Suchergebnisse

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined whether the Broadcasting Board of Governors: broadcasters (1) responded to the specific limitations and cost-cutting expectations regarding Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's operations; (2) implemented an annual language service review process; and (3) instituted a strategic planning and performance management system."

Background The COVID-19 pandemic triggered vast governmental lockdowns. The impact of these lockdowns on mental health is inadequately understood. On the one hand such drastic changes in daily routines could be detrimental to mental health. On the other hand, it might not be experienced negatively, especially because the entire population was affected. Methods The aim of this study was to determine mental health outcomes during pandemic induced lockdowns and to examine known predictors of mental health outcomes. We therefore surveyed n = 9, 565 people from 78 countries and 18 languages. Outcomes assessed were stress, depression, affect, and wellbeing. Predictors included country, sociodemographic factors, lockdown characteristics, social factors, and psychological factors. Results Results indicated that on average about 10% of the sample was languishing from low levels of mental health and about 50% had only moderate mental health. Importantly, three consistent predictors of mental health emerged: social support, education level, and psychologically flexible (vs. rigid) responding. Poorer outcomes were most strongly predicted by a worsening of finances and not having access to basic supplies. Conclusions These results suggest that on whole, respondents were moderately mentally healthy at the time of a population-wide lockdown. The highest level of mental health difficulties were found in approximately 10% of the population. Findings suggest that public health initiatives should target people without social support and those whose finances worsen as a result of the lockdown. Interventions that promote psychological flexibility may mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

The massive accumulation of plastics in marine environments is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time. This book examines the relevant international legal framework applying to land-based sources of plastic pollution. Against the backdrop of the dynamics of recent policy formulation in this field, it outlines the main developments and provides a snapshot inventory of state obligations related to plastic pollution mitigation. 'The Mitigation of Marine Plastic Pollution in International Law' identifies the main barriers and opportunities, and points out the possible building blocks of an enhanced regime. 00Also available in Open Access (published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation)

The massive accumulation of plastics in marine environments is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time. This book examines the relevant international legal framework applying to land-based sources of plastic pollution. Against the backdrop of the dynamics of recent policy formulation in this field, it outlines the main developments and provides a snapshot inventory of state obligations related to plastic pollution mitigation. 'The Mitigation of Marine Plastic Pollution in International Law' identifies the main barriers and opportunities, and points out the possible building blocks of an enhanced regime. 00Also available in Open Access (published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation)

The repeated prisioner's dilemma is representative of a broad range of situations in international security and trade. This article examines the effects of asymmetric noise on the emergence and maintenance of cooperation under such conditions. The results show that positive and negative asymmetric noise have very different effects on strategy performance. For forgiving strategies, positive noise provides a stimulus out of perpetual defection or unsynchronized retaliations, but also opens them to exploitation. For provocable strategies, negative noise triggers unsynchronized retaliations or perpetual defection, although this may be tempered by generosity and contrition. The effects of neutral noise reflects the signature of each asymmetric noise type. Of the strategies examined, contrite tit-for-tat (CTFT) is generally one of the best performers in both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. Moreover, one generally sees the evolutionary models moving from heterogeneous bilateral interaction to cooperative norms of behavior, often including or even dominated by CTFT.

This book conducts a gendered critique of the 'principle of distinction' in international humanitarian law (IHL), with a focus on recent conflicts in Africa. The 'principle of distinction' is core to IHL, and regulates who can and cannot be targeted in armed conflict. It states that civilians may not be targeted in attack, while combatants and those civilians directly participating in hostilities can be. The law defines what it means to be a combatant and a civilian, and sets out what behaviour constitutes direct participation. Close examination of the origins of the principle reveals that IHL was based on a gendered view of conflict, which envisages men as fighters and women as victims of war. Problematically, this view often does not accord with the reality in 'new wars' today in which women are playing increasingly active roles, often forming the backbone of fighting groups, and performing functions on which armed groups are highly reliant. Using women's participation in 'new wars' in Africa as a study, this volume critically examines the principle through a gendered lens, questioning the extent to which the principle serves to protect women in modern conflicts and how it fails them. By doing so, it questions whether the principle of distinction is suitable to effectively regulate the conduct of hostilities in new wars. This book will be of much interest to students of international law, gender studies, African politics, war and conflict studies, and international relations.