Responsibility Sharing or Shifting? "Safe" Third Countries and International Law

This article assesses the legality at international law of “protection elsewhere” policies, that is, policies whereby responsibility for refugees is transferred between states such as in the US-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement. An analysis of the operation of such policies in Europe, Australia, and North America raises serious concerns about the ability of such schemes to uphold their aims and objectives in conformity with international law. The paper concludes by recommending that states reconsider the utility and legality of such schemes with a view to developing policies that genuinely address the need for responsibility sharing.Cet article évalue la légalité en droit international des politiques dites « protection ailleurs », c.-à-d. les politiques sous le couvert desquelles la responsabilité envers les réfugiés est transférée entre états, comme c’est le cas avec l’Entente entre le Canada et les États Unis sur les tiers pays sûrs. Une analyse de l’opération de telles politiques en Europe, en Australie et en Amérique du Nord soulève de sérieuses questions sur la capacité de tels arrangements à respecter leurs buts et objectifs en conformité avec le droit international. L’article conclut avec la recommandation que les états reconsidèrent l’utilité et la légalité de tels arrangements avec comme objectif le développement de politiques qui répondent réellement au besoin de partage de la responsabilité

The Cathedral of Junk: A Cultural Critique Through Yard Art

An anti-monument to conspicuous consumption, The Cathedral of Junk was begun as personal expression and has grown into social commentary on the excess of consumerist waste. This thesis examines the social critique inherent in the Austin, Texas yard art structure. To fully understand the implications of the artwork, chapters situate the Cathedral of Junk within its peer group of yard art, examine the significance and use of recycled materials within art, and show how the materials and makeup of the Cathedral of Junk reveals its maker’s critique of society’s obsession with consumerism

Understanding the Structure of Amyloid Fibrils using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to Design New Therapeutic Strategies for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Amyloid fibrils are misfolded proteins that are irreversible once they are formed. In human beings, there are different kinds of proteins that form into amyloid fibrils and are associated with several degenerative diseases. For example, insulin, Huntington, Amyloid β-42 and α- synuclein proteins are linked with Type-2 Diabetes, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, respectively. The mechanism for the misfolding and creation of the fibrils is thought to be the same for all of these proteins. Hen Egg White Lysozyme (HEWL) is a low-cost and widely recognized model protein to work with to help us understand the mechanisms of amyloid fibrillogenesis. The aim of this project is to denature the lysozyme protein using different kinds of methods, acidic and basic conditions. We will investigate the mechanisms of growth of lysozyme amyloid fibrils under these conditions over a two-week period using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM provides a topographical image of the fibrils bound to a mica substrate. Examining the AFM images taken after different incubation times and thus at various stages of growth, will allow us to analyze their morphological parameters, such as length, width, and height, to better understand the growth mechanisms of amyloid fibrils. It is thought that a drug can be designed to be able to stop progression of the disease by removing the amyloid fibrils or preventing further buildup. Knowing the structure of the amyloid fibrils makes it possible to understand how it contributes to neurodegenerative diseases and how it could be treated with a specific drug or other therapy

Internal Protection/Relocation/Flight Alternative as an Aspect of Refugee Status Determination

In many jurisdictions around the world, the possibility of an ‘internal flight alternative’(IFA) (often referred to as ‘internal relocation alternative’) is invoked to deny refugee status to persons at risk of being persecuted for a Convention reason in part, but not all, of their country of origin. In this, as in so many areas of refugee lawand policy, the viability of a universal commitment to protection is challenged by divergence in State practice. The goals of this paper are therefore, first, briefly to review the origins and development of the practice of considering IFA as an aspect of the refugee status determination process; secondly, to identify key protection concerns in leading formulations of the IFA rule; and, thirdly, to propose relevant substantive and procedural standards which recognize the legal plausibility in some circumstances of considering internal protection alternatives, but which we believe avoid most of the protection pitfalls of current practice and doctrine

Employer Health Benefits 2016 Annual Survey

This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and employer opinions. The 2016 survey included almost 1,900 interviews with non-federal public and private firms.Annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage reached $18,142 this year, up 3 percent from last year, with workers on average paying$5,277 towards the cost of their coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Education Trust 2016 Employer Health Benefits Survey. The 2016 survey includes information on the use of incentives for employer wellness programs, plan cost-sharing as well as firm offer rate. Survey results are released here in a variety of ways, including a full report with downloadable tables on a variety of topics, summary of findings, and an article published in the journal Health Affairs

Adopting a Citizen Science approach to develop cost-effective methods that will deliver annual information for managing small-scale recreational fisheries: The Southwest Recreational Crabbing Project

Fishing for the blue swimmer crab, Portunus armatus, represents an iconic Western Australian recreational fishing experience. State-wide integrated surveys of boat-based recreational fishing conducted by the Department of Fisheries, Western Australia (DoF) in 2011/12 and 2013/14 reported that three times more blue swimmer crabs were caught than any other recreational species (Ryan etal., 2013; Ryan et al., 2015)

‘Time' in Refugee Status Determination in Australia and the United Kingdom: A Clear and Present Danger from Armed Conflict?

'Time' plays an important role in refugee status determination (RSD) because whilst fear must be current, the fear relates to present or future risk. This article examines the role of time in RSD and how time impacts upon the granting of refugee protection. Thus it concentrates on the test of a 'well-founded fear' in article 1A(2) of the Refugee Convention. Claims from persons fleeing armed conflict raise particular challenges because of the fluidity, unstable conditions, and protracted character of conflicts. Furthermore, the unpredictable nature of conflict means that people are, at times, already fleeing from harm that might well eventuate in the future but that is not yet current. Drawing on jurisprudence of the senior courts and appeal tribunals in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK), the article shows how these have long engaged with considerations of time in refugee matters. In determining who qualifies for refugee protection, courts and tribunals look backwards and forwards. Hidden within this process are assumptions about time that lie - almost invisibly - at the heart of the protection regime. When assessing whether a person has a 'well-founded fear' of being persecuted, the courts in Australia and the UK embrace a future-looking approach; a 'clear and present danger' is not required. The timeframe is that of the 'reasonably foreseeable future', situated somewhere between the 'not too remote' and the 'present or immediate future'. This necessarily contains a degree of predictive speculation, understood to mean an exercise in prediction falling short of fact-finding. To be sure, foreseeability and certainty of risk are not to be conflated. Yet, at times, conflation between the two has occurred (by courts and tribunals), leading to exclusionary practices and outcomes. This has been the case, for example, where the situation in the country of origin was relatively stable but nevertheless fluid, meaning that while there could be a significant risk in the future, the risk was low at the time the decision was made. Considering that armed conflict continues to be the main driver for people claiming refugee protection in Australia and the UK, how senior courts and appeal tribunals understand and apply the timeframe of reasonable foreseeability in fluid situations (between peace and conflict) is key. This article highlights some best practices in that regard, including ensuring that this timeframe does not expand and contract with the apparent certainty or uncertainty of a situation

The impact of early life immune challenge on behavior and microglia during postnatal development

Sexual dichotomy exists in the development, presentation, and course of many neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety. Anxiety disorders are one of the earliest psychiatric illnesses to manifest and a role for immune system programming of the developing CNS has emerged in relation to anxiety. Adult rodents neonatally exposed to an immune challenge exhibit increased anxiety-related behaviors. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of postnatal immune challenge on behavior and microglia during the postnatal period and in adulthood. Mice were administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 0.05mg/kg, i.p.) or saline on postnatal days (P) three and five. Anxiety-related behavior was assessed during early development on P15 and P21, and re-assessed in adulthood at 10 and 12 weeks. Results reveal sex-specificity in the temporal emergence and phenotypic profile of behaviors displayed by LPS-treated mice. Male LPS-treated mice exhibited reduced exploratory in early development (P15 and P21) that persisted into adulthood. Female LPS-mice exhibited increased anxiety-like behaviors in the EPM in adulthood. These results demonstrate a role for interactions between sex and the immune system in shaping the developmental trajectory of exploratory and anxiety-like behaviors

The contributions of pre-incarceration experiences and prison-based programs to post-release employment acquisition, retention and recidivism

This dissertation examines the contributions of pre-incarceration experiences and prison-based programs to post-release employment success and recidivism. Parolees released from the West Virginia Division of Corrections between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009 were studied. The impact of education, life and vocational programs on the employment experiences and recidivism of a sample of these parolees were analyzed using Chi Square tests and logistic regression. The study found that men have a significantly higher probability than women of acquiring and retaining employment after release from prison. With regards to program completion, the study found that education program completion had no effect on employment acquisition, employment sustainability or near-term recidivism (dependent variables). The study further found that life program completion also had no effect on these dependent variables, neither did vocational program completion. Additionally, there was no difference in outcomes between Whites and African-Americans. (Author abstract)Foster, M. M. (2010). The contributions of pre-incarceration experiences and prison-based programs to post-release employment acquisition, retention and recidivism. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)School of Community Economic Developmen