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AbstractThis paper examines through qualitative study the effect of government regulatory restriction and repression on non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) engaging in transnational advocacy. The focus is on NGO's advocacy activities, in the realm of human rights, environment, labor and development in particular, using illustrations from Bangladesh and Zambia. It finds that next to some NGOs disbanding and moving towards service activities, many NGOs shift in terms of substantive advocacy and form of organizational collaboration. To continue cross‐border interactions with their foreign partners, many NGOs adjust to circumvent or compensate for restrictions and repression. Because of this, transnational advocacy can be said to continue, but repression and restrictions have significant substantive and organizational effects for the collaborations studied, and cross‐border NGO collaborations in our sample are increasingly fragile and their advocacy more tempered.

Wood has great potential as a bioenergy source, both as a feedstock for liquid biofuels for the transport sector and also as biomass, a direct source of energy that can be used to produce electric power. Trees, however, are generally slow growing, and some species that do grow quickly are not widely adapted, hence the interest in genetically engineered (GE) trees. This article examines the regulatory process and the effects on development and commercialization of regulatory restrictions and recent court decisions. It discusses recent US legal cases, which -- although not directly involving transgenic trees -- have implications for tree deregulation and the pace of commercialization.

We study if government response to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic can mitigate investor herding behaviour in international stock markets. Our empirical analysis is informed by daily stock market data from 72 countries from both developed and emerging economies in the first quarter of 2020. The government response to the COVID-19 outbreak is measured by means of the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, where higher scores are associated with greater stringency. Three main findings are in order. First, results show evidence of investor herding in international stock markets. Second, we document that the Oxford Government Response Stringency Index mitigates investor herding behaviour, by way of reducing multidimensional uncertainty. Third, short-selling restrictions, temporarily imposed by the national and supranational regulatory authorities of the European Union, appear to exert a mitigating effect on herding. Finally, our results are robust to a range of model specifications.

We study if government response to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic can mitigate investor herding behaviour in international stock markets. Our empirical analysis is informed by daily stock market data from 72 countries from both developed and emerging economies in the first quarter of 2020. The government response to the COVID-19 outbreak is measured by means of the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, where higher scores are associated with greater stringency. Three main findings are in order. First, results show evidence of investor herding in international stock markets. Second, we document that the Oxford Government Response Stringency Index mitigates investor herding behaviour, by way of reducing multidimensional uncertainty. Third, short-selling restrictions, temporarily imposed by the national and supranational regulatory authorities of the European Union, appear to exert a mitigating effect on herding. Finally, our results are robust to a range of model specifications.

Introduction: Use of natural and synthetic colloid solutions to replenish intravascular volume depletion is common in diverse clinical settings. Hydroxyethyl starches (HES) are a common choice for fluid resuscitation and are preferred over albumin because of their relatively lower price.However its association with increased risk of bleeding, renal dysfunction and mortality in patients who had sepsis or were critically ill compared with crystalloids usage posed concern. In 2013, the FDA issued a "black box" warning about increased mortality and severe renal injury in critically ill patients, advising that it should not be used in this population. The present study highlights the issue and probes on its current usage in India. Objective: To assess the usage pattern and adverse events of synthetic colloids such as hydroxyethyl starch in fluid management through a questionnaire survey among critical care physicians, gynecologists and surgeons. Methodology: A questionnaire based study was conducted among 156 critical care physicians, gynecologists and surgeonspan-India, where physicians were approached through emails and a pre-designed, pre-tested questionnaire presented in Google form was sent to potential respondents. Data was checked for completeness and then analyzed by appropriate statistical methods as applicable. Results: Majority of the respondents were noted usingHES despite its adverse potential, due to its availability at government hospitals. Surprisingly a few of the interviewed surgeons use HES as a volume expander. Similar results were obtained from the interviewed gynecologists and obstetricians. Among 52 interviewed gynecologists, only 2% use HES as volume expander. Conclusion: Considering the adverse potential of this synthetic colloid and justifying the risk and benefit analysis one has to be very wise in selecting the right synthetic colloid for the right patient. However with current concerns about safety of hydroxyethyl starch products, almost all interviewed physicians recommended regulatory restriction over their use in India.

Despite decades of advocacy among Thai governmental and nongovernmental actors to remove abortion from the country's 1957 Criminal Code, this medically necessary service remains significantly legally restricted. In 2005, in the most recent regulatory reform to date, the Thai Medical Council established regulatory measures to allow a degree of physician interpretation within the confines of the existing law. Drawing on findings from a review of institutional policies and legislative materials, key informant interviews, and informal discussions with health service providers, government representatives, and nonprofit stakeholders, this article explores how legal reforms and health policies have shaped the abortion landscape in Thailand and influenced geographic disparities in availability and accessibility. Notwithstanding a strong medical community and the recent introduction of mifepristone for medication abortion (also known as medical abortion), the narrow interpretation of the regulatory criteria by physicians further entrenches these disparities. This article examines the causes of subnational disparities, focusing on the northern provinces and the western periphery of Thailand, and explores strategies to improve access to abortion in this legally restricted setting.