US Leadership and the International Refugee Regime

This article examines the role of the United States in the international refugee regime. It argues that the United States generally leads in assistance and protection of refugees and displaced persons when three conditions are present: a strong link to US foreign policy; clear and highly visible humanitarian needs and important domestic constituencies in support of action; and strong congressional support. The United States manifests its leadership through its financial contributions, as the largest donor to the array of international organizations with responsibilities in this area; resettlement of the refugees; and the use of the convening power of the US government. Nevertheless, there are reasons to be cautious about US leadership. While it is unlikely that the United States will soon lose its status as principal donor and principal strategist on tackling displacement, its ability to generate new resettlement offers is less clear, as is its ability to increase its own resettlement levels. The asylum system still has significant gaps, making it difficult for the United States to lead by example.Cet article examine le rôle que jouent les États-Unis (É.-U.) vis-à-vis du régime international des réfugiés. Il défend l’idée que les États-Unis jouent généralement un rôle de leader actif en matière d’assistance et de protection apportées aux réfugiés et aux personnes déplacées quand trois conditions sont remplies: l’existence d’un lien solide avec la politique étrangère des É.-U., un solide soutien du Congrès, et la coexistence de besoins humanitaires manifestes et particulièrement visibles et d’importantes parties prenantes nationales pour soutenir leur action. En tant que principal donateur des organismes internationaux responsables dans ce domaine, les É.-U. expriment leur leadership par leurs contributions financières, mais aussi en réinstallant les réfugiés et en faisant appel au pouvoir de mobilisation de leur gouvernement. Il existe néanmoins des raisons d’être vigilant vis-à-vis de leur leadership. Même s’il est peu probable qu’ils perdent dans un avenir proche leur statut de principal donateur et leur place parmi les principaux stratèges de la problématique des déplacements, leur capacité à offrir de nouveaux sites de réinstallation est moins évidente que celle de développer leurs propres sites. Le régime d’asile comporte encore d’importantes lacunes, qui rendent difficiles pour les É.-U. de diriger par l’exemple

Functional magnetic resonance imaging shows oxytocin activates brain regions associated with mother-pup bonding during suckling

Oxytocin is released in the maternal brain during breastfeeding and may help strengthen the mother-infant relationship. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine whether oxytocin modulates brain activity in postpartum day 4-8 dams receiving suckling stimulation. During imaging sessions, dams were exposed to pup suckling before and after administration of an oxytocin receptor antagonist. Another group of dams received oxytocin alone. Changes in brain activation in response to suckling closely matched that elicited by oxytocin administration. The overlapping brain areas included the olfactory system, nucleus accumbens, insular cortex, prefrontal cortex, ventral tegmental area, cortical amygdala, and several cortical and hypothalamic nuclei. Blockade of oxytocin receptors largely attenuated activation in these regions. The data suggest that oxytocin may strengthen mother-infant bond formation partly by acting through brain areas involved in regulating olfactory discrimination, emotions, and reward

Behavioral and neuroendocrine consequences of social subjugation across adolescence and adulthood

BACKGROUND: Social subjugation is a very significant and natural stressor in the animal kingdom. Adult animals defeated and subjugated during establishment of dominance hierarchies or territorial encounters can be highly submissive in future agonistic interactions. While much is know about the biological and behavioral consequences of winning and losing fights in adulthood, little is known about adolescence; a developmental period noted for impulsivity and heightened agonistic behavior. The present studies were undertaken to determine if the behavioral and neuroendocrine consequences of social subjugation are comparable in adolescent versus adult Syrian golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Male siblings were studied from adolescence into adulthood following exposure to counterbalanced episodes of either a benign stressor, i.e., isolation in a novel cage, or the more severe stressor of social subjugation. RESULTS: As adults, hamsters with a history of social subjugation in adolescence show high levels of aggression toward intruders as compared to siblings subjugated in adulthood. Sibling controls subjugated in adulthood are highly submissive with little or no aggressive behavior. However, when subjugated in adulthood, hamsters with the earlier history of subjugation are no different than their sibling controls, i.e., adult subjugation promotes submissive behavior. Sexual motivation is high in adult hamsters with adolescent subjugation and testosterone levels remained stable over adulthood. In contrast, sibling controls subjugated in adulthood show lower levels of sexual motivation and reduced levels of testosterone. Release of cortisol during agonistic encounters is blunted in animals subjugated in adolescence but not adulthood. Measures of anxiety are reduced in hamsters with adolescent subjugation as compared to their sibling controls. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate a pronounced difference in behavior and neuroendocrinology between adolescent and adult hamsters in their response to social subjugation and suggest adolescence is a resilient period in development

Impact of introducing practical obstetric multi-professional training (PROMPT) into maternity units in Victoria, Australia

Objective: To assess the introduction of Practical Obstetric Multi-professional Training (PROMPT) into maternity units and evaluate effects on organisational culture and perinatal outcomes. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: Maternity units in eight public hospitals in metropolitan and regional Victoria, Australia. Population: Staff in eight maternity units and a total of 43 408 babies born between July 2008 and December 2011. Methods: Representatives from eight Victorian hospitals underwent a single day of training (Train the Trainer), to conduct PROMPT. Organisational culture was compared before and after PROMPT. Clinical outcomes were evaluated before, during and after PROMPT. Main outcome measures: The number of courses run and the proportion of staff trained were determined. Organisational culture was measured using the Safety Attitude Questionnaire. Clinical measures included Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes (Apgar 1 and Apgar 5), cord lactate, blood loss and length of baby's stay in hospital. Results: Seven of the eight hospitals conducted PROMPT. Overall about 50% of staff were trained in each year of the study. Significant increases were found in Safety Attitude Questionnaire scores representing domains of teamwork (Hedges' g 0.27, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.13-0.41), safety (Hedges' g 0.28, 95% CI 0.15-0.42) and perception of management (Hedges' g 0.17, 95% CI 0.04-0.31). There were significant improvements in Apgar 1 (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.77-0.91), cord lactates (odds ratio 0.92, 95% CI 0.85-0.99) and average length of baby's stay in hospital (Hedges' g 0.03, 95% CI 0.01-0.05) during or after training, but no change in Apgar 5 scores or proportion of cases with high blood loss. Conclusion: PROMPT can be introduced using the Train the Trainer model. Improvements in organisational culture and some clinical measures were observed following PROMPT