Survey commentaries and analysis on Singapore biotechnology venture capital, intellectual and property regulatory law

The article presents survey commentaries and analysis on biotechnology venture capital, intellectual and property regulatory law in Singapore as of April 2006. The survey revealed that the financial sector and venture capitalists lack the ability to evaluate and understand biotechnology. Some major concerns for stakeholders are the lack of experience in the litigation of cases by Singaporean law firms and the lack of strategic management of portfolios for biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and the government. Stakeholders cited the need for Singaporean laws to be amended to accommodate developments in medical devices, herbal medicine, some biological areas and pre-clinical and clinical trials.

Bourdieu, subcultural capital and risky girlhood

It is a contention of the culturalist strand of underclass theory that the growth of the underclass is not a function of social and economic change, but of features intrinsic to underclass culture. Children born into disadvantaged communities, it is argued, are socialized into the ‘deviant’ culture of their families, families typically headed by single mothers. According to the underclass thesis, daughters of such families will face a heightened risk of leaving school early and teenage pregnancy. An unanticipated correlation between claims of the underclass thesis and the cohort of mothers and daughters with whom we are working on a current project has led us to ask, ‘how do we acknowledge the culture of disadvantaged communities and their generational synergies, whilst avoiding the pernicious implications of the underclass thesis?’ To answer this question, this article assesses
the merits of bringing Bourdieu’s ideas on cultural capital together with Sarah Thornton’s concept of subcultural capital. The article concludes with two examples of how we might draw on these ideas as a way of exploring the means by which girls in difficult economic circumstances understand and pursue their school lives.

Exploring our nation's capital: exploring the role of cultural institutions in the teaching of history and social education in the primary classroom

Explores the role of cultural institutions in the teaching of history and social education in the primary classroom in Australia. Keys to effective teaching and learning of history; Potential of cultural institutions to foster historical interest, relevance, importance and significance; Practicalities of accessing cultural institutions.

Subcultural capital and the female 'underclass'? A feminist response to an underclass discourse

It is often argued that economically marginalized young women occupy a school and post-school underclass, and that this underclass has a particular culture associated with it. Such views provoke a profound ambivalence in many of those who work with such young people. On the one hand, they are anxious to acknowledge the culture of the communities to which marginalized young women belong. On the other hand, they wish to avoid the pernicious implications of underclass theories that suggest disadvantage is the result of the culture and values of marginalized social groupings. This paper offers an overview and feminist critique of the structuralist and cultural or behaviourist strands of underclass theory. It focuses particularly on the work of Charles Murray, a major proponent of the culturalist perspective and the representation of the single mother in this discourse. It then considers how a less punitive theorization of marginalized cultures might be achieved by drawing on and adapting concepts from Pierre Bourdieu's sociology. The paper reflects on how such ideas might serve as a way of exploring how gender impacts on the forms of cultural capital available to young women in difficult economic circumstances.

Just deserts in a post-colonial society : problems in the punishment of indigenous offenders

An enduring aspect of the operation of the criminal justice system in Australia has been the disproportionate representation of indigenous persons. Under current sentencing principles, aboriginality can be taken into account as a factor in mitigation because of the nature of social and economic disadvantage suffered by indigenous communities. It is contended that such an approach is inadequate as it fails to comprehend the reasons for that disadvantage. In short, the effects of colonialism and dispossession. An account of punishment will be developed that colonialism and dispossession cannot be omitted from any satisfactory account of the theory and history of punishment of indigenous persons. By relying on the notion of ‘just deserts’ an account of punishment will be proposed that extends the categories currently put forward to justify punishing indigenous persons. Traditional, philosophical accounts of punishment and insights from critical race theory will both be used in an attempt to articulate what ‘just deserts’ means in the context of a post-colonial society.

Korea's developmental alliance : state, capital and the politics of rapid development

South Korea is often cited as a case of miraculous transformation from poverty to prosperity. Korea’s achievement of moving from one of the world’s poorest countries as recently as the early 1960s to the ranks of the ten biggest economies only four decades later has rightly attracted interest from policymakers and scholars alike.

This book identifies the factors that shaped relations between the state and big business in Korea, the ‘developmental alliance’. These factors offer a cogent framework in which to identify and predict changes in power relations between government and business. Rather than merely offering a means of explaining the rapid-growth phase of Korean development, the politics of the developmental alliance also help us understand how and why the Korean miracle turned to crisis in 1997 and why the subsequent recovery has been so uneven. In this way, the book highlights the political power of business, which is often underplayed in discussions of the development of Korea. It also sheds light on the constraints on policymakers during modernisation, and how power is shared among a small number of powerful parties.

Illustrating the tumultuous politics of the ‘developmental alliance’ between business and government during the rise and decline of South Korea’s economic miracle, this book is an essential read for anyone interested in Korean politcs, economics and development,