Discretion and Accountability: The ESMA Judgment and the Meroni Doctrine. Bruges European Economic Research (BEER) Papers 30/2014

This paper assesses the effectiveness of the Meroni doctrine in the light of the recent judgment in the ESMA case. The first part explains in detail the problem of delegation of powers in the EU from the perspective of the principal-agent theory and complements it with the analysis of the trade-off between different levels of independence and accountability of agencies. A simple economic model is developed to illustrated the relationship between the independence and accountability of an agency. It shows that it is the accountability mechanism that induces the agent to act, rather than the extent of his independence. The paper also explains the inter-temporal interactions between the principal and the agent on the basis of the incentives in place for the different players. The second part is devoted to analysis of the functioning of ESMA in the context of its delegated powers. After the presentation of main aspects of the regulatory framework establishing ESMA, the paper continuous with an analysis and interpretation of the discretionary powers of ESMA. The rather rigid position of the Court of Justice in relation to the Meroni doctrine seems to be unsuitable to delegation of complex regulatory tasks. This is particularly evident in the case of financial markets. Finally, the judgment does not examine in any detail whether and how the principals - i.e. the EU and Member States - are best able to evaluate the quality of ESMA decisions and regulations and whether there are different but more effective accountability mechanisms.

Wittgenstein, Winch, Kripkenstein y la posibilidad de la crítica

En el presente trabajo exploramos las consecuencias de la lectura del argumento del lenguaje privado realizada por Kripke en el terreno del pensamiento social y político. Ello reviste un interés particular, debido a que lleva a revisar el encuadre en el que usualmente se ha situado la discusión sobre la relevancia político-social del pensamiento de Wittgenstein. La discusión ha estado centrada en el rol del acuerdo comunitario, sus consecuencias conservadoras o relativistas, el ahogo de la crítica y el disenso que resultaría, y otras cuestiones conexas. En ello vemos el síntoma de una problemática epistemológica (la de las garantías del conocimiento) que no termina de superarse, a pesar de la jerga semántica. Mostraremos que el escenario que resulta de la lectura de Kripke, en cambio, rompe con esta problemática, habilitando nuevas preocupaciones, próximas, a nuestro juicio, con las de lo que en el pensamiento francés se han denominado las "filosofías de la sujeción del sujeto"

Wittgenstein, Winch, Kripkenstein y la posibilidad de la crítica

En el presente trabajo exploramos las consecuencias de la lectura del argumento del lenguaje privado realizada por Kripke en el terreno del pensamiento social y político. Ello reviste un interés particular, debido a que lleva a revisar el encuadre en el que usualmente se ha situado la discusión sobre la relevancia político-social del pensamiento de Wittgenstein. La discusión ha estado centrada en el rol del acuerdo comunitario, sus consecuencias conservadoras o relativistas, el ahogo de la crítica y el disenso que resultaría, y otras cuestiones conexas. En ello vemos el síntoma de una problemática epistemológica (la de las garantías del conocimiento) que no termina de superarse, a pesar de la jerga semántica. Mostraremos que el escenario que resulta de la lectura de Kripke, en cambio, rompe con esta problemática, habilitando nuevas preocupaciones, próximas, a nuestro juicio, con las de lo que en el pensamiento francés se han denominado las "filosofías de la sujeción del sujeto"

Core derived downhole logs for holes CRP-2 and CRP-2A

In the northern McMurdo Sound (Ross Sea, Antarctica), the CRP-2/2A drillhole targeted the western margin of the Victoria Land Basin to investigate Neogene to Palaeogene climatic and tectonic history by obtaining continuous core and downhole logs. Well logging of CRP-2/2A has provided a complete and comprehensive dataset of in situ geophysical measurements. This paper describes the evaluation and interpretation of the downhole logging data using multivariate statistical methods. Two major types of multivariate statistical methods were each yielding a different perspective: (1) Factor analysis was used as an objective tool for classification of the drilled sequence based on physical and chemical properties. The factor logs are mirroring the basic geological controls (i.e., grain size, porosity, clay mineralogy) behind the measured geophysical properties, thereby making them easier to interpret geologically. (2) Cluster analysis of the logs groups similar downhole geophysical properties into one cluster, delineating individual logging or sedimentological units. These objectively and independently defined units, or statistical electrofacies, are helpful in differentiating lithological and sedimentological characterisations (e.g. grain size, provenance). The multivariate statistical methods of factor and cluster analysis proved to be powerful tools for fast, reliable, and objective characterisation of downhole geophysical properties at CRP-2/2A, resulting in interpretations which are consistent with sedimentological findings.

Wittgenstein, Winch, Kripkenstein y la posibilidad de la crítica

En el presente trabajo exploramos las consecuencias de la lectura del argumento del lenguaje privado realizada por Kripke en el terreno del pensamiento social y político. Ello reviste un interés particular, debido a que lleva a revisar el encuadre en el que usualmente se ha situado la discusión sobre la relevancia político-social del pensamiento de Wittgenstein. La discusión ha estado centrada en el rol del acuerdo comunitario, sus consecuencias conservadoras o relativistas, el ahogo de la crítica y el disenso que resultaría, y otras cuestiones conexas. En ello vemos el síntoma de una problemática epistemológica (la de las garantías del conocimiento) que no termina de superarse, a pesar de la jerga semántica. Mostraremos que el escenario que resulta de la lectura de Kripke, en cambio, rompe con esta problemática, habilitando nuevas preocupaciones, próximas, a nuestro juicio, con las de lo que en el pensamiento francés se han denominado las "filosofías de la sujeción del sujeto"

Examining the Relationship Between Secondary Traumatic Stress and Sickness Absenteeism within 9-1-1 Emergency Call Centers

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Neural Stem Cells and Neurospheres - Re-evaluating the Relationship

For most of the past century, the prospect of replacing lost or damaged cells in the central nervous system (CNS) was hampered by the opinion that the adult mammalian CNS was incapable of generating new nerve cells. This belief, Like most dogmas, was essentially founded on a lack of experimental evidence to the contrary. The overturning of this 'no new neuron' hypothesis began midway through the twentieth century with a series of reports documenting neurogenesis in the postnatal and adult brain(1), continued with the isolation and in vitro culture of neurogenic cells from the adult mammalian brain(2,3), and culminated in the discovery of a population of muttipotent, selfrenewing cells in the adult CNS (that is, bona fide neural stem cells)(3-5). Although a variety of techniques were initially used, the neurosphere assay (NSA)(3,6) rapidly emerged as the assay of choice and has since become a valuable toot for isolating, and understanding the biology of, embryonic and adult CNS stem cells. Like all technologies, it is not without its limitations. In this article we will hightight several shortcomings of the assay related to its application and interpretation that we believe have led to a significant body of research whose conclusions may well be misleading.

Synthesis, biological activity, and preliminary pharmacokinetic evaluation of analogues of a phosphosulfomannan angiogenesis inhibitor (PI-88)

The phosphosulfomannan 1 (PI-88) is a mixture of highly sulfated oligosaccharides that is currently undergoing clinical evaluation in cancer patients. As well as it's anticancer properties, 1 displays a number of other interesting biological activities. A series of analogues of 1 were synthesized with a single carbon (pentasaccharide) backbone to facilitate structural characterization and interpretation of biological results. In a fashion similar to 1, all compounds were able to inhibit heparanase and to bind tightly to the proangiogenic growth factors FGF-1, FGF-2, and VEGF. The compounds also inhibited the infection of cells and cell-to-cell spread of herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). Preliminary pharmacokinetic data indicated that the compounds displayed different pharmacokinetic behavior compared with 1. Of particular note was the n-octyl derivative, which was cleared 3 times less rapidly than 1 and may provide increased systemic exposure.

An archaeology of the instant? Action and narrative in microscopic archaeological residue analyses

The discovery and interpretation of microscopic residues on stone artefacts is an expanding front within archaeological science, allowing reconstructions of the past use of specific tools. With notable exceptions, however, the field has seen little theoretical development, relying largely on a rationale in which either individual findings are widely generalized or the age of the site determines the importance of the results. Here an approach to residue interpretation is proposed that draws on notions of narrative, scale, action and agency as one means of expanding the theoretical scope and application of residue studies. It is suggested that the individual resonance of the findings of residue analyses with people in the present day can be used to provide a more nuanced understanding of past actions, which in turn allows both better integration and communication of those findings within and outside the archaeological comm unity, and begins to overcome the problems associated with the typically small sample sizes analysed in stone-tool residue studies.

Tempest in another time: Shakespeare, Greenaway, Céline

Hainge examines Shakespeare's play The Tempest, which was used in the allusions of Louis-Ferdinand Céline's novel Guignol's Band and Peter Greenaway's 1991 film Prospero's Book. He hypothesizes that Céline's novel Feerie pour une autre fois can be conceived of as a response to and interpretation of the The Tempest in the same way that Greenaway's film can be conceived of not as a representation of Shakespeare's play, a simple staging of it, but rather as a subjective response to it, an adaptation in the truest sense of the term.

The cultural facet of suicidal behaviour: Its importance and neglect

Culture is a central but debated concept in many disciplines and its complexity may become an even bigger source of argument in Suicidology. In spite of the intricacy of the study of this construct, the paper illustrates that various scholars have recognised the relevance of culture and ethnicity in the understanding of suicidal behaviour. The author provides evidence of the need to pay more attention to the meaning and interpretation of suicide in cross-cultural research and underlines the necessity to establish cultural-sensitive prevention strategies. The paper closes by providing methodological considerations and suggestions for future research on cultural aspects of suicidal behaviour.

Signal or Noise? Information Theory and the Novel

In the context of a hostile funding environment, universities are increasingly asked to justify their output in narrowly defined economic terms, and this can be difficult in Humanities or Arts faculties where productivity is rarely reducible to a simple financial indicator. This can lead to a number of immediate consequences that I have no need to rehearse here, but can also result in some interesting tensions within the academic community itself. First is that which has become known as the ‘Science Wars’: the increasingly acrimonious exchanges between scientists and scientific academics and cultural critics or theorists about who has the right to describe the world. Much has already been said—and much remains to be said—about this issue, but it is not my intention to discuss it here. Rather, I will look at a second area of contestation: the incorporation of scientific theory into literary or cultural criticism. Much of this work comes from a genuine commitment to interdisciplinarity, and an appreciation of insights that a fresh perspective can bring to a familiar object. However, some can be seen as cynical attempts to lend literary studies the sort of empirical legitimacy of the sciences. In particular, I want to look at a number of critics who have applied information theory to the literary work. In this paper, I will examine several instances of this sort of criticism, and then, through an analysis of a novel by American author Richard Powers, Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance, show how this sort of criticism merely reduces the meaningful analysis of a complex literary text.

MIQUÉIAS 6,1-8: UM TEXTO PARADIGMÁTICO NA INTERFACE DA CRÍTICA PROFÉTICA COM A SABEDORIA ISRAELITA

A presente dissertação de mestrado em Literatura e Religião no Mundo Bíblico tem por objetivo realizar um comentário exegético e hermenêutico de um texto reconhecido como profético e sua relação no plano teológico, antropológico e literário com o universo sapiencial israelita no período pós-exílico. Trata-se do estudo de Miquéias 6,1-8, cujo foco de investigação desenvolveu-se a partir da análise do discurso e da hipótese de confluência de gêneros literários, a saber, o profético e o sapiencial. Considerado sob os aspectos formais, contextuais e de conteúdo antropo teológico, o texto estudado apresenta-se como resultado da composição de diversos gêneros literários e manifesta, internamente, conflitos de teologias que vão desde a interpretação da própria história de Israel até a prática religiosa com suas concepções de Deus. Miquéias 6,1-8, interpretado aqui a partir de metodologias exegéticas modernas e abordagens contextuais e antropológicas, configura-se como uma verdadeira síntese de interpretação deuteronomista não hegemônica dos eventos do êxodo e da mensagem dos profetas bíblicos do século VIII aeC Miquéias, Amós, Oséias e Isaías. Estamos diante de um texto que se apresenta, ao mesmo tempo, coeso e portador de diferentes universos e vozes em sua composição. Seu discurso, cujo teor nasce do conflito entre projetos e grupos no período pós-exílico, resgata memórias antigas de um êxodo que passa por sujeitos marginais e reinterpreta a crítica profética em sua função de discernimento ético e teológico, porém, no formato sapiencial. Pela profundidade sócio teológica e pela proposta não sacrificial de seu discurso, Miquéias 6,1-8 tem sido um texto continuamente revisitado no interior da Teologia da Libertação na América Latina, inspirando boa parte de sua produção.

Cristianismo Arreligioso: uma análise do desenvolvimento e recepção da teologia de Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Esta dissertação é o resultado da pesquisa sobre a teologia de Dietrich Bonhoeffer a partir de seus próprios escritos e da recepção e interpretação de seu pensamento por teólogos que se dedicaram ao estudo de sua reflexão teológica após sua morte, especialmente no que diz respeito à sua proposta de um cristianismo arreligioso. Dentre estes teólogos destacam-se Eberhard Bethge, autor de uma detalhada biografia de Bonhoeffer, além de Robinson e Hamilton, autores que participam do movimento que ficou conhecido como Teologia Radical . O objetivo da pesquisa é exatamente esclarecer o significado da proposta de um cristianismo arreligioso em Bonhoeffer, bem como analisar suas críticas à religião e as possibilidades encontradas em sua compreensão cristológica para uma vivência cristã autêntica num mundo que se tornou adulto. (AU)

Practices and views on fetal heart monitoring:A structured observation and interview study

Objective: To assess and explain deviations from recommended practice in National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines in relation to fetal heart monitoring. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Large teaching hospital in the UK. Sample: Sixty-six hours of observation of 25 labours and interviews with 20 midwives of varying grades. Methods: Structured observations of labour and semistructured interviews with midwives. Interviews were undertaken using a prompt guide, audiotaped, and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was based on the constant comparative method, assisted by QSR N5 software. Main outcome measures: Deviations from recommended practice in relation to fetal monitoring and insights into why these occur. Results: All babies involved in the study were safely delivered, but 243 deviations from recommended practice in relation to NICE guidelines on fetal monitoring were identified, with the majority (80%) of these occurring in relation to documentation. Other deviations from recommended practice included indications for use of electronic fetal heart monitoring and conduct of fetal heart monitoring. There is evidence of difficulties with availability and maintenance of equipment, and some deficits in staff knowledge and skill. Differing orientations towards fetal monitoring were reported by midwives, which were likely to have impacts on practice. The initiation, management, and interpretation of fetal heart monitoring is complex and distributed across time, space, and professional boundaries, and practices in relation to fetal heart monitoring need to be understood within an organisational and social context. Conclusion: Some deviations from best practice guidelines may be rectified through straightforward interventions including improved systems for managing equipment and training. Other deviations from recommended practice need to be understood as the outcomes of complex processes that are likely to defy easy resolution. © RCOG 2006.