The Importance of Legal Context and Other Considerations in Assessing the Suitability of Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration and Litigation in Resolving Effectively Domestic and International Disputes (Employment Disputes and Beyond)

(Excerpt) The six sets of considerations examined in this Article take such variety into account and focus on factors that are meaningful for all disputes, though in different proportions. The minimum requirement for the purpose of such considerations is that the dispute relies on a disagreement in fact and in law, not merely in fact. In today’s highly regulated society, the law is most often present although an individual may not perceive it correctly in facing a dispute. The following six sets of considerations include, it is submitted, most of the essential factors that enable users to understand what dispute resolution mechanism fits best, or accommodates the most, their expectations of the dispute resolution process in light of the circumstances that, in fact and in law, shape their dispute and the operation of each dispute resolution mechanism they consider for their dispute. As a final introductory note, in this Article that concerns both common and civil law jurisdictions: the terms “law” or “legal rules” include legislation (primary and secondary or delegated), common law, equity (“principles of equity” or “equitable remedies”), and case law, beyond the common law - civil law divide. That being said, obviously each national legal system (French Law, Italian Law, et cetera) defines what its sources of law and of legal rules are

Epidemiology, Clinical Features and Prognostic Factors of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Results From an Italian Multicenter Study

Background: Many aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents remain unclear and optimal treatment is debated. The objective of our study was to investigate epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic characteristics of pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on risk factors for complicated and critical disease. Methods: The present multicenter Italian study was promoted by the Italian Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, involving both pediatric hospitals and general pediatricians/family doctors. All subjects under 18 years of age with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection and referred to the coordinating center were enrolled from March 2020. Results: As of 15 September 2020, 759 children were enrolled (median age 7.2 years, IQR 1.4; 12.4). Among the 688 symptomatic children, fever was the most common symptom (81.9%). Barely 47% of children were hospitalized for COVID-19. Age was inversely related to hospital admission (p < 0.01) and linearly to length of stay (p = 0.014). One hundred forty-nine children (19.6%) developed complications. Comorbidities were risk factors for complications (p < 0.001). Viral coinfections, underlying clinical conditions, age 5\u20139 years and lymphopenia were statistically related to ICU admission (p < 0.05). Garazzino et al. SARS-CoV-2 in Children and Adolescents Conclusions: Complications of COVID-19 in children are related to comorbidities and increase with age. Viral co-infections are additional risk factors for disease progression and multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporarily related to COVID-19 (MIS-C) for ICU admission

Results from the European Union MAPEC_LIFE cohort study on air pollution and chromosomal damage in children: are public health policies sufficiently protective?

Background: Children are at high risk of suffering health consequences of air pollution and childhood exposure can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood. This study, part of the MAPEC_LIFE project (LIFE12 ENV/IT/000614), aimed to investigate the associations between exposure to urban air pollutants and micronucleus (MN) frequency, as a biomarker of chromosomal damage, in buccal cells of children for supporting implementation and updating of environmental policy and legislation. Methods: This prospective epidemiological cohort study was carried out on 6- to 8-year-old children living in five Italian towns with different levels and features of air pollution. Exfoliated buccal cells of the children were sampled twice, in winter and spring, obtaining 2139 biological samples for genotoxicological investigation. Micronucleus (MN) frequency was investigated in buccal cells of children and its association with air pollution exposure was assessed applying multiple Poisson regression mixed models, including socio-demographic and lifestyle factors as confounders. We also dichotomize air pollutants\u2019 concentration according to the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives and WHO Air Quality Guidelines in all Poisson regression models to assess their risk predictive capacity. Results: Positive and statistically significant associations were found between MN frequency and PM10, PM2.5, benzene, SO2 and ozone. The increment of the risk of having MN in buccal cells for each \u3bcg/m3 increase of pollutant concentration was maximum for benzene (18.9%, 95% CIs 2.2\u201338.4%) and modest for the other pollutants (between 0.2 and 1.4%). An increased risk (between 17.9% and 59.8%) was found also for exposure to PM10, benzene and benzo(a)pyrene levels higher than the threshold limits. Conclusions: Some air pollutants are able to induce chromosomal damage in buccal cells of children even at concentrations below present EU/WHO limits. This type of biological effects may be indicative of the environmental pressure which populations are exposed to in urban areas

Lifestyles and socio-cultural factors among children aged 6-8 years from five Italian towns: The MAPEC-LIFE study cohort

Background: Lifestyles profoundly determine the quality of an individual’s health and life since his childhood. Many diseases in adulthood are avoidable if health-risk behaviors are identified and improved at an early stage of life. The aim of the present research was to characterize a cohort of children aged 6–8 years selected in order to perform an epidemiological molecular study (the MAPEC_LIFE study), investigate lifestyles of the children that could have effect on their health status, and assess possible association between lifestyles and socio-cultural factors. Methods: A questionnaire composed of 148 questions was administered in two different seasons to parents of children attending 18 primary schools in five Italian cities (Torino, Brescia, Pisa, Perugia and Lecce) to obtain information regarding the criteria for exclusion from the study, demographic, anthropometric and health information on the children, as well as some aspects on their lifestyles and parental characteristics. The results were analyzed in order to assess the frequency of specific conditions among the different seasons and cities and the association between lifestyles and socio-economic factors. Results: The final cohort was composed of 1,164 children (50.9 boys, 95.4% born in Italy). Frequency of some factors appeared different in terms of the survey season (physical activity in the open air, the ways of cooking certain foods) and among the various cities (parents’ level of education and rate of employment, sport, traffic near the home, type of heating, exposure to passive smoking, ways of cooking certain foods). Exposure to passive smoking and cooking fumes, obesity, residence in areas with heavy traffic, frequency of outdoor play and consumption of barbecued and fried foods were higher among children living in families with low educational and/or occupational level while children doing sports and consuming toasted bread were more frequent in families with high socio-economic level. Conclusions: The socio-economic level seems to affect the lifestyles of children enrolled in the study including those that could cause health effects. Many factors are linked to the geographical area and may depend on environmental, cultural and social aspects of the city of residence

Discourses of cultural heritage in times of crisis:The case of the Parthenon Marbles

The paper focuses on the commodification and politicisation of cultural heritage using as a case study the ongoing debate on the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the U.K. to Greece, recently reignited by the press release for the movie The Monuments Men in 2014. Greece has been in the throes of a severe financial crisis for over six years with the ever imminent threat of Grexit constantly disputed. In parallel with this ongoing turmoil, discourses of Greek antiquity have been persistently prominent in the media. In this context, we problematise the complex nexus of relationships between the financial crisis, national identity and cultural heritage. We combine the Discourse-Historical Approach and Interactional Sociolinguistics drawing data from an online forum, and investigate how the users negotiate pro-/anti-return positions and make the financial crisis relevant in the argumentation process. The analysis shows that history, identity, value, and debt are recontextualised in relation to the Parthenon sculptures. The analysis identifies an underlying process of value trade off and brings the current political and economic environment to the fore. We close the paper by foregrounding the implications of our study and provide directions for further research

The Importance of Legal Context and Other Considerations in Assessing the Suitability of Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration and Litigation in Resolving Effectively Domestic and International Disputes (Employment Disputes and Beyond)

(Excerpt) The six sets of considerations examined in this Article take such variety into account and focus on factors that are meaningful for all disputes, though in different proportions. The minimum requirement for the purpose of such considerations is that the dispute relies on a disagreement in fact and in law, not merely in fact. In today’s highly regulated society, the law is most often present although an individual may not perceive it correctly in facing a dispute. The following six sets of considerations include, it is submitted, most of the essential factors that enable users to understand what dispute resolution mechanism fits best, or accommodates the most, their expectations of the dispute resolution process in light of the circumstances that, in fact and in law, shape their dispute and the operation of each dispute resolution mechanism they consider for their dispute. As a final introductory note, in this Article that concerns both common and civil law jurisdictions: the terms “law” or “legal rules” include legislation (primary and secondary or delegated), common law, equity (“principles of equity” or “equitable remedies”), and case law, beyond the common law - civil law divide. That being said, obviously each national legal system (French Law, Italian Law, et cetera) defines what its sources of law and of legal rules are

La réforme du droit international privé et de l'arbitrage international en Suisse

International audienc