Good business : The economic case for protecting human rights

The development and publication of this report was supported by the following organizations: BHR Young Researchers Summit; Frank Bold; ICAR; The Institute for Business Ethics at the University of St. Gallen; NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.Publisher PD

100% RAG: Syracuse School of Architecture, Student Newspaper, 1989

100% RAG: Syracuse School of Architecture, Student Newspaper, 1989. Student newsletter from student contributors of Syracuse School of Architecture in 1989

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Rights, Risks and Rules: The Rise of Human Rights Due Diligence and Implications for Transnational Labour Governance

© 2021 Ingrid Mary LandauOver the last decade, the concept of human rights due diligence (‘HRDD’) has emerged as a dominant means through which to conceptualise and operationalise corporate responsibility for working conditions in transnational supply chains. This thesis applies a transnational labour law lens to HRDD. Proceeding from the observation that HRDD as originally articulated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is open to multiple interpretations, this thesis examines contests that have taken place globally over the role and status of the concept as it relates to workers’ rights. It also considers the implications of HRDD’s ascension for transnational labour law, as a distinct field of law, scholarship and activism. Using conceptual and empirical analysis, this thesis argues that HRDD is not being institutionalised at either global or national level in a way that renders it a transformative or even robust mechanism of transnational labour law. This is despite the fact that the concept’s legalisation is being welcomed – indeed in part driven by – actors that believe it will broaden and deepen respect for workers’ rights in internal corporate processes and legal frameworks. This thesis further contends that the rise of HRDD is leading to subtle shifts in configurations of actors and institutions in transnational labour governance. Through its reframing of labour rights issues as matters for risk management, HRDD has facilitated the expansion within the field of for-profit actors such as management consultancies, risk advisory services and law firms. The proliferation of HRDD-related legislation at the national level is positioning courts to play a greater role in determining the nature and scope of corporate responsibility for workers’ rights in transnational supply chains. In addition, the rise of HRDD has enabled the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to consolidate its position as the leading global authority in the area of corporate accountability and labour rights. The OECD has successfully capitalised on the resonance of the HRDD frame with its apolitical working methods, and its technical expertise and formidable research capacity, to engage in an ambitious work programme on HRDD. In contrast, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has struggled to establish itself as an authority on HRDD or to generate broad-based support for related standard-setting activities. This thesis makes an original contribution to transnational labour law by examining an increasingly influential concept that has yet to receive sustained examination from scholars in the discipline. It also makes a novel contribution through its empirical investigation of a stage in the regulatory process that tends to be overlooked in transnational labour law scholarship: how an international labour norm, subsequent to its adoption, is shaped, translated and contested, by whom and with what implications

Using public procurement to promote better labour standards: a case study of the Victorian Government schools contract cleaning program

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Federal Government’s Work Choices legislation has severely curtailed the capacity of State Governments to regulate labour practices directly by legislation. Of the possible State Government regulatory responses to Work Choices, it is the use of public procurement as a means for regulating labour standards in the private sector that has been canvassed most extensively. However, there is little consensus on how this might be done most effectively. This report is a case study of the design and administration of the Victorian Government Schools Contract Cleaning Program, which regulates the procurement of cleaning services in over 1500 schools across Victoria. This program was established in 2005 to address complaints about widespread non-compliance with minimum labour standards applicable to contract cleaners in the industry, as well as problems with the quality of services being provided to many Schools. The study found that the program is an innovative response to the challenge of using procurement to improve labour standards in a particular industry. Drawing on program documentation and interviews with representatives of government, trade unions, and employers in the industry, we found that the program has many characteristics consistent with a model of ‘responsive regulation’. If designed properly, responsive regulation maximises the effectiveness of a regulatory regime by involving stakeholders in standard-setting as well as in monitoring and enforcement of standards. Further, employing a ‘regulatory pyramid’ which allows regulators to negotiate compliance through provision of information and education while providing for punitive sanctions if necessary, enhances effective enforcement of regulatory goals. The program achieves some of these ideals by establishing an accreditation process whereby contractors wishing to be considered for Victorian government schools cleaning contracts must apply to be members of a Panel of approved cleaning contractors. The application process is overseen by an assessment committee made up of a number of different stakeholders, including trade unions and a representative of cleaning contractors. Applicants must satisfy the committee of their compliance with iv a number of ‘Key Assessment Criteria’. These criteria include requirements with headings such as ‘Sound practices to promote Occupational Health and Safety’, ‘sound practices in human resource management’, and ‘compliance with relevant Industrial Awards/Instruments’. Although the program is in its infancy, participants in the study were positive about the establishment of the program and its impact on labour standards in contract cleaning in government schools to date. The existence of an active trade union and a strong employers association, along with a well-resourced bureaucracy providing expert assistance and advice, has been important to the success of the program. However, concerns were raised about the difficulty in oversight presented by the sheer number of contractors which have been afforded Panel Status, to date in excess of 800 firms. Some of these difficulties might be overcome by the establishment of a more formally tripartite monitoring process. Such a process would need to enhance the role of employees and their representatives or other independent monitors in the process of monitoring ongoing compliance by contractors with the labour standards set by the program. This would need to be done in a way which did not undermine the legitimacy of the program in the eyes of contractors. While the Key Assessment Criteria which set labour standards are adequate given the early stage of this program, the study found that the criteria appear to be fairly static. Program processes do not provide for upward revision of labour standards to reflect improved industry conditions and/or changing community expectations regarding employment arrangements. While there are some areas where the design and administration of this program could be improved, the report concludes there is enormous potential to extend this model to other areas of government procurement. If State Governments in Australia are to respond to Work Choices in a way which addresses both minimum labour standards and employee ‘voice’ in the workplaces of government contractors, then the Victorian Government Schools Contract Cleaning Program provides an excellent starting point