Unionists as 'court sceptics': exploring elite-level unionist discourses about a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights

One of the most significant characteristics of the peace process in Northern Ireland has been the profound importance attached by a range of academic, political and non-governmental actors to the concept of human rights. However, unionists, more so than other elite-level political actors in Northern Ireland, have expressed scepticism about proposals from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) for a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights. This article explores how unionists relied on a ‘court sceptic' narrative to argue against the Bill of Rights proposals. It argues that at one level unionist reliance on ‘court sceptic' arguments can be conceived of as instrumental in the sense that it was a mere tactical response to, as unionists argue, the inflation by the NIHRC of their mandate contained in the Good Friday Agreement to devise a Bill of Rights. However, at another level unionists reliance on ‘court sceptic' arguments can also be traced to their constitutional experience within the British polity

The Use of Ultrasonic Frequencies as a Mechanism for Refining

The objective of this thesis was to explore the use of ultrasonic frequencies as a mechanism for refining. Through cooperation with the Intex Corporation, an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus, that was easily adaptable to.use as a refiner, was borrowed. The experimental procedure indicated that ultrasonic refining coupled with mechanical ·refining produced a sheet with improved tear, tensil, fold and opacity characteristics. The burst, however, was slightly lower. An interesting phenomenon that occurred was the plateauing effect that is observed, most distinctly on the graphs of burst and tensil vs. freeness. this plateau seems to be a phenomenon where the maximum value of a test is held relatively constant over a wide freeness range. The peaking, and quick fall off that occurs with mechanical refining is not present with ultrasonic refining. One problem that exists is that the ultrasonic power requirements appear to be relatively high

Replacing the Human Rights Act would be a risk that couldbackfire on the Conservatives

In opposition, David Cameron committed the Conservative Party to investigating the viability of replacing the Human Rights Act with a ‘British Bill of Rights’. But while this approach found favour in his party, there is every chance that his proposed replacement would fail to live up to Conservative expectations and traditions, and may not even work on its own terms, according to Peter Munce

Ozonation Pilot Treatment of a Surface Water Supply for Odor Control, Fairmont, Minnesota

Odor is an important factor in evaluating the quality of water. The presence of odor in water can impair its use for drinking, cooking and recreation. Waters having odors are not necessarily unhealthful to drink, but often are considered so by consumers. Odors in drinking water supplies originate from natural and/or man-made sources. Man-made odors can be derived from organic and inorganic chemicals used or produced by industry. These odors can come directly from odorous chemicals such as phenols or pyridines. Or, the odors can result from the anaerobic decomposition of chemicals. Sometimes certain chemicals might react with other constituents in the water to produce odor. Odors from natural causes generally are derived from vegetation, hydrogen sulfide and algae. With such a wide variety of causative substances, the most suitable treatment method is not easy to select. Commonly-used methods include air-stripping, activated carbon adsorption and oxidation using aeration, chlorination or potassium permanganate. Ozone, used extensively in Europe for many years, has become increasingly more popular in the U.S. in recent years. The City of Fairmont uses the water from Budd Lake for its primary supply. This small lake experiences seasonal water quality changes. The seasons that produce the poorest quality in terms of odor, are late summer when excessive algae growth occurs, and early spring from the accumulation of gases entrapped by the ice cover. At these times relatively expensive treatment with activated carbon am potassium permanganate is required for odor control and even with these measures the results are not always satisfactory. The objectives of this thesis are as follows. 1. To determine the effectiveness of ozonation in reducing the odor levels of the Fairmont surface water supply. 2. To determine the 100st economical ozone dosage and contact time for effective odor control. A small ozonation pilot plant was used in these investigations which also include ancillary studies on the effect of ozonation on trihalomethane formation, chlorine demand, total organic carbon (organic matter), flocculation efficiency, am the costs of ozonation reported by Hoellein

The Anglo-Irish Identity of Elizabeth Bowen

“One can live in the shadow of an idea without grasping it” {HOTD 97). When Elizabeth Bowen was born in 1899, the Protestant Ascendancy was living in the shadow of the past. After nearly a century of prosperity in Ireland, the tables were turning on them. Their wealth and power were waning. The Catholic Irish were rebelling. The future of Ireland was in turmoil. Motherless from the age of thirteen and forced to shuffle between various relatives during her childhood, Elizabeth Bowen struggled during these tumultuous times to come to terms with her identity. For Bowen, growing up both in England and Ireland meant being neither Irish nor English. Instead, it meant always being something in between, and it meant being conscious of her dual identity from a very young age

The place of human rights in the foreign policy of Cameron's Conservatives: Sceptics or enthusiasts?

The purpose of this article is to explain the place of human rights in the foreign policy thinking of David Cameron’s Conservatives (2005–2016). The article asks three interrelated questions: First, what role has human rights come to acquire in international political discourse? Second, did the Conservative Party’s view on the place of human rights result in a change to their approach to foreign policy on humanitarian intervention? Third, to what extent was there a tension between increasing scepticism towards the Human Rights Act and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights and the Conservative Party’s approach to foreign policy? The authors employ a mixed methodological approach which combines hermeneutic textual analysis of speeches from leading Conservatives with semi-structured, elite interview material from four former Conservative Foreign Secretarie

The multiplicity of caregiving burden: a qualitative analysis of families with prolonged disorders of consciousness.

Objective: To understand the multiple and sometimes conflicting roles substitute decision makers (SDMs) of individuals in a vegetative state (VS), minimally conscious state (MCS), or with locked-in syndrome (LIS) perform while caring for a loved one and the competing priorities derived from these roles.Methods: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews using a constructive-grounded theory design. Twelve SDMs, who were also family members for 11 patients, were interviewed at two time points (except one) for a total of 21 in-depth interviews.Results: Participants described that caregiving is often the central role which they identify as their top priority and around which they coordinate and to some extent subordinate their other roles. In addition to caregiving, they participated in a wide variety of roles, which were sometimes in conflict, as they became caregivers for a loved one with chronic and complex needs. SDMs described the caregiver role as complex and intense that lead to physical, emotional, social, and economic burdens.Conclusion: SDMs report high levels of burdens in caring for a person with a prolonged disorder of consciousness. Lack of health system support that recognized the broader context of SDMs lives, including their multiple competing priorities, was a major contributing factor

Caregiver reactions to neuroimaging evidence of covert consciousness in patients with severe brain injury: a qualitative interview study

Background: Severe brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability. Diagnosis and prognostication are difficult, and errors occur often. Novel neuroimaging methods can improve diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, especially in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDoC). Yet it is currently unknown how family caregivers understand this information, raising ethical concerns that disclosure of neuroimaging results could result in therapeutic misconception or false hope. Methods: To examine these ethical concerns, we conducted semi-structured interviews with caregivers of patients with PDoC who were enrolled in a concurrent neuroimaging research program designed to detect covert consciousness following severe brain injury. Caregivers held surrogate decision-making status for a patient. Interviews were conducted at two time points for each caregiver. The first interview occurred before the disclosure of neuroimaging results. The second occurred after disclosure. Descriptive analysis was applied to the data of four interview topics: (1) expectations for neuroimaging; (2) reactions to evidence of preserved cognition; (3) reactions to null results; and (4) understanding of the results and study. Results: Twelve caregivers participated in the study; two caregivers shared surrogate decision-making status for one patient with PDoC. Twenty-one interviews were completed; one caregiver declined to participate in the post-disclosure interview. Three patients with PDoC associated with the study displayed evidence of covert consciousness. Overall, caregivers understood the neuroimaging research and results. Caregivers who received results of covert consciousness were generally pleased. However, there was some variation in expectations and reactions to these data and null results. Conclusion: This study, for the first time, reveals caregiver expectations for and reactions to neuroimaging evidence of covert consciousness in patients with PDoC. Caregivers understood the neuroimaging research and results, casting doubt on speculative ethical concerns regarding therapeutic misconception and false hope. However, disclosure of neuroimaging result could be improved. Pre-disclosure consultations might assist professionals in shaping caregiver expectations. Standardization of disclosure might also improve comprehension of the results

Mobile Survey Report - 2009

This survey was designed and administered by the MLibrary Mobile Devices Working Group: Karen Reiman-Sendi (chair), Anne Beaubien, Suzanne Chapman, Kathleen Folger, and Gary Munce. The survey was intended to supplement national survey data about mobile use with actual responses from MLibrary patrons.Mobile Library Grouphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106789/1/Mobile Survey Report_Final.pd