Irradiation-induced reduction of microcracking in zirconolite

/sup 238/Pu-substituted zirconolite (CaPuTi/sub 2/O/sub 7/) was stored near ambient temperature for 231 days, equivalent to an alpha decay dose of 3.1x10/sup 25/ ..cap alpha../m/sup 3/ or 3x10/sup 5/ years of storage time for SYNROC ceramic nuclear waste. Periodic indentation testing showed that hardness was decreased by alpha decay-induced conversion to the metamict state, while fracture toughness and resistance to cracking were increased, apparently as a consequence of the formation of a heterogeneous microstructure. These results imply improved stability of this nuclear waste phase as a result of self-irradiation damage. 21 references, 4 figures

Corporate environmental responsibility and criminology

This article addresses corporate environmental responsibility (CER) and aims to present a criminological analysis of it. We studied the opinion of a number of principle actors involved in CER in Europe in order to determine how they perceive it in terms of its definition, aetiology and approaches. For each of these dimensions we relate back to a criminological framework to ascertain how it is positioned in the green criminological debate. We start out by providing information on what corporate environmental responsibility is and how it relates to corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. Then we outline the theoretical framework in accordance with the three central themes for the criminological analysis of CER: definition, aetiology and approaches. We also explain the method that was used (semi-structured interviews). Next, we present the results according to the same threefold structure. Finally we discuss these results in a last part, which is divided in two. First, we look at the challenges that the criminological perspective poses for CER in terms of definition, aetiology and approaches. The second part of the discussion turns the question around and wonders how CER could contribute to greening criminology

Correlation versus Causation? Pharmacovigilance of the Analgesic Flupirtine Exemplifies the Need for Refined Spontaneous ADR Reporting

Annually, adverse drug reactions result in more than 2,000,000 hospitalizations and rank among the top 10 causes of death in the United States. Consequently, there is a need to continuously monitor and to improve the safety assessment of marketed drugs. Nonetheless, pharmacovigilance practice frequently lacks causality assessment. Here, we report the case of flupirtine, a centrally acting non-opioid analgesic. We re-evaluated the plausibility and causality of 226 unselected, spontaneously reported hepatobiliary adverse drug reactions according to the adapted Bradford-Hill criteria, CIOMS score and WHO-UMC scales. Thorough re-evaluation showed that only about 20% of the reported cases were probable or likely for flupirtine treatment, suggesting an incidence of flupirtine-related liver injury of 1∶ 100,000 when estimated prescription data are considered, or 0.8 in 10,000 on the basis of all 226 reported adverse drug reactions. Neither daily or cumulative dose nor duration of treatment correlated with markers of liver injury. In the majority of cases (151/226), an average of 3 co-medications with drugs known for their liver liability was observed that may well be causative for adverse drug reactions, but were reported under a suspected flupirtine ADR. Our study highlights the need to improve the quality and standards of ADR reporting. This should be done with utmost care taking into account contributing factors such as concomitant medications including over-the-counter drugs, the medical history and current health conditions, in order to avoid unjustified flagging and drug warnings that may erroneously cause uncertainty among healthcare professionals and patients, and may eventually lead to unjustified safety signals of useful drugs with a reasonable risk to benefit ratio

Adolescent deviation and age

Traditional theories of delinquency causation generally fail to consider delinquency in the context of norms and age-role transitions peculiar to adolescence. Hence, in this study, an age-based theory of delinquency causation is developed, which assumes the importance of norms and roles specific to adolescence. This theory draws upon the assumption that socialization is recurrent, in contrast to the premises regarding socialization which underlie traditional theories of adolescent deviance. The recurrent model of socialization and that assumed by traditional theorists are discussed, and their implications for the causes of delinquent behavior are examined. Some effort is made to show that the recurrent model of socialization suggests an anomie of age as the basis for delinquent acts. It is suggested that this age-based anomie stems from conditions of normlessness associated with certain role transitions in adolescence and the pacing of these transitions. Further, it is suggested that certain groups are especially prone to an anomic age transition. The role transitions most likely to be subject to such anomic conditions and the adolescent subgroups most prone to experience anomie as a result of the pacing of their age-role transitions are identified .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45260/1/10964_2005_Article_BF01537174.pd

Organisationskultur. Eine Konkretisierung aus systemtheoretischer Perspektive

Kühl S. Organisationskultur. Eine Konkretisierung aus systemtheoretischer Perspektive. Managementforschung. 2018;28(1):7-35.Die Bestimmung des Verhältnisses von Informalität und Organisationskultur bereitet in der Organisationstheorie Schwierigkeiten. Das liegt daran, dass der Begriff Informalität häufig stillschweigend durch den Begriff der Organisationskultur ersetzt wurde, ohne dass dafür eine präzise, abgrenzungsscharfe Definition vorgenommen worden wäre. Unter Rückgriff auf Überlegungen von Dario Rodríguez argumentiert dieser Artikel, dass die beiden Begriffe Organisationskultur und Informalität das gleiche Phänomen bezeichnen: die nichtentschiedenen Entscheidungsprämissen einer Organisation. Dabei wird systematisch zwischen „unentscheidbaren Entscheidungsprämissen“ und „prinzipiell entscheidbaren, aber nicht entschiedenen Entscheidungsprämissen“ unterschieden. Es wird gezeigt, wie sich mit einer präzisen Bestimmung über das Konzept der Entscheidungsprämissen Ordnung in die „wilden Merkmallisten“ der Literatur sowohl über Informalität als auch Organisationskultur bringen lässt und empirische Phänomene genauer erfasst werden können