Fair trade and European public procurement: legal principles and governance dynamics

Purpose The article examines principles of Fair Trade in public procurement in Europe, focusing on legal dimensions related to the European Public Procurement Directives. Design/methodology/approach The article situates public procurement of Fair Trade products in relation to the rise of non-state regulatory initiatives, highlighting how they have entered into new governance dynamics in the public sector and play a part in changing practices in sustainable procurement. A review of legal position on Fair Trade in procurement law is informed by academic research and campaigning experience from the Fair Trade Advocacy Office. Findings Key findings are that the introduction of Fair Trade products into European public procurement has been marked by legal ambiguity, having developed outside comprehensive policy or legal guidelines. Following a 2012 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is suggested that the legal position for Fair Trade in procurement has become clearer, and that forthcoming change to the Public Procurement Directives may facilitate the uptake of fair trade products by public authorities. However potential for future expansion of the public sector ‘market’ for Fair Trade is approached with caution: purchasing Fair Trade products as a marker of sustainability, which started to be embedded within procurement practice in the 2000s, is challenged by current European public austerity measures. Research limitations/implications Suggestions for future research include the need for systematic cross-institutional and multi-country comparison of the legal and governance dimensions of procurement practice with regard to Fair Trade. Practical implications A clarification of current state-of-play with regard to legal aspects of fair trade in public procurement of utility for policy and advocacy discussion. Originality/value The article provides needed elaboration on an under researched topic area of value to academia and policy makers.

Internet - lacuna jurídica ou inferno legal

A rápida evolução da Internet, permitindo a troca de mercadorias e serviços, pode ser comparada ao período da revolução industrial. A ausência total de fronteiras na Internet suscita tanto a admiração quanto o receio. Na verdade, o crescimento da Internet baseia-se em três fatores distintos e complementares: (i) o comercial; (ii) o tecnológico; e, (iii) o jurídico. A Internet não tem um comando jurídico uniformizado e harmonizado. Daí resulta que ela se traduz num mosaico organizacional que, hoje, está permitindo o seu funcionamento. A Internet é independente, entretanto não pode subsistir sem a influência de um sistema legal. De fato, as leis nacionais de um determinado país tem vocação a se aplicar às transações comerciais celebradas via Internet, dada a inexistência de uma regulamentação única e abrangente. Contudo, a aplicação não poderá ser imediata, adaptações serão necessárias para atender aos novos modelos jurídicos utilizados na Internet. Esta pesquisa é a primeira parte de um estudo mais amplo: a influência da Internet no direito brasileiro. Por tratar-se de um primeiro estudo bibliográfico, foram examinadas as principais áreas do direito que estão sendo influenciadas pelo desenvolvimento rápido e crescente da Internet. É, portanto, a primeira etapa deste estudo a pesquisa bibliográfica, propriamente dita. Nessa etapa, foram identificadas e comparadas as posições doutrinárias tanto de países sob a influência do sistema jurídico de common law como do romano-germânico. A partir de então, na segunda etapa, foram classificados os tópicos de maior interesse para a doutrina, através de palavras-chave. Partindo assim do presente estudo, o estudo mais amplo pretenderá delinear os alicerces de uma proposta jurídica comparada, entre os sistemas de common law e romano germânico, para então examinar a influência da Internet no direito brasileiro.

Gestão democrática no ensino superior: entre o discurso legal e a memória - o caso da FCL de Araraquara

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Bioethics and medical/legal considerations on cochlear implants in children

Cochlear implants are the best treatment for congenital profound deafness. Pediatric candidates to implantation are seen as vulnerable citizens, and the decision of implanting cochlear devices is ultimately in the hands of their parents/guardians. The Brazilian Penal Code dictates that deaf people may enjoy diminished criminal capacity. Many are the bioethical controversies around cochlear implants, as representatives from the deaf community have seen in them a means of decimating their culture and intrinsic values. Objective: This paper aims to discuss, in bioethical terms, the validity of implanting cochlear hearing aids in children by analyzing their vulnerability and the social/cultural implications of the procedure itself, aside from looking into the medical/legal aspects connected to their criminal capacity. Materials and Methods: The topic was searched on databases Medline and Lilacs; ethical analysis was done based on principialist bioethics. Results: Cochlear implants are the best therapeutic option for people with profound deafness and are morally justified. The level of criminal capacity attributed to deaf people requires careful analysis of the subject's degree of understanding and determination when carrying out the acts for which he/she has been charged. Conclusion: Cochlear implants are morally valid. Implantations must be analyzed on an each case basis. ENT physicians bear the ethical responsibility for indicating cochlear implants and must properly inform the child's parents/guardians and get their written consent before performing the procedure.

Radiochemical aspects of production and processing of radiometals for preparation of metalloradiopharmaceuticals

Radiometals play an important role in nuclear medicine as involved in diagnostic or therapeutic agents. In the present work the radiochemical aspects of production and processing of very promising radiometals of the third group of the periodic table, namely radiogallium and radiolanthanides are investigated. The 68Ge/68Ga generator (68Ge, T½ = 270.8 d) provides a cyclotron-independent source of positron-emitting 68Ga (T½ = 68 min), which can be used for coordinative labelling. However, for labelling of biomolecules via bifunctional chelators, particularly if legal aspects of production of radiopharmaceuticals are considered, 68Ga(III) as eluted initially needs to be pre-concentrated and purified. The first experimental chapter describes a system for simple and efficient handling of the 68Ge/68Ga generator eluates with a cation-exchange micro-chromatography column as the main component. Chemical purification and volume concentration of 68Ga(III) are carried out in hydrochloric acid – acetone media. Finally, generator produced 68Ga(III) is obtained with an excellent radiochemical and chemical purity in a minimised volume in a form applicable directly for the synthesis of 68Ga-labelled radiopharmaceuticals. For labelling with 68Ga(III), somatostatin analogue DOTA-octreotides (DOTATOC, DOTANOC) are used. 68Ga-DOTATOC and 68Ga-DOTANOC were successfully used to diagnose human somatostatin receptor-expressing tumours with PET/CT. Additionally, the proposed method was adapted for purification and medical utilisation of the cyclotron produced SPECT gallium radionuclide 67Ga(III). Second experimental chapter discusses a diagnostic radiolanthanide 140Nd, produced by irradiation of macro amounts of natural CeO2 and Pr2O3 in natCe(3He,xn)140Nd and 141Pr(p,2n)140Nd nuclear reactions, respectively. With this produced and processed 140Nd an efficient 140Nd/140Pr radionuclide generator system has been developed and evaluated. The principle of radiochemical separation of the mother and daughter radiolanthanides is based on physical-chemical transitions (hot-atom effects) of 140Pr following the electron capture process of 140Nd. The mother radionuclide 140Nd(III) is quantitatively absorbed on a solid phase matrix in the chemical form of 140Nd-DOTA-conjugated complexes, while daughter nuclide 140Pr is generated in an ionic species. With a very high elution yield and satisfactory chemical and radiolytical stability the system could able to provide the short-lived positron-emitting radiolanthanide 140Pr for PET investigations. In the third experimental chapter, analogously to physical-chemical transitions after the radioactive decay of 140Nd in 140Pr-DOTA, the rapture of the chemical bond between a radiolanthanide and the DOTA ligand, after the thermal neutron capture reaction (Szilard-Chalmers effect) was evaluated for production of the relevant radiolanthanides with high specific activity at TRIGA II Mainz nuclear reactor. The physical-chemical model was developed and first quantitative data are presented. As an example, 166Ho could be produced with a specific activity higher than its limiting value for TRIGA II Mainz, namely about 2 GBq/mg versus 0.9 GBq/mg. While free 166Ho(III) is produced in situ, it is not forming a 166Ho-DOTA complex and therefore can be separated from the inactive 165Ho-DOTA material. The analysis of the experimental data shows that radionuclides with half-life T½ < 64 h can be produced on TRIGA II Mainz nuclear reactor, with specific activity higher than any available at irradiation of simple targets e.g. oxides.

Department of Transportation's Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems Institutional and Legal Issues Program.

Mode of access: Internet.

Establishing continental sovereignty in Africa: risk and opportunity in financial integration - lessons for Africa from a legal perspective

This thesis identifies and defines the new African sovereignty. It establishes a modern sovereignty in Africa hatched from the changing nature of sovereignty in which countries come together at various levels or grades of partial surrender of national sovereignty in order to work closer together for their mutual advantage and benefit. To this end, the narrative zooms in on the central issues within the realms of money matters whereby a new model of monetary sovereignty and monetary solutions is designed in an attempt to ease the recurring tensions and challenges of modern national sovereignty in the continent of Africa. As such, this discussion will offer a historical journey through the constitution of sovereignty, to the birth of the nation state and international public law. It develops the theory of the changing nature of sovereignty within the modern state and opens new lines of inquiry for Africa. In this regard, it draws from juxtaposing and mixing elements of regional and global financial integration as well as retaining national financial sovereignty features to form this new design which I dub continental sovereignty. At its core, the thesis will deal with the legal aspects that stem from the co-mingling of legal systems of nation states and communities at the regional and global levels within the context of financial integration. The argument is that the rule of law remains sacrosanct in monetary management. Effective financial integration is the result of properly structured and managed legal frameworks with robust laws and institutions whether at a national, regional or global level. However, the thesis reveals that in order to avoid undermining the progress of Africa’s financial integration project, any solution for Africa must be immersed within a broader global solution where development issues are addressed and resolved and Africa can form a more central part in all relevant international discussion fora. The work will expound these issues by applying them within a regional and global context, with the state of affairs in Africa forming the nucleus. This application consequently presents the six key themes of the thesis which will be considered therein. They are: a.) regional advantage: which exploits the possibilities of deeper and further financial integration between smaller communal arrangements; b.) regional risk and exposure: the extent to which this deeper form of financial integration can spiral out of control if effected too quickly and too ambitiously; c.) global advantage: which considers the merits of global financial integration and the influence exerted by financial laws on the global financial architecture; d.) global risk and exposure: which considers the challenges of global financial integration especially within the background of the Global Financial Crisis 2007-2008; e.) African challenge: which considers the extent to which this analysis impacts the African economic and financial integration agenda; and f.) development challenge: which examines the extent to which global development issues impact the African solution (continental sovereignty) and the need for any solution for the continent to be roped into a broader global solution within which Africa can form an important part. Even though the thesis requests an optimistic undertone on the progress made so far, it unearths the African problem of multiple national sovereignty and multiple overlapping regional sovereignty constituted as the ‘spaghetti bowl’ dilemma. As such, the unique contribution to knowledge on financial integration in Africa can be echoed in these words: Africa‘s financial integration agenda has had little success in authenticating a systematic and dependable legal framework for monetary management. Efforts made have been incomplete, substandard, and not carefully followed through particularly reflected in the impuissant nature of the judicial enforcement mechanisms. Thus, the thesis argues that, any meaningful answer to the problems dogging the continent is inter alia deeply entrenched within a new form of cooperative monetary sovereignty. In other words, the thesis does not prescribe the creation of new laws; rather it advocates the effective enforcement of existing laws.

Success factors in an alliancing contract : a case study in Australia

Many studies have been carried out in relation to construction procurement methods. Evidence shows that there needs to be a change of culture and attitude in the construction industry, moving away from traditional adversarial relationship into cooperative and collaborative relationship. At the same time there is also an increasing concern and discussion on alternative procurement methods, drifting away from traditional procurement systems. Relational contracting approaches have become more popular in recent years, and have appeared in common forms such as partnering, alliancing and relationship management contracts. This paper reports the findings of a survey undertaken with a private organisation based on an alliance project during its design stage, identifying the critical factors that influence the success of the alliance project. Legal aspects focusing on dispute resolution in alliancing are also highlighted.

Design of a model-generated repository as a service for USDL

SAP and its research partners have been developing a lan- guage for describing details of Services from various view- points called the Unified Service Description Language (USDL). At the time of writing, version 3.0 describes technical implementation aspects of services, as well as stakeholders, pricing, lifecycle, and availability. Work is also underway to address other business and legal aspects of services. This language is designed to be used in service portfolio management, with a repository of service descriptions being available to various stakeholders in an organisation to allow for service prioritisation, development, deployment and lifecycle management. The structure of the USDL metadata is specified using an object-oriented metamodel that conforms to UML, MOF and EMF Ecore. As such it is amenable to code gener-ation for implementations of repositories that store service description instances. Although Web services toolkits can be used to make these programming language objects available as a set of Web services, the practicalities of writing dis- tributed clients against over one hundred class definitions, containing several hundred attributes, will make for very large WSDL interfaces and highly inefficient “chatty” implementations. This paper gives the high-level design for a completely model-generated repository for any version of USDL (or any other data-only metamodel), which uses the Eclipse Modelling Framework’s Java code generation, along with several open source plugins to create a robust, transactional repository running in a Java application with a relational datastore. However, the repository exposes a generated WSDL interface at a coarse granularity, suitable for distributed client code and user-interface creation. It uses heuristics to drive code generation to bridge between the Web service and EMF granularities.

Social influences on drivers in China

China is one of Asia’s many rapidly-motorising nations and recent increases in private-vehicle ownership have been coupled with an escalation in novice drivers. Several pieces of road safety legislation have been introduced in recent decades in China. While managing the legal aspects of road use is important, social influences on driver behaviour may offer alternative avenues to alter behaviour, particularly in a culture where such factors carry high importance. This paper reports qualitative research with Beijing drivers to investigate social influence factors that have, to date, received little attention in the literature. Findings indicated that family members, friends, and driving instructors appear influential on driver behaviour and that some newly licensed drivers seek additional assistance to facilitate the transition from learning to drive in a controlled environment to driving on the road in complex conditions. Strategies to avoid detection and penalties for inappropriate road use were described, many of which involved the use of a third person. These findings indicate potential barriers to implementing effective traffic enforcement and highlight the importance of understanding culturally-specific social factors relating to driver behaviour.

Social influences on Chinese drivers : cultural context and traffic law enforcement

Reducing road crashes and associated trauma is a critical focus as the Decade of Action for Road Safety commences. China is one of many rapidly-motorizing nations to experience recent increases in private-vehicle ownership and an associated escalation in novice drivers. Unfortunately, however, China also experiences a high rate of death and injury from road crashes. Several key pieces of legislation have been introduced in recent decades in China to deal with these changes. While managing the legal aspects of road use is important, social influences on driver behaviour may offer additional avenues for promoting safe driving, particularly in a culture where such factors carry high importance. To date, there is limited research on the role of social influence factors on driver behaviour in China, yet we know that Chinese society is strongly based on social rules, customs, and relationships. There is reason to assume therefore, that road use and driving-related issues may also be strongly influenced by social relationships. One previous study that has investigated such issues highlighted the need to consider culturally-specific issues such as interpersonal networks and social hierarchy when examining driver behaviour in China (Xie & Parker, 2002). Those authors suggested that there are some concepts relating to Chinese driving culture that may not necessarily have been identified from research conducted in western contexts and that research conducted in China must be considered in light of such concepts. The current paper reports qualitative research conducted with Beijing drivers to investigate such social influence factors. Findings indicated that family members, friends, and driving instructors appear influential on driver behaviour and that some novice drivers seek additional assistance after obtaining their licence. The finding relating to the influence of driving instructors was not surprising, given the substantial number of new drivers in China. In Beijing, driving instruction is conducted off-road in purpose-specific driving facilities rather than on the road network. Once licensed, it is common for new drivers to have little or no experience driving in complex traffic situations. This learning situation is unlikely to provide all the skills necessary to successfully negotiate crowded city streets and assess the related risk associated with such driving. Therefore, it was not surprising to find that one reported strategy to assist new drivers was to employ the services of an ‘accompanying driver’ to provide ongoing driving instruction once licensed. In more highly motorised countries supervised practice is part of a graduated licensing system where it is compulsory for new drivers to be supervised by a more experienced driver for a requisite period of time before progressing to solo driving. However, as this system is not in place in China, it appears that some drivers seek out and pay for additional support once they commence on-road driving. Additionally, strategies to avoid detection and penalties for inappropriate road use were discussed, many of which involve the use of a third person. These findings indicate potential barriers to implementing effective traffic enforcement and highlight the importance of understanding culturally-specific social factors relating to driver behaviour.

Who carries the can? Alcohol and pregnancy

This paper examines legal aspects related to the damage of the foetus in utero and discusses who might have some responsibility for ensuring a healthy outcome. In 2008 the legal ramifications of damage to a foetus were investigated and Australian National Guidelines on alcohol consumption were passed recommending abstention during pregnancy.

Cultural impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia : the role of nepotism

This paper reports the results of a mixed method approach to answer: To what extent do cultural values impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia, and if so how? This paper will firstly, introduce the importance of culture and define the aspects of Saudi culture. It will then describe the method used and present the questionnaire findings related to the role of nepotism. The review of the literature on nepotism indicates there is still much to be studied and learned. The legal aspects of nepotism, in addition to its impact on human resource management appear to be the more reported issues. However, nepotism’s impact on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has not been studied. This research aims to cover this gap by investigating to what extent nepotism, as one of Saudi Arabia’s cultural values, impacts on e-service use in Saudi Arabia. The tested hypothesis was found consistent with its predicted outcome: nepotism is a negative predictor of intention to use e- services in Saudi Arabia. It is evidenced that consideration of the impact of the cultural values will mainly contribute to the enhancement of social and organisational aspects of e-society research and practices, by deeply understanding them as of the influntials to e-service implementation.

Designing an information accountability framework for eHealth

This tutorial is primarily based on the IEEE eHealth technical committee Newsletter published in March 2013. Its main focus is on information privacy management in eHealth through information accountability. The tutorial consists of three main aspects of a proposed information accountability framework for eHealth, namely, social aspects, technical aspects and legal aspects. Following a brief introduction of the problem domain and context, we present the tutorial in these three main components. The length of the tutorial is intended to be half a day.