US voting rights controversies will grow

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Voter Suppression ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Medicaid Expansions

Subject US voting rights controversies and risks. Significance When the Democrats become the House of Representatives majority in January, one of their priorities is pushing easier access to voting. This responds to concerns that races in this month’s midterm elections, and others, were tainted by voter suppression. Currently, norms surrounding voting rights and the certainty of elections are eroding, with potential long-term negative effects on US democratic processes, including increasing perceptions that elected representatives and the policy they produce might be illegitimate. Impacts Balloting this November will add momentum to calls for US nationwide marijuana legalisation, which is likely within ten years. Washington State’s failed carbon tax referendum suggests referenda are not yet a means by which climate policy will advance. Approval of Medicaid expansions in states that had resisted it will add momentum for this nationally.

US Republicans will eye 2020 ‘red wave’

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Majority Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Voter Identification ◽  
Midterm Elections

Significance She was originally appointed in April when Thad Cochran resigned and will serve to January 2021. The win means the Republicans will have 53 Senate seats for 2019-21, a net gain of two after the November 6 midterm elections. However, the Democrats will be the House of Representatives majority party. Impacts Democrat-led states will pass laws to protect voters’ voting rights. Republican-led states will push voter identification-related laws. Preparing for 2020, Congress Republicans could distance themselves from Trump, running different political messaging.

The new Zambian president faces long-term challenges

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
National Development ◽  
Social Costs ◽  
Debt Restructuring ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
The Social ◽  
Voter Suppression ◽  
Spending Cuts

Significance Hichilema's surprise win came despite extensive voter suppression and intimidation attributed to former President Edgar Lungu and the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) against supporters of Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND). Impacts The broad scope of Hichilema’s reform programme will pose difficulties of prioritisation, particularly within current fiscal constraints. Higher copper prices may mitigate some of the social costs associated with debt restructuring and spending cuts. The cancellation of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Hichilema over LGBT rights concerns may complicate relations with Washington.

Investigation of depression, anxiety and stress levels of health-care students during COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Obay A. Al-Maraira ◽  
Sami Z. Shennaq
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Psychological Counseling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Stress Levels

Purpose This study aims to determine depression, anxiety and stress levels of health-care students during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic according to various socio-demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach This cross-sectional study was conducted with 933 students. Data were collected with an information form on COVID- 19 and an electronic self-report questionnaire based on depression, anxiety and stress scale. Findings Findings revealed that 58% of the students experienced moderate-to-extremely severe depression, 39.8% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe anxiety and 38% experienced moderate-to-extremely severe stress. Practical implications Educational administrators can help reduce long-term negative effects on students’ education and mental health by enabling online guidance, psychological counseling and webinars for students. Originality/value This paper is original and adds to existing knowledge that health-care students’ depression, anxiety and stress levels were affected because of many factors that are not yet fully understood. Therefore, psychological counseling is recommended to reduce the long-term negative effects on the mental health of university students.

scholarly journals Opportunities and challenges of using socially intelligent agents: increasing interaction and school participation for children suffering from a long-term illness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Mårell-Olsson ◽  
Thomas Mejtoft ◽  
Sofia Tovedal ◽  
Ulrik Söderström
Keyword(s):  
Intelligent Agents ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Societal Benefits ◽  
School Participation

PurposeChildren suffering from cancer or cardiovascular disease, who need extended periods of treatment in hospitals, are subjected to multiple hardships apart from the physical implications, for example, experienced isolation and disrupted social and academic development. This has negative effects long after the child's recovery from the illness. The purpose of this paper is to examine the non-medical needs of children suffering from a long-term illness, as well as research the field of artificial intelligence (AI) – more specifically, the use of socially intelligent agents (SIAs) – in order to study how technology can enhance children's interaction, participation and quality of life.Design/methodology/approachInterviews were performed with experts in three fields: housing manager for hospitalized children, a professor in computing science and researcher in AI, and an engineer and developer at a tech company.FindingsIt is important for children to be able to take control of the narrative by using an SIA to support the documentation of their period of illness, for example. This could serve as a way of processing emotions, documenting educational development or keeping a reference for later in life. The findings also show that the societal benefits of AI include automating mundane tasks and recognizing patterns.Originality/valueThe originality of this study concerns the holistic approach of increasing the knowledge and understanding of these children's specific needs and challenges, particularly regarding their participation and interaction with teachers and friends at school, using an SIA.

Does deal size moderate the effects of board faultlines? Evidence from acquisitions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tidbury ◽  
Steven F. Cahan ◽  
Li Chen
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Instrumental Variable Analysis

Purpose Board faultlines, which reflect intrinsic divisions of board members into relatively homogeneous subgroups, are associated with poor firm performance. This paper aims to extend the existing board faultline research by examining how acquisition deal size moderates the negative implications of board faultlines. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a sample of acquisitions and a quantitative research approach to conduct statistical analysis. Findings Using a sample of acquisitions announced between 2007 and 2016, this paper finds evidence suggesting that strong faultlines are associated with poorer acquisition outcomes in the long-term, but not in the short term. Further, this paper finds that the effect of faultline strength on long-term acquisition outcomes is weaker for larger acquisition deals than smaller acquisition deals. The findings are consistent with deal size moderating the relation between faultlines and acquisition outcomes. Research limitations/implications This paper addresses possible endogeneity through firm fixed effects and instrumental variable analysis. Although this paper provides evidence on the moderating role of deal size in the context of faultlines, future research could examine the role of additional moderators, such as pro-diversity, trust, board leadership and board and task characteristics. Practical implications The findings suggest that boards need to be aware of situations where the negative effects of faultlines are more likely to come to the fore. For example, faultlines are more likely to play a role in more routine, obscure monitoring than for high-profile strategic decisions. Originality/value The study is multidisciplinary as it draws on the management, organizational behaviour and psychology and finance literature. It contributes to the developing literature on faultlines in several important ways. First, this paper supports their view that faultlines have adverse effects on board performance by showing that faultlines negatively impact discrete strategic investment decisions. Second, this paper provides evidence that deals size moderates the faultline-acquisition performance relation, indicating that the role of faultlines is contextual. Third, this paper finds evidence that suggests investors do not factor in board faultlines when responding to acquisition announcements.

US corporate tax reform would risk highway fund

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
Corporate Tax ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Corporate Tax Reform ◽  
The Cost

Significance On July 15, the House of Representatives passed a short-term funding measure, against the wishes of many in the Senate. US infrastructure is facing a fiscal crunch. Taxes on gasoline have traditionally supported highway appropriations. However, eroding purchasing power and greater fuel efficiency means that about 30% of highway funding must be found from other sources, difficult in the current Congress. The present round of appropriations expires on July 31. Impacts A corporate tax might provide a long-term resolution, but the pursuit of it would come at the cost of seeking more modest solutions. These would provide stability for a year or two, necessary for projects of long duration. If corporate tax reform is not completed before the end of 2015, it will probably not get done in a presidential election year. If Congress were to rely on the prospect of these taxes for the HTF, it might find itself in a similar position in a few months.

Post-US-midterm dynamic could ease China trade spat

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Immediate Release ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Telephone Conversation ◽  
China Trade ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Trade War ◽  
High Level

Significance This follows high-level China-US trade talks restarting after a November 1 Trump-Xi telephone conversation, November 6’s US midterm elections that delivered a Democrat-majority House of Representatives from January 2019 and US-China trade-related frictions at the APEC Summit (November 15-17) preventing a joint communique’s immediate release. These frictions have sparked fears of a US-China ‘trade war’, or worse, and what scenarios and drivers might see this avoided. Impacts China may eye further trade renegotiations with the next US president, from 2021 or 2025. Democrats would want any trade deal to include human rights and environmental protections; Beijing would certainly resist the former. China might offer intellectual property concessions on paper, since there are multiple ways to circumvent such restrictions. Trump could sell a ‘partial’ deal politically, but he may calculate that ‘China-the-adversary’ rhetoric will win more 2020 votes.

Prospects for US politics to end-2018

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
The Political ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Senate Elections ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Lame Duck

Subject Prospects for US politics to end-2018 Significance The midterm elections on November 6 will see the full 435-seat House of Representatives elected and one-third of the 100-seat Senate. Elections will also be held for most state legislatures and 36 of 50 governors. The onset of the midterms will influence what legislation is passed beforehand, what the outgoing Congress pursues in its 'lame duck' period after November and the political arithmetic post-January 2019, when the new 116th Congress convenes.

Trump will tilt further towards US religious right

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Religious Right ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Election Cycle ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
The Us ◽  
Current Term

Subject The US political influence of the religious right. Significance By determining which party holds a majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, November's midterm elections will influence the final two years of President Donald Trump’s current term. Given the historically relatively low voter turnouts in off-presidential-election-cycle election years, Trump’s fortunes depend heavily on his ability to mobilise core conservative voters on behalf of the Republican Party. The religious right is currently Trump’s most intensely loyal constituency and his best hope for retaining Republican majorities in Congress. Impacts Trump will nominate more social conservatives to federal judgeships. Recent gains in special elections do not prove a Democratic resurgence but imply turnout will be higher in November than normal. A Democratic gain of one or both houses of Congress would dent the religious right’s national influence. If the Republicans retain Congress, the religious right will increase its influence further at the federal level. So far, allegations against Trump over his private life do not appear likely to diminish his core support.

Russia will both contest and adjust to EU carbon tax

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Fuel Cell Vehicles ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Russian Industry ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Significance Additional EU taxes on carbon-intensive energy and other products could cost Russian industry up to EUR50bn (USD59bn) before 2030. With some corporate exceptions, Russia's response is still slow and the issue is likely to become another source of difficult, highly politicised negotiations between Brussels and Moscow. Impacts Long-term dependence on hydrocarbons increases institutional resistance to adapting to changing global attitudes. Russia's latest environmental plan envisages that greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 will be higher than now. Low-carbon hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are one area where Russia is capable of significant progress.

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