The common heritage of mankind : from the law of the sea to the human genome and cyberspace

Since Arvid Pardo addressed the UN General Assembly in 1967 and proposed to declare the deep seabed and ocean floor the common heritage of mankind, the need has been felt to adapt the concept of common heritage to the human genome and the internet. This paper is intended to demonstrate that the concept of a common heritage of mankind is the ideal jacket to fit the human genome and cyberspace as a mode of international governance in the interests of all humankind. The last part of the paper discusses Father Peter Serracino Inglott's vision for Malta as a promotional centre for Open Source systems.peer-reviewe

Historical Overview: The Parliamentary Library from Past to Present

Parliamentary libraries (also known under various terminologies such as federal libraries, legislative libraries, information resource centers, documentation centers, or reference services) enhance the research and information capacity of parliaments. As their histories show, however, some also came to consider their constituencies as lying beyond the confines of their parent legislature.published or submitted for publicatio

Reform and Revolution: The Arab Spring at One Year

This paper concerns the differences in the development of the Algerian and Egyptian uprisings within the context of the Arab Spring revolts.</jats:p

A Racial Impact Analysis of HB 936: Accessibility of Electronic Textbooks

The economic and social consequences of the lack of access to technology for students in the Commonwealth of Virginia are real and significant. This report provides a legislative racial impact analysis of House Bill (HB) 936, a proposed bill in the Virginia General Assembly, prohibiting school boards from making electronic textbooks available for students, unless the school board adopts a plan to ensure that e-textbooks are available on or before July 1, 2017. The bill focuses solely on developing a plan for installing prior to implementing electronic textbooks in K-12 classrooms. Electronic textbooks are important as they offer updated content, ease of accessibility, multimedia features to enhance the learning experience, and the ability for educators to customize learning. Delegating this decision to each local school board in Virginia raises important potential racial implications, including the digital divide. Previous research suggests a correlation between the number of students receiving free and reduced lunch and the lack of availability of electronic textbooks. Districts with high rates of students on free and reduced lunch have a high population of minority students. This analysis provides maps that capture the trends on the probability of providing electronic textbooks for high minority areas across the state. The primary recommendation is to advance policy approaches that make electronic textbooks available to all K‐12 students in the Commonwealth of Virginia