professors are of limited importance. Advocates, however, can break or make civil procedure codes due to their substantial representation in parliament.
Aims: Do Ambitions Survive Contact with Reality?
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
Boring drafts have more chances of success in the sense of approval by parliament. Drafters and politicians who want a code have to make several choices impacting the success or failure of their efforts. Because the French 1804 Civil Code preserved some elements of the French Revolution, the idea could take root that codifications have to be innovative, fundamentally changing society. Successful codifications, however, do not rock the boat too much and leave great social reforms to other legislation. Academics prefer learned codes, but texts that have to show off their authors’ brilliance do not become law because they fail to address the needs of practitioners. Preferably, drafters present a complete code to the politicians for their approval. However, working in stages has become the only way to achieve a result for several recent codifications, albeit at the price of coherence and consistency. For foreign material, drafters looking for inspiration will turn mostly to texts in the format of a code, whereas for domestic models, the format matters less. In the most successful approach, drafters only consider a limited number of models without much originality. All this means that judging codes as imperfect because of their content may be too harsh. Codes that are substandard from an academic point of view may be politically perfect, as their political approval proves.
Conclusion: Redefining the Concept of a Code
Authors: Heirbaut Dirk 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
A codification draft only becomes law after one or more of the traditional characteristics of a codification (original, innovative, accessible, and systematic) have been sacrificed. Taking into account the history of the codes analysed, we propose a new definition. A code is legislation covering a major part of the law, which contains at least some modification and imposes a new framework for further development, thereby making the law more accessible for professionals. Several possible objections to this definition are answered. It is grounded in the empirical material examined, but this also means that it cannot be transferred to other countries or branches of law without further study. Nevertheless, it may be interesting to look beyond the cases studied. A first impression is given of what our new definition could mean for the debate on codification in the United Kingdom, an overseas neighbour of all the countries studied. The differences in England, Scotland, and Wales make it necessary to look at them separately. Specialists of European private law have also, to no avail, promoted the idea of a European civil code or similar texts. If future authors of European law codes and their political backers keep in mind that modesty is crucial, their future efforts may even stand a chance.
Revolution to Civil War
Authors: Parasidis Efthimios 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This chapter details the development of military medicine—and the medical profession at large—between the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War. It explains how shortcomings in military medicine during the early nineteenth century led to the establishment of a permanent military medical department in 1818. It also describes the development of the medical profession during the late eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century: how medical sects jostled for position and prestige, and the relative ease with which a person could earn a medical degree due to the lack of medical education standards and medical licensure requirements. Notwithstanding the predicament, the chapter explains how, during this period, the US military was at the forefront of medicine and medical research. The chapter also details military medical innovations that developed during the US Civil War, including triage, pain management, anesthesia, and surgery.
Radiation Experiments and Atomic Weapons Research
Authors: Parasidis Efthimios 
Published: December 2024

Abstract
This chapter details America’s post-World War II radiation experiments and atomic weapons research. The Atomic Energy Commission led this work, and the scope of activities was extraordinary. The AEC collaborated with hospitals, universities, public health agencies, industry, and the military. Service members, veterans, prisoners, pregnant women, children, and patients took part in AEC studies, though many were coerced into participation or were unsuspecting research subjects. With AEC oversight, the military administered field tests with atomic weapons to prepare service members for nuclear war, physicians conducted biomedical radiation research, and scientists secretly inundated large swaths of America with intentional radiation releases. The projects were developed to promote military preparedness and examine the impact of radiation on humans, animals, crops, and the environment.