Enriching Discourse on Public Domains

Is there one public domain, or are there many public domains? The scholarly literature predominantly assumes there is only one, for references abound to “the public domain” in the singular. Yet, even a cursory review of this literature reveals that scholars sometimes define this term differently. So if there is only one public domain, but many definitions, perhaps one objective of scholarly discourse about the public domain should be to seek consensus on the one “true” definition.Professor James Boyle has provocatively suggested that there are many public domains, and has urged scholars to develop a rich vocabulary for distinguishing among them. He points out that the word “property” has multiple meanings, and discourse about property proceeds without confusion because legal professionals have learned to discern which meaning is intended from the textual context. Boyle urges intellectual property scholars to develop a similarly nuanced public domain vocabulary so that it will be possible to distinguish among its several meanings as well.This essay considers the potential benefits of accepting the existence of multiple public domains and ways in which discourse about public domains might be enriched thereby. Part II provides a synopsis of thirteen conceptions of the public domain found in the law review literature, explaining each, generally by reviewing the explication of it offered by its principal proponent or discoverer. Part III organizes the definitions by recognizing that they cluster around three main foci: 1) the legal status of information resources, 2) freedoms to use information resources, even if protected by IP rights, and 3) accessibility of information resources. Although it is common to think of information resources as either IP-protected or public domain, and as either publicly accessible or not, Part III shows that the public domain literature views these concepts not as binary opposites, but rather as points along a continuum. Part IV discusses the advantages and disadvantages of recognizing multiple public domains and recommends the use of adjectives to clarify discourse about the many public domains. The constitutional public domain, for instance, is distinct from the privatizable (although not yet, privatized) public domain. This Part differentiates among conceptions of public domains that should be accepted and those that perhaps should not. The principal advantage of recognizing multiple public domains is that it illuminates a range of important social values served by these domains and a plethora of strategies for preserving them and the values they serve

Enriching Discourse on Public Domains

Studying microvascular responses to iontophoresis of vasoconstricting drugs contributes to a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of cutaneous vessels, but measuring these responses with laser-Doppler flowmetry at basal blood flow conditions is technically challenging. This study aimed to investigate whether the measurement of cutaneous vasoconstrictor responses to noradrenaline (NA) and phenylephrine (PE), delivered by iontophoresis, is facilitated by predilatation of the microvascular bed using local heating. We used different drug delivery rates (100 s x 0.12 mA, 200 s x 0.06 mA, 300 s x 0.04 mA) to investigate whether predilatation affects the local drug dynamics by an increased removal of drugs from the skin. In a predilatated vascular bed, iontophoresis of NA and PE resulted in a significant decrease in perfusion from the thermal plateau (p andlt; 0.001). The decrease was 25-33%, depending on drug delivery rate. In unheated skin, a significant vasoconstriction was observed (p andlt; 0.001), with 17% and 14% decrease from baseline for NA and PE, respectively. These results indicate that predilatating the cutaneous vascular bed by local heating facilitates measurement of vasoconstriction with laser-Doppler flowmetry and does not seem to significantly affect the result by an increased removal of drugs from the skin.Original Publication: Joakim Henricson, Yashma Baiat and Folke Sjöberg, Local Heating as a Predilatation Method for Measurement of Vasoconstrictor Responses with Laser-Doppler Flowmetry, 2011, MICROCIRCULATION, (18), 3, 214-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1549-8719.2010.00079.x Copyright: Wiley http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Brand/id-35.html</p

Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group guidance paper 6:Methods for question formulation, searching, and protocol development for qualitative evidence synthesis

This paper updates previous Cochrane guidance on question formulation, searching, and protocol development, reflecting recent developments in methods for conducting qualitative evidence syntheses to inform Cochrane intervention reviews. Examples are used to illustrate how decisions about boundaries for a review are formed via an iterative process of constructing lines of inquiry and mapping the available information to ascertain whether evidence exists to answer questions related to effectiveness, implementation, feasibility, appropriateness, economic evidence, and equity. The process of question formulation allows reviewers to situate the topic in relation to how it informs and explains effectiveness, using the criterion of meaningfulness, appropriateness, feasibility, and implementation. Questions related to complex questions and interventions can be structured by drawing on an increasingly wide range of question frameworks. Logic models and theoretical frameworks are useful tools for conceptually mapping the literature to illustrate the complexity of the phenomenon of interest. Furthermore, protocol development may require iterative question formulation and searching. Consequently, the final protocol may function as a guide rather than a prescriptive route map, particularly in qualitative reviews that ask more exploratory and open-ended questions

What Web Ads, Blurbs and Introductions Tell Potential Dictionary Buyers about Users, User Needs and Lexicographic Functions

The present article deals with an investigation aimed at establishing the extent to which existing dictionaries provide potential dictionary buyers/borrowers with clear, unmistakable and easily understandable information about user need situations that might prompt consultation of the dictionary in question. The investigation analyses four monolingual English phrasal verbs dictionaries and five monolingual English specialised dictionaries. The primary sources of such information are identified as back cover blurbs of dictionaries, introductions to dictionaries and web ads for dictionaries. In the analysis, statements about user need situations extracted from these information sources are first classified as clear vs. unclear statements. The clear statements are then classified under the lexicographic function to which they are related. The results of the analysis disconfirm the hypothesis that the more well-defined and constrained the intended user group or groups for a given dictionary are, the more likely it is that the sources of information will provide the potential dictionary buyer/borrower with clear, unmistakable and easily understandable information about lexicographic function(s)

No-fault compensation schemes: A rapid realist review

What do we want to know? At present in the UK, compensation for medical injuries can be sought through tort litigation, with payouts made through court or out-of-court settlements. No-fault compensation schemes (NFCSs) can provide an alternative method to redress claims resulting from medical injury. To inform consideration of an administrative compensation scheme relevant to birth injuries, we sought to develop preliminary theoretical frameworks describing the mechanisms that might influence engagement in such schemes and lead to improvements in outcomes for affected individuals and families. We conducted the first part of a realist review, which seeks to identify empirically and theoretically-based contextual, mechanism and outcome (CMO) configurations. We did not test the CMO configurations, so no causal claims are made. Thus, the findings should be read in this light, and should not be interpreted as definitive evidence that the CMO configurations presented below do influence engagement or outcomes. What did we find? We drew on 44 papers relating to medical and non-medical injury, to present a summary of possible mechanisms entailed in no-fault compensation and tort reform that are thought to lead to patient and clinical practice outcomes. Overall, we found varied conceptualisations of NFCSs in different geographical contexts, and papers that discussed the effects of tort reform with comparable effects. Liability was the key variable in schemes, with the concept of ‘blame’ shaping those schemes within certain countries. There is evidence to suggest that the schemes were a product of their jurisdictions. The empirical research attempted to test the effect of no-fault schemes and tort reform as outlined in Table A. The findings from this research underpinned propositions to explain the observed effects of no-fault schemes and tort reform. However, the schemes should not be considered a panacea, as doubts remained as to their contribution to patient safety and provider accountability (Wallis 2013). What are the implications? The CMO configurations generated from the studies contribute to our understanding of how compensation schemes can benefit patients and health professionals. Benefits of schemes include improved targeting of compensation to those most deserving of it, and speedier physical recovery after injury. However, the complexity of the interactions between compensation processes, individual circumstances and context-specific health systems make it difficult to establish strong potential causal pathways, most notably regarding health outcomes. Overall, the shape of compensation schemes will be highly influenced by the health system context and the prevailing political opinion about the role of the state in health care. How did we get these results? Papers were sought via iterative searching and included if they focused on compensation schemes relevant to iatrogenic injuries occurring at birth or in the early years (under five years of age), or sought to compensate injuries in two out of three of the following cases: i) resulted high-value claims; ii) had high long-term costs; iii) were highly emotive to victims. Papers were assessed for their relevance: the quality of the research reports lies in the richness of the descriptions of CMO interactions. Descriptive and empirical data were extracted and analysed from individual reports by two reviewers. They met to discuss the findings and agree the final set of CMO configurations, and text to justify them, as presented