Criminal Courts, State Succession, and Watercourses: Three Points of Influence on the International Law Commission

Strong, functional systems of international law are critical to overcoming the challenges plaguing our increasingly globalized world; injustices that have spawned recently reaffirm the need for these systems. Successfully maintaining these systems requires deep multifaceted insights. The International Law Association, founded in 1873, has aided and influenced the work of the United Nation’s International Law Commission for more than a century. Various documents produced in association with the International Law Association, including a draft statute for the establishment of a permanent international criminal court, a set of draft resolutions on the effect of state succession on treaties, a handbook identifying issues in the existing legal framework of the effects of state succession on treaties and existing State practice, and a set of draft articles addressing the use of non-navigational watercourses in international law all demonstrate different ways in which this influence has been exercised. The integration of the International Law Association’s work into that of the International Law Commission illustrates one way in which the International Law Association has impacted the overall development of international law. Examining the creation of these documents also illuminates the cooperative process of between entities in the complex field of international law

The Perseverance of Aboriginal Australian Time Philosophy and its Impact on Integration Into the Mainstream Labor Force

This study demonstrates that Aboriginal Australian time philosophy has survived the impact of European colonization through applying anthropological inquiry into time perception to functional attitudes towards work ethic. By doing so I highlight time perception as one of the “root causes” of Aboriginal socio-economic disadvantage in the barrier it poses to Aboriginal labor force participation. The Native Title Act put pressure on the mining industry to set high targets for Indigenous employment and in the process has given Aboriginal communities the opportunity to become “active initiators” of their relationship to time by forcing industrial compromise through resistance to adopt the “capitalist temporal order” within which industry operates. This is reflected in the demands of Aboriginal employment strategy and the adaptations to industrial culture which are beneficial to promoting Aboriginal recruitment, retention, and progression through the workforce. Data collection consisted of a series of intensive interviews and two surveys intended to put quantitative values behind trends observed throughout the intensive interviews. Interview subjects were chosen on the basis of their personal experience with Aboriginal employment or in order to provide insight into contemporary employment issues, the traditional time perceptions of Aboriginal Australians, and the historical interplay of the two cultures within the labor force. I drew parallels between subjective time, flexible work schedules and work-readiness programs, notions of time as circular and the under-representation of Aboriginal Australians in managerial positions, and time bound to obligation with job retention. If fundamental cultural differences are recognized as a barrier to Aboriginal integration into the workforce it can help to dispel misconceptions about work ethic and promote policy which allows Aboriginal employees to maintain an attachment to traditional culture in coexistence with a steady job

Effects of Actively Involving Students with IEPs in the Progress Monitoring Process

Special education teachers are trying many ways to help students with IEPs achieve their goals. This action research study looks at one way educators might do that with the involvement of students with IEPs in the progress monitoring process, specifically students with math goals. Instead of having the progress monitoring process as something done to them, students with disabilities were encouraged to take an active role by goal setting, getting feedback, reflecting, and graphing their scores. The five fifth-grade students that this study followed showed signs of growth over the six weeks of this intervention. The findings of this action research support the literature reviewed that involving students in this process yields positive results. The data shows that students from a variety of backgrounds were able to make slight to substantial growth over that period. Although the findings suggest that the students were positively impacted by this intervention, future research should continue in this area to broaden the scope of students in terms of size as well as other academic areas such as reading or behavior

Acts without Agents: The Language of Torture in J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians

This article draws from J. M. Coetzee’s linguistic work on the passive sentence to analyze his representation of torture in the novel Waiting for the Barbarians. It argues that Coetzee’s complex use of the short passive (also known as the “agentless sentence”) counters the transparent connection between truth and language by creating critical gaps in the narrative that disrupt the process of interpretation. Given how “truth” is perceived as having a certain “tone” by the torturer Colonel Joll in the novel, the question of how truth is represented in language becomes critical to undermining the logic of torture Joll explicates. Throughout the novel, Coetzee exploits the ambiguity created by the short passive to not only illustrate the grammatical fictions that undergird our assumptions while reading the text, but also to challenge the linguistic certainties of “truth” to which the torture chamber owes its existence

The Effectiveness of Balance Training Exercises in Post-Stroke Individuals Using the Neurocom® Balance Master System

This case study involved a 61-year-old male post-stroke subject who underwent six weeks of balance training using the NeuroCom® Balance Master (NCBM) system. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a six-week training program on a post-stroke individual (\u3e 6 months). Pre- and post-test assessments were conducted utilizing the NCBM protocols and the Berg Balance Scale. Results: The subject showed improvement in four of five NCBM test conditions-rhythmic weight shifting, sit-to- stand test, walk test, and modified clinical test for sensory interaction on balance (mCTSIB) test. Regression was shown in the components of three test conditions-rhythmic weight shifting, sit-to-stand test, and walk test. The subject regressed in one test condition-static weight bearing. The subject remained in the abnormal range of performance for all test conditions compared to age matched controls except center of gravity end sway velocity in sit-to-stand and walking. Berg Balance Scale scores improved 48.27% from 29 to 43. Conclusion: The results of the training indicate an overall improvement in static and dynamic balance control for this subject. Further research of this population is recommended to determine the feasibility of refresher training to help improve balance and coordination

How the macroeconomic environment affects human resource development

Do inward-focused development strategies reduce competition in factor markets and incentives for more efficient skills development? Do outward-focused development strategies improve them? The authors compared vocational education and training systems in six developing countries in the 1980s. They found that an outward orientation encourages more efficient development of human resources. Protectionist trade regimes that shelter producers from global competition produce price distortions in domestic capital and labor markets that affect the efficient use of resources in skills development. Structural adjustment programs that address these distortions expand incentives for private training and for more efficient use of public resources in skills development.ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform

Exploration of the Perceptions and Attitudes of School District Administrators Regarding Instructional Coaching in Central New York State Urban/Suburban Public School Districts

The purpose of this study was to gather perceptions and attitudes from school district administrators regarding an instructional coach’s role, the components that influence the utilization of instructional coaches, and the specialized professional development for instructional coaches. Exploratory-descriptive qualitative research sought to identify the critical components necessary for comprehensive implementation of instructional coaching. The study utilized semi-structured interviews with seven tenured urban and suburban Central New York State (NYS) school district administrators in positions such as assistant superintendents, directors, or supervisors of professional development or curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Four themes emerged from the data. The themes related to the implementation of instructional coaching were (a) job depiction, (b) capacity building, (c) interactions, and (d) organizational structure. The themes found aligned with Taylor’s (1911) scientific management theory principles for improving employee productivity. The critical components identified included (a) identifying clear roles and responsibilities for the instructional coach, (b) hiring the right people, (c) ongoing training, (d) building strong trusting relationships, and (e) having an organizational structure. The recommendations for improving the implementation of instructional coaching among the school districts included (a) a standardized set of selection criteria, (b) a clear job description for instructional coaches, (c) a standard training program, and (d) a standard evaluation tool to support the development of the instructional coach. In addition, the results of this study recommend a need for policy development in creating a certification and tracking system for instructional coaches to aid in the determination of the effectiveness of the school improvement strategy

Idealization of intimate partner violence in romantic relationships: examining the role of television's influence on endorsement of controlling behaviors

Media messages of romantic relationships are prevalent, and these messages can influence how individuals behave in their romantic relationships, as well as influencing scripts and schemas about specific relationship behaviors. Young adults are particularly susceptible to media messages, especially when they are actively seeking messages to learn information about romantic relationships (Bachen and Illouz, 1996). Intimate partner violence (IPV) behaviors are ones that young adults are exposed to in media, even in popular television shows and films. IPV occurs in roughly 20-33 percent of college student dating relationships (e.g., Smith et al, 2005) and is a major public health concern (O'Leary et al., 2008; Zurbriggen, 2009). In the current study, participants were exposed to one of five conditions in a 2 x 2 experiment with a control condition, where relationship behavior (e.g., autonomy-promoting or controlling IPV) and framing of the behavior (e.g., idealized or condemned) were manipulated in clips from popular television programs. Participants then reported on their identification with one of the main characters, self-efficacy of performing both relationship behaviors, third person perceptions, and finally endorsement of both relationship behaviors, in addition to demographic items. The results demonstrated that young adults who viewed the controlling IPV behaviors, especially when those behaviors were condemned by the main female character, were more likely to endorse autonomy-promoting behaviors in relationships. Results also demonstrated that the more individuals consumed media, the more they believed others were more affected by media messages (e.g., third person perception) and this led to greater endorsement of autonomy-promoting behaviors. The main findings and implications are discussed, as well as future directions for both scholars and practitioners.Includes bibliographical references

The HIM Career Matrix: Illuminating a Framework for Professional Advancement

This project sought out to develop the first, Canadian HIM career matrix in order to: 1. Support a common language to describe the seven core competency areas in which HIM professionals can work; 2. Describe new and evolving roles in HIM in Canada;3. Provide information on advanced career options available within our profession; and4. Seek consensus around the common functions performed by Canadian HIM professional

George Woodcock and the Doukhobors: Peasant radicalism, anarchism, and the Canadian state

For the British-Canadian writer and intellectual George Woodcock, the Doukhobors – a persecuted radical Christian sect, many members of which emigrated from Russia to Canada at the turn of the twentieth century – were a continual source of fascination. A cause célèbre for a host of nineteen-century thinkers, including Leo Tolstoy and Peter Kropotkin, the Doukhobors were frequently portrayed as the exemplars of the viewer’s particular ideological beliefs. The present article examines Woodcock’s shifting interpretation of the Doukhobors, mapped onto the development of an intellectual career that saw him emerge as a leading anarchist thinker, and his broader transition from a British writer to a Canadian public intellectual. Where once he saw the Doukhobors representing anarchism in action, as his politics matured his view of the sect became more complex. Rather than living anarchists, he came to see the Doukhobors’ experience as a powerful reminder of the forces of assimilation at work in modern democracies that threatened the liberties of dissenters. Reflecting Woodcock’s revised anarchist politics, the Doukhobors’ story now became a key component of an intellectual vision that cast a probing light on Canadian history and Canadian cultural politics