Journal articles on the topic 'Substance-Over-Form Principle'

This research aims to know the implementation of generally accepted accounting principles of substance over form of the village’s financial management and the impact of not satisfy the principle of substance over form against the trend of lapses in Financial Management Kalimadu Jember Regency Village. This research is qualitative research in methods of case studies. Primary data obtained by the method of in-depth interview to some villagers. The secondary data were directly obtained from the Government of the Kalimadu Village. The validity test was using the technique of triangulation of Data sources. The results showed that the substance over form principle wasn’t applied in every process of financial management of the village. This is impacting on the quality of the financial report of the Kalimadu village of unaccountable and could not be accounted for so that gave rise to the existence of the lawsuit to the village head and village treasurer. Keywords: Cost of Goods Sold, Production Cost, Cost

The starting point of this study is Russian accounting, as well as the process of its harmonization with IFRS. It is well known that within the Anglo-American school of accounting it is necessary to proceed from the principle of "priority of content (essence) over form". This is a principle that causes a special discussion, especially in Russian realities. Based on the analysis of the accounting practices of Russia and Vietnam, the main reasons that impede the application of this principle in full are highlighted. In order to improve the ac-counting practice in Russia, a conceptual approach is proposed for the implementation of the principle of "content priority over form" taking into account the economic and accounting foundations. The proposed con-ceptual approach is an attempt to standardize accounting procedures, as well as a specific mechanism for implementing the accounting function using professional judgment.

The article analyzes the principle of systemacy in the speech process study which is implemented in the approach to speech analysis where speech is considered an element of a system consisting of joint activity (JA) of communicants and their verbal communication (VC), this system determining all speech actions of the communicants. The subject of the theory of speech processes systemacy is the organization of the system that reflects the connections arising between interacting and communicating communicants, learned by the researcher, i.e., the connections that determine the communicants’ mutual speech control over each other’s behavior. The research method used in the article is a theoretical and metatheoretical analysis of the main provisions of the system-activity approach to the speech process study. People’s behavior is controlled by means of symbolic messages, which is possible only with a similar image of the world among the communicants, the latter being developed while acquiring identical subject culture. Subject-empirical culture is the substance of consciousness, the acquisition of which ensures the common consciousness of native speakers, and which is an obligatory prerequisite for sign communication, since the bodies of linguistic signs, being only a substance, do not themselves carry any knowledge. Speech processes carried out by the co-actors in the JA are determined by the structure of JA and VC, and in addition to that, by the whole society, whose culture they have acquired and which now, in the form of images of consciousness, constitutes the content side of linguistic signs. System determination specifies both constant and variable properties of speech processes.

Both the IASB and the FASB have recently issued new lease accounting standards (IFRS 16/Topic 842) that have been applied by entities since the beginning of fiscal year 2019. The new standards introduce an important change in the lessee’s accounting model, impacting entities’ accounting ratios, systems, internal controls, etc. Lessees will have to apply a capitalization model for almost all lease operations. In other words, nearly all lease operations will be shown on the lessee’s balance sheet, and there will be very few off-balance sheet leases.The aim of this paper is to explain the evolution of lease accounting standards from the beginning of the 20th century up until the present day, i.e. to analyze how this accounting area has evolved driven both by one of the basic accounting principles: “substance over form” (nowadays universally admitted), and also by the “utility paradigm”. While initially no leases were capitalized (following the legal form of the operations), subsequently (in the second stage) some of them did start to be capitalized (“finance leases”) under the assumption that they were very similar to financed purchases. Nowadays (under IFRS 16/Topic 842 – the third stage) almost all leases are capitalized for comparability and other reasons.This is the accounting area in which the “substance over form” principle has been most widely applied in modern accounting history. We fundamentally use historical information from primary sources (historical accounting standards, pronouncements of accounting standards issuers, historical research works, etc.) and we focus on US GAAP and IFRS standards.

AbstractIn this article, I argue that the interest on the part of Bacon, Hill, and Warner in corpuscularian interpretations of natural phenomena and their similarity to certain views later held by Digby or Boyle offer a strong indication for the existence of an 'independent English atomistic milieu', a view that fits more closely Porter & Teich's recent model of national contexts for early modern science than Kargon's traditional picture of English atomism as a foreign import. In the course of this article, I consider Francis Bacon's anti-Aristotelian polemic in the light of his continued adherence to a conception of material form and his essentially Aristotelian metaphysics, as well as the relationship between his conception of form and his corpuscular theories of matter. This is followed by an examination of Walter Warner's natural philosophical manuscripts. Particular attention is paid to his Averroist distinction between assistant form (which has the role of an active, organizing, kinetic principle) and insistent forms (passive material formation, according to the nature of the substance and its internal combination or mixture of parts) in his treatment of the atoms of vital spirits and of the transmission of light, an idea that has interesting links to the scholastic notion of the sphaera actiuitatis. It is shown how Warner replaced the assistant form/sphere of activity with an energic principle, which he called vis and which took over many of the characteristics of the formative principles it replaced. I then compare Warner's use of vis with Nicholas Hill's, for whom it represented a hypostatic principle, i.e. an instrument of divine agency in the physical world. Such a strong view of divine causation enabled Hill to undertake a more radical critique of Aristotelian form than was available to Warner. My discussion ends with a look at Boyle's critique of the modern Aristotelian doctrine of forms, and his re-interpretation of form in terms of atomic configuration and the modifications of local motion. I end by suggesting that the 'phasing out' of Aristotelian notions of form, and their replacement with ideas of force or local motion opened the way for a similar 'phasing out' of divine causation, by making force a self-sufficient explanatory principle.

Dealing with the practice of tax avoidance in general, many countries have compiled and implemented their own general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR). This research aims to explore the potential of statutory GAAR in handling tax avoidance practices in Indonesia and SAAR formulas that are suitable for the Indonesian context. This qualitative research employed a case study approach. Results show that the application of SAAR and the principle of substance over form in Indonesia cannot yet be applied properly; thus GAAR is needed. It is expected that the implementation of statutory GAAR can accommodate the limitations of regulators in light of unknown and future tax avoidance schemes.. Keywords: Tax-avoidance, tax planning, specific anti avoidance rule (SAAR), international tax

Fraus legis – defrauding or evading the application of law – is a phenomenon well-known to students of private law, but its application in public law, including constitutional law, remains largely unconsidered. To consider whether a transaction, or, it is submitted, an enactment, is an instance of fraus legis, an interpreter must have regard to the substance and not merely the form of an enactment. In 2018 Parliament resolved to amend section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution) to allow government to expropriate property without being required to pay compensation. While the public and legal debate has since before that time been concerned with "expropriation without compensation", the draft Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill, 2019 provides instead for expropriation where "the amount of compensation is nil". By the admission of Parliament's legal services unit, this is a distinction without a difference. But compensation and expropriation are legally and conceptually married, and as a result, it would be impermissible to expropriate without compensation – instead, nil compensation will be "paid". How does this current legal affair comport with the substance over form principle, and is fraus legis at play? This article considers the application of the fraus legis phenomenon to public law, utilising the contemporary case study of the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill.

Multiparticulate dosage form is pharmaceutical formulations where the active substance is in the form of a number of small independent subunit such as, granules, microparticle, beads, and microspheres. Multiparticulate drug delivery systems are specifically suitable for achieving delayed and sustained release oral formulations with a minimum risk of dose dumping, local irritation, systemic toxicity, and variation in rate of bioavailability as they are less dependent on gastrointestinal transit time and offers many advantages over unit particulate dosage forms. Microbeads are small, sphere shaped, systematically produced free-flowing properties, semi-spherical solid units. Microbeads are the agglomerates of about size ranging from 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm, obtained from various starting materials and utilizing different innovative techniques. A blend of multiparticulate can also be used to provide the desired drug release profile. These round shaped particles produced by mostly principle of atomization technique.Among various different innovative techniques Vibration technology, Electrostatic bead generator, Jetcutter technology, electrostatic forces, dropping method and a mechanical cutting device are few of many. In current article it describes about the total methods involved and their working principles with diagrams were clearly illustrated. Now a days sodium alginate beads were designed by these technologies mostly in relative to microencapsulation techniques. Keywords: Atomization, Vibrating technology, Jetcutter device, Electrostatic bead generator Dropping method and electro-spray technology

Purpose Accounting practices vary not only across firms, but also across countries, reflecting the respective legal and cultural background. Attempts at harmonization therefore continue to be rebuffed. The purpose of this paper is to argue that different wordings in national laws, and different interpretations of similar wordings in national laws, can be explained by taking recourse to the philosophy of language, referring particularly to Searle and Wittgenstein. Design/methodology/approach The example of the substance over form principle, investigated in seven countries, is particularly suitable for this analysis. It is known in all accounting jurisdictions, but still has very different roots in different European countries, with European and international influences conflicting, which is reflected in the different wording of the principle from one country to the next, and the different socially constructed realities associated with those wordings. Findings This paper shows that, beyond accounting practices, the legal and cultural background of a country affects the wording of national law itself. The broad conclusion is that different socially constructed realities might tend to resist any attempt at harmonized socially constructed words. Originality/value The paper contributes to the debate surrounding the possible homogenization of accounting regulations, illustrating the theory of the social construction of both “reality” and “language” on the specific application of one common principle to various Member State environments.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the economic substance of Islamic banking transactions in South Africa and to analyse whether the economic substance is closely related to the legal form. Additionally, this study highlights the similarities and differences in the execution of Islamic banking transactions across different South African banks. The transactions analysed are deposit products of qard and Mudarabah and financing products of Murabaha, Ijarah and diminishing Musharaka. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted through interviews with representatives from each of the four South African banks that offers Islamic banking products. Interviews were semi-structured and allowed interviewees to voice their perspectives, increasing the validity of the interviews. Findings The study found that specific Shariah requirements of Islamic banking transactions are considered and included in the legal structure of the contracts by all four banks offering Islamic banking products. However, the economic reality of these transactions was often significantly different from its legal form and was found to, economically, replicate conventional banking transactions. The study also found that all four banks offer Islamic banking products under the same Shariah principles, but in some instances (e.g. diminishing Musharaka), execute these transactions in different ways. This study is the first of its kind in South Africa. Research limitations/implications While safeguards have been used to ensure the reliability and validity of the research, there remain a few inherent limitations which should be noted: interviewees, while chosen for their expertise and level of knowledge, may provide highly technical insight which may be difficult to interpret. Detailed technicalities were therefore excluded from this research. The regulatory environment of banks in South Africa, for example, regulation imposed by the Financial Service Board on all financial institutions in South Africa, has not been explored. However, the regulatory environment was brought to the readers’ attention to help illustrate certain themes. This research uses only Shariah requirements as detailed in Section 2.2 to analyse transactions. Fatwas (rulings) issued by the Shariah Boards of South African Islamic banks have not been included in this study and may be an area of future research. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind in South Africa. The study adds to the Islamic banking literature by analysing the real execution of Islamic banking transactions rather than the theoretical compliance with Shariah law.

Accounting for stock options and executive remuneration have been one of the most debated and controversial issues in accounting regulation and corporate governance. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the mandatory adoption of IFRS 2 for accounting of stock options in Italian non financial listed companies. This paper has investigated the economic consequences of recording the cost of stock options at its fair value, in terms of its impact on the companies‟ reported earnings, and other key financial performance indicators, such as diluted earnings per share (EPS) and return on assets. The impact of the mandatory recording of the cost of stock options measured at its fair value has generally reduced the reported earnings and other key performance measures moderately. Despite some evidence of creative accounting which was found concerning the elusion of the substance over form principle for the accounting of stock options plans set up before 7th November 2002, accounting regulation has increased the level of disclosure by making companies report the “true” cost of stock options in their Profit or Loss. Based on 2004 stock-based remuneration disclosures of the value of options given to directors and employees, the expensing of options have a material negative impact on nearly 30 per cent of the sample firms‟ reported income and diluted EPS. The mandatory adoption of IFRS 2 seems to have relevant implications for corporate governance as it has reduced the information asymmetry between corporate insiders and outsiders on the “true” cost of stock-based remuneration

The research objective is to establish Hyplus meat breed of young rabbits and to determine growth and development characteristics during the period from weaning to slaughter age under conditions of the biologically active feed additive of humic nature «Humilid» introducted into their general diet. The control and experimental groups of animals were formed according to the principle of similar groups. Experiment study lasted for 35 days, including 7 days preparatory period, 21 days research period and 7 days aftereffect period. The young rabbits of the control and experimental groups were fed with the main diet, which included compound feed with an individual calculation of nutrients per animal. The young rabbits of the experimental group were additionally injected with a biologically active feed additive «Humilid» in the form of an aqueous solution in an amount of 5 mg/kg of body weight according to the active substance to the main diet for 21 days. During the experiment, the effect of «Humilid» on the growth and development of young rabbits and their physiological state was studied. The weighing of young rabbits in the experimental groups was carried out once a week. At the same time, their body weight was determined on average and average daily growth, the safety of the livestock, in addition, the weight and mass index of the liver, heart and kidneys after slaughter by the calculation method. With the introduction of the feed additive «Humilid» to young rabbits, an increase in the body weight of the animals is observed throughout the experiment. The body weight on average of young animals of the experimental group exceeded this indicator in comparison with animals in the control group by 17.2 % (p˂0.001). Under the conditions of the introduction of the biologically active feed additive «Humilid» over the period of the experiment, the average daily weight gain of young rabbits in the experimental group was higher by 20.7 % (p˂0.01) compared to this indicator in the animals of the control group, respectively. The safety of the livestock was 100% in both groups. However, it should be noted that young rabbits of the control group had more pronounced motor activity and signs of anxiety than the animals of the experimental group, which obtained the feed additive of humic nature «Humilid». When «Humilid» was used in the diet, the mass of organs and the index of their development in young rabbits in the experimental and control groups of animals were within the range of age-related changes, which indicates the non-toxic effect of this additive.

Purpose This study aims to critically analyze the fundamentals of the current major Islamic Finance (IF) instruments and contracts in light of both the foundations of IF and the concept of substance over form in the accounting conceptual framework. Such analysis is believed to be necessarily for the IF institutions to provide better and more genuine service to their customers. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the study purpose, the methodology is based on theoretical analysis and analytical review of the major IF contracts. Findings The IF industry needs to focus on the economic substance of the products offered to their clients. In developing and promoting their products, IF institutions need to focus on the ultimate and substantial goals of Islamic Sharia rather than re-packaging existing conventional products under different arrangements and formats to make them appear as Sharia-compliant to their clients. Both religious scholars and IF professionals need to engage in much deeper analysis and understanding of the substantial design of IF instruments and the concept of usury in modern economy. Research limitations/implications This paper does not intend to develop a comprehensive framework for the design of IF instruments to meet the economic substance and ultimate goals of IF principles or measure such economic substance. However, that is definitely a subject for further research. Originality/value By applying concepts like substance over form from other business fields such as the accounting theoretical framework to the IF instruments and contracts, we should gain better understanding and practical implications of these instruments and figure out ways to improve their design to be more consistent with and better serve the ultimate goals of the Islamic Sharia.

Lawyers have begun to think of the legal events and institution-building related to the demise of Yugoslavia as raising new hope for international law. The recognition of newly self-determining sovereign entities that was facilitated by the European Community, together with the creation by the UN Security Council of an international criminal tribunal, constitute instances of newfound political authority over political disputes. On the other hand, close examination of the recognition process of the European Community and the constitutional stature of the ad hoc criminal court reveals political considerations to have dominated normative principles. Thus, while in form the legal events surrounding the Yugoslavia conflict seem to reflect the triumph of internationalism over the force of sovereignty, in substance they reflect precisely the opposite. In analyzing these legal pronouncements through the lens of the fantasy stories of Jorge Luis Borges, one can begin to appreciate international law's conceptual embarrassment of riches. For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.Hunter & Lesh, Box of Rain.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has mostly emphasized substance over form and developed a pragmatic, flexible, objective, and fact-based analytical approach to jurisdiction. That is until a recent series of judgments veering towards jurisdictional formalism. However, to truly reflect its designation as the “World” Court, the UN's principal judicial organ must surely adjudicate some of the “big cases” with global security implications and involving important obligations erga omnes beyond strictly bilateral dynamics: the Marshall Islands cases were as good contenders as any for the Court to enhance its legitimacy capital.1 As a corollary, accepting this role might entail that the Court interpret its jurisdiction in a flexible and progressive manner, which had always been its mantra up until recently, so that the “big cases” have a chance of getting their foot in the door and being litigated.

The challenges facing the Islamic banking and finance industry include, inter alia, resolving the issue of ‘form over substance’, adopting value-based social and ethical finance, and reinforcing public confidence that its business and services conform to the principles of Shari’ah in both letter and spirit. These challenges can be faced only if Islamic finance is based on the money and monetary perspective of Islamic economics. An important aspect for discussion in this context is the issue of money creation. This paper is based on an analysis of the literature on conventional and Islamic economics and Islamic finance. It comprises observational and narrative research mainly because monetary policy from an Islamic perspective has not been implemented in any jurisdiction in the modern world. Its objective is thus to suggest how monetary policy might evolve from the perspective of Islamic law of contracts. It discusses an economic model in which a new theory of monetary economics could become a basis for evolving Islamic finance in its value-based perspective. It also discusses monetary economics and monetary policy from an Islamic perspective in the context of contemporary Muslim economies. The Islamic financial system must be based on the Islamic system of money, monetary economics and exchange principles. Hence, economists and policymakers may first focus on evolving monetary economics and policy from an Islamic perspective, to serve as a basis for structural reforms.

TRIZ has been developed over six decades and attracted a great deal of interest in industry and education. It can provide a systematic approach to analyze problems where innovation is needed and to provide strategies and methods to solve the problem. It consists of many tools such as 40 inventive principles and the matrix of contradictions, laws of technical system evolution, substance-field analysis, ARIZ (algorithm of inventive problems solving). In this paper, we focused on engineering innovative education and developed a TRIZ-based systematic method applied to inspire individual student’s interest and learning motivation based on their life experience and capability. The process of this method includes analysis of individual student’s interest and expertise, requirement analysis, confirmation of problem direction, problem definition, selection of TRIZ tools, generation of solutions, evaluation of solutions. A case study including an integrated application with mechanical, electrical and information techniques was illustrated for the method and process. The authors expects this research could provide a reference for engineering innovation education and the method proposed in this paper is general in form to be applied for the other disciplines.

One of the most common neurological diseases is epilepsy, which not only negatively affects the quality of people’s life but also may lead to life-threatening situations when its symptoms such as seizures cannot be controlled medically. A very serious problem to be overcame is the untreatable form of this disease, which cannot be cured by any currently available medicines. Cannabidiol, which is a natural product obtained from Cannabis Sativa, brings a new hope to people suffering from drug-resistant epilepsy. However, the hydrophobic character of this compound significantly lowers its clinical efficiency. One of the promising methods of this substance bioactivity increase is delivery through the skin tissue. In this article, a new type of advanced transdermal systems based on chitosan and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) has been developed according to Sustained Development principles. The chemical modification of the biopolymer confirmed by FT-IR method resulted in the preparation of the material with great swelling abilities and appropriate water vapor permeability. Obtained nanoparticles were investigated over their crystalline structure and morphology and their positive impact on drug loading capacity and cannabidiol controlled release was proved. The novel biomaterials were confirmed to have conductive properties and not be cytotoxic to L929 mouse fibroblasts.

One of the most common neurological diseases is epilepsy, which not only negatively affects the quality of people’s life but also may lead to life-threatening situations when its symptoms such as seizures cannot be controlled medically. A very serious problem to be overcame is the untreatable form of this disease, which cannot be cured by any currently available medicines. Cannabidiol, which is a natural product obtained from Cannabis Sativa, brings a new hope to people suffering from drug-resistant epilepsy. However, the hydrophobic character of this compound significantly lowers its clinical efficiency. One of the promising methods of this substance bioactivity increase is delivery through the skin tissue. In this article, a new type of advanced transdermal systems based on chitosan and ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) has been developed according to Sustained Development principles. The chemical modification of the biopolymer confirmed by FT-IR method resulted in the preparation of the material with great swelling abilities and appropriate water vapor permeability. Obtained nanoparticles were investigated over their crystalline structure and morphology and their positive impact on drug loading capacity and cannabidiol controlled release was proved. The novel biomaterials were confirmed to have conductive properties and not be cytotoxic to L929 mouse fibroblasts.

Is legal drafting to be considered an autonomous discipline or should it be relegated to a set of grammatical rules ? Or yet still, might it be elevated to a full-fledged area of legal studies ? The scope of the matter goes far beyond simple considerations of numbering paragraphs, punctuation, and uses of language. Interest for legal drafting in Québec is the result of a relative imbalance between information on the subject in French and in English. At a time when legislative texts extend their authority to all strata of the population, it is essential that these texts be understandable and accessible. When discussing legal drafting, there is a popular distinction that is inevitably made between the form and the substance of the law. This idea, while sometimes valid, constitutes a gross oversimplification of reality, for where does form end and substance begin or vice versa ? Nor is it found that this traditional distinction settles the sticky question of structure in the law. The establishment of rules for drafting in French can not and must not proceed from a literal translation of English rules or practices, for the thought processes of these languages are far too different. For this reason, it has been necessary to undertake a meticulous empirical approach to describe just what characterizes the French use of legal language. Generally speaking, in French, the law should be an abstract declaration of principles ; specifics of application are left either to regulations or to judiciary construction. As the major vehicle for transmitting social standards, the law must be straightforward in maintaining an equitable continuity in social practices and institutions. This suggests that the law must be clear and unequivocal, yet how is one to define clarity; admittedly here is an embarrassing concept. It seems preferable to attack the problem by eliminating ambiguity, i.e. to reduce those legal, stylistic, structural or lexical elements which hamper comprehension. Laws can be written understandably, but do they still reflect the cultural needs of their intended audience ? The question remains largely unanswered. Is parliamentary procedure the best way to produce a body of legislation ? When one considers the diverse training of members of parliament and the urgency of their work, is it no wonder that laws often leave much to be desired... The composition of laws involves numerous details of which only the main ones are discussed here ; preamble, title, sub-titles, definitions, purpose, powers, obligations, responsible body, enabling provisions, coming into force, marginal notes. Discussing these matters brings to light various factors such as: 1. the frequent gap between the content of the preamble and the substance of the law; 2. the information contained in the title with respect to the substance of the law; 3. the abuse of definitions wherein one finds the substance of the law, unusual use of words, confusion, enumerations and a paralysing effect on the evolution of the law; 4. the necessity for underscoring powers, obligations as well as the purpose of legislation. Such considerations lead inevitably to a reassessment of what codifying the law is all about, a means for managing large volumes of textual material, for updating obsolescent and amputating dead provisions. Codification means that all possible structures of legislation must be understood; in civil law particularly, this implies deductive reasoning which proceeds from the general to the specific. Jmplicity takes priority over expliciteness and principles of « ejusdem generis » and « expressio unius, exclusio alterius » are of marginal value. The physical make-up of a code must take into account such factors as: 1. the dimension of its articles, i.e. one idea or concept per article; 2. the limited use of verb tenses, i.e. usually the present tense; 3. the use of the active voice; 4. the precise use of negations; 5. the elimination of redundancies; 6. the use of clear syntactic structures, i.e. subject + verb + complement ; 7. the correct use of French pronouns; 8. the abuse of demonstrative adjectives; 9. the correct use of references. Following these considerations, it becomes tempting to reason in terms of model or stereotyped legislation wherein only one form should prevail ; however, although organized to standards, legislation must remain dynamic to be effective. Finally, the cultural basis of drafting legal material must remain everpre-sent in the minds of draftsmen, for there are elementary, but pervasive elements of English and French thinking which will always come into play and orient the writer. For instance, the French will inevitably qualify something generally, where the English will prefer describing concretely the same phenomenon. Hopefully, by refining techniques of drafting, the often exagerated need for rules of interpretation will diminish and the law will stand as it should, on its own merits.

Chronic сеrebral ischemia is one of the leading causes of morbidity, mortality and disability in the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the data from Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the overall morbidity of the country’s population due to diseases of the circulatory system registered in health care organizations has increased almost three times from 1998 to 2017 over the past 20 years. According to world publications, on average, the incidence of Chronic сеrebral ischemia in the world is relatively high among the elderly, occurring in two-thirds of people over 65 years of age. It is also observed in 50% of people aged 50 to 65 years and in 25% of people aged 45 to 50 years. Purpose. To review of epidemiological data, risk factors, causes, pathogenetic mechanisms, diagnostic algorithms and principles of treatment of Chronic сеrebral ischemia. Material and methods. The literature review on Chronic сеrebral ischemia data was conducted using the Pubmed search engine in Medline electronic databases from 2009 to 2019. Results and discussion. A total of 45 research papers were included. This review examines epidemiological data, risk factors, causes, pathogenetic mechanisms, diagnostic algorithms and principles of therapy for Chronic сеrebral ischemia disease. In the etiopathogenesis of Chronic сеrebral ischemia, a significant part is played by the combination of risk factors known as vascular comorbidity and being the main cause of deaths. Vascular comorbidity is characterized by the involvement into a single pathological process of all risk factors that form Chronic сеrebral ischemia, which lead to a change in cerebral circulation with hypoxia of the brain substance and a cascade of biochemical changes, and subsequently results in diffuse, multi-focal changes in the brain substance. In a case of comorbidity of the atherosclerotic process with dyslipidemia, narrowing of the lumen of the arteries with an increase in the permeability of their wall membranes can be observed, with further damage to the endothelium, activation of synthesis by leukocytes, platelets, endotheliocytes of chemotaxis factors, kinins, growth factors, with the accumulation of active oxygen, peroxidation with the formation of oxidative stress. Chronic сеrebral ischemia therapy with vascular comorbidity, in which all risk factors are В тексте переправлены стилистические и ортографические ошибки. involved in a single pathological process, provides the prevention of polypragmasia, and the assignment of certain pathogenetic drugs aimed at the same pathogenesis that leads to the formation of Chronic сеrebral ischemia. Conclusion. It is most rational to use an antioxidant/antihypoxant in therapy. Such pathogenetic drugs include antioxidant therapy. Among other antioxidants/antihypoxants used in routine practice, Mexidol (ethylmethylhydroxypyridine succinate) is characterized with the strongest evidence base. Keyword: chronic brain ischemia, chronic cerebral circulatory insufficiency, vascular comorbidity, ethylmethylhydroxypyridine succinate, Mexidol.

This research article reviews the application of sharia principles in this case sharia compliance to the Bank Muamalat Indonesia Tbk Makassar Branch, related to the preparation of financial statements. The research is a qualitative research, with paradigm interpretive and hermeneutic-critical approach that is adhering to the critical concept in Islam that according to Al-Madkhali. The result of analysis showed that the application of the overall principles of sharia will realize a financial statement with the presentation of earnings that are not only in favor of the bank alone or is material but also have the value of spiritual, besides charity-oriented balancing character egoistic and alturistik, character materialistic and spiritualistic and qualitative and quantitative characters on the financial statements and this study also shows that the time value of money, historical cost, accrual basic and substance over form is not in accordance with Islamic principles / values of Islam. The implication of this study is raising awareness for the regulator to determine the accounting standards of sharia in particular the basic concepts of accounting in accordance with the values of sharia. Keywords: Sharia compliance, Sharia Governance, maslahah concept, and the concept of accounting.Artikel penelitian ini mengulas penerapan prinsip syariah dalam hal ini kepatuhan syariah terhadap Bank Muamalat Indonesia Tbk Cabang Makassar, terkait penyusunan laporan keuangan. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif, dengan pendekatan paradigma interpretif dan hermeneutik-kritis yang berpegang pada konsep kritis dalam Islam menurut Al-Madkhali. Hasil Analisis tersebut menunjukkan bahwa penerapan prinsip syariah secara keseluruhan akan mewujudkan sebuah laporan keuangan dengan penyajian laba yang tidak hanya menguntungkan bank sendiri atau material tetapi juga memiliki nilai spiritual, disamping karakter penyeimbang amal yang berorientasi egoistik, dan alturistik, karakter materialistik dan spiritualistik dan kualitatif dan kuantitatif pada laporan keuangan dan penelitian ini juga menunjukkan bahwa nilai waktu uang, biaya historis, dasar akrual dan substansi diatas tidak sesuai dengan prinsip/nilai nilai Islam. Implikasi dari penelitian ini adalah meningkatkan kesadaran bagi regulator untuk menentukan standar akuntansi syariah khususnya konsep dasar akuntansi sesuai dengan nilai syariah. Kata Kunci: Sharia Compliance, Sharia Governance, Konsep Maslahah, Konsep Akuntansi.

This report provides a conceptual summary and critique of problem and pathological gambling and how these terms are used in policy, research and clinical practice. It summarises the varying disciplinary approaches to understanding gambling-related disorders; the distinction drawn between harm and behavioural indicators; issues in measurement; and, the significance of longitudinal evidence relating to the stability of gambling-related problems. ‘Pathological gambling’ is identified as the principal term used in psychiatric (e.g., DSM-IV) or medical literature and one which is defined largely in terms of the mechanisms which are central to substance use disorders (cravings, tolerance and withdrawal). By contrast, ‘problem gambling’ appears to have to two common usages. In one usage, problem gambling refers to a less severe form of the disorder; in another, it refers to a public health conceptualisation that defines the disorder largely in terms of its harmful consequences. Commonly used psychometric measures of the disorder vary in relation to which of these conceptualisations is captured, but most include items relating to both behavioural indicators of pathology as well as harmful impacts. Longitudinal evidence suggests that reported problem gambling symptoms are often not stable over time. Individuals commonly shift between categories and this suggests that gambling-related disorders are unlikely (at least in some individuals) to be solely determined by underlying neurophysiological and dispositional factors that are immutable over time. The report supports the view that the causes of problem and pathological gambling are likely to be multi-faceted and require multi-disciplinary approaches to understand the factors responsible for the development of the disorder as well as its maintenance.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects and challenges of the new amendment of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9 in Malaysia from the perspectives of regulators, auditors, accountants and academicians in Malaysian Islamic financial institutions. For the purpose of this study, this paper focuses on the recognition criteria perspective of the standard, which provides a basic understanding of the financial reporting framework. Design/methodology/approach Using 10 series of semi-structured interviews undertaken with key individuals in regulatory bodies, audit companies, full-fledged Malaysian Islamic Banks and Malaysian higher learning institutions. Findings The findings revealed that IFRS 9 strengthens International Accounting Standards 39 in terms of relevance and reliability, recognition of financial instruments and identification of business models. Nevertheless, Islamic financial institutions face challenges in terms of a faithful representation of fair value, substance over form, identification of financial instruments before recognition criteria and the extent of the role of risk management in reducing manipulation in identifying business models. Research limitations/implications This study provides implications to regulators and standard setters in Malaysia to enhance the quality of financial reporting framework and practices in Islamic financial institutions in this country using IFRS 9. Practical implications Practically, the findings of this study can be used by the regulators to resolve the issues that arise in adopting IFRS 9 among Islamic financial institutions to further enhance financial reporting quality. Originality/value The findings of this study are very important to ensure that the adoption of IFRS among Islamic financial institutions are in line with Sharīʿah principles. To date, no studies have been done on the challenges of adopting IFRS 9 among Islamic financial institutions in Malaysia.

Antidepressant drugs represent the principal form of treatment for major depressive disorder. While there are a plethora of medications available for this task, current drugs have many shortcomings. In the face of these deficiencies there is an ongoing search for new agents. The search has been guided, in part, by drug design based on existing agents and their putative mechanism of action. This has been less than fruitful in addressing inadequacies of existing medications as it has not produced compounds which are novel in terms of pharmacological mechanisms. Recent insights from molecular biological approaches hold promise for the discovery of novel compounds, in particular the so-called neurogenesis hypothesis suggests novel therapeutic approaches. Although significantly modified over the years, the monoamine hypothesis of depression and antidepressant drug action still remains an important driving force behind the development of new compounds. Several recently marketed agents and some in early-phase development tend to conform to these existing mechanistic hypotheses. Clearly the place of these agents in the treatment of depression is dependent on issues such as short- and long-term safety and efficacy. Duloxetine has been developed as a dual monoamine re-uptake inhibitor. Agomelatine is a compound with major effects on the circadian system as well as effects on subtypes of the serotonin receptor system. While the mechanism of action of this compound is not certain, recent evidence would suggest that the drug exerts its effects through antagonist actions at serotonin receptors. Compounds based on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, substance P antagonism and other neuropeptides have potential application for the treatment of depression but require further development before that potential is realized.

INTRODUCTION. This publication follows up the well-aimed discussion recently initiated by the journal in 2017-2019 [Abashidze, 2017; Nefedov, 2019] and to a certain extent continued in 2020 [Vylegzhanin, Potier, Torkunova, 2020], regarding one of the "pillar problems" for the legal theory pertaining to international law, which concerns its ‘principles’.The subject-matter of the study is determined by a number of circumstances that are atypical for any field of any science, when there is a variety of terms differed not only in name, but also in content, which relate to the cornerstones of relevant field or section of a particular branch of knowledge. As far as the international law science, this situation has been due to the availability of a wide range of different designations concerning its principles, and resulting the need to thoroughly peruse the same. Due to the above, genesis, historical evolution, nature, functional destination and role of the principles in the theory and practice of international law, including its basic principles as its normative grounds, which belong to the entire system of international law, should naturally be under thorough consideration. They seem to constitute the most sensibly weak point in the modern theory of international law due to obviously "multicolored" conceptual and terminological spectrum. It is important that the list of terms forwarded in relation to the principles is growing from day by day, and new ones are being added to the designations as "set-forth" to date. Thus, the afore-referred list encompassing "basic principles" and "generally recognized principles and norms of international law", "principles of general international law", "general principles of co-operation" (Article 11, para 1, of the UN Charter) in a particular field, as well as "general principles of law", "general principles of law recognized by civilized nations", etc., has recently been supplemented with "general legal principles", "basis principles" and "general principles of international law".The impressive range of the above concepts that are somehow found in the scholars’ writings and practice of international law frequently implicates the contradictory interpretations and unavoidable collisions in the course of conceiving the sense of and applying the norms, which accordingly require reducing ambiguities and therefore ensuring better regulation. To achieve the same, the only one thing may be effective – that is by way of revealing the fundamental properties of respective phenomena.Increase of negative assessment of current legal regulation of international relationships happening not only in literature, which the occurrences are quite frequent, evidences that the topics related to the principles of international law, are, firstly, not only fundamental issues to qualify the substantive component of the theory of international law, since it is directly n with the core matters of legal science that studies the captured system of law, but also stand as extremely acute point because of the continuous attacks on the effectiveness of international law as such (to the extent of complete denial of the same even in public statements made by official spokesmen of States), – secondly. Resultant from this, the growing skepticism about the effectiveness of principles gives raise mistrust in international law in whole. Therefore, the major steps required towards achieving the most important goal in the matter of raising high the credibility of the international law shall be deemed as follow: to conceive the essence of the concept of "principle"; identify and differentiate the phenomena corresponding to individual positions in the afore-referred list; construe the typology thereof, as well as reveal the relationship between some of them. A number of the said aspects are subject to be examined herein, while the rest of them should be given specifically a place within the scope of another publication.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The analysis undertaken in the article is based on normative and doctrinal materials that reflect the positive international law and law enforcement acts, other documents, including reports and research presentations of the UN International Law Commission, judicial decisions or advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice and other international judicial institutions, acts of international organizations, as well as the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists and practitioners in the field of international law and its history, which relate to the topic of this publication. The research enjoys both general and specific principles and methods of analysis: dialectical materialism, structural and system approaches, formal logics, deduction and induction, comparative law, historical and retrospective approach. The latter one is particularly fruitful for study of genesis and essence of the concept "principle of law", legal nature of principles in international law.RESEARCH RESULTS. The essay purports to reveal the essence of various designations construed on the basis of the element "principles", or similar phenomena in the aspect of international law. In the course of researchaiming the system-forming role of the basic principles of the IL and the comparative analysis thereof with jus cogens ("peremptory norms of general international law»,) the findings are that there is no reason for wide international practice to ignore the term and the concept of "basic principles" in cases when approaching to the concept of "peremptory norms of general international law" (jus cogens), since they do not substantially differ in a number of parameters. In both categories, sometimes it seems to appear a discrepancy or incomplete compliance with the criterion of "peremptory norms of general international law" (e.g. partial "opinio juris cogentis" / "non-derogability"), especially from formal-dogmatic stand, viz. with no comprehensive view on full legal scope of a rule of law. The totality of the theses put forward to solve the listed and other related problems on the basis of the approach laid down in the study from a theoretical point of view, as a whole, seems to form a new vector in legal theory, not only domestic, but also international, due to the lack of full-fledged, detailed research on the subject with such a discourse on a global scale.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. "Principles of international law", including the initial point, i.e. the concept of "basic principles", as well as a number of other notions connected with them, are subject to examination in the article, both as a phenomenon of positive international law and as a category of legal science (that one of international law). For Russian science of international law, the concept of "principles" / "basic principles of international law", securing the integrity and entirety of the IL system, performs the role of one of its major categories. The differences between "concept" and "category" in the tools of the theory of international law are determined by the postulates substantiated by philosophy. At the same time, in part of concepts and terminology, the international legal theory is characterized by a certain gap in the positions forwarded by domestic and Western jurisprudence. Conceptual approaches to the "principles" ("basic principles") and the resulting discrepancies in opinion quite radically differ, whereas to the term "principles" it is often attributed rather non-normative, ideological or teleological significance, while the functions of the norms having hierarchically superiority over other rules in international law, are allocated to the category of "peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)".

<p>There is no shortage of support for the idea that ethics should be incorporated into the academic and professional curriculum. There is a difference, however, between, on the one hand, teaching professionals about ethics, and, on the other, demanding that they give ethical expression to the range of professional skills they are expected to apply daily in their work. If this expression is not to be perfunctory, ethical judgement must be genuinely integrated into the professional skill set. The mark of integration in this regard is the capacity for autonomous judgement. Ethical autonomy cannot be achieved by a mechanical, rule-bound and circumstance-specific checklist of ethical do’s and don’ts, and it is only partially achieved by a move from mechanistic rules to ‘outcome based’ processes. Rather, professional ethical autonomy presupposes not only a formal understanding of the requirements of an ethical code of conduct, but a genuine engagement with the substantive values and techniques that enable practitioners to interpret and apply principles confidently over a range of circumstances. It is not then, that ethical skill is not valued by the legal profession or legal education, or that the shortfall of ethical skill goes unacknowledged, it is rather that the language of professional ethics struggles to break free from the cautious circularity that is the mark of its formal expression. To require a professional to ‘act in their client’s interests’, or ‘act in accordance with the expectations of the profession’ or act ‘fairly and effectively’ are formal, infinitely ambiguous and entirely safe suggestions; to offer a substantive account of what, specifically, those interests might be, or what expectations we should have, are rather more contentious. Fears of dogma and a narrowing of discretion do, of course, accompany the idea of a search for ethical substance, and caution is to be expected in response to it. Notwithstanding these anxieties, there would appear to be no coherent alternative to the aspiration to substantive autonomy, and this must remain the goal of teaching legal ethics. In light of this, the problem facing educationalists is then perhaps expressed more diplomatically in terms of how ethical skill might be substantively developed, imparted, and integrated into a genuinely comprehensive conception of professional skill.</p><p>Clinical education can go a long way to solving this problem: exposure to the practical tasks of lawyering is the surest and best way of raising consciousness in this regard: ‘Hands-on’ is good - and consciousness-raising is a step in the direction of autonomy, but raw experience and elevated awareness is not enough. We know that our most influential theories of learning tells us that it is in the process of reflection upon problem solving that the practitioner begins to take autonomous control of skill development. In the view of the author, reflection, requires content and direction, and in this paper, with the aid of three models of skill integration inspired by Nigel Duncan’s detailed analysis and video reconstruction of the ethical and technical skill deficiencies brought to light by R v Griffiths, we attempt to specify what might be understood in this regard: Reflective content refers to the discrete interests and values that compete to produce tension in what we will refer to the ‘matrix’ of concerns that feature in all forms of dispute resolution; reflective direction points to an engagement with the resources and techniques that can empower critical and autonomous judgment. In the context of a clinical process broadly structured by the insights of Wenger and by Rest’s model of ethical skill, guided reflection so specified thus serves as an interface between on the one hand, indeterminate ethical form, and, on the other, the substantive ethical wisdom to be found in the repository of values that underpin the very idea of the legal enterprise.</p>

In various texts (e.g., Met. Z.17), Aristotle assigns priority to form, in its role as a principle and cause, over matter and the matter-form compound. Given the central role played by this claim in Aristotle's search for primary substance in the Metaphysics, it is important to understand what motivates him in locating the primary causal responsibility for a thing's being what it is with the form, rather than the matter. According to Met. Theta.8, actuality [energeia/entelecheia] in general is prior to potentiality [dunamis] in three ways, viz., in definition, time and substance. I propose an explicitly causal reading of this general priority claim, as it pertains to the matter-form relationship. The priority of form over matter in definition, time and substance, in my view, is best explained by appeal to the role of form as the formal, efficient and final cause of the matter-form compound, respectively, while the posteriority of matter to form according to all three notions of priority is most plausibly accounted for by the fact that the causal contribution of matter is limited to its role as material cause. When approached from this angle, the work of Met. Theta.8 can be seen to lend direct support to the more specific and explicitly causal priority claim we encounter in Met. Z.17, viz., that form is prior to matter in its role as the principle and primary cause of a matter-form compound's being what it is.

Abstract The Singapore courts often state that judicial review of executive decision-making ought only to involve an inquiry into the ‘legality’ of a decision or the ‘decision-making process’, and not the ‘decision itself’ or its ‘merits’ – let us call this the ‘Distinction’. This article argues that the Distinction should be expunged from Singapore law. The Distinction has its roots in English case law which aimed to prevent the courts from arbitrarily substituting their decision for the executive's by reason of mere disagreement. But Singapore case law has gone further and treated the Distinction as a general principle applicable to all of administrative law. However, the Distinction is too vague for this purpose (as seen from Singapore cases which have interpreted the distinction inconsistently). It is conceptually problematic, incompatible with the practicalities of judicial review (particularly substantive review as recognised in Singapore law), and has occasionally been paid lip service but not followed in substance. The Distinction cannot form a coherent principle to guide the courts and ought to be replaced by a more nuanced application of constitutional principles relevant to determining the appropriate scope of review. Whatever these principles may be, and however they are to be balanced, the Distinction can be but an over-inclusive rough approximation of them which hampers the development of the law.

AbstractAs a response to widely reported corporate tax avoidance, the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting process has relied on modifying the Transfer Pricing Guidelines in order to align taxation with economic substance, a form of incremental rather than radical change. We interpret this strategy of the OECD as an attempt to prevent a loss of authority without a politically risky complete overhaul. However, given the imperfect reconciliation – or even incompatibility – with persisting principles of international tax law, the incremental changes add to the complexity and incoherence of the guidelines on transfer pricing, leading us to expect an increase in conflicting assessments and uncertainty in the near future. Identifying a diminishing capacity of expert networks to achieve consensus on matters with strong distributional consequences, we argue that the incoherence of the system contains the seeds of its own transformation. However, due to vested interests in the current system and the reinforced capacity of the OECD to intervene in public discourses, we expect this transformation to be procedural and marked by conflicts over the meaning of the current guidelines, notably with regards to the arm’s length principle and the measurement of value creation.

This study used a qualitative method of ethnography aimed Evaluation Accounting Principles Substance Over Form Formal perform On Government Accounting Standards By BPK Representative Province of North Sulawesi on Auditing of Local Government Finance Statement. Data collected by interviews and observations of key informants comprising five LKPD team leader. The results showed that the examiner shows sometimes there are variations in interpreting the six cases of substance over form in government accounting standards in the auditing of financial statements of the government. The lack of common ground in the assessment of the examiner, showed that in accounting principles-based approach to standard setting which assumes that the professional judgment by the examiner is uniform on each examination is a very difficult thing to do. It can affect the implementation of the tasks inspectors in carrying out the examination of financial statements of the government.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Over fifteen years ago, Martens and McEnroe (1992) conducted a behavioral study involving earnings management through the use of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Their findings indicated that auditors issued unqualified audit opinions on those financial statements and perceived little risk to litigation as a result. A decade later they conducted a similar study (Martens and McEnroe 2002) with the expectation that increased attention to earnings management by then chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arthur Levitt, would reduce auditors’ perceptions that the letter of GAAP is in itself an aegis or “safe harbor” against litigation. Although the authors found that auditors had become more conservative, they still issued unqualified opinions on financial statements in which transactions were reported in their form rather than their substance. Given the accounting scandals of Enron and WorldCom, among others, and the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002, especially with its officers’ certification requirements, it was posited that auditors would exhibit a much more conservative approach than in either of the two previous studies. The results indicate that although auditors are more conservative than in the 1992 study, they still allow clients to engage in earnings management practices through the use of GAAP by issuing unqualified audit opinions on their financial statements. <strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></strong></span></span></p>

ObjectiveImplement a novel surveillance system for recreational substance use, including toxicology testing, to enable situational awareness and more accurately assess the health care burden related to recreational substance use.IntroductionDrug overdose deaths are increasing nationally and in Minnesota (MN). This is only a fraction of the overall burden that recreational drug use exacts on emergency departments (ED) and hospitals. In addition to opioids and other drugs, three outbreaks of synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones have occurred in MN recently. ICD codes do not adequately identify patients treated for drug use. Also, toxicology data for these patients are limited: routine toxicology testing is not performed at hospitals as results are not timely enough to be useful for clinical care. Even when such testing is performed, hospital laboratories are unable to detect newer synthetic drugs. In order to more quickly respond to clusters of substance use, identify substances causing atypical symptoms or severe illness, and understand the burden of overdoses and substance use in MN, the MN Department of Health (MDH) developed the MN Drug Overdose and Substance Abuse Pilot Surveillance System (MNDOSA). MNDOSA data collection began in November 2017 and includes two pilot sites in Northeastern MN, and one in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.MethodsAll patients who present to a participating ED where the principal diagnosis is attributed to the recreational use of drugs or other substances (excluding alcohol alone and suicide attempts) are included. Reports are sent to MDH daily with a few key data variables. Specimens for a subset of “Patients of Special Interest” (PSI) are sent to the MDH Public Health Laboratory to be tested for a wide range of substances. PSI include patients who die in the ED, are hospitalized, have an unusual clinical presentation, and/or are part of a cluster. Medical records of the PSI are reviewed, and a standardized data abstraction form is completed.ResultsThrough August 24, 2018, 963 ED visits were reported to MNDOSA. The median age was 34 years for males, 33 for females. The majority of cases were male (68%) (Table 1). Among all patients reported to MNDOSA through August 24, 2018, 23% were hospitalized. A slightly higher percentage of females were hospitalized compared to males (27% vs. 22%; p=0.054).Opioids were one of the substances most frequently suspected by clinicians to be related to the health care encounter (28% of all reports for males and 37% for females). Heroin was more frequently suspected for females than males (27% for females, 19% males, p=0.012). Methamphetamine (27% of all reports for males and 28% for females) and synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones (24% for males and 6% females, p < 0.001) were also commonly suspected. Female patients were significantly more likely to have non-benzodiazepine prescription medication suspected (10% for females, 4% males, p < 0.001).Forty-one urine specimens from MNDOSA cases have been analyzed thus far (Table 2). One of the most frequently detected substances was methamphetamine, which was found in 26 samples (63%); however, only 20 (49%) were suspected by clinicians to have methamphetamine on board. Specimens of seven patients suspected to have been exposed to heroin were tested, yet only two tested positive for the major metabolite of heroin, while six were positive for fentanyl and two for acetyl fentanyl. With the exception of synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones, all substances were detected more frequently in toxicology testing than were suspected by the healthcare providers who made the MNDOSA report.ConclusionsMNDOSA is unique as it collects real-time data rather than relying on data sources with long delays in reporting. This allows for a near real-time response and notification of key stakeholders, such as the Poison Center, clinicians, local public health, and the public, when a new or concerning substance or cluster is identified. This innovative surveillance system has the potential to improve population health through describing patterns of drug overdose and substance use in MN communities, identifying clusters of drug overdoses in near-real time, identifying the specific substances causing severe illness and/or death, and describing at-risk populations to guide prevention efforts. Most importantly, MNDOSA can better estimate the overall health care burden related to recreational substance use, beyond the typical enumeration of overdose deaths.Toxicology lab results indicate that patients have substances such as methamphetamine, opioids, marijuana and cocaine on board more frequently than the attending provider suspects. Additionally, the number of substances detected in these specimens indicates that polysubstance use is highly prevalent among these cases. Having a better understanding of the substances that may be involved in a patient’s ED visit or hospitalization can help improve patient care. Improved toxicology testing of non-fatal cases would allow us to better describe the current landscape of substances used in our communities and provide situational awareness to public health professionals.This pilot is identifying surveillance challenges, determining feasibility, and establishing best methods for expansion to other sites. Lessons learned thus far include that active identification and reporting of MNDOSA patients are burdensome to ED staff; thus, an informatics-based approach to passively identify and report MNDOSA patients is vital to continued surveillance. Laboratory methods must be robust enough to resolve an ever-growing number of drugs and metabolites over a wide range of potential blood and urine concentrations. As the number of drugs, metabolites, and adulterants continues to grow, the toxicology panels used for testing need to continue expanding.MNDOSA next steps include incorporating an informatics-based approach to surveillance, expanding MNDOSA to other hospitals, evaluating the surveillance system against other data sources, and incorporating non-targeted toxicology testing to improve the ability to detect emerging and novel substances.

This article investigates the prosthesis of identity through the process of branding. It examines cross-cultural manifestations of this phenomena from sixth millennium BCE Syria to twelfth century Japan and Britain. From the Neolithic Era, humanity has sort to extend their identities using pictorial signs that were characteristically simple. Designed to be distinctive and instantly recognisable, the totemic symbols served to signal the origin of the bearer. Subsequently, the development of branding coincided with periods of increased in mobility both in respect to geography and social strata. This includes fifth millennium Mesopotamia, nineteenth century Britain, and America during the 1920s.There are fewer articles of greater influence on contemporary culture than A Theory of Human Motivation written by Abraham Maslow in 1943. Nearly seventy-five years later, his theories about the societal need for “belongingness” and “esteem” remain a mainstay of advertising campaigns (Maslow). Although the principles are used to sell a broad range of products from shampoo to breakfast cereal they are epitomised by apparel. This is with refence to garments and accessories bearing corporation logos. Whereas other purchased items, imbued with abstract products, are intended for personal consumption the public display of these symbols may be interpreted as a form of signalling. The intention of the wearers is to literally seek the fulfilment of the aforementioned social needs. This article investigates the use of brands as prosthesis.Coats and Crests: Identity Garnered on Garments in the Middle Ages and the Muromachi PeriodA logo, at its most basic, is a pictorial sign. In his essay, The Visual Language, Ernest Gombrich described the principle as reducing images to “distinctive features” (Gombrich 46). They represent a “simplification of code,” the meaning of which we are conditioned to recognise (Gombrich 46). Logos may also be interpreted as a manifestation of totemism. According to anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, the principle exists in all civilisations and reflects an effort to evoke the power of nature (71-127). Totemism is also a method of population distribution (Levi-Strauss 166).This principle, in a form garnered on garments, is manifested in Mon Kiri. The practice of cutting out family crests evolved into a form of corporate branding in Japan during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) (Christensen 14). During the Muromachi period (1336-1573) the crests provided an integral means of identification on the battlefield (Christensen 13). The adorning of crests on armour was also exercised in Europe during the twelfth century, when the faces of knights were similarly obscured by helmets (Family Crests of Japan 8). Both Mon Kiri and “Coat[s] of Arms” utilised totemic symbols (Family Crests of Japan 8; Elven 14; Christensen 13). The mon for the imperial family (figs. 1 & 2) during the Muromachi Period featured chrysanthemum and paulownia flowers (Goin’ Japaneque). “Coat[s] of Arms” in Britain featured a menagerie of animals including lions (fig. 3), horses and eagles (Elven).The prothesis of identity through garnering symbols on the battlefield provided “safety” through demonstrating “belongingness”. This constituted a conflation of two separate “needs” in the “hierarchy of prepotency” propositioned by Maslow. Fig. 1. The mon symbolising the Imperial Family during the Muromachi Period featured chrysanthemum and paulownia. "Kamon (Japanese Family Crests): Ancient Key to Samurai Culture." Goin' Japaneque! 15 Nov. 2015. 27 July 2019 <http://goinjapanesque.com/05983/>.Fig. 2. An example of the crest being utilised on a garment can be found in this portrait of samurai Oda Nobunaga. "Japan's 12 Most Famous Samurai." All About Japan. 27 Aug. 2018. 27 July 2019 <https://allabout-japan.com/en/article/5818/>.Fig. 3. A detail from the “Index of Subjects of Crests.” Elven, John Peter. The Book of Family Crests: Comprising Nearly Every Family Bearing, Properly Blazoned and Explained, Accompanied by Upwards of Four Thousand Engravings. Henry Washbourne, 1847.The Pursuit of Prestige: Prosthetic Pedigree from the Late Georgian to the Victorian Eras In 1817, the seal engraver to Prince Regent, Alexander Deuchar, described the function of family crests in British Crests: Containing The Crest and Mottos of The Families of Great Britain and Ireland; Together with Those of The Principal Cities and Heraldic Terms as follows: The first approach to civilization is the distinction of ranks. So necessary is this to the welfare and existence of society, that, without it, anarchy and confusion must prevail… In an early stage, heraldic emblems were characteristic of the bearer… Certain ordinances were made, regulating the mode of bearing arms, and who were entitled to bear them. (i-v)The partitioning of social classes in Britain had deteriorated by the time this compendium was published, with displays of “conspicuous consumption” displacing “heraldic emblems” as a primary method of status signalling (Deuchar 2; Han et al. 18). A consumerism born of newfound affluence, and the desire to signify this wealth through luxury goods, was as integral to the Industrial Revolution as technological development. In Rebels against the Future, published in 1996, Kirkpatrick Sale described the phenomenon:A substantial part of the new population, though still a distinct minority, was made modestly affluent, in some places quite wealthy, by privatization of of the countryside and the industrialization of the cities, and by the sorts of commercial and other services that this called forth. The new money stimulated the consumer demand… that allowed a market economy of a scope not known before. (40)This also reflected improvements in the provision of “health, food [and] education” (Maslow; Snow 25-28). With their “physiological needs” accommodated, this ”substantial part” of the population were able to prioritised their “esteem needs” including the pursuit for prestige (Sale 40; Maslow).In Britain during the Middle Ages laws “specified in minute detail” what each class was permitted to wear (Han et al. 15). A groom, for example, was not able to wear clothing that exceeded two marks in value (Han et al. 15). In a distinct departure during the Industrial Era, it was common for the “middling and lower classes” to “ape” the “fashionable vices of their superiors” (Sale 41). Although mon-like labels that were “simplified so as to be conspicuous and instantly recognisable” emerged in Europe during the nineteenth century their application on garments remained discrete up until the early twentieth century (Christensen 13-14; Moore and Reid 24). During the 1920s, the French companies Hermes and Coco Chanel were amongst the clothing manufacturers to pioneer this principle (Chaney; Icon).During the 1860s, Lincolnshire-born Charles Frederick Worth affixed gold stamped labels to the insides of his garments (Polan et al. 9; Press). Operating from Paris, the innovation was consistent with the introduction of trademark laws in France in 1857 (Lopes et al.). He would become known as the “Father of Haute Couture”, creating dresses for royalty and celebrities including Empress Eugene from Constantinople, French actress Sarah Bernhardt and Australian Opera Singer Nellie Melba (Lopes et al.; Krick). The clothing labels proved and ineffective deterrent to counterfeit, and by the 1890s the House of Worth implemented other measures to authenticate their products (Press). The legitimisation of the origin of a product is, arguably, the primary function of branding. This principle is also applicable to subjects. The prothesis of brands, as totemic symbols, assisted consumers to relocate themselves within a new system of population distribution (Levi-Strauss 166). It was one born of commerce as opposed to heraldry.Selling of Self: Conferring Identity from the Neolithic to Modern ErasIn his 1817 compendium on family crests, Deuchar elaborated on heraldry by writing:Ignoble birth was considered as a stain almost indelible… Illustrious parentage, on the other hand, constituted the very basis of honour: it communicated peculiar rights and privileges, to which the meaner born man might not aspire. (v-vi)The Twinings Logo (fig. 4) has remained unchanged since the design was commissioned by the grandson of the company founder Richard Twining in 1787 (Twining). In addition to reflecting the heritage of the family-owned company, the brand indicated the origin of the tea. This became pertinent during the nineteenth century. Plantations began to operate from Assam to Ceylon (Jones 267-269). Amidst the rampant diversification of tea sources in the Victorian era, concerns about the “unhygienic practices” of Chinese producers were proliferated (Wengrow 11). Subsequently, the brand also offered consumers assurance in quality. Fig. 4. The Twinings Logo reproduced from "History of Twinings." Twinings. 24 July 2019 <https://www.twinings.co.uk/about-twinings/history-of-twinings>.The term ‘brand’, adapted from the Norse “brandr”, was introduced into the English language during the sixteenth century (Starcevic 179). At its most literal, it translates as to “burn down” (Starcevic 179). Using hot elements to singe markings onto animals been recorded as early as 2700 BCE in Egypt (Starcevic 182). However, archaeologists concur that the modern principle of branding predates this practice. The implementation of carved seals or stamps to make indelible impressions of handcrafted objects dates back to Prehistoric Mesopotamia (Starcevic 183; Wengrow 13). Similar traditions developed during the Bronze Age in both China and the Indus Valley (Starcevic 185). In all three civilisations branding facilitated both commerce and aspects of Totemism. In the sixth millennium BCE in “Prehistoric” Mesopotamia, referred to as the Halaf period, stone seals were carved to emulate organic form such as animal teeth (Wengrow 13-14). They were used to safeguard objects by “confer[ring] part of the bearer’s personality” (Wengrow 14). They were concurrently applied to secure the contents of vessels containing “exotic goods” used in transactions (Wengrow 15). Worn as amulets (figs. 5 & 6) the seals, and the symbols they produced, were a physical extension of their owners (Wengrow 14).Fig. 5. Recreation of stamp seal amulets from Neolithic Mesopotamia during the sixth millennium BCE. Wengrow, David. "Prehistories of Commodity Branding." Current Anthropology 49.1 (2008): 14.Fig. 6. “Lot 25Y: Rare Syrian Steatite Amulet – Fertility God 5000 BCE.” The Salesroom. 27 July 2019 <https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/artemis-gallery-ancient-art/catalogue-id-srartem10006/lot-a850d229-a303-4bae-b68c-a6130005c48a>. Fig. 7. Recreation of stamp seal designs from Mesopotamia from the late fifth to fourth millennium BCE. Wengrow, David. "Prehistories of Commodity Branding." Current Anthropology 49. 1 (2008): 16.In the following millennia, the seals would increase exponentially in application and aesthetic complexity (fig. 7) to support the development of household cum cottage industries (Wengrow 15). In addition to handcrafts, sealed vessels would transport consumables such as wine, aromatic oils and animal fats (Wengrow 18). The illustrations on the seals included depictions of rituals undertaken by human figures and/or allegories using animals. It can be ascertained that the transition in the Victorian Era from heraldry to commerce, from family to corporation, had precedence. By extension, consumers were able to participate in this process of value attribution using brands as signifiers. The principle remained prevalent during the modern and post-modern eras and can be respectively interpreted using structuralist and post-structuralist theory.Totemism to Simulacrum: The Evolution of Advertising from the Modern to Post-Modern Eras In 2011, Lisa Chaney wrote of the inception of the Coco Chanel logo (fig. 8) in her biography Chanel: An Intimate Life: A crucial element in the signature design of the Chanel No.5 bottle is the small black ‘C’ within a black circle set as the seal at the neck. On the top of the lid are two more ‘C’s, intertwined back to back… from at least 1924, the No5 bottles sported the unmistakable logo… these two ‘C’s referred to Gabrielle, – in other words Coco Chanel herself, and would become the logo for the House of Chanel. Chaney continued by describing Chanel’s fascination of totemic symbols as expressed through her use of tarot cards. She also “surrounded herself with objects ripe with meaning” such as representations of wheat and lions in reference prosperity and to her zodiac symbol ‘Leo’ respectively. Fig. 8. No5 Chanel Perfume, released in 1924, featured a seal-like logo attached to the bottle neck. “No5.” Chanel. 25 July 2019 <https://www.chanel.com/us/fragrance/p/120450/n5-parfum-grand-extrait/>.Fig. 9. This illustration of the bottle by Georges Goursat was published in a women’s magazine circa 1920s. “1921 Chanel No5.” Inside Chanel. 26 July 2019 <http://inside.chanel.com/en/timeline/1921_no5>; “La 4éme Fête de l’Histoire Samedi 16 et dimache 17 juin.” Ville de Perigueux. Musée d’art et d’archéologie du Périgord. 28 Mar. 2018. 26 July 2019 <https://www.perigueux-maap.fr/category/archives/page/5/>. This product was considered the “financial basis” of the Chanel “empire” which emerged during the second and third decades of the twentieth century (Tikkanen). Chanel is credited for revolutionising Haute Couture by introducing chic modern designs that emphasised “simplicity and comfort.” This was as opposed to the corseted highly embellished fashion that characterised the Victorian Era (Tikkanen). The lavish designs released by the House of Worth were, in and of themselves, “conspicuous” displays of “consumption” (Veblen 17). In contrast, the prestige and status associated with the “poor girl” look introduced by Chanel was invested in the story of the designer (Tikkanen). A primary example is her marinière or sailor’s blouse with a Breton stripe that epitomised her ascension from café singer to couturier (Tikkanen; Burstein 8). This signifier might have gone unobserved by less discerning consumers of fashion if it were not for branding. Not unlike the Prehistoric Mesopotamians, this iteration of branding is a process which “confer[s]” the “personality” of the designer into the garment (Wengrow 13 -14). The wearer of the garment is, in turn, is imbued by extension. Advertisers in the post-structuralist era embraced Levi-Strauss’s structuralist anthropological theories (Williamson 50). This is with particular reference to “bricolage” or the “preconditioning” of totemic symbols (Williamson 173; Pool 50). Subsequently, advertising creatives cum “bricoleur” employed his principles to imbue the brands with symbolic power. This symbolic capital was, arguably, transferable to the product and, ultimately, to its consumer (Williamson 173).Post-structuralist and semiotician Jean Baudrillard “exhaustively” critiqued brands and the advertising, or simulacrum, that embellished them between the late 1960s and early 1980s (Wengrow 10-11). In Simulacra and Simulation he wrote,it is the reflection of a profound reality; it masks and denatures a profound reality; it masks the absence of a profound reality; it has no relation to any reality whatsoever: it is its own pure simulacrum. (6)The symbolic power of the Chanel brand resonates in the ‘profound reality’ of her story. It is efficiently ‘denatured’ through becoming simplified, conspicuous and instantly recognisable. It is, as a logo, physically juxtaposed as simulacra onto apparel. This simulacrum, in turn, effects the ‘profound reality’ of the consumer. In 1899, economist Thorstein Veblen wrote in The Theory of the Leisure Class:Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods it the means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure… costly entertainments, such as potlatch or the ball, are peculiarly adapted to serve this end… he consumes vicariously for his host at the same time that he is witness to the consumption… he is also made to witness his host’s facility in etiquette. (47)Therefore, according to Veblen, it was the witnessing of “wasteful” consumption that “confers status” as opposed the primary conspicuous act (Han et al. 18). Despite television being in its experimental infancy advertising was at “the height of its powers” during the 1920s (Clark et al. 18; Hill 30). Post-World War I consumers, in America, experienced an unaccustomed level of prosperity and were unsuspecting of the motives of the newly formed advertising agencies (Clark et al. 18). Subsequently, the ‘witnessing’ of consumption could be constructed across a plethora of media from the newly emerged commercial radio to billboards (Hill viii–25). The resulting ‘status’ was ‘conferred’ onto brand logos. Women’s magazines, with a legacy dating back to 1828, were a primary locus (Hill 10).Belonging in a Post-Structuralist WorldIt is significant to note that, in a post-structuralist world, consumers do not exclusively seek upward mobility in their selection of brands. The establishment of counter-culture icon Levi-Strauss and Co. was concurrent to the emergence of both The House of Worth and Coco Chanel. The Bavarian-born Levi Strauss commenced selling apparel in San Francisco in 1853 (Levi’s). Two decades later, in partnership with Nevada born tailor Jacob Davis, he patented the “riveted-for-strength” workwear using blue denim (Levi’s). Although the ontology of ‘jeans’ is contested, references to “Jene Fustyan” date back the sixteenth century (Snyder 139). It involved the combining cotton, wool and linen to create “vestments” for Geonese sailors (Snyder 138). The Two Horse Logo (fig. 10), depicting them unable to pull apart a pair of jeans to symbolise strength, has been in continuous use by Levi Strauss & Co. company since its design in 1886 (Levi’s). Fig. 10. The Two Horse Logo by Levi Strauss & Co. has been in continuous use since 1886. Staff Unzipped. "Two Horses. One Message." Heritage. Levi Strauss & Co. 1 July 2011. 25 July 2019 <https://www.levistrauss.com/2011/07/01/two-horses-many-versions-one-message/>.The “rugged wear” would become the favoured apparel amongst miners at American Gold Rush (Muthu 6). Subsequently, between the 1930s – 1960s Hollywood films cultivated jeans as a symbol of “defiance” from Stage Coach staring John Wayne in 1939 to Rebel without A Cause staring James Dean in 1955 (Muthu 6; Edgar). Consequently, during the 1960s college students protesting in America (fig. 11) against the draft chose the attire to symbolise their solidarity with the working class (Hedarty). Notwithstanding a 1990s fashion revision of denim into a diversity of garments ranging from jackets to skirts, jeans have remained a wardrobe mainstay for the past half century (Hedarty; Muthu 10). Fig. 11. Although the brand label is not visible, jeans as initially introduced to the American Goldfields in the nineteenth century by Levi Strauss & Co. were cultivated as a symbol of defiance from the 1930s – 1960s. It documents an anti-war protest that occurred at the Pentagon in 1967. Cox, Savannah. "The Anti-Vietnam War Movement." ATI. 14 Dec. 2016. 16 July 2019 <https://allthatsinteresting.com/vietnam-war-protests#7>.In 2003, the journal Science published an article “Does Rejection Hurt? An Fmri Study of Social Exclusion” (Eisenberger et al.). The cross-institutional study demonstrated that the neurological reaction to rejection is indistinguishable to physical pain. Whereas during the 1940s Maslow classified the desire for “belonging” as secondary to “physiological needs,” early twenty-first century psychologists would suggest “[social] acceptance is a mechanism for survival” (Weir 50). In Simulacra and Simulation, Jean Baudrillard wrote: Today abstraction is no longer that of the map, the double, the mirror or the concept. Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal… (1)In the intervening thirty-eight years since this document was published the artifice of our interactions has increased exponentially. In order to locate ‘belongness’ in this hyperreality, the identities of the seekers require a level of encoding. Brands, as signifiers, provide a vehicle.Whereas in Prehistoric Mesopotamia carved seals, worn as amulets, were used to extend the identity of a person, in post-digital China WeChat QR codes (fig. 12), stored in mobile phones, are used to facilitate transactions from exchanging contact details to commerce. Like other totems, they provide access to information such as locations, preferences, beliefs, marital status and financial circumstances. These individualised brands are the most recent incarnation of a technology that has developed over the past eight thousand years. The intermediary iteration, emblems affixed to garments, has remained prevalent since the twelfth century. Their continued salience is due to their visibility and, subsequent, accessibility as signifiers. Fig. 12. It may be posited that Wechat QR codes are a form individualised branding. Like other totems, they store information pertaining to the owner’s location, beliefs, preferences, marital status and financial circumstances. “Join Wechat groups using QR code on 2019.” Techwebsites. 26 July 2019 <https://techwebsites.net/join-wechat-group-qr-code/>.Fig. 13. Brands function effectively as signifiers is due to the international distribution of multinational corporations. This is the shopfront of Chanel in Dubai, which offers customers apparel bearing consistent insignia as the Parisian outlet at on Rue Cambon. Customers of Chanel can signify to each other with the confidence that their products will be recognised. “Chanel.” The Dubai Mall. 26 July 2019 <https://thedubaimall.com/en/shop/chanel>.Navigating a post-structuralist world of increasing mobility necessitates a rudimental understanding of these symbols. Whereas in the nineteenth century status was conveyed through consumption and witnessing consumption, from the twentieth century onwards the garnering of brands made this transaction immediate (Veblen 47; Han et al. 18). The bricolage of the brands is constructed by bricoleurs working in any number of contemporary creative fields such as advertising, filmmaking or song writing. They provide a system by which individuals can convey and recognise identities at prima facie. They enable the prosthesis of identity.ReferencesBaudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation. Trans. Sheila Faria Glaser. United States: University of Michigan Press, 1994.Burstein, Jessica. Cold Modernism: Literature, Fashion, Art. United States: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2012.Chaney, Lisa. Chanel: An Intimate Life. United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited, 2011.Christensen, J.A. Cut-Art: An Introduction to Chung-Hua and Kiri-E. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1989. Clark, Eddie M., Timothy C. Brock, David E. Stewart, David W. Stewart. Attention, Attitude, and Affect in Response to Advertising. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis Group, 1994.Deuchar, Alexander. British Crests: Containing the Crests and Mottos of the Families of Great Britain and Ireland Together with Those of the Principal Cities – Primary So. London: Kirkwood & Sons, 1817.Ebert, Robert. “Great Movie: Stage Coach.” Robert Ebert.com. 1 Aug. 2011. 10 Mar. 2019 <https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-stagecoach-1939>.Elven, John Peter. The Book of Family Crests: Comprising Nearly Every Family Bearing, Properly Blazoned and Explained, Accompanied by Upwards of Four Thousand Engravings. London: Henry Washbourne, 1847.Eisenberger, Naomi I., Matthew D. Lieberman, and Kipling D. Williams. "Does Rejection Hurt? An Fmri Study of Social Exclusion." Science 302.5643 (2003): 290-92.Family Crests of Japan. California: Stone Bridge Press, 2007.Gombrich, Ernst. "The Visual Image: Its Place in Communication." Scientific American 272 (1972): 82-96.Hedarty, Stephanie. "How Jeans Conquered the World." BBC World Service. 28 Feb. 2012. 26 July 2019 <https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17101768>. Han, Young Jee, Joseph C. Nunes, and Xavier Drèze. "Signaling Status with Luxury Goods: The Role of Brand Prominence." Journal of Marketing 74.4 (2010): 15-30.Hill, Daniel Delis. Advertising to the American Woman, 1900-1999. United States of Ame: Ohio State University Press, 2002."History of Twinings." Twinings. 24 July 2019 <https://www.twinings.co.uk/about-twinings/history-of-twinings>. icon-icon: Telling You More about Icons. 18 Dec. 2016. 26 July 2019 <http://www.icon-icon.com/en/hermes-logo-the-horse-drawn-carriage/>. Jones, Geoffrey. Merchants to Multinationals: British Trading Companies in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002.Kamon (Japanese Family Crests): Ancient Key to Samurai Culture." Goin' Japaneque! 15 Nov. 2015. 27 July 2019 <http://goinjapanesque.com/05983/>. Krick, Jessa. "Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895) and the House of Worth." Heilburnn Timeline of Art History. The Met. Oct. 2004. 23 July 2019 <https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wrth/hd_wrth.htm>. Levi’s. "About Levis Strauss & Co." 25 July 2019 <https://www.levis.com.au/about-us.html>. Lévi-Strauss, Claude. Totemism. London: Penguin, 1969.Lopes, Teresa de Silva, and Paul Duguid. Trademarks, Brands, and Competitiveness. Abingdon: Routledge, 2010.Maslow, Abraham. "A Theory of Human Motivation." British Journal of Psychiatry 208.4 (1942): 313-13.Moore, Karl, and Susan Reid. "The Birth of Brand: 4000 Years of Branding History." Business History 4.4 (2008).Muthu, Subramanian Senthikannan. Sustainability in Denim. Cambridge Woodhead Publishing, 2017.Polan, Brenda, and Roger Tredre. The Great Fashion Designers. Oxford: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009.Pool, Roger C. Introduction. Totemism. New ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969.Press, Claire. Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion. Melbourne: Schwartz Publishing, 2016.Sale, K. Rebels against the Future: The Luddites and Their War on the Industrial Revolution: Lessons for the Computer Age. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1996.Snow, C.P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1959. Snyder, Rachel Louise. Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008.Starcevic, Sladjana. "The Origin and Historical Development of Branding and Advertising in the Old Civilizations of Africa, Asia and Europe." Marketing 46.3 (2015): 179-96.Tikkanen, Amy. "Coco Chanel." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 19 Apr. 2019. 25 July 2019 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Coco-Chanel>.Veblen, Thorstein. The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study in the Evolution of Institutions. London: Macmillan, 1975.Weir, Kirsten. "The Pain of Social Rejection." American Psychological Association 43.4 (2012): 50.Williamson, Judith. Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising. Ideas in Progress. London: Boyars, 1978.

J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is appalled to learn that his lover is a victim of incest in Robert Towne and Roman Polanski’s definitive, yet subversive film Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974). Similarly, Ethan Mars (Pascale Langdale), the hero of the electronic game Heavy Rain (David Cage, 2010), is equally devastated to find his child has been abducted. One a cinema classic of the detective genre, the other a sophisticated electronic game: both ground-breaking, both compelling, but delivered in contrasting media. So, what do Chinatown and Heavy Rain have in common from the writer’s point of view? Can the writer of games learn from the legacy of film storytelling yet find alternative rules for new media? This article attempts to answer these questions making reference to the two works above to illuminate the gap between games writing and traditional screenwriting scholarship.Western commercial cinema has evolved to place story centrally and Chinatown is an example of a story’s potential as film art and entertainment concurrently. Media convention derives from the lessons of previous relatable art forms such as pictorial art, literature and architecture in the case of film; board games and centuries of physical gaming in the case of games design. Therefore, the invention of new media such as online and electronic gaming relies, in part, on the rules of film. However, game play has reassessed screenwriting and its applicability to this new media rendering many of these rules redundant. If Marshall McLuhan’s adage “the medium is the message” is correct, then despite the reliance of one medium on the traditions of its predecessor, gaming is simply not cinema. This article considers writing for games as axiomatically unconventional and calls for radical reinventions of storytelling within the new media.In order to investigate games writing, I will first revisit some of the rules of cinematic construction as inherited from an original Aristotelian source (Cleary). These rules require: a single focussed protagonist driving the plot; a consistent story form with narrative drive or story engine; the writer to avoid the repeated dramatic beat and; a reassessment of thematic concerns for the new technology. We should also investigate game-centric terminology such as “immersion” and “agency” to see how electronic gaming as an essentially postmodern phenomenon reciprocates, yet contrasts to, its cinematic predecessor (Murray, Hamlet 98/126). Must the maker of games subscribe to the filmmaker’s toolbox when the field is so very different? In order to answer this question, I will consider some concepts unique to games technology, firstly, the enduring debate known as ludology versus narratology. Gaming rhetoric since the late 1990s has questioned the efficacy of the traditional film narrative when adapted to game play. Players are still divided between the narratologists’ view, which holds that story within games is inevitable and the ludologists’ opinion, which suggests that traditional narrative has no place within the spatially orientated freedom of game play. Originally espousing the benefits of ludology, Janet H Murray argues that the essential formalism of gaming separates it from narrative, which Aarseth describes as representing “'colonialist' intrusions” on game play (46). Mimetic aspects inherited from narrative principles should remain incidental rather than forming an overarching hegemony within the game (Murray, "Last Word"). In this way, the ludologists suggest that game development has been undermined by the persistence of the narrative debate and Murray describes game studies as a “multi-dimensional, open-ended puzzle” worth solving on its own terms (indeed, cinema of attractions compelled viewers for thirty years before narrative cinema became dominant in the early twentieth century.Gaming history has proved this argument overblown and Murray herself questions the validity of this spurious debate within game play. She now includes the disclaimer that, ironically, most ludologists are trained in narratology and thus debate a “phantom of their own creation” (Murray, "Last Word"). This implies a contemporary opposition to ludology’s original meaning and impacts upon screenwriting principles in game making. Two further key concepts, which divide the medium of game entirely from the art of cinema are “immersion” and “agency” (Murray, Hamlet 98/126). Murray likens immersion to the physical sensation of being “submerged in water” pointing out that players enjoy the psychologically immersive phenomenon of delving into an undiscovered reality (Murray, Hamlet 98). Although distinct from the passive experience of cinema viewing, this immersion is like the experience of leaving the ordinary world and diving into the special world as Christopher Vogler’s screenwriting theory suggests. The cinema audience is encouraged to immerse themselves in the new world of Gittes’s Chinatown from the comfort of their familiar one. Similarly, the light-hearted world of the summer home contrasts Heavy Rain’s decent into urban, neo-noir corruption. Contrary to its cinematic cousin, the immediacy and subjectivity of the new media experience is more tangible and controllable, which renders immersion in games more significant and brings us to the next gaming concept, agency.To describe agency, Murray uses the complex metaphor of participatory dance, with its predetermined structures, “social formulas” and limited opportunities to change the overall “plot” of the dance: “The slender story is designed to unfold in the same way no matter what individual audience members may do to join the fun” (Hamlet 126-27). In electronic gaming, time-honoured gaming traditions from chess and board games serve as worthy predecessors. In this way, sophisticated permutations of outcome based on the player’s choice create agency, which is “the satisfying power to take meaningful action and see the results of our decisions and choices” (Murray, Hamlet 126). Bearing this in mind, when narrative enters game play, a world of possibility opens up (Murray, Hamlet).So where do the old rules of cinema apply within gaming and where is the maker of games able to find alternatives based on their understanding of agency and immersion? McLuhan’s unconventional scholarship leads the way, by pointing out the alternativity of the newer media. I consider that the rules of cinematic construction are also often disregarded by the casual viewer/player, but of utmost importance to the professional screenwriter.Amongst these rules is the screenwriting convention of having a single protagonist. This is a being fuelled with desire and a clear, visually rendered, actively negotiated goal. This principle persists in cinema according to Aristotle’s precepts (Cleary). The protagonist is a single entity making decisions and taking actions, even if that entity is a collection of individuals acting as one (Dethridge). The exploits of this main character (facing an opposing force of antagonism) determine the path of the story and for that reason a clear, single-minded narrative line is echoed in a single story form (McKee). For example, the baffling depth of meaning in Chinatown still emanates from protagonist J.J. Gittes’s central determination: to solve the crime suggested by the Los Angeles water shortage. The audience’s ability to identify and empathise with Gittes is paramount when he discovers the awful perversion his love interest, Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), has been subjected to. However, the world of Chinatown remains intriguing as a string of corruption is revealed though a detective plot fuelled by our hero’s steadfast need to know the truth. In this way, a single protagonist’s desire line creates a solid story form. Conversely, in computer games (and despite the insistence of Draconian screenwriting lecturers who insist on replicating cinematic rules) the effect of a multiple protagonist plot still allows for the essential immersion in an imaginative world. In Heavy Rain, for example, the search for clues through the eyes of several related characters including a hapless father, a hangdog, ageing detective and a hyper-athletic single mother still allows for immersion. The player/interactor’s actions still create agency even as they change avatars from scene to scene. The player also negotiates for mastery of their character’s actions in order to investigate their situation, facts and world. However, each time the player switches their character allegiance, they revert to square one of their potential identification with that character. Indeed, in Heavy Rain, the player keenly aware of the chilling effect generated by the father losing his child in a busy shopping mall, but then another avatar steps forward, then another and the player must learn about new and unfamiliar characters on a scene-by-scene basis. The accumulative identification with a hero like Chinatown’s Gittes, begins with an admiration for his streetwise charm, then strengthens through his unfolding disillusionment and is cemented with Polanski’s brilliant invention: the death of Evelyn Mulwray replete with its politico-sexual implications (Polanski). However, does this mean cinematic identification is superior to game play’s immersion and agency? McLuhan might argue it is not and that the question is meaningless given that the “message” of games is axiomatically different. Traditional screenwriting scholarship therefore falters in the new medium. Further, Heavy Rain’s multi-protagonist miasma conforms to a new breed of structure: the mosaic plot, which according to Murray mirrors the internet’s click and drag mentality. In this sense, a kaleidoscopic world opens in pockets of revelation before the player. This satisfies the interactor in a postmodernist sense: an essential equality of incoming information in random, nonlinear connections. Indeed electronic games of this nature are a triumph of postmodernism and of ludology’s influence on the narratologist’s perspective. Although a story form including clues and detection still drives the narrative, the mosaic realisation of character and situation (which in a film’s plot might seem meandering and nonsensical) is given life by the agency and immersion provided by gaming (Truby).Back in traditional screenwriting principles, there is still the need for a consistent and singular story form providing a constant narrative drive (McKee). As mentioned, this arises from the protagonist’s need. For example a revenge plot relies on the hero’s need for vengeance; a revelation plot like Chinatown hinges on detection. However, first time screenwriting students’ tendency to visualise a story based unconsciously on films they have previously seen (as a bricolage of character moments arranged loosely around a collection of received ideas) tends to undermine the potential effectiveness of their story form. This lack of singularity in filmic writing indicates a misunderstanding of story logic. This propensity in young screenwriters derives from a belief that if the rendered filmic experience means something to them, it will necessarily mean something to an audience. Not so: an abandoned story drive or replaced central character diminishes the audience’s enjoyment and even destroys suspension of disbelief. Consequently, the story becomes bland and confusing. On investigation, it appears the young screenwriter does not realise that they are playing out an idea in their head, which is essentially a bricolage in the postmodern sense. Although this might lead to some titillating visual displays it fails to engage the audience as the result of their participation in an emotional continuum (Hayward). In contradistinction to film, games thrive on such irregularities in story, assuming radically different effects. For example, in cinema, the emotional response of a mass audience is a major draw card: if the filmic story is an accumulation of cause and effect responses, which steadily drive the stakes up until resolution, then it is the emotional “cathexis” as by-product of conflict that the audience resonates with (Freud 75; Chekhov). Does this transfer to games? Do notions such as feeling and empathy actually figure in game play at all? Or is this simply an activity rewarding the interactor with agency in lieu of deeper, emotive experiences? This final question could be perceived as anti-gaming sentiment given that games such as Heavy Rain suggest just such an emotional by-product. Indeed, the mechanics of gaming have the ability to push the stakes even higher than their cinematic counterparts, creating more complex emotionality in the player. In this way, the intentional psychological malaise of Heavy Rain solicits even greater emotion from players due to their inherent act of will. Where cinema renders the audience emotional by virtue of its passivity, no such claim is possible in the game. For example, where in Chinatown, Gittes tortures his lover by repeatedly slapping her, in Heavy Rain the character must actively perform torture on themself in order to solve the mystery. Further, the potential for engagement is extended given there are fourteen possible endings to Heavy Rain. In this way, although the film viewer’s emotional response is tempered by guessing the singular outcome, the multiple endings of this electronic game prevent such prescience (films can have multiple endings, but game mechanics lend the new media more readily to this function, therefore, game books with dice-rolling options are a stronger precedent then cinema).Also effective for the construction of cinema is Aristotle’s warning that the repetition of story and expositional information without rising stakes or any qualification of meaning creates a sense of “dramatic stall” for the audience (Aristotle). This is known as a repeated dramatic story beat and it is the stumbling block of many first time screenwriters. The screenplay should be an inventive effort to overcome escalating obstacles and an accumulative cause and effect chain on the part of the protagonist (Truby). The modern screenwriter for film needs to recognise any repeated beat in their early drafting and delete or alter the repetitive material. What then are the implications of repeated dramatic beats for the game writer? The game form known as “first person shooter” (FPS) depends on the appearance of an eternally regenerating (indeed re-spawning) enemy. In an apocalyptic zombie shooter game, for example, many hordes of zombies die unequivocally without threatening the interactor’s intrigue. Presumably, the antagonists are not intended to pose intellectual opposition for the gamer. Rather, the putrefying zombies present themselves for the gamer’s pugilistic satisfaction, again and again. For the game, therefore, the repeated beat is a distinct advantage. They may come harder and faster, but they are still zombies to be dispatched and the stakes have not necessarily risen. Who cares if this is a succession of repeated beats? It is just good clean fun, right? This is where the ludologists hold sway: to impose principles such as non-repeated beats and rising stakes on the emergence of a world based on pure game play offers no consequence for the FPS game. Nevertheless, the problem is exacerbated in “role play games” (RPG) of which Heavy Rain is an example. Admittedly, the gamer derives effective horror as our hero negotiates his way amongst a sea of disassociated shoppers searching for his lost child. The very fact of gamer agency should abnegate the problem, but does not, it merely heightens the sense of existential hopelessness: turning face after face not finding the child he is searching for is a devastating experience exacerbated by active agency (as opposed to the accepting passivity of cinema spectatorship). The rising panic in the game and the repetition of the faces of impassive shoppers also supports the player’s ongoing disorientation. The iconic appearance of the gruff clown handing out balloons further heightens the panic the gamer/protagonist experiences here. These are examples of repeated beats, yet effective due to player agency. The shoppers only persist until the gamer masters the situation and is able to locate the missing child. Thus, it is the capacity of the gamer to circumvent such repetition, which actually propels the game forward. If the gamer is adept, they will overcome the situation easily; if they are inexperienced, the repetition will continue. So, why apply traditional narrative constrictions on game play within a narrative game?Another crucial aspect of story is theme, which in the young writer reflects a postmodernist fetishisation of plot over story. In fact, theme is one of the first concepts to be ignored when a film student puts pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) when designing their game. In this way, the themes students choose to ignore resurface despite their lack of conscious application of them. They write plot, and plot in abundance (imperative for the modern writer (Truby)), which the mosaic structure of games accommodates for seamlessly. However, plot is causative and postmodern interpretations do not necessarily require the work of art to “say” anything beyond the “message” trapped in the clichés of their chosen genre (McLuhan). In concentrating on plot, therefore, the young writer says what they are unaware they are saying. At its most innocuous level this creates cliché. At its worst, it erases history and celebrates an attitude of unexamined ignorance toward the written material (Hayward). In extreme cases, student writers of both media support fascism, celebrate female masochism, justify rape (with or without awareness), or create nihilistic and derivative art, which sensationalises violence to a degree not possible within film technology. This is ironic given that postmodernism is defined, in part, by a canny reaction to modernist generation of meaning and cynicism toward the technology of violence. In all this postmodernism, that illusive chestnut known as “originality” (a questionable imperative still haunting the conventional screenplay despite the postmodernist declamation that there is no such thing) should also be considered. Although the game writer can learn from the lessons of the screenwriter, the problems of game structure and expression are unique to the new medium and therefore alternative to film. Adhering to traditional understandings of screenwriting in games is counterproductive to the development of the form and demands new assessment. If gaming students are liberated from narratologist impositions of cinematic story structures, will this result in better or more thoughtful games? Further to the ludologists’ original protestation against the ““colonialist” intrusions” of narrative on game play, film writing must recede where appropriate (Aarseth). Then again, if a ludologist approach to game creation renders the student writer free of filmic dogma, why do they impose the same stories repetitively? What gain comes from ignoring the Aristotelian traditions of storytelling–especially as derived from screen culture? I suggest that storytelling, to echo McLuhan’s statement, must necessarily change with the new medium: the differences are illuminating. The younger, nonlinear form embodies the player as protagonist and therefore should not need to impose the single protagonist regime from film. Story engine has been replaced by player agency and game mechanics, which also allows for inventive usage of the repeated beat. Indeed, postmodern and ludological concerns embedded within mosaic plots almost entirely replace the need for any consistency of story form while still subverting the expectations of modernism? Genre rules are partly reinvented by the form and therefore genre conventions in gaming are still in their infancy. Indeed, the very amorality of nihilistic game designers opens a space for burgeoning post-postmodernist concerns regarding ethics and faith within art. In any case, the game designer may choose the lessons of film writing’s modernist legacy if story is to be effective within the new medium. However, as meaning derives from traditional form, it might be wiser to allow the new medium its own reinvention of writing rules. Given Heavy Rain’s considerable contribution to detective genre in game play by virtue of its applying story within new media, I anticipate further developments that might build on Chinatown’s legacy in the future of gaming, but on the game play’s own terms.ReferencesAarseth, Espen. Genre Trouble: Narrativism and the Art of Simulation. First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT P, 2004. Aristotle. Poetics. Australia: Penguin Classics, 1997.Chekhov, Michael. Lessons for the Professional Actor. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1985.Chinatown. Roman Polanski. Paramount Golden Classics, 2011.Cleary, Stephen. “'What Would Aristotle Do?' Ancient Wisdom for Modern Screenwriters.” Stephen Cleary Lecture Series, 1 May 2011. Melbourne, Vic.: Victorian College of the Arts.Dethridge, Lisa. Writing Your Screenplay. Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2003.Freud, Sigmund. “On Narcissism: An Introduction.” On Metapsychology: The Theory of Psychoanalysis. 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