1,724,820 research outputs found
The MTCR and the future of ballistic missile non-proliferation
No full textAt the Russian-US summit in June 2000, Presidents Clinton and Putin agreed "that the international community faces a dangerous and growing threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including missiles and missile technologies" and stressed "their desire to reverse that process, including through existing and possible new international legal mechanisms". By equating proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles as key concerns, the two leaders acknowledged one of the most significant developments in international military security over the last five years or so, and seemed newly interested in using arms control as a means of addressing it.Efforts to find new ways to tackle the problem have been driven by a threefold crisis in strategies for coping with ballistic missile proliferation. First, the proliferation of such missiles was perceived to increase. Second, the existing international regime to promote the non-proliferation of ballid urgency to the search for durable diplomatic solutions. Over the course of the last year, these three factors combined to compel the MTCR to formulate a Draft Code of Conduct on Ballistic Missile Proliferation, a CBM-based initiative designed to establish the basis for a non-proliferation regime on missile activities
NATO enlargement during the cold war: strategy and system in the western alliance
No full textWhy did NATO expand its membership during the Cold War years, and what was its attraction to new members? This book locates the answers to these questions not solely in the Cold War, but in the historical problems of international order in Europe and the growing idea of the West. A wide range of sources is used, and the analysis looks at a process of neo-enlargement during NATO's inception as well as the formal accessions that followe
Britain: balancing 'instinctive atlanticism'
No full textThis article highlights four key aspects of British ballistic missile defence policy. These are, first, the Anglo-American connection; second, the participation in American-led ‘coalitions of the willing’; third, the role of NATO; and, fourth, the role of the defence industry. These four factors operate inside a strategic culture of ‘instinctive Atlanticism’ coupled with a Europeanist trend in recent years. Developments in the United States are likely to be more influential in British policy than missile proliferation. An American offer of BMD coverage of the UK homeland, perhaps as part of the American system, might be attractive, but the lack of a strong pro-missile defence constituency in Britain, other than in the defence industry, probably means that it is only in this context that London would make such a decision
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Thinking through ecological citizenship
No full textAbout the book: Brings together material from ecological thought, environmental policy, environmental philosophy, social and political thought, historical sociology and cultural studies. The extracts tell the story of the way the natural environment has been understood in the modern world and how this has recently been questioned as contemporary societies are seen as characterised by uncertainty and complexity.
The literature guides the reader through the conventiaonal grounds for thinking about rights and obligations in relation to future generations, non-human animals and the biotic commununities, bringing each into question. This then leads into a critical examination of social and political theories and their capacity for drawing on ecological thought. Each of the seven sections of readings is introduced by the editor who locates the set of readings within the specific themes and issues at the heart of each section. This broad-reaching and thought-provoking set of readings stresses the diversity of response to environmental problems both within and between anthropocentric and ecocentric approaches and will encourage the reader to examine how they are manifested in the areas of environmental ethics, policy analysis and social and political theory
Negotiating multilateral instruments against missile proliferation
No full textThe absence of a major multilateral treaty banning missiles is explained by the limited scope of the two main instruments against missile proliferation – the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCOC). In the MTCR's case, limiting the scope to supply-side technology controls facilitated progress during its negotiations. In the Hague Code, limiting the scope to transparency, and keeping out additional items such as incentives to renounce ballistic missiles and the topic of cruise missiles, made negotiations easier. The trade-off from a limited scope in both instruments is that there is still no significant worldwide treaty banning missiles
Heart Failure Follow-Up
No full textObjective: The purposes of this study were to: a.) determine differences in demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical variables of adult patients with heart failure that attend follow-up and those who do not and to: b.) to explore the association of the post-discharge follow-up visit components (e.g. the timing of the visit and provider type) with 30-day readmission.
Background: Timely follow-up after heart failure hospitalization is an intervention associated with a reduction in 30-day readmission and can improve patient safety; however published studies have shown that the rate of follow-up is low. Research findings describing characteristics of patients at-risk for not attending follow-up and how components of the visit affect 30-day readmissions are limited.
Methods: A retrospective chart review of heart failure patients discharged between June 1, 2011 and February 1, 2013 was completed at an urban mid-western acute care hospital.
Results: Eighty-five percent of patients (n=68) attended the scheduled follow-up visit. Statistically significant differences were found between the number of outpatient visits in year previous to admission (p= 0.042) and hemoglobin values at admission (p= 0.04) between patients that attended follow-up and those that did not. No statistically significant differences were found between patients that attended follow-up within 3 days, 4-7 days, or 8 or more days and 30-day readmission (p=1.000) or between patients who attended follow-up and were treated by a cardiologist vs. those treated by a primary care provider (p=0.103).
Conclusion: Follow-up after heart failure hospitalization remains an important component of care. Interventional studies that facilitate post-discharge follow-up and employ strategies to reduce 30-day readmission need to continue.Manuscript21 page
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