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The Global Labour University (GLU), now 10 years old, is a network of interdisciplinary faculties that offer master level courses and other training programs for trade unionists from around the world. The main purpose of these programs is to enable trade unionists to develop policy expertise for the challenges of globalization. In this article we offer a critical assessment of the activities of the GLU. To what extent does the GLU achieve its objective of building capacity for a critical engagement with policy issues arising from globalization? And to what extent does the international composition of the Masters programs and the ensuing alumni work actually strengthen solidarity among trade unionists across national borders? What we find is that the GLU provides one important approach for addressing these challenges. By helping prepare labor unions of the future with the theoretical understandings and analytical and research skills they need, the GLU contributes to the global labor movement a new generation of labor activists. Our answers to these questions are based on participatory observations, interviews with a wide range of stakeholders and several external evaluation reports.

Since the discovery in 1989 that mutations in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) underlie cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common life shortening genetic disorder in Caucasians, it has been possible to identify heterozygous mutation carriers at risk of having affected children. The Human Genetics Society of Australasia has produced a position statement with recommendations in relation to population-based screening for CF. These include: (1) that screening should be offered to all relatives of people with or carriers of CF (cascade testing) as well as to all couples planning to have children or who are pregnant; (2) the minimum CFTR mutation panel to be tested consists of 17 mutations which are those mutations that are associated with typical CF and occur with a frequency of 0.1% or higher among individuals diagnosed with CF in Australasia; (3) that genetic counselling is offered to all couples where both members are known to have one or two CFTR mutations and that such couples are given the opportunity to meet with a physician with expertise in the management of CF as well as a family/individual affected by the condition.

For much of the modern era the Middle East has been beset by war. From imperial intervention to regional struggle, the reach of war has left few untouched. The region's geography, the rise and fall of its most powerful institutions, and the pressing challenges of daily life remain entangled with war and its legacies. Middle Eastern wars are most often explained in terms of struggles for land and other resources, autocratic machinations, and clashes over identity and religion. All of these are true. But war is never the same everywhere. In important ways these broad frameworks hollow out the complexity and scale of war, and why it matters so much. What else is there to say about "war"? Rather than the political forces that drive it, the essays here are interested in and suggestive of the productive power of war, the ways it has transcended the battlefield and become normalized socially, politically, and environmentally. In particular, the contributors reflect on the role of experts, technical expertise, and the science of war in the making of new social, political-economic, and cultural relations across the region in the century following the start of World War I.

This article describes the development and field testing of the Rural Resilience Index (RRI), an applied disaster resilience assessment index for use in rural and remote communities. The index was generated as part of the Rural Disaster Resilience Project. This community-centered action research project was designed to respond to the global emphasis on increasing the capacity of all communities, large and small, to meet the growing challenge of disasters, climate change, and other threats. The goals of the project were to produce resilience assessment and planning tools that could be used by communities to generate locally relevant data on their current resilience and be able to monitor and enhance their resilience over time. This article describes the development and field testing of the RRI, which is designed as a user-friendly, process-based, qualitative resilience assessment tool. The RRI emphasizes the value of citizen engagement in resilience planning and a whole-of-community approach to resilience addressing issues such as the quality and availability of local resources, expertise, skills, and services; governance issues; economic and employment issues; culture; disaster preparedness; and emergency management planning.

Information and communication technologies are not value-neutral tools that reflect reality; they privilege some forms of action, and they limit others. We analyze reports describing the design, development, testing and evaluation of a European Commission co-funded syndromic surveillance project called SIDARTHa (System for Information on Detection and Analysis of Risks and Threats to Health). We show that the reports construct the concept of a health threat as a sudden, unexpected event with the potential to cause severe harm and one that requires a public health response aided by surveillance. Based on our analysis, we state that when creating surveillance technologies, design choices have consequences for what can be seen and for what remains invisible. Finally, we argue that syndromic surveillance discourse privileges expertise in developing, maintaining and using software within public health practice, and it prioritizes standardized and transportable knowledge over local and context-dependent knowledge. We conclude that syndromic surveillance contributes to a shift in broader public health practice, with consequences for fairness if design choices and prioritizations remain invisible and unchallenged.

Objective:The authors evaluate the effectiveness of noninvasive brain stimulation, in particular, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), for accelerating learning and enhancing human performance on complex tasks.Background:Developing expertise in complex tasks typically requires extended training and practice. Neuroergonomics research has suggested new methods that can accelerate learning and boost human performance. TDCS is one such method. It involves the application of a weak DC current to the scalp and has the potential to modulate brain networks underlying the performance of a perceptual, cognitive, or motor task.Method:Examples of tDCS studies of declarative and procedural learning are discussed. This mini-review focuses on studies employing complex simulations representative of surveillance and security operations, intelligence analysis, and procedural learning in complex monitoring.Results:The evidence supports the view that tDCS can accelerate learning and enhance performance in a range of complex cognitive tasks. Initial findings also suggest that such benefits can be retained over time, but additional research is needed on training schedules and transfer of training.Conclusion:Noninvasive brain stimulation can accelerate skill acquisition in complex tasks and may provide an alternative or addition to other training methods.

Abstract
The literature of warfare records the insights of past generations into one of the most harrowing and trying elements of the human experience. The classical works from the Warring States period created the base of military thought in China that also influenced much of East Asia. According to Mao Zedong, these ancient texts bore special importance as literature, sources of study, and inspiration for the people of China. This hard-purchased expertise reflected the experiences of the past that present scholars must carefully study, especially as new works of military thought within the Chinese literary base appeared in the twentieth century, penned and spoken by Mao himself. These new texts demonstrated a steady continuity from the earliest Chinese military-philosophical literature. Most notably, these common concepts included a consistent conceptualization about the role of warfare in society, the importance of complementary opposites, capitalizing on strengths and exploiting weaknesses, and adaptability to changing dynamics. The influence of Mao's writings ensured these precepts continued to exercise an important influence upon the People's Republic of China, creating the base of military-philosophical literature in the prc.

Depuis sa création en 1999, la Banque centrale européenne a cherché à influencer les règles de gouvernance économique de la zone euro alors que ses responsabilités initiales sont recentrées sur le domaine monétaire. Bien qu'elle n'ait pas pu exercer de véritable influence sur ces domaines lors des dix premières années de l'euro, la crise des dettes souveraines débutée en décembre 2009 a fait apparaître une fenêtre d'opportunité pour les banquiers centraux. Le but de cet article est alors d'identifier les moyens par lesquels la BCE a pu étendre son influence au-delà du domaine monétaire pendant la crise de la zone euro. Après avoir exploré les différentes dimensions de la BCE en tant qu'acteur politique, l'article explore l'impact de la BCE à travers trois canaux : son monopole sur les liquidités, la reconnaissance de son expertise et son autorité morale sur les États membres. Au-delà de cette étude empirique, l'article remet en cause la maîtrise du processus de délégation de compétences à des agences indépendantes par les décideurs politiques et souligne la place centrale des erreurs de perceptions dans la gestion de la crise

Critical feminist analysis has produced much important work on women in the gender regime of men's sport. The protagonists of these studies have been mostly female athletes, fans, managers and journalists. This article focuses on yet another female persona in men's sport: the lover. Complementing research that identifies wives and girlfriends (WAGs) as helpmates who fulfill traditional auxiliary roles to their athlete partners, this article presents another sexual persona through the Spanish soccer scene: femmes fatales or 'fatal women'. Through fantasy narratives, these WAGs are constructed as 'dangerous destabilizers' that threaten elite male sport performance through their sexuality. The presence of female fans, athletes and professionals in men's sport has often provoked redressive actions such as techniques of sexualization, the denial of authentic female fandom and expertise, or the prescription of gender-appropriate behaviors and aspirations. Complementing critical feminist research on these mechanisms, and with an attempt to gain a wider perspective of female presence in men's sport, this article explores the often contradictory reactions to 'fatal women': demonization, fetishization, the pathologization of sex and the proliferation of erotic fantasies.

Brazil's engagement in United Nations (UN)-mandated peacekeeping operations dates from 1956. Since then the country has participated in 46 of 65 UN peacekeeping operations, deploying 11,669 personnel in total. Yet until 2004-05, with the UN's peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Brazilian contributions to such operations were mainly symbolic, military based and concentrated in Portuguese-speaking countries. Recent changes in the size, type and geographical distribution of Brazil's participation in peace operations echo the reorientation of the country's foreign policy in its search for a more globalised political influence, especially under Lula da Silva's presidency. In particular, peacekeeping under UN aegis has enabled Brazil to showcase its perceived added value in terms of its expertise on stabilisation, track record on development and conflict mediation, and advocacy for the Global South. Aspiring to become a world power, Brazil has assumed a role in peace and security that is more consistent with enhanced international responsibility. Yet, as this report highlights, this transformation has been characterised by dilemmas that are a product of the country's simultaneous legitimation and contestation of the international power structures in which it operates.

Досліджено сучасний стан громадського контролю в сфері земельних відносин. З'ясовано, що в Україні самоврядний та громадський контроль розвинуті недостатньо, що знижує результативність їхнього впливу під час вирішення ряду земельних питань, які мають важливе значення для суспільства. На основі аналізу методів громадського контролю було визначено необхідність впровадження державно-громадського аудиту, що надасть можливість об'єднати досвід контрольної діяльності державних контролерів та громадських організацій і сприятиме появі нового ефекту в здійсненні контролю за земельними відносинами, усуненню протиріч між суспільством та державними органами, підвищить участь громадськості в управлінні державою. ; In the article the current state of public control in the sphere of land relations. Revealing that Ukraine municipal and public control are underdeveloped, which reduces the effectiveness of their influence in solving a number of land issues of importance to society. Based on the analysis methods of social control has been identified the need to introduce state-public audit, which will combine the expertise of the control activities of state inspectors and public organizations and will promote the emergence of a new effect in the control of land relations, elimination of contradictions between society and state organs, increase public participation in government.

Cultural Heritage represents a very difficult subject to be handled. Despite its cross-cutting and multi-level characters (scientific, social, economic, political, etc.), nevertheless the topic can hardly be framed in a proper and comprehensive way. Any project addressing Cultural Heritage (documentation, preservation, retrofitting, valorisation and so on) actually tends to exalt a specific point of view and, therefore, to neglect potentially crucial contributions coming from different fields of expertise. Comprehensive solutions to this problem seem by now available thanks to ICT and the 3D Digitalization and Multimedia Technologies: nevertheless the more the platforms improve their multidisciplinary capabilities and interoperability, the more they need an intelligent design and an accurate control during the implementation phase. Built Cultural Heritage (as historic buildings, districts, sites, etc.) perfectly represents the wide range of situations, which have to be tackled. Any intervention, in fact, from the design phase to its realization and validation, actually deals with several different interlaced layers that together depict a "complex system". The construction of a Knowledge System represents a crucial step in correctly addressing the problem.

Current governance of regional scale water management systems in the United States has not placed them on a path toward sustainability, as conflict and gridlock characterize the social arena and ecosystem services continue to erode. Changing climate may continue this trajectory, but it also provides a catalyst for renewal of ecosystems and a window of opportunity for change in institutions. Resilience provides a bridging concept that predicts that change in ecological and social systems is often dramatic, abrupt, and surprising. Adapting to the uncertainty of climate driven change must be done in a manner perceived as legitimate by the participants in a democratic society. Adaptation must begin with the current hierarchical and fragmented social-ecological system as a baseline from which new approaches must be applied. Achieving a level of integration between ecological concepts and governance requires a dialogue across multiple disciplines, including ecologists with expertise in ecological resilience, hydrologists and climate experts, with social scientists and legal scholars. Criteria and models that link ecological dynamics with policies in complex, multi-jurisdictional water basins with adaptive management and governance frameworks may move these social-ecological systems toward greater sustainability.

There is a clear need for a public domain data set of road networks with high special accuracy and global coverage for a range of applications. The Global Roads Open Access Data Set (gROADS), version 1, is a first step in that direction. gROADS relies on data from a wide range of sources and was developed using a range of methods. Traditionally, map development was highly centralized and controlled by government agencies due to the high cost or required expertise and technology. In the past decade, however, high resolution satellite imagery and global positioning system (GPS) technologies have come into wide use, and there has been significant innovation in web services, such that a number of new methods to develop geospatial information have emerged, including automated and semi-automated road extraction from satellite/aerial imagery and crowdsourcing. In this paper we review the data sources, methods, and pros and cons of a range of road data development methods: heads-up digitizing, automated/semi-automated extraction from remote sensing imagery, GPS technology, crowdsourcing, and compiling existing data sets. We also consider the implications for each method in the production of open data.

Dieser Artikel stellt provokativ die Frage, ob es nicht konsequenter wäre, ange­sichts des Wandels der Informations- und Wissenschaftsstrukturen in den Hochschulen gänz­lich auf dezentrale Bibliotheken in den Fakultäten, Fachbereichen und Instituten zu verzich­ten – beispielsweise zugunsten von Kommunikations- und Lernräumen.[1] Die Überlegungen konzen­trieren sich auf Hochschulbibliothekssysteme in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, beleuchten – auch im Licht der Anforderungen aufgrund überregionaler wissen­schafts- bzw. hochschulpolitischer Empfehlungen und Gutachten – das Für und Wider dezen­tral organisierter Bibliothekssysteme und münden in dem Versuch einer Perspektive zu­kunftsgerichteter Hochschulbibliothekssysteme. In view of the changes in the information and scientific structures of the universities, this paper raises the provocative question, whether, it wouldn't be more consistent to dispense entirely with decen­tralized libraries in the faculties, departments and institutes, and, for example, set up com­munication and learning spaces instead. The authors discuss pros and cons of decentrally struc­tured library systems (taking also into account science and higher education policy advice and expertise for the requirements of the scientific system and the tertiary education in Germany), leading to an attempt to describe a per­spective for forward-looking university library systems. [1] Der Text ist die überarbeitete Fassung des gleichnamigen Vortrags, gehalten auf dem 103. Deutschen Bibliothekartag in Bremen 2014. Nicht wenige Erkenntnisse basieren auf dem von uns herausgegebenen "Handbuch Hochschulbibliothekssysteme. Leistungsfähige Informationsinfrastrukturen für Wissenschaft und Studium" (Berlin, Boston: de Gruyter Saur, 2014). Wir danken allen Autorinnen und Autoren auch an dieser Stelle noch einmal für ihre hervorragenden Textbeiträge.