2017

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The Importance of Political Quotas in Rural India

Quotas for disadvantaged groups, in politics and elsewhere, are implemented in more than 100 countries over the world. Because they are sometimes seen as violating important principles, or because they generate strong emotional reactions, they tend to attract controversy and generate debate.…

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The Right to Decide

Liberty and autonomy are cornerstones of modern society. They are also core to personhood and human flourishing. However, a large portion of the population is denied the right to make decisions on the basis of cognitive disability.…

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Disparities in Feeding Practices and Nutrient Intake Among US Infants and Toddlers

The rise in childhood obesity in the US has increased rates of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver disease, anxiety, and depression in children. Early obesity also increases the risk for adult obesity and obesity-related disease. Factors associated with early childhood obesity include rapid weight gain in early infancy, Mexican-American ethnicity and being low income. However, not much has been reported on disparities in early feeding practices and nutrient intake by race/ethnicity and income.

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UN Forum on Business and Human Rights – Day Two Recap

Freshfields’ coverage of the 2017 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights – offering global corporations, governments, NGOs, human rights activists and other stakeholders an annual platform to explore and discuss initiatives concerning the role of business with respect to human rights – continues with the following summary of notable perspectives provided by participants across the spectrum.…

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Six secrets to success: Analysis of key success factors for remedy in the case of DRC workers vs. Heineken at the Dutch NCP

During a panel discussion at the 6th annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, in Geneva, Switzerland, representatives of OECD Watch, Heineken, the Dutch NCP, and victims from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) discussed the successful process towards remedy following business-related human rights abuses by Heineken.…

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Women’s Rights: Bridging The Gap in Malawi

Last week, I took part in the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights. I reflected on how far we have come in terms of the positive progress we are making, together with our partners on the Malawi Tea 2020 programme, where we are seeing a range of improvements to peoples’ lives in tea communities.…

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2017 Charleston Library Conference

The recent Charleston Library Conference, held November 6-10, 2017, was an excellent opportunity for academic librarians, vendors, and publishers to meet, listen to, and comment on each other’s initiatives, plans, and concerns for the future.…

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Reproduction in Blade Runner 2049

Reproduction on Film, the recently published special issue of The British Journal for the History of Science, investigates the theme of biological reproduction in the history of cinema, television, and other screen media.…

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Business and Human Rights: Prevailing Trends and Future Developments

This post originally featured in the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer blog on the 22nd November 2017. Adoption of national legislation in France scrutinizing corporate efforts through mandated disclosure regimes and requiring companies to establish and implement vigilance plans constituted a watershed moment in business and human rights law.…

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Mass Media for Infant and Young Child Feeding

'Systematic review of the design, implementation, and effectiveness of mass media and nutrition education interventions for infant and young child feeding' has been selected as an Editorial Highlight for Public Health Nutrition. Authors Matthew Graziose, Shauna Downs, Jessica Fanzo discuss their research.

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The National Contact Point (NCP) System – Aligning NCP Processes with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Under the theme of “Realizing Access to Effective Remedy” the 2017 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, will devote particular focus to the third pillar of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“Guiding Principles” or “UNGPs”) – the need for access to effective remedy for those whose human rights are adversely affected by business activities.…

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Effective Remedy: The power and pitfalls of multi-stakeholder engagement

The Global Business Initiative on Human Rights and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre Over the past few years, the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, with the support of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG), have organised a series of panels at the UN Annual Forum (Forum) bringing together affected communities, civil society, business representatives and government officials to explore implementation of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on the ground.…

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International Investment Law and the UNGP

Several recent developments highlight the precarious relationship between international investment law (“IIL”), the law that protects foreign corporations (and other foreign investors) when they enter a new state, and international human rights law (“IHRL”), particularly the human rights of communities and individuals affected by foreign businesses.…

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Emerging into Focus: The Neglected Right and the Forgotten Pillar

Mental health considerations and remediation in cases of corporate-related human rights harm Reflecting on the theme of “Realizing Access to Remedy” at the upcoming UN Annual Forum, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights asserts that Pillar III of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) is losing the epithet ‘forgotten pillar.’…

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Discrimination, Copyright and Equality

Why did I write Discrimination, Copyright and Equality: Opening the E-Book for the Print Disabled?  Since losing my eyesight in 1993 in a train accident I wanted to enjoy reading equality but was denied this right. …

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Doing more with less in health care: a multi-method study of decommissioning in the English NHS

Irrespective of moral and political arguments, current fiscal restraints in the English National Health Service (NHS) make decommissioning apparently unavoidable. Decommissioning – that is the removal, relocation or replacement of treatments and services – is being pursued by health care planners in response to the need to balance budgets, but has also been advocated by exponents of evidence based medicine on quality grounds (Hurley, 2014; Malhotra et al, 2015).…

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Aliens are more like us than we think

Hollywood films and Science-Fiction literature fuel the fantasy that aliens are other-worldly, monster-like beings, who are very different to humans. But, new research suggests that we have more in common with our extra-terrestrial neighbours, than initially thought. In a new study published in the International Journal of Astrobiology scientists from the University of Oxford show for the first time how evolutionary theory can be used to support alien predictions and better understand their behaviour.

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Brexit and Devolution

Since the Brexit referendum the UK government has been criticised for failing to recognise the positions and concerns of the devolved governments.…

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PERPSECTIVAS BIBLIOTECARIAS: Erik Alonso García, coordinador de Desarrollo de Colecciones en el Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, campus Santa Fe, en la Ciudad de México

Diseño curricular, tecnología, y un proyecto especial llamado “Vínculo Académico”. Estos son algunos de los temas tratados en la segunda entrega de PERSPECTIVAS BIBLIOTECARIAS, donde entrevistamos a Erik Alonso García Arellano, coordinador de Desarrollo de Colecciones en el Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), campus Santa Fe, en la Ciudad de México.…

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Vitamin D and inflammatory markers

The Nutrition Society Paper of the Month for October is from the Journal of Nutritional Science and is entitled 'Vitamin D and inflammatory markers: cross-sectional analyses using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)'. Authors: Cesar de Oliveira, Jane P Biddulph, Vasant Hirani and Ione Jayce Ceola Schneider present the key findings to their paper below.

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Building a sustainable future: urgent action needed

We need to act urgently to increase the energy efficiency of our buildings as the world’s emerging middle classes put increasing demands on our planet’s energy resources. These are the findings of a new report, published in MRS Energy & Sustainability by authors Matthias M. Koebel, Jannis Wernery and Wim J. Malfait.

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LIBRARIAN PERSPECTIVES: Erik Alonso García Arellano, Collection Development Coordinator, Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

Curriculum design, technology, and a special project called “Vínculo Académico”. These are some of the subjects discussed in our second Librarian Perspectives interview, with Erik Alonso García Arellano, Collection Development Coordinator at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey), Santa Fe Campus, in Mexico City.…

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Cambridge Open – Celebrating International Open Access Week 2017

Cambridge University Press is proud to support International Open Access Week, running from 23rd to 29th October 2017. As a leading University Press we are actively engaged with Open Access, and our Open Access publishing platform, Cambridge Open, serves authors and the wider community by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed OA content. Follow our Facebook and Twitter pages this week to read blog posts from our Open Access team, read our most-read Open Access articles, and learn more about Cambridge Open.

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MRS Bulletin Postdoctoral Publication Prize: inaugural recipient announced

MRS Bulletin is pleased to announce that Andy Tay Kah Ping, Stanford University, has been selected to receive the inaugural MRS Bulletin Postdoctoral Publication Prize. Andy was selected from more than 120 well-qualified applicants and nominations. He is being recognized for his combination of outstanding academic credentials, scientific publications, and science communication efforts.

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Waste not, want not: A Chicago sustainability story

The story of Chicago’s development is inextricably linked to its relationship with the natural environment, beginning 16,000 years ago when an enormous glacier sat on (and flattened) the land. Ever since, urban planners and policymakers have grappled with how to manage a city built on flat, swampy land, and what to do with the animal and human waste that accumulates in urban environments.

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