European Digital Libraries: Web Security Vulnerabilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the web vulnerability challenges at European library web sites and how these issues can affect the data protection of their patrons. Design/methodology/approach – A web vulnerability testing tool was used to analyze 80 European library sites in four countries to determine how many security vulnerabilities each had and what were the most common types of problems. Findings – Analysis results from surveying the libraries show the majority have serious security flaws in their web applications. The research shows that despite country-specific laws mandating secure sites, system librarians have not implemented appropriate measures to secure their online information systems. Research limitations/implications – Further research on library vulnerability throughout the world can be taken to educate librarians in other countries of the serious nature of protecting their systems. Practical implications – The findings serve to remind librarians of the complexity in providing a secure online environment for their patrons and that a disregard or lack of awareness of securing systems could lead to serious vulnerabilities of the patrons' personal data and systems. Lack of consumer trust may result in a decreased use of online commerce and have serious repercussions for the municipal libraries. Several concrete examples of methods to improve security are provided. Originality/value – The paper serves as a current paper on data security issues at Western European municipal library web sites. It serves as a useful summary regarding technical and managerial measures librarians can take to mitigate inadequacies in their security implementation

The Dynamics of Contract Evolution

Contract scholarship has given little attention to the production process for contracts. The usual assumption is that the parties will construct the contract ex nihilo, choosing all the terms so that they will maximize the surplus from the contract. In fact, parties draft most contracts by slightly modifying the terms of contracts that they have used in the past, or that other parties have used in related transactions. A small literature on boilerplate recognizes this phenomenon, but little empirical work examines the process. This Article provides an empirical analysis by drawing on a data set of sovereign bonds. The authors show that exogenous factors are key determinants in the evolution of these contracts. We find an evolutionary pattern that roughly separates into three stages. Stage one where a particular standard form dominates; stage two where there are external shocks and marginal players experiment with deviations from the standard form; and stage three where a new standard emerges. The pattern confirms roughly to the S curve commonly described in the product innovation literature. The authors also find that more marginal law firms are likely to be leaders in innovation at early stages of the innovation cycle but that dominant law firms are the leaders at later stages

Going Public: Diversity Disclosures by Large UK Law Firms

Following the 2011 Legal Services Board requirement for firms to disclose the diversity of their workforce, this paper examines the implications of this regulatory intervention

Institutional legacies in TNCs and their management through training academies: the case of transnational law firms in Italy

This paper highlights the effects of heterogeneous institutional contexts on transnational professional service firms, a relatively understudied issue. Specifically the paper provides empirical analysis of how the specificities of the Italian institutional context affect the activities of English legal professional service firms in Milan. This reveals the intimate connection between varieties of capitalisms, place-specific workplace cultures and practices, and the institution-related challenges transnational professional service firms and all transnational corporations (TNCs) face. The paper also reveals the way institutionally generated differences at the level of work practices are managed in transnational law firms through worldwide training programmes designed to ‘govern’ the practices of workers in different parts of the TNC’s network. This highlights the importance of studying attempts to manage institutional heterogeneity at the level of workplace practices, something often missed in existing meso-scale studies of TNCs’ governance structures. Consequently, detailed empirical archaeologies exploring the direct links between institutions and practices are highlighted as being an important as part of future research analysing the effects of institutions on TNCs

Lady Justice Cannot Hear Your Prayers

The Islamic finance industry continues to grow quickly as the appetite for everything, from Sharia-compliant home mortgages and car loans to sophisticated financial products, increases. This growth has triggered an interest in sukuk, bond-like financial instruments. And while the international market for sukuk has long been dominated by foreign issuers and English law, the attraction of a niche market compatible with U.S. federal and international securities laws may propel increased participation by U.S. issuers and investors who wish to transact under U.S. federal and state laws. As with all Islamic financial products, sukuk transactions inherently pose a Sharia compliance risk. Thus far, religious compliance has not posed a significant barrier to the international market given that most sukuk transactions are governed by secular laws that incorporate Sharia law or laws that are not averse to interpreting religious law. U.S. jurisprudence, however, has strongly avoided religious questions that would require courts to interpret religious doctrines. While the application of the religious question doctrine helps maintain the separation of church and state, it can withhold secular judicial remedies from parties to a commercial agreement that incorporates religious tenets, such as a sukuk transaction. Drawing upon the example of Dana Gas PJSC, a company that sued to have its own sukuk certificates declared invalid and related payment obligations declared unenforceable due to the transaction’s alleged noncompliance with Sharia law, this Note explores the Establishment Clause obstacles to adjudication of a similar claim under New York law. Ultimately, this Note concludes that the Establishment Clause bars adjudication of the merits of such a dispute and proposes the adoption of legislation, at the state and federal level, that would permit secular courts to “certify” religious questions to party-selected religious tribunals. Pending passage of such litigation, commercial parties are encouraged to utilize alternative dispute resolution