ALBERT

Description: Many of the failures of U.S. fisheries management are ascribed to the problem of imperfect representation, occasionally referred to as ‘regulatory capture.’ Described in terms of the outsized influence the fishing industry has over regulators, this framing of the problem has wide appeal and some empirical support. Adding credence to the diagnoses is the undeniable dominance of fishing industry representatives on the regional fishery management councils, the primary decision making organs within the U.S. fisheries management system. Despite its widespread acceptance, this essay draws on a pair of linked phenomena rooted in common pool resource theory and political economy to demonstrate why the notion of imperfect representation has serious limitations as an organizing principle for fishery reform efforts. The first phenomenon is the “Tragedy of the Commons” (TOC), a perverse set of economic incentives that trap individuals into patterns of unsustainable resource exploitation. Less well known, but equally important, is the phenomenon referred to here as “the second commons”, a term that describes the ability of interest groups to obtain unique political treatment through a series of market-like transactions with elected and appointed officials. Using the historical analogue of public lands ranching, this essay argues that the TOC incentive structure will drive fishing groups into the second commons in search of the policy treatment needed to continue overfishing regardless of the composition of the councils, and that these groups will very often be successful. While the second commons cannot be controlled by a single group, this essay argues that it is possible to reform fisheries such that the economic pathologies associated with the TOC and the associated need for industry groups to secure unsustainable policy treatment are reduced. This approach, I contend, will lead to more successful and durable outcomes than attempts to build more “representative” councils. Author:  Aaron Welch Issue:  Fishing and World Food Supply Download:  Welch_SJLSP_2013.pdf

Description: “For many of today’s technologies…new products require a variety of skills, more than available in any single firm. Hence, there is a need for strategic alliances and innovative licensing arrangements in order to produce a product. To make these efforts work, it is important to facilitate cooperative research efforts between firms and research entities of different nations.” John Barton, Professor, Stanford Law School. Author:  Carol Mimura Julie Cheng Braden Penhoet Issue:  Access to Medicine Download:  61_Mimura_SJLSP_sept2011.pdf

Description: Climatologists, like other scientists, tend to be a stolid group. We are not given to theatrical rantings about falling skies. . . . Why then are climatologists speaking out about the dangers of global warming? The answer is that virtually all of us are now convinced that global warming poses a clear and present danger to civilization. -- Lonnie Thompson, Ohio State University. We still have the opportunity to preserve the remarkable life of our planet, if we begin to act now. We must rally, especially young people, to put pressure on our governments. . . . We must be jolted into recognizing the remarkable world we inherited from our elders, and our obligation to preserve the planet for future generations. -- James Hansen, author of Storms of My Grandchildren. Author:  Julia Frost Nerbonne Issue:  Fishing and World Food Supply Download:  Nerbonne_Perspective_Final.pdf

Description: In this paper, practical issues of biobanking within the context of a single, relatively small project are considered. Definitions of biobanking assume the collection and storage of samples for later analysis under conditions that permit efficient retrieval and optimum sample stability. No requirements on sample size or number of studies are imposed in the definitions of biobanks. Correspondingly, a single laboratory can establish and maintain a biobank. Regardless of size and intention, a single investigator establishing a biobank faces a number of issues, including obtaining IRB approvals, developing strategies for specimen collection and optimal storage, and negotiating such issues as (1) response rates; (2) biobank size; (3) various sampling biases; (4) establishing safeguards against sample duplication and overlap with other biobanks; and (5) securing resources for sample processing and maintenance. This paper will review and comment on all of these considerations. Author:  Elena L. Grigorenko Susan Bouregy Issue:  Biobanking Download:  61_Grigorenko & Bouregy SJLSP biobanking on a small scale.pdf

Description: INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................42 I. NEGLECTED DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT......................................................44 II. GAPS AND INEFFICIENCIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY PATHWAY .....47 III. THE INSUFFICIENCY OF PUSH AND PULL STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THESE GAPS .......................53 IV. BETTER, CHEAPER, FASTER: A MORE SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY FOR TREATMENT ACCESS FOR NEGLECTED DISEASES.........................................................................58 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................70 Author:  Thomas J. Bollyky Issue:  Access to Medicine Download:  42-71_Bollyky Feb. 2013 Update.pdf

Description: This note provides an overview of the role of the TRIPS Agreement as part of the global health policy. It examines how various policy considerations, in particular the need to balance the long-term social objective of providing incentives for future inventions and the short-term objective of allowing people to access and use existing inventions, are reflected in the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement relating to public health. It reviews the WTO's work on these matters over the past few years, including two legal instruments adopted by WTO Members. It also summarizes relevant jurisprudence under the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. Finally, it looks at the broader picture with respect to access to medicines. This note is meant for informational purposes and does not take a particular position on any of the issues reviewed. Rather, it is hoped that it will contribute to an informed debate on the role of the TRIPS Agreement in public health matters. Author:  Roger Kampf Hannu Wager Issue:  Access to Medicine Download:  61_Hannu_Wager_Final_ATM.pdf

Description: This Article examines policies that will embody the fairness essential for publicly supported biobanks to succeed. Part I discusses access to data and resulting research findings for approved researchers after a reasonable period of exclusivity. Part II addresses experimental use of patented discoveries for approved researchers. Part III discusses non-monetary benefit sharing for participants. I also examine recent legal developments, how selected biobanks address these issues, and additional considerations for public biobanks and their government partners in formulating intellectual property policies. Author:  Brenda M. Simon Issue:  Biobanking Download:  61_Simon SJLSP how to get a fair share.pdf

Description: After 31 years of eluding the Wichita, Kansas police, Dennis Rader was arrested in 2005 and charged with ten counts of murder. Rader, otherwise known as the serial killer BTK (for bind, torture, kill) became a suspect when he began corresponding with the police through discs that contained metadata identifying a computer he had been using at his church. Even though this indirect evidence pointed to Rader, his daughter’s medical records ultimately sealed the deal. The police subpoenaed his daughter’s pap smear from a local clinic and compared DNA from the sample to semen found at BTK’s first crime scene. There was a familial match. The police finally had enough to make an arrest. 1 This case presents important questions for those of us concerned with the privacy protections surrounding stored genetic samples. As individuals consider contributing their specimen to a bio-repository, or unveiling their medical records for research purposes, they should know what downstream privacy protections exist to protect their personal genetic and medical information. We focus here on genetic samples contained in blood or saliva, but many of the same privacy concerns would attach to other types of biological materials. 1 Ellen Nakashima, From DNA of Family, a Tool to Make Arrests Privacy Advocates Say the Emerging Practice Turns Relatives Into Genetic Informants , WASHINGTON POST, April 21, 2008, at A01. Author:  Teneille Brown Kelly Lowenberg Issue:  Biobanking Privacy Law enforcement Download:  61_Lowenberg Final.pdf

Description: Global climate change is exerting profound effects on organisms and ecosystems. As resource managers and policymakers must contend with the ongoing and future effects of global climate change, they challenge scientists to predict where, when, and with what magnitude these effects are most likely to occur. By understanding the processes by which human-managed and natural ecosystems respond to a changing climate, and by quantifying levels of confidence in our ability to predict these effects, we may be able to prepare for some of these impacts, a form of adaptation to climate change. Here, we describe how knowledge of physiology can help to inform management decisions. Because physiological tolerance to environmental factors varies between species, there will likely be “winners” and “losers” in the face of climate change. We explore how a failure to consider the details of an organism’s physiology and ecology can hamper efforts to respond proactively to climate change and, conversely, how an understanding of how nonhuman organisms interact with their environment can help to provide a framework for anticipating and preparing for future changes in natural and managed ecosystems. We examine some of the physiological responses of marine organisms to climate change in three examples: thermal stress in marine invertebrates, ramifications of water temperature changes on fish bioenergetics and thus on fish reproduction and growth, and effects of changes in wave forces on damage to corals and kelp. Because factors such as temperature interact with other stressors like overexploitation and pollution to drive patterns of mortality, it may be possible to prevent some damage by reducing the impact of stressors not related to climate change. Methods such as ecological forecasting and the utilization of bioenergetic budgets can be used to help guide future adaptation to climate change by providing forecasts within a probabilistic framework. Author:  Brian Helmuth Lauren Yamane Katharine J. Mach Shilpi Chhotray Phil Levin Sarah Woodin Issue:  Climate change Download:  61_Helmuth Final.pdf

Description: Biobanks are generally created with the long-term goal of establishing genotype-phenotype correlations. These resources collect and link DNA with health information for use in future genetic research studies. The biobanking process can vary with regard to specific characteristics in study design. Biobanks may extract DNA by using DNA from leftover samples or obtaining new DNA samples specifically for the biobank. Biobanks also vary in whether they use an opt-in or opt-out informed consent process. Some biobanks collect health information at a single point in time, while others “re-access” such information at designated points in the future to categorize subjects accurately into affected/unaffected status. These study design differences can influence the perception of participants and affect their willingness to participate. This paper will address the following three key issues: (1) why people decide to participate in DNA biobanks, (2) what enrollees understand about their participation in DNA biobanks, and (3) how participants feel about the possibility that biobanks will re-contact them, either to obtain new information for future studies or to share potential study results. Finally, we will suggest how information related to these three key issues ought to inform future study design for biobanks. Author:  Kelly E. Ormond Maureen E. Smith Wendy A. Wolf Issue:  Biobanking Download:  61_Ormond Final.pdf