Land Contracts in Queensland [4th Edition]

"The authors analyse the substance of the transaction through the medium of the latest standard REIQ Residential, Commercial and Community Titles contracts, and draw on a comprehensive range of court decisions relating to the area. There are chapters covering contract formation including the role of the real estate agent, the disclosure regime for sellers and agents, subject matter, the inclusion of special conditions, risk, completion both through the paper based medium and electronic conveyancing and stamp duty and GST implications."--Publisher website

Zarathustra’s Cave

In 'Zarathustra’s Cave' the iconic apartment set from 90’s sitcom 'Seinfeld' is presented devoid of actors or action of any kind. Instead the ‘apartment’ sits empty, accompanied by the ambient noise of the screen-space and the distant sound of city traffic. At irregular intervals this relative silence is punctuated by the laughter of an off-screen audience. Unprompted by any on-screen action, this spontaneous audience response ranges from raucous fits of cheering and applause to singular guffaws and giggles. The work is the product of a deep engagement with its subject matter, the result of countless hours of re-watching and editing to isolate the aural and visual spaces presented on the screen. In its resolute emptiness, the installation addresses the notion of narrative expectation. It creates a ‘nothing-space’, where a viewer can experientially oscillate between a sense of presence and absence, tension and pathos, or even between humour and existential crisis. The work was first exhibited in ‘NEW14’, at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne.

Is it tweet-worthy? Privacy in a time of sharing.

Information professionals and information organisations use Twitter in a variety of ways. Typically both organisations and the individuals that work for them have separate identities on Twitter, but often individuals identify their organization through their profile or Twitter content. This paper considers the way information professionals use Twitter and their practices with regard to privacy, personal disclosure and identifying their organisational affiliations. Drawing on data from a research study involving a questionnaire and social media observation, the paper will provoke discussion about information professionals’ use of Twitter, personal and organizational identity, and the value of Twitter for professional development. In keeping with the subject matter, a curated set of social media content will be available in lieu of a formal paper.

Kokonaisvaltainen fysiikanopetus peruskoulussa fysiikan valinnaiskurssilla

Holistic physics education in upper secondary level based on the optional course of physics Keywords: physics education, education, holistic, curriculum, world view, values A physics teacher s task is to put into practice all goals of the curriculum. Holistic physics education means in this research teaching, in which the school s common educational goals and the goals particular to the physics curriculum are taken into account. These involve knowledge, skills and personal value and attitude goals. Research task was to clarify how the educational goals involving student s values and attitudes can be carried out through the subject content of physics. How does the physics teacher communicate the modern world view through the content of the physics class? The goal of this research was to improve teaching, to find new points of view and to widen the perspective on how physics is taught. The teacher, who acted also as a researcher, planned and delivered an optional course where she could study the possibilities of holistic physics education. In 2001-2002 ten girls and two boys of the grade 9th class participated in that elective course. According to principles of action research the teacher-researcher reflected also on her own teaching action. Research method was content analysis that involved both analyzing student feedback, and relevant features of the teacher s knowledge, which are needed for planning and giving the physics lessons. In this research that means taking into account the subject matter knowledge, curriculum, didactic and the pedagogical content knowledge of the teacher. The didactic includes the knowledge of the learning process, students motivation, specific features of the physics didactics and the research of physics education. Among other things, the researcher constructed the contents of the curriculum and abstracted sentences as keywords, from which she drew a concept map. The concept maps, for instance, the map of educational goals and the mapping of the physics essence, were tools for studying contents which are included in the holistic physics education. Moreover, conclusions were reached concerning the contents of physics domains by which these can be achieved. According to this research, the contents employing the holistic physics education is as follows: perception, the essence of science, the development of science, new research topics and interactions in physics. The starting point of teaching should be connected with the student s life experiences and the approach to teaching should be broadly relevant to those experiences. The teacher-researcher observed and analyzed the effects of the experimental physics course, through the lens of a holistic physics education. The students reported that the goals of holistic physics education were achieved in the course. The discourses of the students indicated that in the experimental course they could express their opinions and feelings and make proposals and evaluations. The students had experiences about chances to affect the content of the course, and they considered the philosophical physics course interesting, it awakened questions, increased their self-esteem and helped them to become more aware of their world views. The students analytic skills developed in the interactive learning environment. The physics teacher needs broad knowledge for planning his or her teaching, which is evaluated in this research from contents maps made for the tools of the teaching. In the holistic physics education the teacher needs an open and curious mind and skills for interaction in teaching. This research indicates the importance of teaching physics in developing attitudes and values beside substance of the physics in class environment. The different points of view concerning human beings life make it possible to construct the modern world view of the students and to develop analytic skills and the self-esteem and thus help them in learning. Overall and wide points of view also help to transfer knowledge to practice. Since such contents is not employed by teaching the physics included in the standard curriculum, supplement relevant teaching material that includes such topics are needed.

Kriminaalipolitiikan paradoksi : Tutkimuksia huumausainerikollisuudesta ja sen kontrollista Suomessa

This doctoral thesis explores the development of drug markets and drug related crime in Finland since the mid 1990s, as well as public control measures aimed at solving problems related to drug crime. The research further examines the criminal career of persons having committed drug crime, as well as their socio-economic background. The period since the mid 1990s is, on the one hand, characterized by increasing use of drugs and increasingly severe drug problems. On the other hand, this period is also characterized by intensified drug control. Also criminality associated with drugs has increased and become more severe. During this period the prevention of drug problems became a focal issue for authorities, and resources were increased for activities geared towards fighting drugs. Along with this development, Finnish drug policy has been balancing between therapeutic activities and control. A focal point in this thesis is the question how society addresses drug problems, as well as how this differs from efforts to solve other problems. Why are criminal means so readily used when dealing with drug problems; why have the police received an extended mandate to use coercive force; and why has the field for imposing administrative sanctions been extended? How has the extension of drug control affected general thinking in criminal policy? The subject matter in this thesis is approached in a criminological and criminal policy perspective. The thesis is made up of four research articles and a Summary Article. In the Summary Article the studies were placed into the Finnish research context of drug criminality and drug control as well as criminal policy. Furthermore, the author has assessed his own research location as a drug control researcher. Applying the notion of risk, an analysis was made of threats posed by drugs to society. Theoretical perspectives were also brought to the fore on how society may regulate drug problems and threats associated with them. Based on research literature and administrative documents, an analysis was made of the relation between drug related social and health policy and criminal justice control. An account was also made of the development of drug control in Finland since the mid 1990s. There has been a strong increase in control by the criminal justice system since the mid 1990s. Penalties have been made more stringent, more efficient means have been developed to trace the financial gain from the offence, opportunities for money laundering have been prevented and the police has obtained ample new powers of inquiry. New administrative measures have been directed towards drug users, such as introducing drug tests in working life, checking the applicants criminal record for certain jobs, as well as the threat of losing one s driving licence in cases where a physician has established drug addiction. In the 1990s the prevention of drug crimes and their disclosure were made part of the police s control activities nationwide. This could clearly be seen in increased criminal statistics. There are humiliating elements associated with the police s drug control that should be eliminated for the benefit of everybody. Furthermore, the criminal control is directed towards persons in a weak socio-economic position. A drug verdict may set off a marginalization process that may be very difficult to halt. Drug control is selective and generates repressive practises. The special status accorded drug problems is also revealed in the way in which the treatment of drug addicts has developed.

Nainen, mies, rakkaus, seksi : Heterosuhteen kulku, kulttuurinen malli ja sitä selittävät diskurssit kahden omaelämäkerta-aineiston valossa

The subject matter of this study is the cultural knowledge concerning romantic male-female relationships in autobiographies written by so called ordinary Finnish men and women born between 1901 and 1965. The research data (98 autobiographies) is selected from two collections by the Finnish Literature Society s folklore archives in the early 1990 s. Autobiographies are cultural representations where negotiation of shared cultural models and personal meanings given to hetero-relationship is evident in an interesting manner. In this research I analyze autobiographies as a written folklore genre. Information concerning male-female relationships is being analyzed using theoretically informed close readings thematic analysis, intertextual reading and reflexive reading. Theoretical implications stem from cognitive anthropology (the idea of cultural models) and an adaptation of discourse theory inspired by Michel Foucault. The structure of the analysis follows the structure of the shared knowledge concerning romantic male-female relationship: the first phase of analysis presents the script of a hetero-relationship and then moves into the actual structure, the cultural model of a relationship. The components of the model of relationship are, as mentioned in the title of the research, woman, man, love and sex. The research shows that all the writers share this basic knowledge concerning a heterosexual relationship despite their age, background or gender. Also the conflicts described and experienced in the relationships of the writers were similar throughout the timespan of the early 1900 s to 1990 s: lack of love, inability to reconcile sexual desires, housework, sharing the responsibility of childcare and financial problems. The research claims that the conflicts in relationships are a major cause for the binary view on gender. When relationships are harmonious, there seems to be no need to see men and women as opposites. The research names five important discourses present in the meaning giving processes of autobiographers. In doing so, the stabile cultural model of male-female relationship widens to show the complexity and variation in data. In this way it is possible to detect some age and gender specific shifts and emphasis. The discourses give meaning to the components of the cultural model and determine the contents of womanhood, manhood, sexuality and love. The way these discourses are spread and their authority are different: the romantic discourse evident in the autobiographies appeal to the authority of love supreme love is the purpose of male-female relationship and it justifies sexuality. In this discourse sex can be the place for confluence of genders. The ideas of romantic love are widely spread in popular culture. Popular scientific discourse defines a relationship as a site to become a man and a woman either from a psychological or a biological point of view. Genders are seen as opposites. These ideas are often presented in media and their authority in science which is seen as infallible. The Christian discourse defines men and women: both should work for the benefit of the nuclear family under the undisputed authority of God. Marital love is based on Christian virtues and within marriage sexuality is acceptable. The discourse I ve named folk tradition defines women and men as guardians of home and offspring. The authority of folk tradition comes from universal truth based in experience and truths known to the mediators of this discourse grandparents, parents and other elders or peers. Societal discourse defines the hetero relationship as the mainstay of society. The authority in societal discourse stems from the laws and regulations that control relationship practices.

Iäkkäiden lääkehoitoihin liittyvien riskien kartoittaminen – Arviointityökalun kehittäminen Delfoi-menetelmällä

Tutkimuksen taustalla on väestön ikääntyminen ja iäkkäiden lisääntynyt lääkkeiden käyttö. Ikääntyminen aiheuttaa elimistössä useita muutoksia, jotka voivat muuttaa lääkevastetta ja altistaa potilaan haittavaikutuksille. Iäkkäillä riski joutua sairaalaan lääkkeen haittavaikutuksen vuoksi on arvioitu olevan neljä kertaa suurempi kuin nuoremmilla. Monet lääkkeiden yhteis- ja haittavaikutukset olisivat ehkäistävissä välttämällä iäkkäillä tiettyjä lääkeaineita. Iäkkäiden lääkehoitojen seurantaa ja arviointia varten on kehitetty erilaisia suosituksia sekä Suomessa että kansainvälisesti. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli luoda Suomen oloihin soveltuva, hoitajien koulutettuina käytettävissä oleva, avohoidon yli 65-vuotiaiden iäkkäiden lääkitykseen liittyviä riskejä arvioiva työkalu. Työkalun avulla voitaisiin löytää ne potilaat, joiden lääkitykseen liittyy paljon riskejä. Tutkimuksen aineistona olivat laaja kansainvälinen kirjallisuuskatsaus iäkkäiden lääkehoitoihin liittyvistä tekijöistä sekä asiantuntijakommentoinnit, joiden perusteella luotiin alustava arviointityökalu. Alustava arviointityökalu validoitiin kolmikierroksisella Delfoi-menetelmällä. Delfoi-menetelmä on laadullinen konsensusmenetelmä, joka perustuu asiantuntijoiden arvioihin tutkittavasta asiasta. Kaksi ensimmäistä Delfoi-kierrosta mittasivat alustavan arviointityökalun kohtien soveltuvuutta ja kolmas kierros kohtien tärkeyttä arvioitaessa iäkkään lääkityksiin liittyviä riskejä. Tutkimuksen Delfoi-kierroksien vastaajiksi pyydettiin 33 geriatrian asiantuntijaa, joista vastaajiksi lupautui 11 lääkäriä, 3 proviisoria ja 4 sairaanhoitajaa. Delfoi-kierrosten tuloksia analysoitiin sekä kvantitatiivisesti että kvalitatiivisesti. Tutkimuksen tuloksena saatu arviointityökalu käsittää 19 iäkkäiden lääkehoitoa arvioivaa kohtaa. Asiantuntijapaneelin mukaan kaikki arviointityökalun lääkitykseen liittyviä riskejä mittaavat kohdat ovat tärkeitä tai jokseenkin tärkeitä, joten työkalun voidaan olettaa olevan validi mitattaessa lääkitykseen liittyviä riskejä. Jatkotutkimuksissa työkalun käytettävyyttä sekä riskien mittaamiskykyä tulee testata sekä arviointityökalun käyttäjien että potilaiden keskuudessa. Kehitettyä työkalua voidaan jatkossa hyödyntää esimerkiksi koulutustarkoituksissa sen varsinaisen käyttötarkoituksen lisäksi. Työkalun avulla iäkkäiden lääkehoitoa voidaan tulevaisuudessa toteuttaa entistä turvallisemmin ja tarkoituksenmukaisemmin.

Luotettavaa tietoa ja merkityksellisiä valintoja – Kuluttajien ympäristövastuullista järkeilyä ilmastonmuutoksesta ja ohjausjärjestelmien hyväksyttävyydestä

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan kuluttajien näkemyksiä ilmastonmuutoksesta ja ilmastovaikutusten seuranta- ja palautejärjestelmän hyväksyttävyydestä kulutuksen ohjauskeinona. 15 kuluttajaa kokeili kuukauden ajan kulutuksen ilmastovaikutusten seuranta- ja palautejärjestelmän demonstraatioversiota ja he osallistuivat kokeilun pohjalta aihepiiriä käsitelleeseen verkkokeskusteluun. Analysoin verkkokeskustelun aineistoa arkisen järkeilyn näkökulmasta tutkien kuluttajien ilmastonmuutokseen ja ympäristövastuullisuuteen liittyvää arkitietoa sekä palvelun hyväksyttävyyteen liittyviä heuristiikkoja. Ilmastonmuutoksen todettiin yleisesti olevan vielä melko abstrakti ja monitulkintainen ilmiö, minkä vuoksi kuluttajilla on vaikeuksia ymmärtää omien valintojensa konkreettista merkitystä ilmastonmuutoksen kannalta. Vaikka tietoa kulutuksen ilmastovaikutuksista on saatavilla paljon, niin erityisesti yritysten tuottama tieto koettiin ristiriitaiseksi ja osin epäluotettavaksi. Kuluttajat myös kritisoivat ilmastonmuutoskeskustelun tarjoamaa kapeaa näkemystä kulutuksen ympäristövaikutuksista. Hiilidioksidipäästöihin keskittymisen sijaan ympäristövaikutuksia tulisi kuluttajien mielestä tarkastella kokonaisuutena, josta ilmastovaikutukset muodostavat vain yhden osan. Tutkimukseen osallistuneiden kuluttajien kulutustottumuksiin ilmastonmuutos vaikutti eriasteisesti. Toisille ilmastonmuutoksesta oli muodostunut keskeinen omaa kulutusta ohjaava normi, kun taas toiset kertoivat pohtivansa ilmastovaikutuksia pääasiassa suurimpien hankintojen kohdalla. Ympäristövastuullisuudessa merkitykselliseksi koettiin tasapainon löytäminen ja henkilökohtainen tunne siitä, että kokee toimivansa oikein. Ilmasto- tai ympäristökysymyksiä punnitaan valinnoissa joustavasti yhdessä muiden tekijöiden kanssa. Vaikka kuluttajilla toisaalta olisi tietoa ja halua ottaa ilmasto- ja ympäristövaikutukset huomioon valinnoissaan, toimintaympäristö rajaa keskeisesti kuluttajien mahdollisuuksia toimia ympäristövastuullisesti. Tutkimus toi esille neljä kuluttajien käyttämää heuristiikkaa heidän pohtiessaan ilmastovaikutusten seuranta- ja palautejärjestelmän hyväksyttävyyden ehtoja ja toimivuutta ohjauskeinona. Ensinnäkin palvelun tulee olla käytettävyydeltään nopea ja vaivaton sekä tarjota tietoa havainnollisessa ja helposti ymmärrettävässä muodossa. Toiseksi palvelun tarjoaman tiedon tulee olla ehdottoman luotettavaa ja kuluttajien valintojen kannalta merkityksellistä siten, että palvelu ottaa huomioon erilaiset kuluttajat ja tiedontarpeet. Kolmanneksi palvelu tulee toteuttaa kokonaisvaltaisesti ja läpinäkyvästi useampien kaupparyhmittymien ja julkisten toimijoiden yhteistyönä. Neljänneksi toteutuksessa tulee huomioda palvelun kannustavuus ja kytkeytyminen muihin ohjauskeinoihin.

Internet- karttapalveluiden arviointi ja kehitys strategisessa maankäytön suunnittelussa, tapaustutkimuksena Esikaupunkien renessanssi -hanke

Participation is located in a living and complex environment. Traditional means of participation are only partially able to meet the new environmental requirements. In need are forms of participation which take into account the new opportunities of the environment and residents expertise. Internet map applications are an important channel of participation which potential is in many respects as unexplored and unutilized. They are commonly in inventory the perspectives, bringing out the concerns of the area, and only little for discussing about solutions. Interpretation is usually made by designer. This study focuses on evaluation and development of Internet map applications in strategic land use planning. Subject matter is dealt from designer and the inhabitants point of view. City Planning Department of Helsinki s Esikau-punkien Renessanssi -project and the associated SoftGIS survey acts as the case study. In the beginning of the study I tried to recognize the new environment in which the Internet map applications are placed. The research question is, what kind of challenges and opportunities the e-participation confronts in information society, and what kind of requirements the environmental creates for development of an application. In chapter three I evaluate how successfully these requirements are met in Esikau-punkien Renessanssi -project. I m trying to examine how the application would look like if the environment and the characteristics of the project are met better. The approach is experimental and I try to find new ways to take advantage of Internet maps. I try not to be too limited to current projects and studies. For example, I try to examine how social media and Web 2.0 opportunities can be utilized, and how the learning and shaping nature of planning may be reached in Internet map environment. In chapter four I have developed a new concept for the Esikaupunkien Renessanssi map application, and made images to visualize its operation in practice. I collect all the data in the research and gather it into a new service. The aim is to create a better application for Esikaupunkien Renessanssi -project, which takes into account the living and complex environment of participation and responds to threats and opportunities arising from it. The presented outcome is in many respects different from the current query. In the new service the role of residents is to interact and learn. The traditional standing of the Internet maps and the position of resident as one-sided information donor are questioned. In the concept, the residents innovate and make interpretations too. Influences are taken from a number of modern applications and for example services that make use of social media. The user experience is intended to be interactive, fast and easy. The idea is that the service keeps you up to date with planning matters, not the other way around. Service guides inhabitants, striving to achieve a deeper knowledge of the project's objectives as well as the dynamics and realities that different individuals experience.

Credit Default Swaps and Insurance: Against the Potts Opinion

Little attention has been given to the possibility that CDS transactions might be construed as insurance contracts in English law. This article challenges the widespread “Potts opinion”, which states that CDSs are not insurance, because they do not require the protection buyer to sustain a loss or to have an insurable interest in the subject matter. CDSs often do provide protection against loss that the buyer is exposed to; loss indemnity is not a necessary characterisation of an insurance contract; insurable interest does not form part of the definition of insurance, but is an additional requirement of valid insurance; and what matters is the substance not the form of the contract. The situation in the US and Australia is also briefly considered.

Patents, Ethics and Stem Cell Research : The Case of hESC Innovation in Australia, Europe and the United States

Embryonic stem cells offer potentially a ground-breaking insight into health and diseases and are said to offer hope in discovering cures for many ailments unimaginable few years ago. Human embryonic stem cells are undifferentiated, immature cells that possess an amazing ability to develop into almost any body cell such as heart muscle, bone, nerve and blood cells and possibly even organs in due course. This remarkable feature, enabling embryonic stem cells to proliferate indefinitely in vitro (in a test tube), has branded them as a so-called miracle cure . Their potential use in clinical applications provides hope to many sufferers of debilitating and fatal medical conditions. However, the emergence of stem cell research has resulted in intense debates about its promises and dangers. On the one hand, advocates hail its potential, ranging from alleviating and even curing fatal and debilitating diseases such as Parkinson s, diabetes, heart ailments and so forth. On the other hand, opponents decry its dangers, drawing attention to the inherent risks of human embryo destruction, cloning for research purposes and reproductive cloning eventually. Lately, however, the policy battles surrounding human embryonic stem cell innovation have shifted from being a controversial research to scuffles within intellectual property rights. In fact, the ability to obtain patents represents a pivotal factor in the economic success or failure of this new biotechnology. Although, stem cell patents tend to more or less satisfy the standard patentability requirements, they also raise serious ethical and moral questions about the meaning of the exclusions on ethical or moral grounds as found in European and to an extent American and Australian patent laws. At present there is a sort of a calamity over human embryonic stem cell patents in Europe and to an extent in Australia and the United States. This in turn has created a sense of urgency to engage all relevant parties in the discourse on how best to approach patenting of this new form of scientific innovation. In essence, this should become a highly favoured patenting priority. To the contrary, stem cell innovation and its reliance on patent protection risk turmoil, uncertainty, confusion and even a halt on not only stem cell research but also further emerging biotechnology research and development. The patent system is premised upon the fundamental principle of balance which ought to ensure that the temporary monopoly awarded to the inventor equals that of the social benefit provided by the disclosure of the invention. Ensuring and maintaining this balance within the patent system when patenting human embryonic stem cells is of crucial contemporary relevance. Yet, the patenting of human embryonic stem cells raises some fundamental moral, social and legal questions. Overall, the present approach of patenting human embryonic stem cell related inventions is unsatisfactory and ineffective. This draws attention to a specific question which provides for a conceptual framework for this work. That question is the following: how can the investigated patent offices successfully deal with patentability of human embryonic stem cells? This in turn points at the thorny issue of application of the morality clause in this field. In particular, the interpretation of the exclusions on ethical or moral grounds as found in Australian, American and European legislative and judicial precedents. The Thesis seeks to compare laws and legal practices surrounding patentability of human embryonic stem cells in Australia and the United States with that of Europe. By using Europe as the primary case study for lessons and guidance, the central goal of the Thesis then becomes the determination of the type of solutions available to Europe with prospects to apply such to Australia and the United States. The Dissertation purports to define the ethical implications that arise with patenting human embryonic stem cells and intends to offer resolutions to the key ethical dilemmas surrounding patentability of human embryonic stem cells and other morally controversial biotechnology inventions. In particular, the Thesis goal is to propose a functional framework that may be used as a benchmark for an informed discussion on the solution to resolving ethical and legal tensions that come with patentability of human embryonic stem cells in Australian, American and European patent worlds. Key research questions that arise from these objectives and which continuously thread throughout the monograph are: 1. How do common law countries such as Australia and the United States approach and deal with patentability of human embryonic stem cells in their jurisdictions? These practices are then compared to the situation in Europe as represented by the United Kingdom (first two chapters), the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Patent Office decisions (Chapter 3 onwards) in order to obtain a full picture of the present patenting procedures on the European soil. 2. How are ethical and moral considerations taken into account at patent offices investigated when assessing patentability of human embryonic stem cell related inventions? In order to assess this part, the Thesis evaluates how ethical issues that arise with patent applications are dealt with by: a) Legislative history of the modern patent system from its inception in 15th Century England to present day patent laws. b) Australian, American and European patent offices presently and in the past, including other relevant legal precedents on the subject matter. c) Normative ethical theories. d) The notion of human dignity used as the lowest common denominator for the interpretation of the European morality clause. 3. Given the existence of the morality clause in form of Article 6(1) of the Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions which corresponds to Article 53(a) European Patent Convention, a special emphasis is put on Europe as a guiding principle for Australia and the United States. Any room for improvement of the European morality clause and Europe s current manner of evaluating ethical tensions surrounding human embryonic stem cell inventions is examined. 4. A summary of options (as represented by Australia, the United States and Europe) available as a basis for the optimal examination procedure of human embryonic stem cell inventions is depicted, whereas the best of such alternatives is deduced in order to create a benchmark framework. This framework is then utilised on and promoted as a tool to assist Europe (as represented by the European Patent Office) in examining human embryonic stem cell patent applications. This method suggests a possibility of implementing an institution solution. 5. Ultimately, a question of whether such reformed European patent system can be used as a founding stone for a potential patent reform in Australia and the United States when examining human embryonic stem cells or other morally controversial inventions is surveyed. The author wishes to emphasise that the guiding thought while carrying out this work is to convey the significance of identifying, analysing and clarifying the ethical tensions surrounding patenting human embryonic stem cells and ultimately present a solution that adequately assesses patentability of human embryonic stem cell inventions and related biotechnologies. In answering the key questions above, the Thesis strives to contribute to the broader stem cell debate about how and to which extent ethical and social positions should be integrated into the patenting procedure in pluralistic and morally divided democracies of Europe and subsequently Australia and the United States.

Ale jaskkot eatnigiella : Alkuperäiskansaliikkeen ja saamen kielen merkitys saamelaisten identiteetille

This study examines the Sámi people and the construction of the Sámi identity and the role of language in the cross-border Sámi movement within the context of the international indigenous movement and discourse between 1962 and 2008. The Sámi movement began as a reaction to state assimilation policies. This led to the birth of indigenous processes strengthening the Sámi cultures and languages. Activities across borders and the ethnopolitical processes in each of the Nordic countries in question also formed the basis of the internationalization of the Sámi people. The discourse on indigenous peoples has grown into a question of human rights, which is examined in different national and international contexts. The study is based on ethnographic data that has been collected via interviews, questionnaires and participant observation with the researched people in different meetings and events. Archive and newsprint material are also used. The approach of the study is auto-ethnographic. The post-colonial theories used in the study strive to destabilize power relations and the distinctions of otherness produced by colonialism, and to reclaim both one's own culture and language in the context of the indigenous movement. A standard model for this type of approach was created by Edward W. Said in his 1978 work Orientalism. The central concepts of the analysis are decolonization, otherness, ethnicity and identity. The dissertation consists of four published articles and an introduction. The subject matter is analyzed on three levels: global, European and Nordic. On the global level, the results demonstrate that the indigenous movement has constructed a new understanding of indigenousness with new rights. International treaties have facilitated the unification of new concepts and rights, such as the right to self-determination and language, also helping in transforming them into rights of the Sámi people on a national level. On the Nordic level, aligning the Sámi culture with indigenous discourse became significant for the process of developing the Sámi identity in the Sámi movement. In this process, the Sámi movement made use of Sámi languages in order to mobilize groups of people and to construct relatedness between different Sámi groups. The realization that one s own language is significant to one's culture has resulted in recreating the vitality, visibility and the legitimation of language in society more generally. The migration of the Sámi people from their traditional territories to increasingly multi-ethnic urban areas alters one's relationship to one's own community as the relationship to cultural traditions changes. Among the urban Sámi, who form a group of ‘new Sáminess’, linguistic discrimination and assimilation continue because of the lack of legislative and other effective language policy measures to promote the learning and use of the Sámi language.

Divergencies of Perception : The Possibilities of Merleau-Pontian Phenomenology in Analyses of Contemporary Art

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) has been known as the philosopher of painting. His interest in the theory of perception intertwined with the questions concerning the artist s perception, the experience of an artwork and the possible interpretations of the artwork. For him, aesthetics was not a sub-field of philosophy, and art was not simply a subject matter for the aesthetic experience, but a form of thinking. This study proposes an opening for a dialogue between Merleau-Pontian phenomenology and contemporary art. The thesis examines his phenomenology through certain works of contemporary art and presents readings of these artworks through his phenomenology. The thesis both shows the potentiality of a method, but also engages in the critical task of finding the possible limitations of his approach. The first part lays out the methodological and conceptual points of departure of Merleau-Ponty s phenomenological approach to perception as well as the features that determined his discussion on encountering art. Merleau-Ponty referred to the experience of perceiving art using the notion of seeing with (voir selon). He stressed a correlative reciprocity described in Eye and Mind (1961) as the switching of the roles of the visible and the painter. The choice of artworks is motivated by certain restrictions in the phenomenological readings of visual arts. The examined works include paintings by Tiina Mielonen, a photographic work by Christian Mayer, a film by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, and an installation by Monika Sosnowska. These works resonate with, and challenge, his phenomenological approach. The chapters with case studies take up different themes that are central to Merleau-Ponty s phenomenology: space, movement, time, and touch. All of the themes are interlinked with the examined artworks. There are also topics that reappear in the thesis, such as the notion of écart and the question of encountering the other. As Merleau-Ponty argued, the sphere of art has a particular capability to address our being in the world. The thesis presents an interpretation that emphasises the notion of écart, which refers to an experience of divergence or dispossession. The sudden dissociation, surprise or rupture that is needed in order for a meeting between the spectator and the artwork, or between two persons, to be possible. Further, the thesis suggests that through artworks it is possible to take into consideration the écart, the divergence, that defines our subjectivity.

A survey of indian logic from the point of view of computer science

Indian logic has a long history. It somewhat covers the domains of two of the six schools (darsanas) of Indian philosophy, namely, Nyaya and Vaisesika. The generally accepted definition of Indian logic over the ages is the science which ascertains valid knowledge either by means of six senses or by means of the five members of the syllogism. In other words, perception and inference constitute the subject matter of logic. The science of logic evolved in India through three ages: the ancient, the medieval and the modern, spanning almost thirty centuries. Advances in Computer Science, in particular, in Artificial Intelligence have got researchers in these areas interested in the basic problems of language, logic and cognition in the past three decades. In the 1980s, Artificial Intelligence has evolved into knowledge-based and intelligent system design, and the knowledge base and inference engine have become standard subsystems of an intelligent system. One of the important issues in the design of such systems is knowledge acquisition from humans who are experts in a branch of learning (such as medicine or law) and transferring that knowledge to a computing system. The second important issue in such systems is the validation of the knowledge base of the system i.e. ensuring that the knowledge is complete and consistent. It is in this context that comparative study of Indian logic with recent theories of logic, language and knowledge engineering will help the computer scientist understand the deeper implications of the terms and concepts he is currently using and attempting to develop.

Liquid alloy semiconductors revisited - Discussion

In 1990 Enderby and Barnes reviewed the electrical properties of liquid alloys which show features associated with semiconducting behaviour. They proposed an empirical classification scheme based on the notion that some liquid semiconductors are characterized by a finite gap in σ (E), the energy-dependent conductivity (narrow definition), whereas in others σ (E) is continuous (broad definition). Interesting behaviour occurs for systems at the narrow/broad boundary and further analysis of these liquid alloys will form the subject matter of this paper. Particular attention will be focused on liquid silver chalcogenides as these offer a severe test of current theories.