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Assessment Framework for the Compatibility of Islamic and Human Rights Law
Get PDFThis article proposes a compatibility assessment framework for specifying and narrowing down the Muslim States parties’ generic and vague reservations to the UN core human rights treaties and the corresponding equally generic and vague objections by non-Muslim States parties. These reservations and objections seem to be informed by misperceptions about human rights and Islamic law. I argue that human rights and Islamic law are, to a greater extent, compatible and further compatibility may be achieved by employing the proposed contextual interpretive approach: to interpret human rights and Islamic law in their historic and contemporary social contexts. I tested the framework by conducting compatibility assessment of the foundations, objectives and purposes, jus cogens and nuṣūṣ and the limitation schemes of human rights and Islamic law and found them to be compatible. This article aims to contribute to better understanding of human rights and Islamic law which would assist in maximising the application and enjoyment of human rights in the Muslim States and bolster cooperation in developing respect for and promoting human rights required under Articles 1 and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations
Associations of objective and perceived social status with well-being in dyads of people with dementia and their caregivers: findings from the IDEAL programme
Get PDFPurpose: Social status is related to disparities in health and well-being outcomes in people with dementia (PwD). Few studies have explored the interpersonal influence of social status of PwD on the well-being of their caregiver, or vice versa. We investigated this relationship using measures of objective and perceived (subjective) social status. Methods: The actor-partner interdependence model was used to investigate dyadic relationships of social status and well-being in 1042 PwD and their spousal caregivers from the IDEAL study. Objective indicators of social status included education, social class and socioeconomic classification. Perceived social status included social comparison and ratings of status in society and in one’s community. Results: Of the objective social status indicators, actor effects were only observed for caregiver education and their own well-being. Actor effects for perceived social status were stronger and independent of objective social status for both PwD and caregivers. Caregiver social status also influenced the well-being of PwD. Conclusion: This study provides empirical evidence on the interpersonal influence of social status, especially perceived social status, on well-being in PwD and caregivers. Interactions between PwD, caregivers and wider society may influence the perception of relative social position and impact on living well with dementia
Farmer, Farm Advisor and Consumer Understandings and Responses to Endemic Livestock Disease in the UK, 2019-2022
No full textFarm-level Interdisciplinary approaches to Endemic Livestock Disease (FIELD) was a five-year interdisciplinary project funded by the Wellcome Trust.The data archived here includes the social science strand of the research. Specifically, qualitative and quantitative research with farmers, their advisors and consumers conducted between 2018-2022. Consumer survey (5th October – 1st November 2020): 521 members of the UK public.Farmer Survey (March-June 2019): 42 sheep, beef and dairy cattle farmers from the north of EnglandFarmer interviews (September 2019-March 2021): 30 sheep, beef and dairy cattle farmers from Northumberland, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and the Scottish Borders.Advisor interviews (September 2019-March 2021): 21 farm advisors working with sheep, beef and dairy farmers working on a local (north of England), national (UK) or international scale. 4 advisor interviews not archived to protect participant confidentialityConsumer focus groups (February 2021): 6 focus groups with a combined 36 participants from across the UKFarmer focus groups (July 2022): 3 focus groups including sheep, beef and dairy cattle farmers from across the U
The role of supercluster filaments in shaping galaxy clusters
Get PDFIn a hierarchical ΛCDM Universe, cosmic filaments serve as the primary channels for matter accretion into galaxy clusters, influencing the shape of their dark matter halos. We investigate whether the elongation of galaxy clusters correlates with the orientation of surrounding filaments, providing the first observational test of this relationship in large supercluster regions. We identified and characterized cosmic filaments in two dimensions within the two superclusters that are part of the low-redshift sub-survey of the Chilean Cluster Galaxy Evolution Survey (CHANCES): the Shapley supercluster and the Horologium-Reticulum supercluster. We analyzed the alignment between filament directions—traced by galaxy distributions—and the triaxiality of cluster gravitational potentials—traced by X-ray emission—using publicly available optical and X-ray data. We have found that most (82%) of the X-ray clusters are associated with and interconnected by the optically detected filaments. The clusters-filaments alignment analysis shows that the elongation of most clusters is well aligned with nearby filaments, providing observational confirmation of theoretical predictions, with the alignment progressively reducing at larger cluster-centric distances (> 1.6 r_200). Overall, our results support the notion that filaments are the main source of galaxy accretion at redshift below 0.1 and additionally provide evidence that matter accretion through filaments shapes the gravitational potential of galaxy clusters. We propose this measurement as a simple observational proxy to determine the direction of accretion in clusters, which is key to understanding both galaxy evolution and the merger history of galaxy clusters
Spectrum of Anthropocentric Approaches to the Ecological Continuum: Environmental Protection Effectiveness and Legal Standing in Italy’s New Constitutional Framework
No full textThe Politics of Listing and Urban Heritage: Social Housing, Representation and the Case of Robin Hood Gardens
Get PDFThis paper examines how the politics of listing buildings in the UK intersect with urban heritage and redevelopment, focusing on the contested case of the Robin Hood Gardens (RHG) estate in East London. Drawing on listing casework obtained thorough a Freedom of Information request it explores discussions between Historic England, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the Twentieth Century Society, analysing how representations of the estate were constructed within the listing process between 2007 and 2015. The analysis shows how rhetoric and discourse worked to devalue RHG as a lived place, framing it through narrow aesthetic and material criteria aligned with wider redevelopment plans in East London. Situating this within debates in social and cultural geography, the paper argues that listing operates as a hegemonic apparatus that translates contested meanings into administratively legible forms of value, often facilitating displacement and the erasure of working-class urban heritage. It concludes by calling for more socially attuned, participatory approaches to heritage governance that centre lived experience
Harker’s Bay: Letting the Right One In: Writing in the Vampire Genre – Influences and Implications
Get PDFThis thesis explores the use of the vampire within fiction. My novel, Harker’s Bay, investigates the profound effect of the loneliness that is experienced by people who exist on the outskirts of society. It also deals with the effects of being faced with eternal life and how loneliness can play into that. How does someone reconcile living forever versus the human experience of life that is short and fleeting in comparison?The work follows multiple main characters whose lives become intertwined after a series of dramatic events. Max Fenix is a descendant of one of the first vampire hunters, and as such, he is expected to follow in the family tradition. Rosie Pembroke is a loner with only one friend. She is eighteen and trapped in a home with her mother and abusive stepdad, whom she fears. John Sawyer has travelled from England, across the ocean to join a new settlement in America. When his settlement is attacked, he is nursed back to health by a strange woman who lives alone in the woods and wants to share her gift with him. We follow these characters through multiple storylines as their lives become forever connected by the unique sense of loneliness that each experiences and the vampire that eventually drives them all together.The exegesis analyses earlier uses of vampire characters in fiction and how the writer has adapted the vampire into their world. Using examples of famous iterations of the vampire legend, this exegesis discovers what it takes to introduce a vampire into your work and how to let the right traits in, while being respectful of the extensive lore and centuries of vampiric characters that already exist. How does someone navigate the plethora of metaphorical baggage that comes along with the vampire and what does it mean to let the vampire in to your work
Bone Marker Proteins at Baseline and After Insulin-Induced Hypoglycaemia in Type 2 Diabetes
Get PDFType 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with normal or higher bone mineral density (BMD), but there is a higher fracture rate. Hypoglycaemia does not affect BMD but may cause fractures directly through falls and may affect bone cellular metabolism. We examined circulating bone marker proteins (BMPs) in response to induced hypoglycaemia in T2D versus controls. A prospective exploratory parallel study design was conducted in T2D patients (n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 23) who underwent blood SOMAscan proteomic analysis of bone biomarkers at baseline, hypoglycaemia, and post-hypoglycaemia time points. Unadjusted repeated measures linear mixed modeling was used for analysis. Linear mixed modeling of the proteins showed that the way most BMPs changed over time did not differ between groups. At baseline, Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1), cathepsin A, cathepsin S, and cathepsin Z were increased in T2D versus controls (p < 0.05), whilst fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) was lower in T2D versus controls (p ≤ 0.05). Following hypoglycemia, transient changes from baseline occurred in DKK1, cathepsin A, cathepsin G, cathepsin H, cathepsin S, cathepsin Z, parathyroid hormone (PTH), Sphingosine kinase 1 and 2 (SPK1/2), and interleukin-1 beta (IL1 beta) over the post-hypoglycaemia time course. There was decreased cathepsin S in T2D from baseline to 24 h compared to the control group, and increased cathepsin Z at 24 h for both groups overall compared to baseline (p < 0.05). Baseline-raised cathepsins (A, S, Z) in T2D may enhance osteoclastic resorption, whilst raised DKK1 could inhibit osteoblast differentiation and suppress bone formation. Hypothetically, this may lead to a decline in bone quality through a resorption-enhanced, low bone formation imbalance. The effects of hypoglycaemia on bone physiology appear to extend significantly beyond the initial insult, as seen for cathepsin S and Z, which differed at 24 h compared to baseline
The ECtHR jurisprudence on the prohibition of collective expulsion of aliens at land borders in the aftermath of N.D. and N.T. v Spain: Between deference and discipline
Get PDFSince 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has dealt with an unprecedented number of applications concerning the prohibition of collective expulsion of aliens at land borders under Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 (A4-P4) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Contrary to what might be expected after the Grand Chamber judgment in N.D. and N.T. v Spain – which introduced an ‘exception’ for land borders – most of those applications have led to unanimous findings of violation. In principle, this suggests that, after all, N.D. and N.T. has had a negligible impact on the subsequent jurisprudence, and that the ECtHR has embarked on a ‘migrant-friendly’ trend since. However, this paper critically reassesses and rebuts this suggestion. It argues that the ECtHR is simply holding Hungary and Poland (the States which have produced the most A4-P4 cases) to a different yardstick in order to ‘discipline’ them. This ‘disciplinary’ track of jurisprudence may not be sustained in light of the upcoming Grand Chamber judgments concerning the EU-Belarusian border
PRCnet: An efficient model for automatic detection of brain tumor in MRI images
Get PDFBrain tumors are the most prevalent and life-threatening cancer; an early and accurate diagnosis of brain tumors increases the chances of patient survival and treatment planning. However, manual tumor detection is a complex, cumbersome and time-consuming task and is prone to errors, which relies on the radiologist’s experience. As a result, the development of an accurate and automatic tumor detection system is critical. In this paper, we proposed a new model called Parallel Residual Convolutional Network (PRCnet) model to classify brain tumors from Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The PCRnet model uses several techniques (such as filters of different sizes with parallel layers, connections between layers, batch normalization layer, and ReLU) and dropout layer to overcome the over-fitting problem, for achieving accurate and automatic classification of brain tumors. Our methodology used data augmentation techniques such as rotation, flipping, and scaling. These enhanced the diversity and quantity of the training dataset, contributing significantly to the model’s improved performance. The PRCnet model is trained and tested on two different datasets and obtained an accuracy of 94.77% and 97.1% for dataset A and dataset B, respectively which is way better as compared to the state-of-the-art models