De facto differentiation in action: why Poland will stay in the EU, with or without the blessing of Brussels

Tensions between the Polish government and the European Union have raised speculation about a potential ‘Polexit’. Tobias Hofelich writes that while there is no mechanism for expelling a member state, inaction risks undermining the EU’s legal framework and pushing the principle of differentiated integration to its limits

Climate Inaction as Discrimination Against Young People

As many young people are now making clear, they are being subjected to extraordinary risks of harms because of government inaction on climate change. In a previous paper, I argued that those who accept climate science have an obligation to join forces with others in pressing for adequate policies. Given what is at stake, it is quite wrong for individuals go about their everyday lives while ignoring the problem. This is not a vague obligation to future generations, nor is it an obligation that is opaque to common-sense morality. This paper is a commentary on Greta Thunberg’s brief but powerful speeches. I start with an exploration of the climate crisis as she depicts it. Next, I interpret her as arguing that complacency in the face of the risks that we are imposing on younger people is a form of systemic or structural discrimination comparable to racism and sexism. Our inaction on climate change does not treat young lives as if they mattered and equally. I conclude with some reflections on her explanation of why we have so far failed to act in ways that take climate change seriously

Overcoming the risk of inaction from emissions uncertainty in smallholder agriculture

The potential for improving productivity and increasing the resilience of smallholder agriculture, while also contributing to climate change mitigation, has recently received considerable political attention (Beddington et al 2012). Financial support for improving smallholder agriculture could come from performance-based funding including sale of carbon credits or certified commodities, payments for ecosystem services, and nationally appropriate mitigation action (NAMA) budgets, as well as more traditional sources of development and environment finance. Monitoring the greenhouse gas fluxes associated with changes to agricultural practice is needed for performance-based mitigation funding, and efforts are underway to develop tools to quantify mitigation achieved and assess trade-offs and synergies between mitigation and other livelihood and environmental priorities (Olander 2012)

Multiple uncontrolled conditions and blood pressure medication intensification: an observational study

Abstract Background Multiple uncontrolled medical conditions may act as competing demands for clinical decision making. We hypothesized that multiple uncontrolled cardiovascular risk factors would decrease blood pressure (BP) medication intensification among uncontrolled hypertensive patients. Methods We observed 946 encounters at two VA primary care clinics from May through August 2006. After each encounter, clinicians recorded BP medication intensification (BP medication was added or titrated). Demographic, clinical, and laboratory information were collected from the medical record. We examined BP medication intensification by presence and control of diabetes and/or hyperlipidemia. 'Uncontrolled' was defined as hemoglobin A1c ≥ for diabetes, BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg (≥ 130/80 mmHg if diabetes present) for hypertension, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) ≥ 130 mg/dl (≥ 100 mg/dl if diabetes present) for hyperlipidemia. Hierarchical regression models accounted for patient clustering and adjusted medication intensification for age, systolic BP, and number of medications. Results Among 387 patients with uncontrolled hypertension, 51.4% had diabetes (25.3% were uncontrolled) and 73.4% had hyperlipidemia (22.7% were uncontrolled). The BP medication intensification rate was 34.9% overall, but higher in individuals with uncontrolled diabetes and uncontrolled hyperlipidemia: 52.8% overall and 70.6% if systolic BP ≥ 10 mmHg above goal. Intensification rates were lowest if diabetes or hyperlipidemia were controlled, lower than if diabetes or hyperlipidemia were not present. Multivariable adjustment yielded similar results. Conclusions The presence of uncontrolled diabetes and hyperlipidemia was associated with more guideline-concordant hypertension care, particularly if BP was far from goal. Efforts to understand and improve BP medication intensification in patients with controlled diabetes and/or hyperlipidemia are warranted.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78266/1/1748-5908-5-55.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78266/2/1748-5908-5-55.pdfPeer Reviewe

Following on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: The Dynamic Shareholder Derivative Suit

Corporations that have allegedly violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) increasingly face a new threat of liability: cases brought by private plaintiffs in follow-on derivative suits. These derivative suits for breaches of fiduciary duty focus on whether directors provided the necessary oversight through compliance systems designed to detect and prevent FCPA violations. The demand requirement, a procedural hurdle of derivative suits, has stymied plaintiffs that are unable to show that directors cannot disinterestedly assess whether to pursue a claim for violations. This Note proposes a framework that systematizes the factual scenarios under which the demand requirement could be excused. Using other instances of regulatory violations as a lens, courts can infer that directors knew of FCPA violations based on patterns of bribes and the importance of bribery to the overall business of the corporation. Only plaintiffs that have utilized procedural devices to inspect corporate books and records, however, can expect courts to reach this inference of director knowledge. Despite being much maligned, the follow-on derivative suit may actually clarify the duties of directors in FCPA compliance and advance the corporate governance reforms of corporations, separately from the deterrent effect of government enforcement

Daubert & Danger: The Fit of Expert Predictions in Civil Commitments

Never make predictions, especially about the future. But in civil commitments, courts predict future behavior all the time. Judicial action here has severe results for the individual: deprivation of liberty, potentially unwanted and intrusive treatment, and the stigma of mental illness. Judicial inaction can also do harm: erroneous release can lead to injury of the person or others. Resolving these risks requires courts to find the person poses a danger to him/herself or others because of a mental illness

Employment Dynamics and the Structure of Labor Adjustment Costs

In this paper we discuss the structure of labor adjustment costs in relationship to the dynamics of job and worker flows. Using high frequency data, we document a previously unsuspected degree of lumpiness in employment adjustment, which is characteristic of non-convex adjustment costs. By means of the statistical analysis of duration data, we relate that lumpiness to the structure of adjustment costs and not to the structure of shocks.

Accounting for actions and omissions:a discourse analysis of student nurse accounts of responding to instances of poor care

Aims: To explore how nursing students account for decisions to report or not report poor care witnessed on placement and to examine the implications of findings for educators. Background: Concern has been raised about the extent to which cases of poor care go unreported. Failure to report cases may have serious consequences for patient safety. Design: Semi structured interviews were conducted with 13 under graduate students at a UK university during 2013. They were asked to consider their response to episodes of poor practice witnessed on placement. Methods: Data were transcribed verbatim and categorized according to whether or not students reported concerns. Cases were analysed in accordance with Potter and Wetherall’s version of discourse analysis to identify the discursive strategies used to account for decisions to report or not report poor practice. Results: Participants took care to present themselves in a positive light regardless of whether or not they had reported an episode of concern. Those who had reported tended to attribute their actions to internal factors such as moral strength and a commitment to a professional code. Those who had not or would not report concerns provided accounts which referred to external influences that prevented them from doing so or made reporting pointless. Conclusion: This study provides information about how students account for their actions and omissions in relation to the reporting of poor care. Findings suggest ways educators might increase reporting of concerns