Employability – A Question of Responsibility

Concerns have long been raised about the inadequacies demonstrated by graduates when they are placed into the working environment (e.g. American Accounting Association 1986) and the difficulties that universities face in equipping graduates for professional practice (CPA Australia, 2002). A much greater focus is now being placed on the topic of employability and the significance Higher Education plays in readiness of graduate’s for the workplace (Surridge, 2008). After due consideration of these issues, a 1st year Business School module has embedded both academic and vocational skills into a programme of personal and professional development. Using a series of employability competences (Kubler and Forbes, 2006) students undertake a series of projects and e-based activities either individually or in groups. These learning and teaching experiences use formative and summative assessments (or an iterative combination of both), to engage the students in activities that persuade and / or allow them to consider, evaluate and monitor their development as they attempt to become reflective practitioners. Based on the evidence gained the module leader and academic development tutor are both encouraged by the numbers of students who have recognised the progress they have made in developing their own employability competences. The presentation will report on the following areas: - 1. Examples of the types of exercises included in the module content, 2. Students’ engagement with the module content, 3. Consideration of examples of their reflections, attitudes and development throughout the module journey and 4. Reviewing the preliminary results of where the students feel the responsibility for employability should be positioned during their journey from education to the graduate career they aspire to

"The Constitution Lies To Us": Securing Accountability for the Right to Food in Kenya

In 2010 Kenya enacted a new constitution that brought into law a range of progressive economic and social rights including the legal entitlement of its citizens ‘to be free from hunger, and to have adequate food of acceptable quality’ (Republic of Kenya 2010). Hunger is widespread in Kenya and, despite the constitutional commitment, our study finds a persistent failure of accountability for hunger. Factors rooted in Kenya’s history and political economy have dampened citizen expectations of the state, thwarted popular mobilisation and generated weak state responses. This raises a question of responsibility. In this paper, we explore the failure and efforts to overcome them, before considering how accountability for hunger can be made the norm. The period from 2007 to 2012 was marked by high and volatile food prices worldwide. This triggered popular mobilisation in several countries, as well as varying responses by governments. Institutionalised accountability for hunger is generally weak, however. This is the case not only with respect to Kenya, but for most governments’ responses to the food price surges of that period, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.1 This paper is part of a four-country study that analyses these responses in terms of the degree to which they approximate accountability for hunger. The countries covered by the study are Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Mozambique. The central question addressed is: under what conditions do riots and ‘right to food’ campaigns make governments more accountable for hunger

Правова відповідальність за медичну помилку

Відповідальність медичних працівників має безліч нюансів. У законодавстві України не розкриті багато питань, пов'язаних з даною темою. У певній мірі, дана проблематика розглянута кримінальним правом, але адміністративна й особливо цивільна сфера правовідносин містять безліч правових прогалин. Особливість регулювання питання відповідальності медичних працівників полягає в тім, що вони є спеціальними суб'єктами правовідносин, а значить мають особливі права й обов'язки, їхній статус окремо розглядається законодавцем. Саме в контексті розуміння медичних працівників, як спеціальних суб'єктів правовідносини варто розглядати питання про їхню правову відповідальність. Ответственность медицинских работников имеет множество нюансов. В законодательстве Украины не раскрыты многие вопросы, связанные с данной темой. В определенной мере, данная проблематика изучена уголовным правом, но административная и особенно гражданская сфера правоотношений содержит множество правовых пробелов. Особенность регулирования вопроса ответственности медицинских работников заключается в том, что они являются специальными субъектами правоотношений, а значит обладают особыми правами и обязанностями, их статус отдельно рассматривается законодателем. Именно в контексте понимания медицинских работников, как специальных субъектов правоотношения следует рассматривать вопросы об их правовой ответственности. Responsibility of medical workers has set of nuances. In the legislation of Ukraine many questions connected with the given theme are not opened. In the certain measure, the given problematics is studied by criminal law, but administrative and especially civil sphere of law contains set of legal blanks. Feature of regulation of a question of responsibility of medical workers consists that they are special subjects правоотношений so possess the special rights and duties, their status is separately considered by the legislator. In a context of understanding of medical workers as special subjects law it is necessary to consider questions on their legal responsibility

The United States, PMSCs and the state monopoly on violence: Leading the way towards norm change

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 Sage.The proliferation of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in Iraq and Afghanistan has raised many questions regarding the use of armed force by private contractors. This article addresses the question of whether the increased acceptance of PMSCs indicates a transformation of the international norm regarding the state monopoly on the legitimate use of armed force. Drawing on theoretical approaches to the analysis of norm change, the article employs four measures to investigate possible changes in the strength and meaning of this norm: modifications in state behaviour, state responses to norm violation, the promulgation of varying interpretations of the norm in national and international laws and regulations, and changes in norm discourse. Based on an analysis of empirical evidence from the United States of America and its allies, the article concludes that these measures suggest that the USA is leading the way towards a transformation of the international norm of the state monopoly on violence, involving a revised meaning. Although this understanding has not yet been formally implemented in international law, it has allowed a growing number of countries to tolerate, accept or legalize the use of armed force by PMSCs in the international arena.The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

Sustainable Development Policies in Europe

The objective of this paper is to investigate the actual situation in the shift towards the implementation of Sustainable Development Policies in Europe. The aim is to highlight the key role of the European Union in bringing about sustainable development within Europe and also on the wider global stage. It will show how the European Commission performs its commitment in reaching a sustainable regulation by issuing some documents and declarations. The paper frames the EU action into an international framework of strategies, agreements and policies on SD and, at the same time, provides an overview on experiences of SD strategy implementations at the national level, according to the commission pressing on MS to produce their own SD strategy and implement it. Indicators systems, issues of interest and fields of actions are compared: the analysis of these elements aims to highlight common scenarios of SD strategies that reveal the trends towards a more sustainable growth in the European Union.Sustainable Development, Globalization, Environment Policy, Strategy for Sustainable Development, Good Governance, Participation

An American Conversation on the Post-2015 Development Agenda

In the closing months of 2013, over 1,000 Americans gathered in communities large and small to discuss the world they want in 2030. They came together to answer a call to action from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for every UN member state to seek public input for a new and ambitious development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals when they expire in 2015.From October to December 2013, the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), a program of the United Nations Foundation, held day-long consultations in 12 cities across America. The 16 proposed development themes listed on the MY World 2015 website of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) served as the starting point for each conversation with participants ranking each theme while adding new ideas of their own.This report provides a window into the conversations that unfolded as Americans stepped back from their daily routines to think about how a new development agenda might impact their own lives as well as the lives of citizens of other UN member states around the world. The conversations included a diverse audience from age 15 to 95 and revealed both cross cutting themes and a few surprising findings

Crimes against humanity and the limits of international criminal law

Crimes against humanity are supposed to have a collective dimension with respect both to their victims and their perpetrators. According to the orthodox view, these crimes can be committed by individuals against individuals, but only in the context of a widespread or systematic attack against the group to which the victims belong. In this paper I offer a new conception of crimes against humanity and a new justification for their international prosecution. This conception has important implications as to which crimes can be justifiably prosecuted and punished by the international community. I contend that the scope of the area of international criminal justice that deals with basic human rights violations should be wider than is currently acknowledged, in that it should include some individual violations of human rights, rather than only violations that have a collective dimension

New Zealand freshwater management and agricultural impacts

In New Zealand, it is increasingly recognised, including by government, that water resource allocation and water quality are issues of national importance. Agriculture is frequently portrayed by public media as a major user of water and a major contributor to worsening water quality. We outline the water management systems in New Zealand, and the use of water by agriculture. Official reports on agriculture’s impact on New Zealand water availability and quality are summarised. We report how the New Zealand public perceive water, its management, and the roles of agriculture in water issues. Data from a nationwide mail survey were analysed to determine how New Zealanders assess the state of New Zealand lakes, rivers and streams, and aquifers, the performance of three agencies responsible for management of freshwater resources, and willingness to fund stream enhancement. We provide brief explanations for the failures of water resource management in New Zealand and report on options, including community-based responses that might address some of the mounting public, scientific, and government concerns about trends in water quantity and quality. A willingness to pay proposition, concerning riparian areas, included in the nationwide survey provides some evidence that the public are willing to pay for improved waterway management. Relevant non-market valuation studies also indicate that the public places considerable value on preservation values of water in New Zealand.agriculture, environmental economics, perceptions survey, water allocation, water quality, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,