Social Inclusion and Minority Rights: Analyzing North African Constitutions

Do de jure constitutional rights impact de facto protection of those rights? Under immense pressure to democratize as a result of the Arab Spring, several Arab countries including the North African nations of Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia have recently adopted formal constitutions employing a broad spectrum of human rights language. However, it remains a question whether these constitutional reforms actually lead to more protection of human rights or whether they are merely for window dressing

The State of Pre-K in Mississippi 2014-15

The State of Pre-K in Mississippi (2014-2015) is the second report in Mississippi First's ground-breaking series by the same name focusing on pre-K access and quality in Mississippi. This report updates our 2011-2012 report on public pre-K and expands it to include information about licensed childcare centers serving four-year-old children. This report is the first in Mississippi attempting to quantify pre-K access—whether public or private—in every Mississippi community. Additionally, this report is the first to present information about the quality of each school district program according to national benchmarks and to include programmatic information about all licensed childcare centers serving four-year-old children

Delightfully Sober

It’s a Friday night and you’ve found yourself once again in Campustown. But there’s a catch…you’re sober. You’ve agreed to be the designated driver for the night, and the bottom line is that you’re not drinking. To some, this sounds like a boring night waiting to happen—but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re unsure, check out these quick tips on how to make the most of your sober night out

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as an Operationalized Framework for the Global Food and Beverage Industry and the Subsequent Financial and ESG Impacts

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) created Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs], a framework for better addressing sustainable development (Stafford-Smith et al., 2017). While these goals were originally intended for use by government, the urgency for global sustainable development has prompted business and others to utilize these goals. Within the context of this thesis, this poses the problem of how to effectively operationalize the SDGs within business, specifically the food and beverage sector. The primary problems addressed within this thesis are how to better integrate the SDGs within the food and beverage sector and the impacts on financial gains and ESG ratings. The literature review reviewed the background of sustainable development and the SDGs. It then explored the global food and beverage sector, specifically, the significance to society and the economy, the environmental impacts in connection to operations, and how sustainability is currently being operationalized within the sector. It also looked at how the sector compares with other sectors with regards to sustainability and specifically the SDGs. Connections between finance and ESG relate to the food and beverage sector were also explored. Finally, Dynamic Capabilities is discussed and argued as appropriate theory to help explain the degree to which the SDGs are implemented by businesses within the sector. Following a mixed method approach, data were collected from 62 companies, representing three food and beverage sectors and eight sub-subsectors. Data for this sample included corporate reports from 2016-2019, as reports prior to 2016 did not include reference to the SDGs and up to 2019 (the most recent year of corporate reports being available). Financial and ESG data were retrieved through Compustat. The results of the regression analysis showed that SDG integration yielded an increase to financial gains as well as a slight increase in ESG ratings. This furthers the academic conversation surrounding SDG operationalization in business and provides evidence in support of the business case for doing so. By explicitly showing that SDG integration can improve food and beverage companies’ financial gains and ESG ratings, the contribution to practice is shown though these tangible incentives

Foam nest components of the túngara frog: a cocktail of proteins conferring physical and biological resilience

The foam nests of the túngara frog (Engystomops pustulosus) form a biocompatible incubation medium for eggs and sperm while resisting considerable environmental and microbiological assault. We have shown that much of this behaviour can be attributed to a cocktail of six proteins, designated ranaspumins (Rsn-1 to Rsn-6), which predominate in the foam. These fall into two discernable classes based on sequence analysis and biophysical properties. Rsn-2, with an amphiphilic amino acid sequence unlike any hitherto reported, exhibits substantial detergent-like surfactant activity necessary for production of foam, yet is harmless to the membranes of eggs and spermatozoa. A further four (Rsn-3 to Rsn-6) are lectins, three of which are similar to fucolectins found in teleosts but not previously identified in a land vertebrate, though with a carbohydrate binding specificity different from previously described fucolectins. The sixth, Rsn-1, is structurally similar to proteinase inhibitors of the cystatin class, but does not itself appear to exhibit any such activity. The nest foam itself, however, does exhibit potent cystatin activity. Rsn-encoding genes are transcribed in many tissues of the adult frogs, but the full cocktail is present only in oviduct glands. Combinations of lectins and cystatins have known roles in plants and animals for defence against microbial colonization and insect attack. Túngara nest foam displays a novel synergy of selected elements of innate defence plus a specialized surfactant protein, comprising a previously unreported strategy for protection of unattended reproductive stages of animals

Ethical and Anti-Oppressive Metadata: A Collaboration Between Catalogers and Archivists at George Mason University Libraries

Systems of library and archival resource description have historically reinforced the societal power structures of white supremacy, patriarchy, and cis-heteronormativity. Following the framework of critical librarianship and acknowledging our positionality as predominately white departments, George Mason University Libraries’ Metadata Services (MS) and Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) have been engaging in a variety of projects of reparative resource description. To discuss points of collaboration between the two departments, the Task Force for Ethical and Anti-Oppressive Metadata (TEAM) was formed, consisting of staff and faculty members from both groups who work with resource description. Although the departments have a history of collaboration, TEAM has provided us an opportunity to work together in a holistic way, giving us a space for learning, exchanging ideas, and sharing insights and resources. The particular focus of this group has been the identification of existing harmful and biased language in resource description and the exploration and installment of alternatives. In this Field Report we demonstrate how MS and SCRC have been collaboratively engaging in reparative description within the university libraries, discuss our theoretical framework, approach its impact outside of the library, and share examples of ongoing projects. This report provides a model for collaborative work that addresses and interrupts the perpetuation of harm in resource description

Occupational Therapy Strategies for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

Effectiveness of occupational therapy strategies with adults with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

Learning from remote decentralised clinical trial experiences:a qualitative analysis of interviews with trial personnel, patient representatives and other stakeholders

AIMS: The aim of the study was to identify actionable learning points from stakeholders in remote decentralised clinical trials (RDCTs) to inform their future design and conduct. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of stakeholders, including senior managers, trial managers, technology experts, principal investigators, clinical investigators, research scientists, research nurses, vendors, patient representatives and project assistants. The interview data were coded using a thematic approach, identifying similarities, differences and clustering to generate descriptive themes. Further refinement of themes was guided by empirical phenomenology, grounding explanation in the meanings that interviewees gave to their experiences. RESULTS: Forty‐eight stakeholders were interviewed. Actionable learning points were generated from the thematic analysis. Patient involvement and participant engagement were seen as critical to the success of RDCTs where in‐person contact is minimal or nonexistent. Involving patients in identifying the research question, creating recruitment materials, apps and websites, and providing ongoing feedback to trial participants were regarded as facilitating recruitment and engagement. Building strong relationships early with trial partners was thought to support RDCT conduct. Multiple modes of capturing information, including patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) and routinely collected data, were felt to contribute to data completeness. However, RDCTs may transfer trial activity burden onto participants and remote‐working research staff, therefore additional support may be needed. CONCLUSION: RDCTs will continue to face challenges in implementing novel technologies. However, maximising patient and partner involvement, reducing participant and staff burden, and simplifying how participants and staff interact with the RDCT may facilitate their implementation