Suchergebnisse

Most authors admit that code-switching is the process of switching different languages, their varieties, speaking styles, etc. Today, the majority of people in the world are multilingual and often mix languages in different ways, which makes code-switching a quite common global phenomenon. Code-switching incorporates government, cultural, religious and network contexts, and the frequency of code-switching in such multilingual conversations is an indicator of the global dominance of multilingualism. Online communication fosters social communicative practices consisting of code- switching and marks the development of verbal behaviour of multilingual communities. Code-switching also affects language visuality, its images are tools for the social construction of reality. The developed verbal practices support effective communication and affect the expression of new meanings. The article aims at presenting the features of code-switching in digital communication with 8 examples of different length, topic and author, in which the native Lithuanians code-switched to English and used elements of the Internet language. These examples were taken from the social networks Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the authors analyzed the grammar, spelling and punctuation of both Lithuanian and the English words, the type and use of the code-switched English elements, special characters, abbreviations, emoji and other features of the Internet language. The results show that online communication is not entirely textual, with various means of text composition communicators make their code-switched English elements more visible and alter the appearance of messages. Such practices correspond to the features of social networks and seem to follow the popular Internet culture trends.

Most authors admit that code-switching is the process of switching different languages, their varieties, speaking styles, etc. Today, the majority of people in the world are multilingual and often mix languages in different ways, which makes code-switching a quite common global phenomenon. Code-switching incorporates government, cultural, religious and network contexts, and the frequency of code-switching in such multilingual conversations is an indicator of the global dominance of multilingualism. Online communication fosters social communicative practices consisting of code- switching and marks the development of verbal behaviour of multilingual communities. Code-switching also affects language visuality, its images are tools for the social construction of reality. The developed verbal practices support effective communication and affect the expression of new meanings. The article aims at presenting the features of code-switching in digital communication with 8 examples of different length, topic and author, in which the native Lithuanians code-switched to English and used elements of the Internet language. These examples were taken from the social networks Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the authors analyzed the grammar, spelling and punctuation of both Lithuanian and the English words, the type and use of the code-switched English elements, special characters, abbreviations, emoji and other features of the Internet language. The results show that online communication is not entirely textual, with various means of text composition communicators make their code-switched English elements more visible and alter the appearance of messages. Such practices correspond to the features of social networks and seem to follow the popular Internet culture trends.

As with nearly all facets of daily life, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the traditional routines for science outreach and collaboration for battery researchers of all stripes. In-person conferences, meetings, lab visitations, and sabbaticals have largely been canceled or postponed, disrupting the typical avenues for communication between scientists, engineers, and researchers. Increasingly, researchers have developed creative ways to leverage electronic communication formats, harnessing growing online social media communities to create ad-hoc replacements for the essential functions served by these conventional in-person events. Concurrently, there has been a growing recognition of the fundamental tension between travel-intensive scientific networking and the stated goals of many research fields focused on mitigating anthropogenic climate change and environmental degradation. Recent analysis of a European economics conference estimated roughly 0.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions per participant, while the University of California Santa Barbara recently estimated that conference travel accounts for roughly 30% of its carbon footprint. Within this context, an online battery modeling community has taken shape. Centered around weekly webinars and a free-flowing Slack workspace, the community fulfills a critical need for connection between battery researchers with diverse backgrounds and interests from all over the world. The community provides new avenues for information exchange, networking, and collaboration, which we hope will persist and provide a template for global, decentralized, democratic, and emissions-friendly community-building in a post-COVID science landscape. In this Energy Focus, we describe the formation of this community, clearly state its mission, discuss initial activities, and identify challenges and opportunities moving forward.

Most authors admit that code-switching is the process of switching different languages, their varieties, speaking styles, etc. Today, the majority of people in the world are multilingual and often mix languages in different ways, which makes code-switching a quite common global phenomenon. Code-switching incorporates government, cultural, religious and network contexts, and the frequency of code-switching in such multilingual conversations is an indicator of the global dominance of multilingualism. Online communication fosters social communicative practices consisting of code- switching and marks the development of verbal behaviour of multilingual communities. Code-switching also affects language visuality, its images are tools for the social construction of reality. The developed verbal practices support effective communication and affect the expression of new meanings. The article aims at presenting the features of code-switching in digital communication with 8 examples of different length, topic and author, in which the native Lithuanians code-switched to English and used elements of the Internet language. These examples were taken from the social networks Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the authors analyzed the grammar, spelling and punctuation of both Lithuanian and the English words, the type and use of the code-switched English elements, special characters, abbreviations, emoji and other features of the Internet language. The results show that online communication is not entirely textual, with various means of text composition communicators make their code-switched English elements more visible and alter the appearance of messages. Such practices correspond to the features of social networks and seem to follow the popular Internet culture trends.

Most authors admit that code-switching is the process of switching different languages, their varieties, speaking styles, etc. Today, the majority of people in the world are multilingual and often mix languages in different ways, which makes code-switching a quite common global phenomenon. Code-switching incorporates government, cultural, religious and network contexts, and the frequency of code-switching in such multilingual conversations is an indicator of the global dominance of multilingualism. Online communication fosters social communicative practices consisting of code- switching and marks the development of verbal behaviour of multilingual communities. Code-switching also affects language visuality, its images are tools for the social construction of reality. The developed verbal practices support effective communication and affect the expression of new meanings. The article aims at presenting the features of code-switching in digital communication with 8 examples of different length, topic and author, in which the native Lithuanians code-switched to English and used elements of the Internet language. These examples were taken from the social networks Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the authors analyzed the grammar, spelling and punctuation of both Lithuanian and the English words, the type and use of the code-switched English elements, special characters, abbreviations, emoji and other features of the Internet language. The results show that online communication is not entirely textual, with various means of text composition communicators make their code-switched English elements more visible and alter the appearance of messages. Such practices correspond to the features of social networks and seem to follow the popular Internet culture trends.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have the potential to scale up and democratise participation in professional education. Medical advances and growing demand for health providers require adoption of new flexible, team-based and lifelong learning approaches beyond the current "silo" medical training model focused specific professional roles. MOOCs provide opportunities to address pressing global health training challenges through collaborative development and globally networked learning environments. This project considered the extent to which individuals could gain and apply their learning from a global health MOOC within their local contexts. // In 1996 the World Health Organization launched the international initiative 'GET 2020' to eliminate trachoma, an avoidable blinding eye disease, across 44 endemic countries. In 2016, 16 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)staff and 37 collaborators from 12 countries developed the first MOOC in "Eliminating Trachoma' aimed at improving access to training, equipping and mobilising health workers, to achieve 'GET 2020'. Over 5000 people have participated in the MOOC from a diverse range of professional cadres and disciplines, including clinicians providing surgical services, programme managers, field workers administrating antibiotics, and teams implementing water and sanitation improvements.// We adapted a 'value -creation framework' to evaluate the impact of MOOC-based learning on trachoma elimination practices at the local level. Online surveys were designed to capture personal experiences of 'cycles' of value creation during participation in the MOOC and after the course. The results provide unique and emergent insights into the ongoing value of the MOOC experience for respondents, their teams and the communities affected by trachoma with whom they are engaging towards the goal of elimination.

This paper considers the place of the archive sector within the copyright regime, and how copyright impacts upon the preservation, access to, and use of archival holdings. It will begin with a critical assessment of the current parameters of the UK copyright regime as it applies to the work of archivists, including recommendations for reform that have followed in the wake of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (2006-2010), the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth (2010-2011), the recent Consultation on Copyright (2011-12), as well as the government's response thereto: Modernising Copyright (2012). It considers the various problems the copyright regime presents for archives undertaking mass digitisation projects as well as recent European and UK initiatives in this domain. It argues that the UK copyright regime, even when read in conjunction with current national and regional recommendations for reform, falls short of delivering a legal framework that would enable archivists to realise the full potential that comprehensive, universal online access to the country's archival holdings would contribute to local and national democracy and accountability, to education, learning, and culture, and to the sense of identity and place for local people, communities and organisations. Ultimately, a case is made for the differential treatment of archives within the copyright regime – different, that is, from libraries and other related institutions operating within the cultural sector. The paper concludes with a policy recommendation that would greatly enhance the ability of archives to provide online access to their holdings, while at the same time safeguarding the economic interests of the authors and owners of copyright-protected work.

This paper considers the place of the archive sector within the copyright regime, and how copyright impacts upon the preservation, access to, and use of archival holdings. It begins with a critical assessment of the current parameters of the UK copyright regime as it applies to the work of archivists, including recommendations for reform that have followed in the wake of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (2006-2010), the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth (2010-2011), the Consultation on Copyright (2011-12), as well as the government's response thereto: Modernising Copyright (2012). It considers the various problems the copyright regime presents for archives undertaking mass digitisation projects as well as recent European and UK initiatives in this domain. It argues that the UK copyright regime, even when read in conjunction with current national and regional recommendations for reform, falls short of delivering a legal framework that would enable archivists to realise the full potential that comprehensive, universal online access to the country's archival holdings would contribute to local and national democracy and accountability, to education, learning, and culture, and to the sense of identity and place for local people, communities and organisations. Ultimately, a case is made for the differential treatment of archives within the copyright regime – different, that is, from libraries and other related institutions operating within the cultural sector. The paper concludes with a policy recommendation that would greatly enhance the ability of archives to provide online access to their holdings, while at the same time safeguarding the economic interests of the authors and owners of copyright-protected work.

The presentation will examine the major trends in education for teacher librarianship in Australia. Issues of direct concern to the profession of teacher librarianship as a specialist position in schools will be identified and situated in a global context. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on the future of education for teacher librarianship with an emphasis on the situation in Australia and Hong Kong. ; Dr Ken Dillon is the Associate Professor in Teacher Librarianship and Head, School of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University (CSU). He was formerly a teacher and teacher librarian in both government and non-government schools in New South Wales. Ken is Course Coordinator of the Master of Applied Science (Teacher Librarianship) at CSU. He has coordinated many professional development activities and presented at numerous conferences nationally and internationally. He has contributed to a range of scholarly and professional journals and has co-written and co-edited several books including "Brought to book: Censorship and school libraries in Australia", "School library automation in Australia" (2 editions) and "Collection management for school libraries" (2 editions). Ken is Co-Administrator of OZTL_NET, a listserv community for teacher librarians in Australian schools. His current teaching and research interests include online learning communities for teachers, issues related to student access to the Internet, the information needs and professional development of teachers and teacher librarians, contemporary conceptions of teacher professional learning, teaching and learning online and censorship in schools. In 2005, Ken was recipient of the John Hirst Award "in recognition of his commitment and support of teacher librarianship and school libraries" from the Australian School Library Association (NSW). ; published_or_final_version ; Centre for Information Technology in Education, University of Hong Kong

Abstract With the advent and accessibility of the Internet, artistic and indigenous communities are beginning to realize how digital technologies can be used as a means for documenting and preserving their histories and cultures. However, it is not yet clear what knowledge architectures are most appropriate for creating a digital museum in order to facilitate an effective collection, organization, conservation, and experience of cultural and artistic heritage. In this paper, we discuss the concept of ldquofluid ontologies,rdquo a novel, dynamic structure for organizing and browsing knowledge in a digital museum. Fluid ontologies are flexible knowledge structures that evolve and adapt to communitiesrsquo interest based on contextual information articulated by human contributors, curators, and viewers, as well as artificial bots that are able to track interaction histories and infer relationships among knowledge pieces and preferences of viewers. Fluid ontologies allow for a tighter coupling between communitiesrsquo interests and the browsing structure of a digital museum. We present the key ideas behind the use of fluid ontologies within the context of digital museum design and seminal work in metadata/dynamic ontologies, particularly as it pertains to objects of cultural heritage, and discuss these characteristics in three concrete examples: (1) Village Voice, an online agora that ties together the narratives created by a group of Somali refugees using an iteration of community-designed ontologies, (2) Eventspace, a node-based collaborative archive for design activities, and (3) Tribal Peace, an online digital museum still under construction and evaluation that uses proactive agents to tie distributed Kumeyaay, Luiseno, and Cupeno reservations together in their quest to achieve greater political sovereignty .

Einstellung zur evangelischen Kirche und Beteiligung am kirchlichen Leben.

Themen: Assoziationen zum Begriff ´evangelische Kirche´ (offene Nennungen); Personen und Orte, die mit der evangelischen Kirche in Verbindung gebracht werden (offene Nennungen); Bezugspersonen, Gruppen und Einrichtungen sowie Medien, die das Verhältnis zu Religion, Glauben und Kirche beeinflusst haben sowie Bewertung dieses Einflusses; Informationsmedien über kirchliche Themen (Tageszeitungen, Wochenzeitungen, Magazinen, Illustrierten, Informationssendungen im Radio oder Fernsehen, Internetseiten von Kirche oder Gemeinde, Internet, Gemeindebrief und regionale Kirchenzeitung) und Nutzungshäufigkeit; Institutionenvertrauen (evangelische Kirche, katholische Kirche, politische Parteien, Diakonie, Justiz, Medien und Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NGOs); konstitutive Merkmale eines evangelischen Christen; Einstellung zur Taufe eines Kindes (Skala); persönliche Entscheidung für oder gegen die Taufe eines Kindes; Konfirmation; Verbundenheit mit der evangelischen Kirche; Veränderung des Verbundenheitsgefühls; Verbundenheit mit ausgewählten Bereichen kirchlicher Arbeit (Landeskirche, Ortsgemeinde, evangelische Schulen und Kindertageseinrichtungen sowie Krankenhäuser, Pflegeeinrichtungen u.ä.); Konfession von Mutter und Vater in der Kindheit des Befragten; Verbundenheit der Eltern mit der evangelischen Kirche; Religiosität (religiös erzogen, religiöse Erziehung für Kinder wichtig, selbst religiöser Mensch, religiöse Erziehung von Mutter und Vater); Lösungskompetenz der evangelischen Kirche bei moralischen Problemen, familiären Lebensproblemen, Sinnfragen, sozialen Problemen und religiösen Fragen); persönliche Motive für die Kirchenmitgliedschaft; präferierte Bereiche für ein Engagement der evangelischen Kirche; Meinung zur Aktualität der Kirche (passt sehr gut in die heutige Zeit, 10-stufiges Skalometer); Bekanntheit mit der Pfarrerin oder dem Pfarrer der Kirchengemeinde; Kontakt zu einem Pfarrer bzw. einer Pfarrerin im letzten Jahr und Anlass für den Kontakt; Wichtigkeit des persönlichen Kontakts mit der Pfarrerin bzw. dem Pfarrer; Kontakt mit weiteren kirchlichen Mitarbeitern; Kirchgangshäufigkeit; Wunsch nach häufigeren Gottesdienstbesuchen; Wichtigkeit ausgewählter Aspekte der Gestaltung des Sonntagsgottesdienstes; Gottesdienstbesuch alleine oder mit Begleitperson; persönliche Bedeutung des Gottesdienstbesuchs und Begleitpersonen; Anlässe für Gottesdienstbesuche; gelegentlicher Besuch von Gottesdiensten mit besonderen Themen oder Formen; Besuchshäufigkeit von Kindergottesdiensten, kirchlichem Kindergarten und kirchlichen Kindergruppen in der Kindheit des Befragten; Motive für bzw. gegen den Gottesdienstbesuch an Heiligabend; Art der Beteiligung am Gemeindeleben; Gefühl, in der Gemeinde gebraucht zu werden; Wichtigkeit von Gemeinschaft und Zusammensein mit anderen in der Gemeinde; Wertschätzung der eigenen Tätigkeit in der Gemeinde; Einbringen eigener Fähigkeiten in die Tätigkeit; Motivation für das eigene Engagement am Gemeindeleben (verbindet mit der christlichen Tradition, Ort, den Glauben auszudrücken, Ort intensiver religiöser Erfahrung, wichtige Art, Menschen für den Glauben und die Kirche zu begeistern); Wunsch nach persönlichem Engagement in der Kirche; Meinung zum Kirchenaustritt; Gründe für den beabsichtigten Kirchenaustritt; Meinung zu ausgewählten Tätigkeitsbereichen der evangelischen Kirche; finanzielle Unterstützung der Kirche oder kirchlicher Organisationen; aktive und passive Mitgliedschaften; persönliche religiöse Themen; Häufigkeit des Austauschs über den Sinn des Lebens; Gesprächspartner, genutztes Medium und Gelegenheiten für diesen Austausch über den Sinn des Lebens; religiöser Austausch über den Sinn des Lebens; Gebetshäufigkeit; Rahmen für persönliche Gebete: Morgen- oder Abendgebet; Häufigkeit von Abend- oder Morgengebet mit ausgewählten Personen; Lesehäufigkeit in der Bibel; persönliche Bedeutung der Bibel; Einstellung zu Religion und religiösen Gruppen (Skala: alle religiösen Gruppen sollten die gleichen Rechte haben, Christentum als einzig akzeptable Religion, feste Glaubensüberzeugungen führen zu Intoleranz, religiöse Überzeugung wichtig für eigene Identität und Selbstverständnis, jede Religion hat Stärken und Schwächen aus der man sich das jeweils Beste herausholen sollte, Vielfalt religiöser Gruppen als Ursache für gesellschaftliche Konflikte, Religion des Einzelnen ist egal, sofern er sich an Gesetze hält); Selbsteinschätzung der Kenntnisse über die Bibel, das Christentum, mindestens eine andere Religion, Kirchenlieder sowie den eigenen Glauben anhand von Gegensatzpaaren; Häufigkeit von meditieren, fasten, Kerze anzünden und pilgern; persönliche Glaubenserfahrungen; Gottesglauben (Gefühl mit Gott oder einer spirituellen Macht in Kontakt gewesen zu sein, Gott greift in das eigene Leben ein, Glaube gibt Geborgenheit, Glaube an ein Leben nach dem Tod, Gott als Richter, Glaube an Gott trotz häufiger Zweifel und Unsicherheit, religiöse Suche, eins sein mit der Welt); Häufigkeit des Austauschs über religiöse Themen und persönliche Bedeutung dieses Austauschs; Austauschpartner über religiöse Themen (offene Nennungen); Geschlecht, Alter, Konfession dieser Personen, Bekanntheit der Personen untereinander sowie deren Beziehung zum Befragten und Verbundenheit mit diesen Personen; genutztes Medium für den Austausch über religiöse Themen; Konflikthäufigkeit bei religiösen Themen; Wunsch nach einem Austausch über religiöse Themen; Gesprächspartner vorhanden; Bewertung von Erfahrungen mit Amuletten, Steinen oder Kristallen, Sternen und ihren Konstellationen sowie mit Engeln und guten Geistern; allgemeine Lebenszufriedenheit; Beurteilung der eigenen wirtschaftlichen Lage und Veränderung in den letzten Jahren; Einstellung bezüglich Glauben und Krankheit (Gebete Dritter für die Gesundheit als Hilfe für den Befragten, Bereitschaft zur Teilnahme an Heilungsgottesdiensten, Bedeutung eines christlichen Krankenhauses im Krankheitsfall naher Angehöriger, Krankheit und Gesundheit als Fügung Gottes); Lebenszuversicht; häufiges Zurückdenken an die Vergangenheit; eigenes Leben war früher besser; häufiges Nachdenken über Endlichkeit des eigenen Lebens; Bereitschaft, im Leben Neues zu beginnen; Wertorientierung (Leben genießen, für andere da sein, Unabhängigkeit, hohes gesellschaftliches Ansehen, politisches bzw. gesellschaftliches Engagement, Leben in gleichmäßigen Bahnen); Häufigkeit ausgewählter Freizeitaktivitäten; präferierte Musikrichtungen; Nutzungshäufigkeit ausgewählter Medien; Nutzungshäufigkeit von E-Mails, Online-Computerspielen, SMS/MMS und Kontakten in Online-Communities; überwiegende Konfession der Menschen in der Wohngegend; Familienstand; kirchliche Trauung bzw. Segnen der Partnerschaft; Zusammenleben mit einem Partner; Religionsgemeinschaft des (Ehe)Partners; eine oder mehrere Ehen bzw. eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaften; Absicht zu kirchlicher Trauung; Wunsch nach kirchlicher Bestattung; Teilnahme an der Jugendweihe; generalisiertes Personenvertrauen; Vertrauen zu Mitgliedern ausgewählter Gruppen (persönlich bekannte Menschen, Personen, die man zum ersten Mal trifft, Personen mit anderer Religionszugehörigkeit sowie Personen, die der eigenen Religion angehören).

Konfessionslose wurden zusätzlich gefragt: schon immer konfessionslos oder früher evangelisch und aus der Kirche ausgetreten; Jahr des Kirchenaustritts und Austrittsgründe; Überlegungen zu einem Eintritt bzw. Wiedereintritt in die evangelische Kirche; Motivation für diese Überlegungen; Veränderung der Weltanschauung in Bezug auf religiöse Dinge seit dem Umzug von den neuen in die alten Bundesländer oder umgekehrt.

Demographie: Geschlecht; Alter; höchster Bildungsabschluss; angestrebter Schulabschluss; Erwerbsstatus; Dauer von Erwerbslosigkeit; berufliche Stellung des aktuellen bzw. früheren Berufs; Selbsteinschätzung der Schichtzugehörigkeit; Haushaltsgröße; Anzahl eigener Kinder; Kinder sind getauft; Anzahl der Kinder im Haushalt; Befragter hat eigenes Einkommen; Haushaltsnettoeinkommen; Wohndauer am Wohnort; Umzugshäufigkeit; aufgewachsen in den alten oder den neuen Bundesländern; Umzug von den neuen in die alten Bundesländer oder umgekehrt nach dem 15. Lebensjahr; Jahre seit dem Umzug; Veränderung der Religiosität seit dem Umzug; Selbsteinschätzung des Wohnortes (Urbanisierungsgrad); Bundesland des Wohnortes; Zusammenschluss der Kirchengemeinde mit einer anderen Gemeinde; Veränderung der Verbundenheit mit der Kirchengemeinde; Teilnahme an der letzten Bundestagswahl und Wahlverhalten (Zweitstimme); Teilnahmehäufigkeit an ausgewählten Wahlen (Kommunalwahl, Landtagswahl, Bundestagswahl, Europawahl, Kirchenvorstandswahl).

Interviewerrating: Ausgewählte Testgruppe (Konfessionslose, Evangelische); Anwesenheit weiterer Personen während des Interviews; Kooperationsbereitschaft des Befragten; Interviewdauer; Interviewdatum; Status der Wohnumgebung des Befragungshaushalts; Geschlecht und Alter des Interviewers.

Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: Kirchenmitgliedschaftsuntersuchung (KMU) Nummer, Fallnummer innerhalb KMU V, Fallnummer; Ortsgröße (BIK); Gewichtungsvariablen; Bundesland des Wohnortes mit Berlin nach Ost und West; Konfession Ost West.

Withdrawing from international organizations / Niels Blokker -- Sovereignty as responsibility exercising permanent sovereignty over natural resources in the interest of current and future generations / Daniëlla Dam-de Jong -- Non-state actors and human rights obligations perspectives from international investment law and arbitration / Eric De Brabandere and Larissa van den Herik -- Global threats and fragmented responses climate change and the extra-territorial scope of human rights obligations / Helen Duffy -- What is a state in international law? How is this to be determined? / John Dugard -- The role of customary international law as a tool for the progressive development of international criminal law undermining the sovereignty of states for the sake of humanity? / Robert Heinsch -- The responsibility of the Netherlands for its nationals abroad / Erik Koppe -- How about consolidating the frontiers but furthering the effectiveness of human rights? Lessons from Yerevan / Rick Lawson -- Shifting the frontiers of International Human Rights Law / Titia Loenen -- Waters rising possible effects of sea level rise on the legal regime of baselines and delineation of maritime zones / Xuechan Ma -- The International Criminal Court and human security looking ahead complementarity? / Andrea Marrone -- The establishment of flight information regions and Air Defence Identification Zones Air Law is Air Law and Maritime Law is Maritime Law; shall the twain ever meet? / Pablo Mendes de Leon -- Maritime security and sustainable development and the coastal communities of India an empirical analysis / Bimal N. Patel -- To speculate or not? On determining adequate remedies for denial of justice and other judicial wrongs / Vid Prislan -- Human Rights Law and the return of stolen assets / Cecily Rose -- Principles for the sustainable governance of shared natural resources / Nadia Sánchez Castillo-Winckels -- Economic, social and cultural rights and customary International Law / William A. Schabas -- World law's modern master builders / Otto Spijkers -- The world in disarray. Great-power competition and the decline of multilateralism / Alfred van Staden -- How can we justify international criminal justice? / Carsten Stahn -- China's perception of state sovereignty in international dispute settlement / Linlin Sun -- Public administration and ordinary virtues the Venice principles on the ombudsman Institution / Luc Verhey -- The right to marry as a right to equality about same-sex couples, the phrase "men and women", and the travaux préparatoires of the universal declaration / Kees Waaldijk.

In this study, I investigate nnoboa and rotated susu systems and how they operate as indigenous co-operatives that mobilize savings from its members. The nnoboa system, according to oral tradition, evolved out of the communal way of living in Africa, particularly Ghana. Nnoboa is a form of cooperative society whereby members of the society help to weed one another's farm on rotational basis. Rotated susu is a group of two or more people who come together to save money and the lump sum (bulk money) is given to each of the group members on rotational basis. Both systems operate like the formal banking savings and loans systems. I employ a qualitative approach, comprising seven focus group meetings in seven communities in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality in the Western North Region of Ghana. The findings show that the rotated susu concept emanates from the nnoboa concept and the two systems are underpinned by the following values: trust, synergy, flexibility and empathy, commitment, tolerance and punctuality and promptness. Another finding of the study is that the nnoboa and rotated susu systems offer participants a lot of mileage: helping them to generate income, raise capital, increase their savings, providing them with a source of cheap labor (all nnoboa group members provide free labor for each other in turns so that it becomes affordable for each member to weed his/her farm or clear a parcel of land during the farming season since it is expensive to hire farm laborers), increasing their production, offering them opportunities for networking and bulk purchasing, the groups serving as collateral securities or guarantors as well as the display of love and affection. Based on these findings, I develop a theoretical model for nnoboa and rotated susu systems using grounded theory. The theoretical model of nnoboa and rotated susu systems has implications for researchers, practitioners and the unemployed in terms of how the poor can form groups and access cheap labor or raise capital for any venture. Therefore, the significance of this study is that extant literature on nnoboa and rotated susu with emphasis on their values and benefits and a theoretical model that supports such a system seem to be non-existent.

Doing queer theory as political scientists enables us to approach central questions of the discipline in new and productive ways. This work makes possible innovative theoretical investigation of core concepts in political science such as power, justice, freedom, equality, and democracy. Queer theory can deepen the study of power by focusing on the lives, experiences, and institutions of GLBT people and communities. In the process, new frameworks are developed for the study of political theory more broadly. When done well, queer theory draws on the field's interdisciplinarity by bringing political scientists into conversation with other scholars on key matters that are best not bound by disciplinary borders. Similarly, queer theory at its best draws on the multiple perspectives developed in fields such as post-colonial, ethnic and critical race, feminist, class and ability, religious, and cultural studies.

During the first third of the twentieth century, U. S. railroad executives offered local collection and delivery trucking operations. Railroad managers claimed, with justification, that these services were necessary to reduce congestion at urban freight terminals, and to increase the operating efficiency. Yet, executives also employed collection and delivery practices to discriminate against shippers and communities, and to draw business away from rival carriers, in violation of the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act, the 1903 Elkins Act, and the Transportation Act of 1920. During the 1920s, as competition from independent truckers became more intense, railroad managers used their inherent advantage in line-haul service to cross-subsidize local delivery services, to the detriment of independent motor carriers—an issue of considerable concern to Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) commissioners, following the passage of the 1935 Motor Carrier Act. The railroads' emphasis on the productive efficiency associated with local trucking operations conflicted with the allocative efficiency advocated by federal courts and by the ICC. Commissioner Joseph B. Eastman, in particular, emphasized both the potential benefits and the potential dangers associated with coordinated rail-truck service. More broadly, the status of that service, as one of the few forms of transportation that lay beyond the ICC's authority, stemmed from a complex interaction, over several decades, between all three branches of the federal government. By 1938, the ICC commissioners had concluded that the railroads' local delivery operations occupied a nebulous region between rail and truck regulation. While lawful, they did not serve as a model for post-1945 efforts to achieve integrated, multi-modal transportation services.