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Criticisms of rights
No full textThis book presents a critical legal defence of human rights. To do so, requires, first, an engagement with the many criticisms surrounding rights. This is the aim of this chapter. First, there begins an analysis of an unholy alliance of conservative (Edmund Burke), utilitarian (Jeremy Bentham) and communist (Karl Marx) perspectives. These critical perspectives coalesce around the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, 1789, primarily the rights of man, which we associate with the more common term, natural rights. For many of these critics, natural rights were vague and unclear, deceiving ordinary people into thinking that they had more power than they really did. Furthermore, this idea of the ‘universality’ of natural rights had failed to consider the differences between one society and another. Indeed, not only were there problems with the uncertainty of natural rights, but there were problems with the holders of such rights, too. Who were they? And did natural rights annexe the rights-holder from their society? Modern articulations of, say, Edmund Burke’s criticisms have found favour in the writings of Hannah Arendt and Giorgio Agamben. Has the persecution of peoples occurred because individuals were no longer subject to the safety and security of a country, meaning they lacked the fundamental ‘right to rights’? What about the rights of groups? Have considerations surrounding gender and sexual orientation, race, disability etc been abandoned in the discourse of rights? Indeed, has the discourse of rights gone too far? Are questions of eg. social justice more relevant to political rather than legal arenas? Are there too many rights, downplaying and trivialising existing ones? These are questions which this chapter explores
Non-pharmacological treatment for psychological health in older people with frailty: a commentary on a systematic review.
Get PDFFrailty is a multi-dimensional syndrome commonly associated with older age and characterised by reduced physical, mental and social reserve. Prevalence rates for frailty in older adults continue to rise, putting individuals at increased risk of adverse events such as falls, disability and early death. Psychological health is also affected, and depression is more common in older adults with frailty. Treatment for this population is more likely to be pharmacological than psychological, meaning an increased risk for polypharmacy and side effects. A systematic review was undertaken by Tao et al. 2023 to explore non-pharmacological interventions for older adults with frailty on psychological outcomes. This commentary will critically appraise the review, consider the review’s implications for community practice, and discuss requirements for further research
Formulation and in vitro evaluation of an effervescent floating tablet of cefpodoxime proxetil prepared as an amorphous solid dispersion
Get PDFThis study aimed to prepare an effervescent floating tablet to protect cefpodoxime proxetil (CP) from enzymatic hydrolysis and higher pH degradation in the lower parts of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). CP was prepared as amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) with soluplus and Polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 (PVP K30) in a ratio of 1:1:1 by solvent evaporation technology. Effervescent floating tablet formulations were prepared in different compositions and ratios by direct compression techniques using polyethylene oxide (PEO), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose K4M (HPMC K4M), sodium alginate (Na alginate) as a hydrophilic matrix, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), and citric acid as a gas-generating agent. These formulations were evaluated for floating ability and in vitro drug release. Then, an optimized tablet was performed to determine the hardness, friability, content uniformity, weight variation, and swelling index. The optimum formulation showed good buoyancy properties and extended drug release characteristics for 24 hours (hrs). The post-compression evaluation's parameters are within the limits of U.S. Pharmacopoeia. According to these results, the development of effervescent floating tablets of CP prepared as ASD could be effectively applied
Metallicity differences between Type IIP and stripped-envelope supernova environments.
No full textThis work presents measurements of local Hii environment metallicities of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) in hosts with redshifts up to z∼0.025. 139 SNe environments were observed at the Isaac Newton Telescope and data of an additional 268 SNe environments were found in archival data of MUSE, MaNGA and PISCO. The project focuses on SNe with clean Type IIP, Type Ib and Type Ic classifications. We present the largest spectroscopic sample to date, evaluating environment metallicities of 79 Type Ib, 66 Type Ic and 93 Type IIP by N2 and O3N2 strong emission line methods. The cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) of the SN environment metallicities show Type Ib and Type Ic SNe tending towards higher metallicity than Type IIP. We test the null hypothesis that Type Ib/Ic/IIP progenitors are drawn from the same parent population. There is no statistically significant difference between progenitors of Type Ib and Type Ic SNe. However, when comparing Ib/Ic with IIP SNe, the tests indicate strong statistical significance (significance level better than 1%) to reject our null hypothesis suggesting that the samples are not drawn from the same parent population. The significance is even higher (level better 0.1%) when testing Type IIP vs. the combined Type Ib+Ic sample. These results support a different physical nature of Type IIP and Types Ib/Ic progenitors. It challenges stellar evolution and SNe explosion models to reproduce the distinct CDFs found
Conclusion
No full textIn the 1960s, many of the legal rules and vocabularies we take for granted today did not exist or were still in their infancy. It is in that perspective that the Cyprus Question remains a problem of its time without definitive answers to the multiplicity of legal questions arising. At the same time, the nature of international lawyers’ engagement with their discipline raises its own separate challenges when discussing questions of war and peace
Audit Committees and the Quality of Standalone Sustainability Reporting, Considering the Moderating Role of External Assurance: Evidence From the Global Chemical Industry
No full textSustainability reporting and its assurance are increasingly becoming globally mandatory, alongside the issuance of international standards for sustainability assurance aimed at boosting the confidence and trust of investors, regulators and other stakeholders in sustainability-related disclosures. The objective of this paper is to investigate how the interplay between external assurance and an effective audit committee (AC) might influence the quality of GRI standalone sustainability reporting. Using the GRI Standards (2016), a disclosure index with 32 items referring to six quality indicators was developed to assess the quality of the sustainability reports of 104 chemical firms from 36 countries for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. Our panel regression showed that increased numbers of AC members, along with their higher levels of independence, directly improve the quality of sustainability reporting. However, when external assurance is involved as a moderating variable, sustainability reporting quality is further enhanced by smaller AC size, greater sustainability expertise and a higher proportion of female AC members. This study makes an original contribution by addressing a gap in the literature regarding the impact of AC sustainability expertise, as well as the moderating role of external assurance on the relationship between AC characteristics and the quality of sustainability reports. The research provides a valuable assessment tool for chemical firms to benchmark the quality of their sustainability reporting and offers insights for shaping sustainable business strategies. The findings will help raise awareness among regulators, policymakers and industry stakeholders about the need to incorporate sustainability experts, achieve better gender balance in AC and engage external auditors in the sustainability reporting process
Evaluation of a participatory action project to improve safety and outcomes in maternity care
Get PDFBackground: Maternal violence, in terms of obstetric violence and/or the disrespect and abuse of women and birthing people accessing maternity care, is a global concern. This mistreatment and experience of maternal violence and harm has negative physical and psychological impacts on women, birthing people and their babies. This paper evaluates a multipartner project which aimed to co-produce specialist resources to support women and birthing people who had experienced violence and harm. The evaluation sought to understand the collaborative and co-production processes employed and to identify recommendations and learning from the project. Methods: An ethnographic-based evaluation based on action research and participatory action research principles was undertaken using qualitative interviews, documentary review and observations. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: A total of 18 interviews were conducted with 21 participants from the lead, project partner and onward grant recipient organizations. In addition, 80 documents were reviewed, and 9 collaborative group meetings and 2 in-person events were observed. Factors which supported and inhibited effective collaborative working and co-production were identified in five aspects: ensuring inclusivity, clarity and transparency, building and maintaining relationships, collaboration and cooperation and active learning. Conclusions: Effective collaborative co-production needs to consider issues of inclusivity and diversity and to ensure clarity and transparency in terms of remit, commitments and finances. Building and maintaining relationships between partners and communities by creating a safe space for participation and inclusive leadership was crucial. Recommendations from the evaluation include the need to ensure mechanisms for clear communication within projects from their inception as well as the need to acknowledge and proactively address issues of diversity and inclusivity throughout all aspects of the co-production process to support the fullest participation from diverse stakeholders
The Translatability of the Colloquial Arabic Dialogue into English: A Case Study of three Arabic novels translated by Marilyn Booth: The Open Door, Celestial Bodies, and As Though She were Sleeping
Get PDFThis study aims at investigating the strategies employed in translating Colloquial Arabic (CA) dialogues and dialects within three contemporary Arabic novels into English. The study selects three novels: one each from Egypt, Lebanon, and Oman. A unifying factor among these novels is their use of CA dialogue. Furthermore, all three novels were translated by the same translator: the American translator and academic Marilyn Booth. The rationale behind the selection of these three novels in relation to the fieldwork methodology is justified by the initial assumption that the three novels reflect three main geographical and dialectal regions: the Levant, Egypt and the Gulf states.
The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative elements to maximize the comprehensiveness of the findings. This entails a case study analysis of the three novels alongside a questionnaire distributed to 50 professional literary translators working between Arabic and English. The literary translators highlighted in this study are practitioners specializing in translation between Arabic and English. These translators possess substantial expertise and a record of published works in the field of literary translation, particularly focusing on contemporary Arabic novels and contemporary English-language novels, with specific attention to the handling of dialectal variations. The questionnaire serves the purpose of gathering the participants’ insights and opinions on the translatability of CA dialogues and dialects into English.
This study establishes its originality by offering a rare platform for literary translators between Arabic and English to voice their perspectives on translating CA dialogues and dialects in contemporary Arabic novels. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this represents one of the few instances where such literary translators have been directly consulted within academic research. The theoretical framework underpinning this research draws upon Skopos Theory and Christiane Nord’s translation-oriented Model of Text Functions, providing a foundation for the analysis.
The research findings unveil that translating CA dialogues and dialects into formal English often obscures many character details within the source text. Consequently, the cultural, social, and educational standing of characters in the target text loses some nuance compared to the source text. The research holds the potential to benefit a diverse range of stakeholders, including literary translators, scholars of translation studies, and readers of translated contemporary Arabic literature in English. Furthermore, it paves the way for parallel studies exploring the translatability of other dialects in other languages.
This research opens doors to a fruitful exchange of knowledge between translation studies and other disciplines, including dialectology, discourse analysis, and social media communication. By highlighting the significance of context and culture in shaping the translator’s perspective, the research emphasizes the importance of accurately conveying these elements in the final translated text, particularly when dealing with sections rich in CA dialogue and dialects employed by contemporary Arab novelists in the source text
The effect of personality and individual cultural orientations on consumer buying behaviour during a pandemic.
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped consumer behaviour worldwide, prompting an urgent need to understand the underlying factors driving these changes. While past studies examined different factors affecting consumer actions during crises, the effects of personality and culture have been largely overlooked. Meanwhile, extant research suggests that personality and culture are crucial predictors of human attitudes and behaviour, including buying patterns. In this light, this thesis investigates the influence of personality traits and cultural orientations on consumer behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. It consists of two studies. The first study examines the impact of the Big Five personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience) and the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy) on six key consumer behaviours observed during the pandemic: stockpiling, reactive health-minded buying, proactive health-minded buying, minimizing interaction with salespeople, switching to value-priced products, and increased technology purchases. The second study explores the role of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Collectivism, Masculinity, and Long-Term Orientation) in shaping these six behaviours.
The sample consists of the consumers permanently residing in the Republic of Cyprus, excluding those from the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” Data were collected using a stratified random sampling method, resulting in 426 valid questionnaires completed by the consumers in shopping malls and public places. Participants' age ranged from 18 to over 65, with the majority being in the 35-44 age group. The gender split was relatively balanced in Study 1 but skewed towards females in Study 2. Most participants had a college degree or higher, with a reasonable balance between single and married individuals, and a diverse distribution of income levels.
Consumer behaviours in this study were classified as primary and secondary. Primary behaviours were mainly observed at the beginning of the pandemic and included stockpiling, reactive health-minded buying, and proactive health-minded buying. Secondary behaviours emerged at a later stage of the pandemic and included minimization of the interaction with salespeople, switching to value-priced products, and buying more technology gadgets. The key findings showed that stockpiling is predicted by Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Narcissism, as well as Power Distance,
Uncertainty Avoidance, Long-Term Orientation, and Masculinity. Reactive health-minded buying is affected by Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Psychopathy, Narcissism, and cultural dimensions such as Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. Proactive health-minded buying is driven by the same personality traits and cultural dimensions. Further, minimization of interaction with salespeople is predicted by all the Big Five traits except Agreeableness, and is also affected by Machiavellianism and Narcissism, as well as Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. Switching to value-priced products is associated with Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Psychopathy, and cultural dimensions such as Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. The inclination to buy technology gadgets is influenced by all the examined traits except Agreeableness and Machiavellianism, and cultural dimensions such as Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Collectivism.
These findings highlight the critical role of personality and cultural factors in shaping consumer behaviour during health crises. There are valuable frameworks for both academics and practitioners. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of how individual psychological traits, cultural contexts, and buying behaviours interact and hence contributes significantly to the literature on consumer reactions to crisis situations. From a managerial perspective, this study offers guidelines for targeted marketing strategies and public policies to manage consumer behaviour effectively during future pandemics. It gives actionable insights for businesses and policymakers to tailor their strategies to different consumer profiles which might enhance the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and public health initiatives. This research underscores the complexity of consumer behaviour in times of crisis and provides a robust foundation for future research in this field