UN FORUM SERIES – time for the UNGPs to grow up? Tracking children’s rights in national action plans on business & human rights

This post was contributed by Patrick Geary, corporate social responsibility specialist at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Born in 2011, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are now energetically walking and talking. While childhood is never without its hiccups, governments around the world have increasingly strived to give the UNGPs a robust voice and stable footing

Set and Drift: The Perils of Paperless

In a document released in November 1997, Defense Reform Initiative: The Busi- ness Strategy for Defense in the 21st Century, then–Secretary of Defense William Cohen stated, “To carry out our defense strategy into the 21st century with military forces able to meet the challenges of the new era, there is no alternative to achieving fundamental reform in how the Defense Department conducts business.”1 One initiative spelled out in the document concerns how Defense Department business practices are related to the management of technical data supporting defense weapons systems

NATO battlefield strategy for the conventional defense of Central Europe

Although we live in a time in which strategies using nuclear weapons dominate the attention of most defense analysts, there are reasons why more attention should be paid to conventional defense strategy. This thesis explores NATO\u27s strategy for defending Central Europe with conventional battlefield weapons. The discussion centers on the military and political complexities involved in the strategy of Forward Defense. Included also is a brief history of NATO, highlighting the political and military events that helped shape today\u27s conventional defense arrangements. Particular emphasis is placed on illustrating the methods and factors involved in the implementation of Forward Defense

Constructing conceptualizations of English academic writing within an EFL context: streams of influence at a Taiwan university

The thesis draws upon in-depth research into the question of how English Academic Writing (EAW) is conceptualized at a Department of Applied English in a Taiwanese university. A qualitative research approach was taken within a social constructionism framework. Administrators, teachers, and students, were interviewed to explore the impact each of these three streams of influence has on the construction of the idea of EAW within this particular EFL context. These influences add to the mixture forming the conceptualization of EAW with a knock on effect to curriculum planning, teaching pedagogy, and the academic texts students produce. Administrators' design of a writing program and teachers' conceptualizations of EAW have implications for students' experience in learning to write and their own conceptualizations of what EAW is. Excerpts from interviews with teachers across the writing programme reveal how teachers do not share a coherent approach to teaching writing and yet have the understanding that they are conforming to a standardized conception of EAW. This research has important implications for curriculum design and lesson planning in EAW and EFL teacher training. Administrators need to implement a writing program with clear mutual goals as conceptualizations of EAW in an EFL context may be particularly fragile and lack consistency. Further implications of this research touch upon the training EFL teachers receive in graduate programs abroad which contribute to molding their conceptualizations of EAW. This research also points to the importance for administrators, teachers, and students to share a common language with which to discuss EAW issues

Promoting the Autonomy of Taiwanese EFL Learners in Higher Education by Using Self-Assessment Learning Logs

This study revealed how the classroom teaching practice of self-assessment learning logs helps to promote the autonomy of L2 learners in the context of higher education in Taiwan. L2 learners completed a self-assessment learning log entry on a biweekly basis, reflecting on what they had done outside of the classroom to improve their English. These learners then shared their learning log entries in class approximately once a month. Data from 30 participants were collected using a questionnaire containing both closed and open-ended questions. The results indicated that most participants believed that learning logs facilitated language learning; in particular, sharing what they had done with their classmates was a strong motivation to continue out-of-class learning activities. This paper offers specific suggestions for teachers regarding effective techniques for promoting learner autonomy

UB Knightlines Winter 2010

The UB Knightlines newsletter for Winter 2010. This issue contains articles discussing UB alum Claire Ciscuolo and her business Claire's Corner Copia in New Haven, UB alum Art Landi's business of building product displays and his UB advocacy, UB alum Clodomiro Falcon creating a Hispanic phone directory in Fairfield County with UB, Fone's dental clinic to provide free checkups to local elementary school students, UB's First Year Achievement Floor, the Back-to-School Youth Education Summit, an exhibition on domestic violence, the Bridgeport/Shelton Big Read, alum Steve Ray's experience with UB Basketball in the late 80s, student David James story on marathon running, Sofia Hoflin and the UB women's Soccer team, the induction of alumni into UB's Athletic Hall of Fame, and other campus news

UB Knightlines Summer/Fall 2012

The UB Knightlines newsletter for Summer/Fall 2012. This issue contains articles discussing UB's 102nd commencement, graduates of the class of 2012, SASD students helping revamp the Bridgeport Public Library, health professionals using UB's new anatomy lab, UB's naturopathic-university herbarium, UB faculty summer reading lists, industrial design students gaining on the job experience, UB engineering outreach to local students with bridge building, UB MBA students with the Connecticut Stock Market Challenge, UB professors encouraging girls interest in STEM, a SASD alum winning UB's Lifetime Achievement Award, UB's first student to be admitted to UConn's School of Pharmacy, two International College students winning U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholarships, Dr. Kraft's lobbying for the American Physical Society, Coordinator for the Division of Health Sciences Lena Minervino, professor Emily Larned's ideas for reopening Bridgeport's Pleasure Beach, Chuch Sadowski being presented a 25-year Award from the College Sports Information Directors of America, donors to the UB Gymnastics program, UB's Akil Pompey playing for Khoromkhon FC in Ulaanbaatar, Joe Tonelli taking over at UB's Basketball coach, UB alum Gaetano Giunta's experience playing for UB Baseball and the New Jersey Jackels, and other campus and sports news

UB Knightlines Spring 2010

The UB Knightlines newsletter for Springer 2010. This issue contains articles discussing the gift of Mr. Shintaro Akatsu which renamed the School of Design, campus financial aid, Chinese language learning within the School of Education, the Engineering School working on next-gen unmanned projectiles for the U.S. Army, fashion merchandising students' visit to the New York city Garment District, student volunteerism on Martin Luther King Day, the addition of Olympian Monica Mesalles to the UB Gymnastics team, a highlight of UB Women's Basketball point guard Sidney Parsons, a recap of UB fall sports, and other campus news

UB Knightlines Summer 2010

The UB Knightlines newsletter for Summer 2010. This issue contains articles discussing UB's 100th Commencement, memories of the UB from each decade it has been in existence, UB's choir performing Leonard Bernstein's Mass, the awarding of 2010 Student Leadership and Distinguished Service Awards, audio surveillance from video cameras, the opening of the UB's Physician Assistant Institute, the dedication of the Bigelow Discovery Pavilion, UB's robot entry into NASA's 2010 Lunabotics Mining Competition, UB's student Diego Moreno placing honorable mention at the PAVE the Way 3D Design Challenge, the launch of CTech IncUBator at UB, UB junior Piotr Safronczyk of the UB swim team being name National and NCAA Division II Men's Swimmer of the Week, UB's Gymnastics team winning the U.S.A. Gymnastics College Team National Championships, highlights of UB's Baseball and Softball teams, and other campus news