How Environmentalism, Nationalism, and Civil Rights Shape Corporate Social Responsibility in the Apparel Industry

Now more than ever, fashion has become a way of expressing political identity. The changing moral convictions of corporate leaders and the preferences of their consumers have led to the rise of three popular models of corporate social responsibility: Sustainability, American-Made, and Diversity and Inclusion. This thesis will first describe the history of these three models, and then it will report how fashion businesses have adopted each of the models today. It will further explore the extent to which some models are blended⁠—and why some blends are more popular than others. While some models go together because of our politics, others are more likely to blend despite our politics. Finally, the thesis concludes by considering the current success and limits of these models

Pharmacogenetics of analgesic drugs

• Individual variability in pain perception and differences in the efficacy of analgesic drugs are complex phenomena and are partly genetically predetermined. • Analgesics act in various ways on the peripheral and central pain pathways and are regarded as one of the most valuable but equally dangerous groups of medications. • While pharmacokinetic properties of drugs, metabolism in particular, have been scrutinised by genotype–phenotype correlation studies, the clinical significance of inherited variants in genes governing pharmacodynamics of analgesics remains largely unexplored (apart from the µ-opioid receptor). • Lack of replication of the findings from one study to another makes meaningful personalised analgesic regime still a distant future. • This narrative review will focus on findings related to pharmacogenetics of commonly used analgesic medications and highlight authors’ views on future clinical implications of pharmacogenetics in the context of pharmacological treatment of chronic pain

A molecular genetic analysis of testis determination in the mouse

The testis determining gene is the Y-linked gene responsible for initiating the developmental pathway leading to testis formation in males. A strategy based upon determining the precise chromosomal location of this locus has been used to clone candidate genes. In this study members of the ZF7 gene family have been analysed in terms of their expression pattern and their functional status in XY female mice known to be defective in the testis determining gene. The failure to detect any molecular abnormality in ZFY genes in these mice, their inappropriate expression pattern and other data show that these genes cannot be involved in testis determination. A second candidate gene known as SRY was subsequently isolated in humans, also by positional cloning. This study describes the cloning of the homologous gene in mouse (Sry) and presents data showing that this is indeed the testis determining gene. Its chromosomal location and putative protein structure are consistent with a role in sex determination. Sry seems to be the only gene affected in XY female mice, indicating that it is normally necessary for testis determination. Models for how the deletion event which gave rise to these XY female mice occurred are considered in the light of the unusual genomic organisation found at the Sry locus. Finally, the finding that a genomic fragment carrying Sry can cause male development in XX mice has proved that Sry is the only gene from the Y chromosome necessary for testis determination

LIFE ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE BODY

The aim of this PhD thesis is defining the human gesture not from the point of view of single meanings but in the attempt to describe the category of gesture itself and in its relation with the human condition. The first part of the research designs a definition of gesture as the movement that opens the body beyond itself, toward external objects (as the actions or the language): identify in the form of a tension, gesture can be described as such only before achieving the object it was tending to. In the second part, an analysis of the medieval monastic rules and Renaissance painting allows to qualify a change of direction: more than being an expression of the body interrupted before the object, gesture presents itself as the response to a calling from the object, a going toward the world that gets caught into the materiality of the same body. In this opening of the body toward the world and withdrawing from the being always in action, the gestures discloses a sphere of possibilities in between, a threshold able to put into question the same opposition between the subject and the objects

Earth, Air, Water, Oil: Regulating Fracking in the Monterey Shale with Health and Environment in Mind

“Earth, Air, Water, Oil: Regulating Fracking in the Monterey Shale with Health and Environment in Mind,” explores how hydraulic fracturing regulation in California’s oil-rich Monterey Shale will impact regional public health, including groundwater and air quality. This is achieved through a combination of case study and policy analysis on both the state and national level

Lavy's Shul : a Canadian experiment in Reconstructionism

Despite the fact that Reconstructionism is often referred to as the only "made-in-America" (USA) Jewish denomination, it was a Canadian community that was the first synagogue anywhere to call itself "Reconstructionist." The founder and guiding figure of Montreal's Reconstructionist Synagogue was Lavy M. Becker, who functioned as the community's "honorary" (unpaid) rabbi in its first phase of development, from 1960 through 1976. Throughout this period, "Lavy's Shul," as it was affectionately known, was a vibrant experiment in Jewish life, a hybrid, containing elements of both havurah and synagogue, whose special character was described by a member of the community as "an assault on the heart and the brain at the same time." This dissertation creates a portrait of this singular community in the context of its time. A framework of thought constructed around the themes of memory, identity, community and narrative is used to highlight the shifting tapestry of collective identities of a changing Canada within a world in flux, which is seen to form the backdrop to this community study. In the foreground, the founding and evolution of the synagogue are portrayed in some depth through profiles of Lavy Becker and of selected members of the founding community. These profiles are complemented by a characterization of community life and the "culture of conversation" that developed there. The interdisciplinary approach used here borrows elements from history and ethnography and is an adaptation of the methodology called "Portraiture

Diferenciación en la prestación de servicios de Medicina Prepagada y Plan Obligatorio de Salud -POS-. (Caso de estudio)

El Sistema Nacional de Salud, que regulaba la atención y coberturas en salud en todo el territorio nacional, se había estructurado como un modelo de operación determinado por el Estado colombiano, unía todas las modalidades de servicios de salud existentes prestados por instituciones tan variadas como empresas privadas, las cuales constituían su propio servicio para sus empleados; ejemplo: cajas de compensación, secretarías de salud, Instituto de Seguros Sociales, hospitales locales, lo que hacía que el Sistema fuera una colcha unida solamente por la normatividad teórica, adoleciendo de elementos que le permitieran llevar a cabo una atención de máxima calidad. La baja oportunidad en la prestación del servicio de salud, al igual que la baja cobertura y las pocas oportunidades de calidad de atención en salud se constituyeron en la base sobre la cual nacerían los servicios de salud prepagados. Nace entonces Salud Coomeva Medicina Prepagada con diferentes planes y programas y con éxito ante la población colombiana, garantizando comodidad y agilidad, aspectos no encontrados en el Sistema de Seguridad Social del Gobierno. Los cambios introducidos en el sector de la salud, emanados por la corriente que generó la nueva Constitución colombiana de 1991 y la entrada en vigencia de la Ley 100 de 1993, cambiaron radicalmente el modelo de prestación de servicios de salud, creando el denominado Plan Obligatorio de Salud- POS, entrando en escena las empresas promotoras de salud, estableciendo regímenes y normatividad que cubría enfermedades anteriores al ingreso del programa de salud del usuario tomador del servicio y/o su familia (enfermedades preexistentes), generando confusión en los usuarios que mantenían vigentes los dos sistemas: los Planes de Medicina Prepagada y el POS.La conclusión final es que el sector del prepago, y en especial Salud Coomeva Medicina Prepagada, tiene, de acuerdo con lo planteado, el reto de establecer una diferenciación evidente frente al Plan Obligatorio de Salud, la que debe ser percibida y valorada por los usuarios, principalmente en las ciudades en las cuales la infraestructura médica no permita un ofrecimiento diferente para cada uno de los servicios.