A Next Rwanda? A Next Iraq? Military Intervention In The 21st Century

This essay addresses the conditions under which reactive and pre-emptive military intervention are ethical, and whether adjustments can and should be made in international law and institutions to establish the parameters of their legality and to ensure that they are authorized by legitimate authority

The U.N. Human Rights Council: Is Its Mandate Well-Designed?

This essay is about the design of the mandate of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which was hammered out after a year of negotiations within the General Assembly and then another year within the newly-created Council itsel

A Correlational-Comparative Study of Kindergarten 1 Students’ and Their Parents’ Perceptions of Parental Encouragement for Learning English at Panaya Phatthanakan School, Bangkok, Thailand

This study investigated the relationship and significant differences between students’ and parents’ perceptions of parental encouragement for learning English at Panaya Phatthanakan School, Bangkok, Thailand during the 2018 academic year.  The research study focused on four objectives:  1) to determine the level of Kindergarten 1 students’ perceptions of parental encouragement for learning English, 2) to determine the level of parents’ of Kindergarten 1 students’ perceptions of parental encouragement for learning English, 3) to determine if there is a significant relationship between Kindergarten 1 students’ and their parents’ perceptions of parental encouragement for learning English, and 4) to determine if there is a significant difference between Kindergarten 1 students’ and their parent’s perception of parental encouragement for learning English.  The instrument used in this study was a perceptions of parental encouragement questionnaire given to 56 Kindergarten 1 students and one parent of each of the students.   The research found that both students and parents had a very high level of perceptions of parental encouragement.  Correlation analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between the students’ and parents’ perceptions of parental encouragement for learning English.  Further, the study found that there was a significant difference between Kindergarten 1 students’ and their parents’ perceptions of parental encouragement at Panaya Phatthanakan School, Bangkok, Thailand

Adrenergic Receptors as Pharmacological Targets for Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease

Inflammation is a key component of the dopaminergic neurodegeneration seen in progressive Parkinson’s disease (PD). The presence of activated glial cells, the participation of innate immune system, increased inflammatory molecules such as cytokines and chemokines, and increased oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species are the main neuroinflammatory characteristics present in progressive PD. Therapeutic targets which suppress pro-inflammatory responses by glial cells (mainly microglia) have been shown to be effective treatments for slowing or eliminating the progressive degeneration of neurons within the substantia nigra. In this chapter, we will detail a specific anti-inflammatory therapy using agonists to β2-adrenergic receptors that have been shown to be effective treatments for models of dopaminergic neurodegeneration and that have had efficacy in patients with progressive PD. We will also detail the possible molecular mechanisms of action of this therapeutic in stopping or reversing inflammation within the CNS

Oxidative Stress and Microglial Cells in Parkinson's Disease

Significant evidence has now been accumulated that microglial cells play a central role in the degeneration of DA neurons in animal models of PD. The oxidative stress response by microglial cells, most notably the activity of the enzyme NADPH oxidase, appears to play a central role in the pathology of PD. This oxidative stress response occurs in microglia through the activation of the ERK signaling pathway by proinflammatory stimuli, leading to the phosphorylation and translocation of the p47phox and p67phox cytosolic subunits, the activation of membrane-bound PHOX, and the production of ROS. Therapeutic anti-inflammatories which prevent DA neurodegeneration in PD, including anti-inflammatory cytokines, morphinan compounds, NADPH oxidase inhibitors, NF-κB inhibitors, and β2-AR agonists, all function to inhibit the activation of the PHOX in microglial cells. These observations suggest a central role for the oxidative stress response in microglial cells as a mediator or regulator of DA neurodegeneration in PD

Perceptions of high involvement work practices, person-organization fit and burnout: a time lagged study of health care employees

Previous research demonstrates that high involvement work practices (HIWPs) may be associated with burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization); however, to date, the process through which HIWPs influence burnout is not clear. This article examined the impact of HIWPs on long term burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) by considering the mediating role of person-organization fit (P-O fit) in this relationship. The study used a time lagged design and was conducted in a Canadian general hospital amongst health care personnel. Findings from structural equation modeling (N = 185) revealed that perceived HIWPs were positively associated with P-O fit. There was no direct effect of HIWPs on burnout; rather, P-O fit fully mediated the relationship between employee perceptions of HIWPs and burnout. This study fills a void in the HR and burnout literature by demonstrating the role that P-O fit has in explaining how HIWPs alleviates emotional exhaustion and depersonalization

Leadership, human resource management and the content of the psychological contract

This paper argues that, in combination, management leadership styles (transactional versus relational) and human resource management practices (flexibility versus commitment) play an important role in formulating the orientation and content of the psychological contract. The paper presents a theoretical framework of how this occurs, drawing upon and integrating prior research to develop a typology of psychological contract obligations based on a two-by-two matrix, with leadership style and HRM systems on opposing axes. The resultant obligations are termed as partnership, paternalistic, market-based and dynamic. Implications are discussed from the viewpoint of both individuals and organizations. Crucially, the paper posits that a failure to match leadership styles and human resource (HR) practices may lead to mismatched expectations between employees and employers. This may have negative consequences for an organization’s performance as, under the psychological contract, a breach of perceived obligations to employees by employers can have consequences for employee attitudes and behaviors

High performance work systems, workforce productivity, and innovation: a comparison of MNCs and indigenous firms

Previous research has reported conflicting results on whether or not foreign-owned firms diverge from indigenous firms with respect to their human resource policies and practices. Set in the dynamic, globalized economy of the Republic of Ireland, this study examines the relative use of high performance work systems (HPWS) by foreign-owned versus Irish-owned firms. We also investigate the implications of HPWS use for organizational effectiveness. Results suggest substantial differences associated with country of ownership. Relative to Irish-owned firms, foreign-owned firms report higher HPWS utilization and higher rates of workforce productivity and innovation. Results suggest that the relationship between country of ownership and organizational effectiveness is mediated by the use of HPWS