Local Government Action and Antitrust Policy: An Economic Analysis

At least partly as a result of the Supreme Court decision in Community Communications Co. v. City of Boulder, cities are facing antitrust challenges to their rights to franchise cable television systems. Other municipal activities have been similarly challenged. The prospect of costly and uncertain antitrust litigation challenging local government actions will restrict the scope and extent of local regulatory activity. Such restrictions could, in turn, preempt city residents\u27 ability to choose, through their elected representatives, the goods and services they prefer. This Article proposes that as a mater of policy the burden of proving a municipal antitrust violation should be on those who seek to restrict municipal action. This Article discusses the merits behind the general case for municipal antitrust immunity and the specific circumstances in which cities might face liability under antitrust laws. Further, this Article sets out three criteria by which the potential for adverse effects of a city\u27s action may be determined, then assesses the leading state action cases using these criteria. Finally, this Article concludes by describing the appropriate policies for dealing with potentially inefficient city actions and makes specific recommendations consistent with the current case law

The morphology of xenarthrous vertebrae (Mammalia: Xenarthra) /

n.s. no.41 (1999

Individual-Level Determinants of the Propensity to Shirk

Employee shirking, where workers give less than full effort on the job, has typically been investigated as a construct subject to group and organization-level influences. Neglected are individual differences that might explain why individuals in the same organization or work-group might shirk. The present study sought to address these limitations by investigating subjective well-being (a dispositional construct), job satisfaction, as well as other individual-level determinants of shirking behavior. Results identified several individual-level determinants of shirking. Implications of the results are discussed

Biotechnology Process Patents: Is Special Legislation Needed?

The authors review administrative and court decisions prompting proposed changes to the patent law. After reviewing pros and cons, they argue that, on balance, pending bills can easily cause more problems than they solve

Megaliths, monuments and materiality

Stones, and especially the arrangement of large stones in relation to one another, have long been the focus of attention in megalith studies, a concern reflected in the name itself. It is, however, a blinkered view. Many so-called megalithic monuments embody other carefully selected materials in their construction, including turf, soil, rubble, and timber. In considering long barrows, Paul Ashbee noted that it was a false distinction to separate earthen long barrows from stone-chambered long barrows as the builders of long barrows inevitably used materials available within their local environments. Alternatively, writing mainly about the Irish material, Arthur ApSimon suggested a development from timber to stone implying an onological progression in the preferred use of materials. Whether environmental or evolutionary, it is certain that many monuments interchangeably combine stone and wood in their construction in a way that forces us to consider what these and other materials meant to the megalith builders. Was it simply about what was available? Or what was fashionable? Or were there deeper sets of meanings relating to how different materials were perceived and understood within the cosmological systems that lie behind the design, construction,and use of long barrows, passage graves, dolmens and other related monuments? Focusing upon wood and stone, it is argued here that both were components of a cyclical world view of life and death that was embedded in the fabric and structure of monuments

Timing disownership experiences in the rubber hand illusion

Some investigators of the rubber hand illusion (RHI) have suggested that when standard RHI induction procedures are employed, if the rubber hand is experienced by participants as owned, their corresponding biological hands are experienced as disowned. Others have demurred: drawing upon a variety of experimental data and conceptual considerations, they infer that experience of the RHI might include the experience of a supernumerary limb, but that experienced disownership of biological hands does not occur. Indeed, some investigators even categorically deny that any experimental paradigm has been employed or any evidence can be adduced to support the claim that disownership experiences occur during the RHI. It goes without saying that RHI experiences can be elusive, and that there is some evidence to support claims that supernumerary limb experiences can sometimes occur. Here, however, we test the claim that the conscious experience of disownership can occur during the RHI. In order to test this claim, we developed two new online proxies—onset time for the illusion and illusion duration—and combined these with established questionnaires that concern the conscious contents of the RHI, in particular ownership/disownership experiences. Both online proxy data and post hoc questionnaire data converge in supporting the claim that disownership experiences do occur, at least when the left hand is the object of investigation. Our findings that onset time and illusion duration are reliable measures suggest that investigations of the RHI stand to benefit by devoting more attention to data collected while the RHI is being experienced, in particular data concerning temporal dynamics

\u3cem\u3ePer Ardua Ad Astra\u3c/em\u3e: A Concicise Guide to Canadian Personnel Records and RCAF Service Information of the Second World War

The motto of the Royal Canadian Air Force—per ardua ad astra—through adversity to the stars—might also serve as an apt expression when beginning research on individual Canadian airmen or airwomen of the Second World War. Without a guiding-hand, the first-time researcher is likely to experience some considerable “adversity” before locating their “stars.” This note introduces the key records and published sources for documenting those individuals who served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, as well as directions for locating the records of those Canadians who served in related air elements during the conflict. Many archival records and library sources give some information about these individuals; this note is limited to official records, or to those records compiled from official sources, that are held by the major Canadian and Commonwealth institutions which have the mandate to provide such essential wartime documentation

“Canada’s Roll of Honour”: Controversy over Casualty Notification and Publication During the Second World War

During the Second World War, the Canadian Army’s announcement of casualties to next–of–kin and the press often caused controversy. Even though the army tried to notify the family and public as quickly as possible, it could not always do so. Unofficial communications with the family, procedural failures, and more frequently press and censorship errors, cause occasional mistakes in casualty reporting. Moreover, the interests of Canada’s allies often prevented the timely publication of casualty names and figures, as in the aftermath of the Dieppe Raid, Sicily campaign and Normandy landings. These delays were often for alleged security reasons, sometimes with questionable justification. This led to widespread, albeit inaccurate, suspicion of political manipulation of this process by the Canadian Army and federal government