Transnational Corporations and Global Governance

Scholars and critics often lament that corporations rule the world, but predominant accounts of global governance imply almost the opposite: With theories populated by national governments and intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, it might appear that nearly everyone except corporations writes the rules that govern across borders. This article compiles research on the varied ways in which multinational and transnational corporations have shaped global governance, drawing attention to the contours and limits of corporate power. Corporations can be seen variously as sponsors, inhibitors, and direct providers of global governance. They have, for example, been sponsors of neoliberal trade rules, inhibitors of some labor and environmental regimes, and providers of private standards for finance, safety, sustainability, and human rights. Scholars may be tempted to focus on just one of these roles or to presume unified corporate dominance, but it is important to grapple with all three and to investigate the conditions under which corporate actions are more or less unified and decisive.Introduction National, multinational, and transnational corporations in sociology Sponsors Inhibitors Providers: The rise of private authority Implications Disclosure statement Acknowledgements Literature cite

Responding to research evidence in Parliament: a case study on selective education policy

This research focusses on how members of the UK Parliament engaged with evidence in relation to the policy decision leading to the Selective Schools Expansion Fund, a policy designed to enable the existing 163 English Grammar Schools to apply for additional funds to expand their intake. Although a small case study, the narrow focus provides a fertile setting for analysis of the relationship between research evidence, Parliamentary debates, and policy decisions. The article provides contextual background in relation to the dominant political parties’ (Conservative and Labour) education policy manifesto statements and a discussion on the nature and understanding of evidence. Particular attention is given to how evidence can be used to support claims and the importance of justified warrants. Using NVivo software, we identified the thematic content of 11 Parliamentary debates and analysed the findings using descriptive statistics, which we tested with a playful, carnivalesque extrapolation of the data. Argumentative analysis shows that within the debates a number of rhetorical tools are used to avoid empirical evidence, including the deployment of a ‘moral sidestep’ which discourse analysis reveals in this case to be the repeated communication that grammar schools are ‘good’. In this way, Ofsted ratings are conflated with moral goodness, leading to a disproportionate diversion of school funding in their favour. This case study exposes strengths and weaknesses of Parliamentary debate, which might be relevant to educational researchers who focus on evidence-based policy and to the policy makers and other stakeholders who engage with the evidence such researchers offer

The cytochrome P450 family in the parasitic nematode <i>Haemonchus contortus</i>

&lt;i&gt;Haemonchus contortus&lt;/i&gt;, a highly pathogenic and economically important parasitic nematode of sheep, is particularly adept at developing resistance to the anthelmintic drugs used in its treatment and control. The basis of anthelmintic resistance is poorly understood for many commonly used drugs with most research being focused on mechanisms involving drug targets or drug efflux. Altered or increased drug metabolism is a possible mechanism that has yet to receive much attention despite the clear role of xenobiotic metabolism in pesticide resistance in insects. The cytochrome P450s (CYPs) are a large family of drug-metabolising enzymes present in almost all living organisms, but for many years thought to be absent from parasitic nematodes. In this paper, we describe the CYP sequences encoded in the &lt;i&gt;H. Contortus&lt;/i&gt; genome and compare their expression in different parasite life-stages, sexes and tissues. We developed a novel real-time PCR approach based on partially assembled CYP sequences “tags” and confirmed findings in the subsequent draft genome with RNA-seq. Constitutive expression was highest in larval stages for the majority of CYPs, although higher expression was detected in the adult male or female for a small subset of genes. Many CYPs were expressed in the worm intestine. A number of &lt;i&gt;H. Contortus&lt;/i&gt; genes share high identity with &lt;i&gt;Caenorhabditis elegans&lt;/i&gt; CYPs and the similarity in their expression profiles supports their classification as putative orthologues. Notably, &lt;i&gt;H. Contortus&lt;/i&gt; appears to lack the dramatic CYP subfamily expansions seen in &lt;i&gt;C. elegans&lt;/i&gt; and other species, which are typical of CYPs with exogenous roles. However, a small group of &lt;i&gt;H. Contortus&lt;/i&gt; genes cluster with the &lt;i&gt;C. elegans&lt;/i&gt; CYP34 and CYP35 subfamilies and may represent candidate xenobiotic metabolising genes in the parasite

Quantum Correlations from the Conditional Statistics of Incomplete Data

We study, in theory and experiment, the quantum properties of correlated light fields measured with click-counting detectors providing incomplete information on the photon statistics. We establish a correlation parameter for the conditional statistics, and we derive the corresponding nonclassicality criteria for detecting conditional quantum correlations. Classical bounds for Pearson's correlation parameter are formulated that allow us, once they are violated, to determine nonclassical correlations via the joint statistics. On the one hand, we demonstrate nonclassical correlations in terms of the joint click statistics of light produced by a parametric down conversion source. On the other hand, we verify quantum correlations of a heralded, split single-photon state via the conditional click statistics together with a generalization to higher-order moments. We discuss the performance of the presented nonclassicality criteria to successfully discern joint and conditional quantum correlations. Remarkably, our results are obtained without making any assumptions on the response function, quantum efficiency, and dark-count rate of the photodetectors

Minimally Invasive Approaches for the Management of “Difficult” Colonic Polyps

Traditionally, patients with colonic polyps not amenable to endoscopic removal require open colectomy for management. We evaluated our experience with minimally invasive approaches including endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), laparoscopic-assisted endoscopic polypectomy (LAEP), and laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (LAC). Patients referred for surgery for colonic polyps were selected for one of three minimally invasive modalities. A total of 123 patients were referred for resection of “difficult” polyps. Thirty underwent EMR, 25 underwent LAEP, and 68 underwent LAC. Of those selected to undergo EMR or LAEP, 76.4% were successfully managed without colon resection. The remaining 23.6% underwent LAC. Nine complications were encountered, including two requiring reoperative intervention. Of the 123 patients, three were found to have malignant disease on final pathology. Surgical resection can be avoided in a significant number of patients with “difficult” polyps referred for surgery by performing EMR and LAEP. In those who require surgery, minimally invasive resection can be achieved