Protection of Regional Values - A comparative study of EU and ASEAN

Regionalisation has become an increasingly important phenomenon in a globalized world. As models of regional integration, the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are two prominent examples. This thesis seeks to explore through a comparative analysis, the different mechanisms and institutions for handling breaches against fundamental values within the two regional organizations. Inter-linked with the issue of the legal-institutional framework is that of what values the mechanisms are designed to protect. The method used for the analysis is first and foremost that of public international and European law, but the thesis also attempts to give a broader picture of the issues presented. For a deeper understanding of the EU and ASEAN perception and handling of fundamental values, two concrete cases are outlined, namely the “Haider affaire” in Europe and the ASEAN policy towards the repressive regime in Myanmar. Even though the aim of the thesis is to explore the situations within ASEAN and the EU, some aspects of the external relations between the regions are assessed in order to identify possible contentious areas due to differences in perspectives on fundamental values. ASEAN and the EU share many traits. They both started out as peace projects created to ensure regional stability in turbulent times. But whereas ASEAN achieved this through strengthening the nation state, the EU on the other hand chose to bridge over the nation state. ASEAN dealt with its fragile relations through assurances of respect for national sovereignty and non-interference, whereas Europe in the aftermaths of WW2 set up supranational institutions in order to prevent the conflicts from resurging. This fundamental difference is reflected in the regions’ systems for protection of common values. The EU has a proactive approach with an explicit mechanism for preventing and sanctioning breaches of the Union’s fundamental values. ASEAN, on the other hand, has a reactive, pragmatic take on things, usually referred to as the “ASEAN Way”. Even though the actual consequences of the two systems might be similar given the highly political nature of these issues, the EU member states are subject to a constitutional discipline that would be unthinkable in ASEAN. The EU has reached consensus and elaborated certain norms regarding the member states’ behaviour towards their own citizens, i.e. democracy, protection of human rights and the rule of law. These are considered to be the constituting values of the EU – the “European values” that serve as the glue of integration in a heterogeneous region. In ASEAN, the common values mainly relate to state sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other. The “Asian values discourse” that has been influential on the ASEAN policy on human rights and democracy is sceptic towards Western universalist interpretations of human rights and rejects international accountability for such norms. The inclusion of principles regarding democracy and human rights in the new ASEAN Charter indicates a shift in policy within ASEAN. However, for the time being they can merely be seen as aspirations. What is clear is that questions of common values and regional identity are going to play an important function in a further integration-process in both regions. The differences between the two regional entities should not conceal the fact that both ASEAN and the EU in the wake of their conflict-ridden history share the same overriding goals - to create peace and stability and to ensure economic development through regional cooperation and integration. Based on their mutual interests, ASEAN and the EU have committed to deepen and widen their partnership. Differences in their perspectives on fundamental values can affect these relations, especially with the EU policy of value promotion and conditionality in its external relations. However, given the mutual wish to maintain and develop good relations, more serious conflicts between ASEAN and the EU with regard to differences in the values they encompass should be able to be contained through flexibility and concessions on both sides

Daily uplifts and coping as a buffer against everyday hassles: Relationship with stress reactions over time in military personnel

The aim of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of how daily hassles and uplifts interact with each other and with stress reactions over time in military personnel. Interviews were conducted with 15 Swedish veterans five years after an international peace enforcement mission. The grounded theory method was used and result patterns were generated for six specific time periods distributed before, during, and after the mission. A theoretical model was developed showing that everyday uplifts combined with adaptive coping can be sufficient to limit stress reactions related to daily hassles. The model was supported by the fact that, five years after the mission, none of interviewees had received a PTSD diagnosis or needed professional psychological treatment. The last-mentioned outcome is noteworthy in itself given the severe stress often encountered in peace enforcement missions and previous research observations of high PTSD incidence, suicide rates, criminality, and substance abuse in mission participants.publishedVersio

Program Leadership from a Nordic Perspective - Program Leaders' Power to Influence Their Program

Поточний інформаційний список містить перелік статей про Сумський державний університет з періодичних видань, які надійшли до бібліотеки за лютий

A two-nuclease pathway involving RNase H1 is required for primer removal at human mitochondrial OriL.

The role of Ribonuclease H1 (RNase H1) during primer removal and ligation at the mitochondrial origin of light-strand DNA synthesis (OriL) is a key, yet poorly understood, step in mitochondrial DNA maintenance. Here, we reconstitute the replication cycle of L-strand synthesis in vitro using recombinant mitochondrial proteins and model OriL substrates. The process begins with initiation of DNA replication at OriL and ends with primer removal and ligation. We find that RNase H1 partially removes the primer, leaving behind the last one to three ribonucleotides. These 5'-end ribonucleotides disturb ligation, a conclusion which is supported by analysis of RNase H1-deficient patient cells. A second nuclease is therefore required to remove the last ribonucleotides and we demonstrate that Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) can execute this function in vitro. Removal of RNA primers at OriL thus depends on a two-nuclease model, which in addition to RNase H1 requires FEN1 or a FEN1-like activity. These findings define the role of RNase H1 at OriL and help to explain the pathogenic consequences of disease causing mutations in RNase H1

Antibodies against Porphyromonas gingivalis in serum and saliva and their association with rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis. Data from two rheumatoid arthritis cohorts in Sweden

BackgroundPeriodontitis and oral pathogenic bacteria can contribute to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A connection between serum antibodies to Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and RA has been established, but data on saliva antibodies to P. gingivalis in RA are lacking. We evaluated antibodies to P. gingivalis in serum and saliva in two Swedish RA studies as well as their association with RA, periodontitis, antibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPA), and RA disease activity.MethodsThe SARA (secretory antibodies in RA) study includes 196 patients with RA and 101 healthy controls. The Karlskrona RA study includes 132 patients with RA ≥ 61 years of age, who underwent dental examination. Serum Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies and saliva IgA antibodies to the P. gingivalis–specific Arg-specific gingipain B (RgpB) were measured in patients with RA and controls.ResultsThe level of saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies was significantly higher among patients with RA than among healthy controls in multivariate analysis adjusted for age, gender, smoking, and IgG ACPA (p = 0.022). Saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies were associated with RA disease activity in multivariate analysis (p = 0.036). Anti-RgpB antibodies were not associated with periodontitis or serum IgG ACPA.ConclusionPatients with RA had higher levels of saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies than healthy controls. Saliva IgA anti-RgpB antibodies may be associated with RA disease activity but were not associated with periodontitis or serum IgG ACPA. Our results indicate a local production of IgA anti-RgpB in the salivary glands that is not accompanied by systemic antibody production

Realising consilience: How better communication between archaeologists, historians and natural scientists can transform the study of past climate change in the Mediterranean

This paper reviews the methodological and practical issues relevant to the ways in which natural scientists, historians and archaeologists may collaborate in the study of past climatic changes in the Mediterranean basin. We begin by discussing the methodologies of these three disciplines in the context of the consilience debate, that is, attempts to unify different research methodologies that address similar problems. We demonstrate that there are a number of similarities in the fundamental methodology between history, archaeology, and the natural sciences that deal with the past (“palaeoenvironmental sciences”), due to their common interest in studying societal and environmental phenomena that no longer exist. The three research traditions, for instance, employ specific narrative structures as a means of communicating research results. We thus present and compare the narratives characteristic of each discipline; in order to engage in fruitful interdisciplinary exchange, we must first understand how each deals with the societal impacts of climatic change. In the second part of the paper, we focus our discussion on the four major practical issues that hinder communication between the three disciplines. These include terminological misunderstandings, problems relevant to project design, divergences in publication cultures, and differing views on the impact of research. Among other recommendations, we suggest that scholars from the three disciplines should aim to create a joint publication culture, which should also appeal to a wider public, both inside and outside of academia.This paper emerged as a result of a workshop at Costa Navarino and the Navarino Environmental Observatory (NEO), Greece in April 2014, which addressed Mediterranean Holocene climate and human societies. The workshop was co-sponsored by IGBP/PAGES, NEO, the MISTRALS/PaleoMex program, the Labex OT-Med, the Bolin Centre for Climate Research at Stockholm University, and the Institute of Oceanography at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research. We also acknowledge funding from the National Science Centre, Poland, within the scheme of the Centre's postdoctoral fellowships (DEC-2012/04/S/HS3/00226 (A.I)); the Swedish Research Council (grant numbers 421-2014-1181 (E.W.) and 621-2012-4344 (K.H.)); CSIC-Ramón y Cajal post-doctoral program RYC-2013-14073 and Clare Hall College, Cambridge, Shackleton Fellowship (B.M.); the EU/FP7 Project ‘Sea for Society’ (Science and Society - 2011-1, 289066)