An integrated strings model of transnational advocacy: case studies from Romania and the United Kingdom

Studies of transnational advocacy mainly explore separate processes – e.g. the use of persuasion, socialization, leverage, incentives and penalties – through which specific actors influence policy and law at national and transnational levels. These processes can be seen as strings pulled by the actors involved in order to promote their aims. However, the existing literature stops short of explaining the dynamics of advocacy across time, the number of strings necessary for inducing change and the failure of advocacy. In order to address these shortcomings this thesis analyses the interactions between various processes that constitute transnational advocacy and proposes a conceptual model – labelled the integrated strings model of advocacy – to facilitate the understanding of the dynamics of advocacy. This model suggests that transnational advocacy is constituted by the following interlinked processes, labelled stages and strings in order to emphasize their dynamics: - The stages are: the making of pilot or past solutions-in-practice, problematization, the development of a common frame for possible solutions, the creation of solutions-on-paper and the making of solutions-in-practice; - These stages are constituted by six strings: the creation of social enterprises, the use of expertise, regulations, technology, the formation of alliances and the marketization of ideas and services. This model provides a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of advocacy than the existing literature and explains why some advocacy processes were successful while other failed. The model is illustrated through three case studies of advocacy focused on: (a) heritage conservation and sustainable development in Romania; (b) children’s rights in Romania; and (c) access to the UK’ labour market for Romanian migrants in Britain. The integrated model was developed through empirical multi-sited research conducted in Romania and the UK. My methodology was influenced by multi-sited ethnography (Marcus 1998), grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin 1990) and actor-network theory (Callon 1986; Latour 2005)

Strengths and limitations of a learner-centred approach to teaching research methods

Evaluating teaching, learning and assessment methods at module-level is essential, particularly in enhancing academic quality. However, module evaluations are usually designed and conducted by the University to serve their own purpose of maintaining Academic standards and often do not consider student involvement in the process of module evaluation. In our project named Students as researchers, students were appointed as researchers to gather student perceptions on a large first year undergraduate (Level 4) research module for social science students. This is a compulsory module for Politics, Sociology and Criminology single and joint honours students. This module was recently revalidated and incorporated an applied approach towards teaching research methods after feedback from previous years. The research has taken a mixed-methods approach. This encompassed an online survey questionnaire that has been distributed to all 467 first-year students on the module. To accompany this quantitative data, interviews were organized for richer, in-depth data to inform positive change on the development of the module. The findings of this work have fed into further development of this module for future cohorts. This evaluation has offered teaching staff an opportunity to reflect on our research findings and their own academic practice both within the department and within other disciplinary areas. It has also offered students an opportunity to feedback on their own student experience at module level and in doing so to enhance the quality of teaching and assessment of the module for future cohorts. It has additionally allowed student-researchers to gain knowledge of the practicalities of action research methodology and evaluation research through taking part in the project.</p

A Continent Moving West? EU Enlargement and Labour Migration from Central and Eastern Europe

A Continent Moving West? argues that the conceptualization of migration as a one-way or long-term process is becoming increasingly wide of the mark. Rather, east-west labor migration in Europe, in common perhaps with other flows in and from other parts of the world, is diverse, fluid, and influenced by the dynamics of local and sector-specific labor markets and migration-related political regulations. The papers in this book contribute to critical understanding of the east-west migration within the European Union after the 2004 enlargement, from the new to the old member states

A neurosurgical challenge: awake mapping in „critical” language area tumours

Introduction. Despite the technological development lesion located in or near language area still represent a challenge for every neurosurgeon. Awake craniotomy and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring come to our help. Different techniques variation exists among specialized centres. We present our experience and the set up for this procedure. Materials and methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of collected data from 10 patients with brain tumours located in or near language area to which we performed awake craniotomy and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. They were admitted in Third Department of Neurosurgery,” Prof. Dr. N. Oblu” Emergency Clinical Hospital, Yassi, Romania, between January 2014 and July 2018. Results. Presenting symptoms had a duration more than a month in 60 % of patients. In 80% of them were represented by epileptic seizures and the rest of 20 % had transient aphasia elements. The median age of presentation was 28 years old with a male dominance. The histological reports indicated: fibrillary astrocytoma – 40%, anaplastic astrocytoma – 30%, oligodendroglioma – 20% and metastases – 10%. Gross total resection was performed in half of the cases and subtotal in just one case, in which the spontaneous speech and object naming showed repeated impairment in time of tumour debulking. The surgical intervention was well tolerated by all the patients. The intensity of cortical stimulation used was between 4 – 10 mA. Postoperatively two patients had neurological aggravation, with full recovery at 3 months follow up period, two were stationary and six had symptoms remission. Conclusion. A young age of presentation, a paucity of symptoms, the chance for an increase in overall survival and progression free survival impose the need for direct&nbsp;communication and feedback with the patient in time of tumour resection. Thus, awake craniotomy and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring is the golden standard for selected cases of language area tumours

Syringobulbia and syringomyelia in a case with Chiari 0 malformation successfully treated by posterior fossa reconstruction: Case presentation and literature review

“Chiari zero malformation” is a rare and a relatively new described condition which associates syringohydromyelia without caudal displacement of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum. We present a case of a 40 years old woman with Chiari zero malformation with both syringomyelia and syringobulbia and a good clinical and radiological outcome after posterior fossa decompression. The presence of associated syringomyelia and syringobulbia in this condition is less frequent and it usually occurs in younger patients. In our case we considered syringobulbia as being an extension of syringomyelia

PDZD8 and its role in intellectual disability

Intellectual disability is the most common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder that affects learning ability, impairs cognitive functioning, and is defined by an intelligence quotient below 70. Four children from two unrelated families were diagnosed with intellectual disability, developmental delay, macrocephaly, and other autistic features caused by a specific mutation in PDZ domain containing protein 8 (PDZD8) gene. Pdzd8 is an endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria tethering protein which regulates calcium dynamics in mammalian neurons and has not previously been associated with any human disease. As PDZD8 mutation is a novel mutation linked to intellectual disability, a mouse model with a mutation in Pdzd8 was used to characterise the disruption of Pdzd8 from a molecular, behavioural, and neural activity perspective. Pdzd8 mutant mice displayed changes in the relative brain volume, decreased neurogenesis, and increased spine density. On a molecular level, Pdzd8 mice exhibited an increase in mRNA expression in multiple genes linked to cerebral development, neurogenesis, mitochondria function, endoplasmic reticulum stress and Pdzd8 interactors. From a behavioural perspective, Pdzd8 mice presented hyperactivity, repetitive behaviours, decreased anxiety, impaired long-term memory, altered associative learning, and distorted social discrimination. In vivo imaging of neuronal dynamics revealed altered spontaneous excitatory activity compared to wild type controls. Overall, the myriad of changes observed in Pdzd8 mice, from molecular and structural abnormalities to neuronal and behavioural impairments, strongly characterize deficits observed in intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders

Development of a LC/MS/MS- Method for the Analysis of Polar Pesticides and their Metabolites in Crops

In dieser Arbeit wurde eine LC/MS/MS-Analysenmethode zur gemeinsamen Bestimmung von über 100 polaren Pflanzenschutzmitteln in Erntegütern und Lebensmitteln entwickelt. Für die sehr unterschiedlichen Substanzen aus den Gruppen der Carbamate, Harnstoffderivate, sauren Wirkstoffe, Organophosphor-Verbindungen und Triazole wurde ein einheitliches Aufarbeitungsverfahren erarbeitet. Nach Extraktion mit Methanol und Reinigung auf einer Festphase wurden die Substanzen mittels LC/MS/MS mit zwei verschiedenen Methoden analysiert. Die Kalibrierung erfolgte mit Matrixstandards. Die Methode wurde an verschiedenen Matrizes validiert. Die Methode ist sehr empfindlich, genau, für viele verschiedene pflanzliche Matrizes anwendbar und stellt ein schnelles kostengünstiges Multikomponenten-Analysenverfahren dar.A new LC/MS/MS method of analysis was developed for the common determination of about 100 polar pesticides in foodstuff. Different substances, belonging to the groups of carbamates, urea derivatives, acidics, organophosphates and triazoles, are handled using a unitary procedure of sample preparation. After extraction with methanol and clean up on a solid phase, the pesticides are analysed by LC/MS/MS and two different methods. The calibration was carried out with matrix standards, and the method was validated for different matrices. This quick, cost-effective multi-method is very sensitive and applicable for various vegetable matrices

Copolymérisation cationique d'acétals cycliques par voie chimique et photochimique

MONTPELLIER-BU Sciences (341722106) / SudocSudocFranceF