Unvested: How Equity and the Deferred Payment Gamble in Startups Shortchange Employees Targeted by Discrimination

The new American Dream is not limited to Silicon Valley. Startups span the nation. They exist in a vast array of sizes and ideologies. Nonetheless, by their very nature, startups are boundary-pushing enterprises. For all the world-altering good they can do, sometimes, that crashing-into-walls mentality comes at the price of pushing human and legal boundaries as well. While the entity tries to grow and create, almost hydraulically using what little human and financial capital it may have to build the once-impossible, startup employees can be left to bear the cost when it is their boundaries that are broken. Discrimination is one such cost. Current federal and state antidiscrimination law frameworks reflect a legal landscape perilously out of sync with the reality that startups are now entirely commonplace. While startups may sometimes literally be small businesses, they can have far outsized economic and human effects. This Note will analyze how current antidiscrimination law frameworks too often inherently fail employees suffering discrimination at smaller startups—irrespective of that startup’s age, purpose, or capitalization. Further, this Note will address the necessity of reforming Title VII and other antidiscrimination laws to catch them up with the speed at which startups have brushed them aside. In short, ready or not, the law must adapt. The phrase, “done is better than perfect,” has long become a somewhat dogmatic maxim taught to most programmers—myself included. This ideology holds some merit when it comes to productivity sprints, hackathons, and getting a product to market. However, the danger of this credo arises when it is applied to people and the relationships among them—when the uncompromising push to “done,” and the culture it entails, comes at the expense of those who get it there

Containing the GMO Genie: Cattle Trespass and the Rights and Responsibilities of Biotechnology Owners

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have caused substantial economic losses by contaminating non-GMO crops and threatening the economic self-determination of non-GMO farmers. After Monsanto v. Schmeiser, biotech IP owners hold most of the rights in the property bundle with respect to bioengineered organisms. This commentary highlights the disequilibrium between these broad patent rights and the lack of legal responsibility for harms caused by GMO products. The authors propose that there is a role for tort law--specifically the tort of cattle trespass--in fairly allocating risk and responsibility. The doctrine of cattle trespass reflects a policy of distributive justice, positing that the unique risks associated with keeping living creatures ought to import liability based on the owner\u27s creation and control of those risks. We suggest that GM canola and its bioengineered kin represent the next generation of livestock, and that biotechnology companies release their transgenic organisms onto the market in the knowledge that these organisms may escape and do harm. As such, biotech creators and patent holders are properly liable when risk ripens into harm

Learning Leadership: A Qualitative Study on the Differences of Student Learning in Online versus Traditional Courses in a Leadership Studies Program

As online education offerings are extended to more students, organizations are increasingly interested in the effectiveness of online learning compared to a traditional classroom. The need for research on the learning outcomes of students is imperative. The purpose of this study is to compare student learning in a traditional classroom with the equivalent online course. This research explores the research question: What is the difference between student learning in a leadership studies course through online versus traditional delivery methods? This study utilizes a directed content analysis to investigate student assignments using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model as a foundational theory. Previous research reveals a contradiction on student outlook on the instructor and format of the class, as well as understanding the effectiveness of each method of delivery. Findings in this study indicate that online students may engage more often in deeper learning on assignments than those in the traditional classroom environment

Vaginal birth after caesarean section : why is uptake so low? Insights from a meta-ethnographic synthesis of women’s accounts of their birth choices

Funding MB is a research training fellow funded by The Wellcome Trust.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

TGFβ/Smad3 regulates proliferation and apoptosis through IRS-1 inhibition in colon cancer cells.

In this study, we have uncovered a novel crosstalk between TGFβ and IGF-1R signaling pathways. We show for the first time that expression and activation of IRS-1, an IGF-1R adaptor protein, is decreased by TGFβ/Smad3 signaling. Loss or attenuation of TGFβ activation leads to elevated expression and phosphorylation of IRS-1 in colon cancer cells, resulting in enhanced cell proliferation, decreased apoptosis and increased tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Downregulation of IRS-1 expression reversed Smad3 knockdown-mediated oncogenic phenotypes, indicating that TGFβ/Smad3 signaling inhibits cell proliferation and increases apoptosis at least partially through the inhibition of IRS-1 expression and activation. Additionally, the TGFβ/Smad3/IRS-1 signaling axis regulates expression of cyclin D1 and XIAP, which may contribute to TGFβ/Smad3/IRS-1-mediated cell cycle progression and survival. Given that loss of TGFβ signaling occurs frequently in colon cancer, an important implication of our study is that IRS-1 could be a potential therapeutic target for colon cancer treatment

Creating an adult social care strategy for Cornwall

‘Creating an adult social care strategy for Cornwall’ presents a rapid evidence review of relevant policy and academic evidence, together with analyses of Cornwall’s current adult social care workforce to inform an adult social care workforce strategy for the independent sector. Adult social care makes a vital social and economic contribution in Cornwall. In social terms, the sector supports a large number of older or vulnerable people. In economic terms, in 2022-23, the sector contributed £606 million GVA to Cornwall’s economy, an increase of 5.9% on 2021-2 and is one of the largest employers in the county. It experiences, however, similar workforce challenges to the rest of England, with the addition of some regionally specific challenges, including a high cost of living, expensive accommodation, lack of reliable public transport and hard to reach rural areas, and poor digital connectivity. These factors make recruitment into a low-paid sector difficult, especially against a backdrop of significant competition from other sectors and in particular seasonal demand in tourism and hospitality. Yet significant growth is required. Forecasts demonstrate that, to match the growing demand for adult social care in Cornwall, the independent sector workforce will need to grow in the region of 30-35% by 2035. The underlying premise of the report is the need to create good work in the sector. This includes the offer of fair pay, secure employment, training, qualifications and career progression opportunities, worker recognition and involvement in decision making. Parity with the NHS for similar roles is essential, as are place based solutions to the particular labour market challenges that Cornwall experiences. Good work will both attract workers to and retain them in the adult social care sector, but the scale of the task in achieving this should not be under-estimated

"Best Run Club in the World'': Manchester City Fans and the Legitimation of Sportswashing?

The term sportswashing has been discussed and analysed within academic circles, as well as the mainstream media. However, the majority of existing research has focused on one-off event-based sportswashing strategies (such as autocratic states hosting major international sports events) rather than longer term investment-based strategies (such as state actors purchasing sports clubs and teams). Furthermore, little has been written about the impact of this latter strategy on the existing fanbase of the purchased team and on their relationship with sportswashing and the discourses surrounding it. This paper addresses this lacuna through analysis of a popular Manchester City online fan forum, which illustrates the manner in which this community of dedicated City fans have legitimated the actions of the club’s ownership regime, the Abu Dhabi United Group – a private equity group operated by Abu Dhabi royalty and UAE politicians. The discursive strategies of the City fans are discussed, in addition to the wider significance of these strategies on the issue of sportswashing and its coverage by the media

Repetitive negative thinking in the perinatal period and its relationship with anxiety and depression

Background: Rumination and worry represent two types of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), and their predictive and maintaining roles are well-established in depression and anxiety, respectively. Furthermore, there is an emerging literature on the link between RNT and psychological wellbeing in the perinatal period. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of studies that have investigated the relationship between RNT and perinatal depression and anxiety. We identified 87 papers eligible for inclusion in the review; they included cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, as well as treatment evaluations (pilot trials and randomised controlled trials). Results: Cross-sectional studies provided evidence of an association between RNT (i.e., rumination and worry) and depression and anxiety, in both pregnancy and postpartum. Longitudinal findings were mixed. Whilst antenatal worry consistently predicted subsequent depression and anxiety (both later in pregnancy and postpartum), rumination did not consistently predict depression. However, there was some evidence that RNT interacted with other processes to predict later psychopathology. Three randomised controlled trials evaluated whether psychological treatments reduce RNT in the perinatal period, only one of which included a clinical sample. Limitations: No experimental investigations were eligible for inclusion in the review. Conclusions: Further studies are needed to further our understanding of the nature and role of RNT in pregnancy and postpartum, and its consequences for maternal mental health. These include (but are not limited to) experimental investigations, studies with large clinical samples, and RCTs evaluating the effectiveness of psychological interventions targeting RNT to prevent and treat perinatal depression and anxiety