It's common sense, stupid! Corporate crime and techniques of neutralization in the automobile industry

This paper evaluates the usefulness of ‘techniques of neutralization’ and ‘denial’ theory for understanding how corporations respond to accusations of wrong-doing and criminal behaviour. It does so with reference to three recent cases in the automobile industry that have each been the subject of extended public outrage and regulatory response (the case of the Fiat Chrysler exploding Jeeps, the Toyota recall following a series of ‘uncontrollable acceleration’ incidents and Volkswagen’s emissions fraud). The paper shows how in each of those systematic cases, corporate strategies were based upon the systematic deception of the public and systematic attempts to resist any recall to safeguard consumers. It then uses those cases as a focus of analysis for reframing ‘techniques of neutralization’ theory in a form that takes account of the immense social, economic and political power held by corporations and foregrounding the hegemonic role played by corporations in shaping ‘common sense’ understandings of the world

Trabajo desnudo: poniendo a trabajar a Agamben

The article begins by exploring how the concept of "bare life" can be applied to labour in general (redefined as "naked labour") when the coercive conditions and regulatory techniques in which the production process is based are disclosed. It will be mentioned for this purpose, the way in which the labour became "naked" in the new production sites in the global South and in the work of undocumented migrants in Europe, studying how the concept of naked labour can provide more general explanatory framework for the world of labour in capitalist social orders. Our conclusion will argue that a reorientation of "bare life" to labour can take Marx's alienation theory -and contribute to its development. An expanded concept of alienation can allow us to link death and occupational disease to an extended process that eradicates the ability to live or to be human being, and help us design strategies of resistance to a deadly working conditions and dehumanizing produced by law.El artículo comienza explorando cómo puede aplicarse el concepto de vida desnuda al trabajo en general (redefinido como “trabajo desnudo”) cuando se desvelan las condiciones coercitivas y las técnicas regulatorias en las que se basa el proceso productivo. Se aludirá, para ello, a la forma en que el trabajo “se desnuda” en los nuevos enclaves de producción del Sur global y en el trabajo de los migrantes indocumentados en Europa, estudiando cómo ese concepto de trabajo desnudo puede dar un marco explicativo más general para el mundo del trabajo en los órdenes sociales capitalistas. Nuestra conclusión defenderá que una reorientación de la “vida desnuda” al trabajo puede aprovechar la teoría de la alienación de Marx – y contribuir a su desarrollo. Un concepto ampliado de alienación puede permitirnos vincular la muerte y la enfermedad laboral a un proceso ampliado que erradica la capacidad de vivir o de ser humano, así como ayudarnos a diseñar estrategias de resistencia a unas condiciones laborales mortales y deshumanizadoras producidas por el derecho.El artículo comienza explorando cómo puede aplicarse el concepto de vida desnuda al trabajo en general (redefinido como “trabajo desnudo”) cuando se desvelan las condiciones coercitivas y las técnicas regulatorias en las que se basa el proceso productivo. Se aludirá, para ello, a la forma en que el trabajo “se desnuda” en los nuevos enclaves de producción del Sur global y en el trabajo de los migrantes indocumentados en Europa, estudiando cómo ese concepto de trabajo desnudo puede dar un marco explicativo más general para el mundo del trabajo en los órdenes sociales capitalistas. Nuestra conclusión defenderá que una reorientación de la “vida desnuda” al trabajo puede aprovechar la teoría de la alienación de Marx – y contribuir a su desarrollo. Un concepto ampliado de alienación puede permitirnos vincular la muerte y la enfermedad laboral a un proceso ampliado que erradica la capacidad de vivir o de ser humano, así como ayudarnos a diseñar estrategias de resistencia a unas condiciones laborales mortales y deshumanizadoras producidas por el derecho

Validation of a novel scoring system for changes in skeletal manifestations of hypophosphatasia in newborns, infants, and children: The Radiographic Global Impression of Change scale

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is the heritable metabolic disease characterized by impaired skeletal mineralization due to low activity of the tissue-nonspecific isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase. Although HPP during growth often manifests with distinctive radiographic skeletal features, no validated method was available to quantify them, including changes over time. We created the Radiographic Global Impression of Change (RGI-C) scale to assess changes in the skeletal burden of pediatric HPP. Site-specific pairs of radiographs of newborns, infants, and children with HPP from three clinical studies of asfotase alfa, an enzyme replacement therapy for HPP, were obtained at baseline and during treatment. Each pair was scored by three pediatric radiologists ( raters ), with nine raters across the three studies. Intrarater and interrater agreement was determined by weighted Kappa coefficients. Interrater reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and by two-way random effects analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a mixed-model repeated measures ANOVA. Pearson correlation coefficients evaluated relationships of the RGI-C to the Rickets Severity Scale (RSS), Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument Global Function Parent Normative Score, Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index, 6-Minute Walk Test percent predicted, and Z-score for height in patients aged 6 to 12 years at baseline. Eighty-nine percent (8/9) of raters showed substantial or almost perfect intrarater agreement of sequential RGI-C scores (weighted Kappa coefficients, 0.72 to 0.93) and moderate or substantial interrater agreement (weighted Kappa coefficients, 0.53 to 0.71) in patients aged 0 to 12 years at baseline. Moderate-to-good interrater reliability was observed (ICC, 0.57 to 0.65). RGI-C scores were significantly (p ≤ 0.0065) correlated with the RSS and with measures of global function, disability, endurance, and growth in the patients aged 6 to 12 years at baseline. Thus, the RGI-C is valid and reliable for detecting clinically important changes in skeletal manifestations of severe HPP in newborns, infants, and children, including during asfotase alfa treatment. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research Published by Wiley Periodicals Inc

Landau levels of cold atoms in non-Abelian gauge fields

The Landau levels of cold atomic gases in non-Abelian gauge fields are analyzed. In particular we identify effects on the energy spectrum and density distribution which are purely due to the non-Abelian character of the fields. We investigate in detail non-Abelian generalizations of both the Landau and the symmetric gauge. Finally, we discuss how these non-Abelian Landau and symmetric gauges may be generated by means of realistically feasible lasers in a tripod scheme.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

State-Corporate Crime and the Process of Capital Accumulation: mapping a global regime of permission from Galicia to Morecambe Bay

This paper seeks to develop the principal concerns of the state-corporate crime literature by drawing connections between two incidents that occurred 15 months apart: the sinking of the oil tanker the Prestige in Galicia in November 2002 and the killing of 24 Chinese migrant workers at Morecambe Bay in the North West of England in February 2004. It begins by introducing the key features of the two cases, before exploring how they might be described and understood as state-corporate crimes. It then identifies a tendency within the literature to analyse state-corporate crimes as ‘moments of rupture’ in the regulatory relationship. Seeking to move beyond such ‘moments of rupture’, the paper argues for an understanding of regulatory relationships as part of a broader regime of permission that seeks the smooth and uninterrupted accumulation of capital. It thus identifies the ‘process’ that must be analysed as a process of capital accumulation. This process is illustrated by focussing on the spheres of production and distribution in this story of capital accumulation. In the course of describing the complex ‘regime of permission’, the paper uncovers a structure of impunity that generally enables the most powerful architects and beneficiaries of state-corporate crime to sustain a process of capital accumulation

Multiple range imaging camera operation with minimal performance impact

Time-of-flight range imaging cameras operate by illuminating a scene with amplitude modulated light and measuring the phase shift of the modulation envelope between the emitted and reflected light. Object distance can then be calculated from this phase measurement. This approach does not work in multiple camera environments as the measured phase is corrupted by the illumination from other cameras. To minimize inaccuracies in multiple camera environments, replacing the traditional cyclic modulation with pseudo-noise amplitude modulation has been previously demonstrated. However, this technique effectively reduced the modulation frequency, therefore decreasing the distance measurement precision (which has a proportional relationship with the modulation frequency). A new modulation scheme using maximum length pseudo-random sequences binary phase encoded onto the existing cyclic amplitude modulation, is presented. The effective modulation frequency therefore remains unchanged, providing range measurements with high precision. The effectiveness of the new modulation scheme was verified using a custom time-of-flight camera based on the PMD19-K2 range imaging sensor. The new pseudo-noise modulation has no significant performance decrease in a single camera environment. In a two camera environment, the precision is only reduced by the increased photon shot noise from the second illumination source