Community advisory boards (CABs) have traditionally been formed in the context of discrete projects and served to support community protections within the confines of the associated investigation(s). However, as funding bodies increasingly prioritize health equity, CABs have shifted – evolving into long-running organizations with broader scope and value. An emerging cornerstone of these project-independent boards (PICABs) has been the formation of “Research Review Boards” (RRBs). While unified in their goal of promoting community protection and representation in health research, it is unknown to what degree RRBs differ on key features including membership, leadership, service reach, and – crucially – impact. A scoping review was conducted according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines to analyze current practices for RRBs. Of screened articles (n= 1878), 25 were included, corresponding to 24 unique RRBs. Findings indicated overlaps in the stated missions, funding structures, and processes of most RRBs. Differences in membership composition, location, service-reach, leadership structures, evaluation procedures, and perceived impact were evident. Where data is available, RRBs receive positive endorsement from both internal members and external users. Standardization of evaluation procedures is needed to fully quantify impact. Additional challenges to sustainability, communication, and conflicts (e.g., of interest, commitment, and power differentials) merit further consideration.

This study investigates the extent to which a group of Australian preservice and early career secondary school music teachers of East Asian heritage are likely to teach aspects of their heritage music. It is positioned against a background of national multiculturalism and approaches to cultural inclusivity in Australian society, as well as the long-standing notion of ‘Asia literacy’ in Australian education and the national cross-curriculum priority (C-CP) of ‘Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia’. The study’s findings indicate that the participants identified with their ancestral cultures to varying extents, generally had very limited knowledge of and experience with their heritage music and in general were reluctant to teach their heritage music. The authors suggest that the slow rate of progress towards culturally diversifying Australian music classrooms is related to complex matters and attitudes surrounding race in the country. The study proposes developing Cayari’s concept of ‘Asian spaces’ as a means of increasing the presence of East Asian music in Australian schools and of supporting teachers of East Asian heritage in the workplace. Finally, the authors emphasise that culturally diversifying the content of music classrooms can be undertaken by teachers of any cultural background.

Building on the success of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), new tax proposals have been considered in the public health policy debate in the UK. To inform such debate, estimates of the potential impacts of alternative tax scenarios are of critical importance. Using a modelling approach, we studied the effects of two tax scenarios: (1) a hypothetical excise tax designed to tax food products included in the Sugar Reduction Programme (SRP), accounting for pack size to reduce the convenience of purchasing larger quantities at once; (2) an ad valorem tax targeting products based on the UK Nutrient Profile Model (NPM). Simulations of scenario 1 show a reduction in sugar purchased of up to 38 %, with the largest decreases observed for sweet confectionery with a tiered tax, similar in structure to the SDIL. Expected food reformulation in scenario 1 led to further decreases in sugar purchased for all categories. In scenario 2, under the assumption that the tax would not affect purchases of healthier products, a 20 % tax on less healthy products would reduce total sugar purchased by 4·3 % to 14·7 % and total energy by 4·7 % to 14·8 %. Despite some limitations and assumptions, our results suggest that new fiscal policy options hold a significant potential for improving diet quality beyond what has been achieved by the SDIL and SRP. An estimated increase in consumer expenditures in both scenarios suggests that attention needs to be paid to potentially regressive effects in the design of any new food taxes.

Greenwashing cases holding businesses to account for false or misleading eco-claims are an increasingly visible component of the business and human rights landscape globally. In the European Union (EU), the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is the centrepiece of regulation for business-to-consumer claims. Within the European Green Deal initiative, the EU is revising this framework, first with the Directive to ‘Empower Consumers for the Green Transition,’ and second the pending proposal for a ‘Green Claims Directive,’ introducing detailed requirements on the substantiation and communication of ‘green claims’ to consumers. If fully adopted, this fundamental reform will impose greater restraints on the discretion of any authority charged with the assessment of green claims and provide more uniform criteria across the EU, resulting in more accurate environmental claims and greater clarity for consumers and businesses alike.

Expanded vowel or tone space in IDS has traditionally been interpreted as evidence of enhanced acoustic contrasts. However, emerging evidence from various languages shows that the within-category acoustic variability of vowels and tones also increases in IDS, offsetting the benefit of space expansion and leading to non-enhanced, or reduced acoustic contrasts. This study re-analysed a corpus of Mandarin IDS and ADS, showing that, relative to ADS, vowels and tones in IDS display greater variability, resulting in non-enhanced contrasts. Thus, given increased variability, expanded vowel or tonal space in IDS may not necessarily equate to enhanced acoustic contrasts.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed the vital role of Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in international surge responses. The EMTs with their internationally skilled team members were able to meaningfully support countries facing the pandemic, especially those who were suffering from scarcity in the quality and quantity of workforce and financial resources within their health systems. This report summarizes the main operational challenges faced by UK-Med and The Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM) Emergency Medical Teams, based on experiences from their 32 COVID-19 deployments. In particular, the paper discusses the hindrances related to Ministries of Health expectations and the changing roles of EMTs during deployments.

This case note examines the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) 2022 reparations judgment in Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda, analyzing the Court’s legal reasoning, its evidentiary approach, and the implications for future reparations cases. The 2022 judgment follows the ICJ’s 2005 ruling that found Uganda responsible for violations of international law during its military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Given the failure of negotiations between the parties, the ICJ determined the amount of reparations owed, awarding a global sum of $325 million – substantially lower than the DRC’s claim. The case addresses complex legal and evidentiary questions, including the causal link between Uganda’s wrongful acts and the damages claimed, the standard and burden of proof for reparations, and categorizing harm. The Court examined four heads of damage, which were damage to persons, damage to property, damage to natural resources and macroeconomic damage, dismissing the latter due to insufficient proof of causation. A key aspect of the judgment was the ICJ’s adoption of a global sum approach – an uncommon approach in the Court’s practice. This case note assesses the lack of clear reasoning and methodology for determining the exact amount awarded for each head of damage.

Additionally, the ICJ’s over-reliance on United Nations reports and its application of standards of proof raise concerns about consistency and clarity in reparations proceedings. This case sets a precedent for State responsibility in mass violations of international law but highlights challenges in quantifying harm and ensuring equitable reparations. The Court’s reasoning and methods in the case may influence future cases involving State responsibility, armed conflicts, and reparative justice under international law.

Old collections, real or fake, are a basic part of the collection history of an antiquity or artwork. This article is a starting point for a study of the concept: how old collections are employed, what functions they have, and how fictitious old collections are chosen and constructed. To explore these concepts, the article considers the example of Cumberland Clark, an early 20th-century collector who serves as the putative origin of cuneiform tablets in a handful of present-day collections, most notably the Schøyen Collection. This article looks at the life and collections of Cumberland Clark, then argues that the Clark provenance for current collections is a fabrication, and concludes by looking at Clark in the context of other old collections in order to draw some lessons about fabricated provenance.

Moral understanding has typically been defined as grasping the explanation, q, for some proposition, p, where p states that some action is morally right (or wrong). This article deals with an underdiscussed point within the literature on moral understanding: the degree of moral understanding one has deepens with the more moral reasons that one grasps, whereby these reasons not only consist of those that speak in favor of an action’s moral permissibility but also those speaking against. I argue for a surprising and important implication of this: having a deep degree of moral understanding can make it harder to carry out the right action. Furthermore, I propose that we should think of our pursuit of moral understanding in an analogous way as to how some have thought of scientific understanding: There may be good reasons to fail to appreciate all of the actual moral reasons that in fact exist; sometimes we should seek a surfaced-level moral understanding instead of something deeper. Just as idealizations used within science – which can involve deviations from the truth – can help us achieve scientific understanding, so too we might restrict the moral reasons that we seek to grasp in pursuit of moral understanding.