Multi-National Corporations and their Human Rights Obligations –A Legal Assessment of Ruggie Principles and other the UN Initiatives

Failure of creating a direct human rights obligation for the conduct of Multi-National Corporation is one of the pressing global issues of the 21st century. It has further intensified the influential role of MNCs across the globe. Although regulation of private entities has been recognized concerning war crimes, crimes against humanity, and forced labor but, there is no legal obligation for private entities to be accountable for human rights violations that they are involved in. Nonetheless, under the auspicious of United Nations Organizations few initiatives have been taken to regulate the activities of MNCs concerning their effects on human rights. The Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations, the UN Global Compact, Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights and Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights (hereinafter Ruggie Principles) are significant in this regard. However, neither any such standards nor the Guiding Principles which is considered as the most authoritative statement of human rights duties of MNCs identify or emphasize direct human rights obligations of MNCs. They merely impose the indirect obligation of MNCs to respect, protect, and remedy human rights. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to assess the legal effects of the obligations created by these UN initiatives focusing more on Guiding Principles. This is normative research based on international legal instruments on human rights. The paper will argue that imposing due diligence on MNCs as a standard of conduct does not maintain a legal duty but, rather help to escape their responsibility. In conclusion, the paper will suggest to have a legally binding framework to regulate MNCs to protect, respect and remedy human rights for direct human rights obligation. Keywords: Human Rights, Direct Obligation, Indirect Obligation, Ruggie Principles, Due Diligenc

DISCRIMINANT FACTORS IN THE CHOICES OF TEA PLANT CULTIVARS AMONG SMALLHOLDERS IN BADULLA DISTRICT: MULTIPLE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

This study employed multiple discriminant analysis to examine whether significant differences exist among the different group of tea smallholders in terms of their demographic and farming characteristics and to identify the significant factors influencing in the selection of different tea plant cultivars in Badulla district. The data were collected during the period November to December in 2019 and a sample of 108 tea smallholders has been randomly selected from three major tea producing regions namely  Badulla, Haliela and Bandarawela divisions of the Uva region in the district. Frequency analysis reveals that, 43.5% of the tea smallholders chose VP 20/25 while 29.6% and 26.9% of them chose VP 20/23 and CY 9 cultivars respectively. Multiple discriminant analysis showed that, output from each tea plant cultivars and prices of each tea cultivar were the major discriminating variables as well as important influencing factors in selecting tea plant cultivars. Results of Fisher's linear discriminant functions revealed that as output increases, tea small holders are more likely to choose the cultivars VP20/25 and VP20/23 while less likely to select the CY9 cultivar. Similarly, as the price of the tea cultivar increases, they are more likely to adopt the CY9 cultivar than  other two in the study. The classification results revealed that 56% of the respondents were correctly classified into three different groups of tea smallholders and the estimated discriminant functions for CY9 (96.6%) and VP 20/23(62.5%) were classified with better accuracy than another group in the study. The findings of the study may assist the tea smallholders in understanding the critical factors in the selection of tea plant cultivars and guide the policymakers to take effective measures in the tea sector in the future.   Keywords: Choices of Tea Plant Cultivars, Demographic and Farming Characteristics, Fisher's Linear Discriminant Functions, Multiple Discriminant Analysis, Tea Smallholder

Exploring regional solutions to fishermen disputes in South Asia

Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen are often in the news having been arrested for crossing maritime borders. Niroshika Liyana Muhandiram and Mohit Gupta write that this is not a bilateral issue but a regional one, and outline how fora such as SAARC and BIMSTEC could assist in coming up with long term solutions to fishing-related conflicts

Autonomous Demand Side Management of Electric Vehicles

There is an error in the table of content, where publication A and B have swiched places.Demand-side management approaches that exploit the temporal flexibility of electric vehicles have attracted much attention in recent years due to the increasing market penetration. These demand-side management measures contribute to alleviating the burden on the power system, especially in distribution grids where bottlenecks are more prevalent. Electric vehicles can be defined as an attractive asset for distribution system operators, which have the potential to provide grid services if properly managed. In this thesis, first, a systematic investigation is conducted for two typically employed demand-side management methods reported in the literature: A voltage droop control-based approach and a market-driven approach. Then a control scheme of decentralized autonomous demand side management for electric vehicle charging scheduling which relies on a unidirectionally communicated grid-induced signal is proposed. In all the topics considered, the implications on the distribution grid operation are evaluated using a set of time series load flow simulations performed for representative Austrian distribution grids. Droop control mechanisms are discussed for electric vehicle charging control which requires no communication. The method provides an economically viable solution at all penetrations if electric vehicles charge at low nominal power rates. However, with the current market trends in residential charging equipment especially in the European context where most of the charging equipment is designed for 11 kW charging, the technical feasibility of the method, in the long run, is debatable. As electricity demand strongly correlates with energy prices, a linear optimization algorithm is proposed to minimize charging costs, which uses next-day market prices as the grid-induced incentive function under the assumption of perfect user predictions. The constraints on the state of charge guarantee the energy required for driving is delivered without failure. An average energy cost saving of 30% is realized at all penetrations. Nevertheless, the avalanche effect due to simultaneous charging during low price periods introduces new power peaks exceeding those of uncontrolled charging. This obstructs the grid-friendly integration of electric vehicles.publishedVersio

Voltage-based droop control of electric vehicles in distribution grids under different charging power levels

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Mapping the immunological receptors CD14 and macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) and their innate recognition potential on trophoblast cells: relevance for human pregnancy

The feto-maternal interface is vital to promote growth and development of the placenta while maintaining tolerance and surveillance through the immune system. Pathogens are detected through pattern recognition receptors, which have a key role in the innate recognition by transducing signals from pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Lipopolysaccharide, a PAMP of Gram-negative bacterium, is recognized by the Toll-like receptor. Cluster of differentiation (CD) 14 and macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) are key players in innate recognition. The hypothesis derived from the above is that MARCO might be expressed on trophoblast cells and plays a valuable role in association with CD14. The interaction of CD14 and MARCO was explored with the use of confocal microscopy which showed physical associations, most likely contributing to their function at the feto-maternal interface. Trophoblast responses to LPS indicated a significant role in regulating the expression of CD14 and MARCO and NF-κB translocation and activation. It was also hypothesized a correlation between the down-regulation of Myoferlin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and the decreased cell proliferation of trophoblast cells upon treatment with LPS. Myoferlin and VEGF quantification estimated by flow cytometry and western blotting showed significant decrease in LPS treated JEG-3 cells in time and dose dependent manner. The cell proliferation assay revealed a significant decrease in trophoblast cell growth of LPS treatment suggesting it is associated with the decrease of Myoferlin of which the expression is reported to be correlated with VEGF. These data suggest that CD14 and MARCO can be modulated and thus might contribute to feto-maternal tolerance and surveillance preventing pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia

Environmental Concerns in Model BITs: Comparative Study of India and Sri Lanka

Investment flows pose one of the newest and greatest challenge in the pursuit of sustainable development. Developmental activities resulting from rapid industrialisation and unchecked exploitation of natural resources have come at the cost of environment, human health and labour standards. Traditionally, under investment law, there has been a binary relationship between the investors and the States. However, as a result of the rise in investor-state disputes and the lessons learned from investor-state arbitration, states have begun to revisit and reframe their Model Bilateral Investment Agreements (Model BITs) to strike a balance between the host state's regulatory authority and investment promotion Essentially such BITs include specific language not only on investment promotion but also inter alia, on regulatory rights of the host state to protect the environment, human health and labour law. Significantly, the Bhopal Gas tragedy of India and the controversial Colombo Port city project of Sri Lanka have intensified the need of having a balanced approach in environmental protection and investment promotion. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the Model BITs of India and Sri Lanka to investigate the extent to which they are able to strike appropriate balance between these two paradigms. The paper further seeks to make suggestions to create coherence between these two interests to protect the environment from further degradation

Home energy management system : a home energy management system under different electricity pricing mechanisms

Masteroppgave i fornybar energi ENE 500 Universitetet i Agder 2014Peak demand is a severe problem in the electricity grid and it was solved by supply side management in the past. But nowadays the demand side management sources have drawn attention due to the economic and environmental constraints. Demand side management in the domestic sector can play an important role in reducing the peak demand on the power system network. It can help in reducing stress and overloading on the transmission and distribution lines. In many countries there are various demand response programs implemented for industrial and commercial loads. In these programs load control is primarily achieved by various types of pricing mechanisms. There are very few demand response programs in use for energy management in residential sector. Direct curtailment of the loads is the most popular method used to reduce the peak demand in the domestic sector. But by direct load control, customer comfort may be compromised. In contrast peak load reduction through load shifting can benefit both consumers and utilities. In order to analyze demand response in the domestic sector, it is important to understand physical based power intensive load models with an emphasis on water heater units, air conditioner units, clothes dryers and electric vehicles. In this work, these load models are developed considering thermodynamic principles of buildings as well as their built in technical parameters. With the development of smart grid systems specially in the distribution network and possibility of load modeling, there is a requirement of a domestic intelligent energy management algorithm. In this work, power intensive non-critical loads are managed through developed energy management system algorithm and these loads are water heater, air conditioning unit, clothes dryer and electric vehicle. With the introduction of electric vehicles, demand responses can be performed within home for avoiding any overloading problems in the distribution network as well as on power generation. Additionally, the electricity bill saving which can be gained through proposed energy management system is analyzed by considering different electricity pricing mechanisms. The highlight of the presented energy management system algorithm for home energy management is its capability to control the non-critical loads below specified peak demand limits by considering consumer behavior and priorities, giving consumers more flexibility in their operational time. Moreover, the results show that the electricity saving which can be gained through the proposed energy management system lies in a noticeably high range. It is expected that the research findings of this work can be beneficial to utilities in providing information of limits and scope of domestic demand responses. And also it is anticipated that the cost analysis carried out can be used to motivate the consumers towards demand response through the developed energy management system. Key words: Domestic demand response, Home energy management system (EMS), demand limits, non-critical loads, load priority, Time of Use pricing, Real Time Pricin

Optimal power tracking for autonomous demand side management of electric vehicles

Increasing electric vehicle penetration leads to undesirable peaks in power if no proper coordination in charging is implemented. We tested the feasibility of electric vehicles acting as flexible demands responding to power signals to minimize the system peaks. The proposed hierarchical autonomous demand side management algorithm is formulated as an optimal power tracking problem. The distribution grid operator determines a power signal for filling the valleys in the non-electric vehicle load profile using the electric vehicle demand flexibility and sends it to all electric vehicle controllers. After receiving the control signal, each electric vehicle controller re-scales it to the expected individual electric vehicle energy demand and determines the optimal charging schedule to track the re-scaled signal. No information concerning the electric vehicles are reported back to the utility, hence the approach can be implemented using unidirectional communication with reduced infrastructural requirements. The achieved results show that the optimal power tracking approach has the potential to eliminate additional peak demands induced by electric vehicle charging and performs comparably to its central implementation. The reduced complexity and computational overhead permits also convenient deployment in practice.publishedVersio