The Nexus Between Urbanisation and Human Empowerment: Income Group Based Findings of Bidirectional Causality

Abstract The economic and social drivers of democratisation and the emergence and establishment of democratic institutions are longstanding themes of academic discourse. Within this broad body of literature, it has been argued that the process of urbanisation is also conducive to the emergence and consolidation of democracy through a number of different channels. Cities offer better access to education and facilitate organised public action and the demand for more democratic rule and respect of human rights. The nexus between urbanisation and human rights is the theme that is taken up in the present paper. Using a sample of 123 countries for the period 1981–2011, the paper examines empirically the association between urbanisation and human empowerment using the Cingranelli-Richards Index. In broad terms, the findings reported herein do not point to a strong nexus across all income groups. Nevertheless, there is evidence suggesting the presence of such a statistically significant positive association in specific cases.

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COVID-19 Mortality and The Overweight: A Global Perspective

10.21203/rs.3.rs-114606/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Avik Chakrabarti ◽

Hamid Beladi ◽

Bernard Arulanandam

Keyword(s):

Positive Association ◽

The Elderly ◽

Income Group ◽

Global Perspective ◽

Health Priorities ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Point Estimates ◽

Percentage Points ◽

Country Study ◽

Cross Country

Abstract We conduct the first cross-country study of plausible associations between COVID-19 mortality and the share of the overweight among nearly 5.5 billion adults around the globe. A statistically significant positive association is observed between COVID-19 mortality and the proportion of the overweight in adult populations spanning 154 countries. This association holds across countries belonging to different income groups and is not sensitive to a population’s median age, proportion of the elderly, and/or proportion of females. The estimated elasticities of COVID-19 mortality, with respect to the proportion of the overweight in adult populations, are consistently higher for sub-samples of countries that belong to a higher income group. While limits of confidence intervals around the point estimates of these elasticities range between 1.5 and 5.4, on an average, every percentage point increment in the proportion of the overweight in adult populations contributes to an additional 3.5 percentage points to COVID-19 mortality for high income countries. With due caution, our findings call for an effective alignment of public policy regulations with public health priorities.

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Perceived Overprotection and Its Association With Quality of Life in Dementia

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000207 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 125-134

Author(s):

Mechthild Niemann-Mirmehdi ◽

Andreas Häusler ◽

Paul Gellert ◽

Johanna Nordheim

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Patient Autonomy ◽

Positive Association ◽

Well Being ◽

Negative Association ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Mental Well Being

Abstract. To date, few studies have focused on perceived overprotection from the perspective of people with dementia (PwD). In the present examination, the association of perceived overprotection in PwD is examined as an autonomy-restricting factor and thus negative for their mental well-being. Cross-sectional data from the prospective DYADEM study of 82 patient/partner dyads (mean age = 74.26) were used to investigate the association between overprotection, perceived stress, depression, and quality of life (QoL). The analyses show that an overprotective contact style with PwD has a significant positive association with stress and depression, and has a negative association with QoL. The results emphasize the importance of avoiding an overprotective care style and supporting patient autonomy.

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LOCUS OF CONTROL AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AMONG THE EMPLOYEES OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

GBAMS- Vidushi ◽

10.26829/vidushi.v6i01-02.9725 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (01-02) ◽

Author(s):

P. Paramanandam ◽

K. Sangeetha

Keyword(s):

Locus Of Control ◽

Employee Engagement ◽

Automobile Industry ◽

Significant Positive Correlation ◽

Income Group ◽

Age Group ◽

Statistical Tools ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Income Groups ◽

Group A

Locus of control reflects the extent to which individuals believe that what happens to them is within their control, or beyond it. The objective of the present study was to study locus of control and employee engagement among the employees of automobile industry. A convenience sample consisting of ninety employees working in automobile industry participated in the study. By administering questionnaires locus of control and employee engagement among the employees were assessed. The collected data was analysed with various statistical tools like Mean, Standard Deviation, Correlation, regression and ANOVA tests. A higher level of locus of control was observed among the above 50 years age group and a higher level of employee engagement among the 41-50 age group. A higher level of locus of control and employee engagement was observed among the above 30000 income group. There were significant differences in locus of control and employee engagement among the respondents of different income groups. There was a significant positive correlation between locus of control and employee engagement. Approximately 18% of the variance of employee engagement was explained by locus of control.

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Os crimes contra os direitos humanos praticados na ditadura militar brasileira: Justiça de transição e persecução penal

10.31012/978-65-5861-050-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Marcos José Pinto

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Rule Of Law ◽

Transitional Justice ◽

Criminal Prosecution ◽

Military Dictatorship ◽

Criminal Offenders ◽

State Agents ◽

Democratic Rule

This book aims to analyze the crimes against human rights that offended the Democratic Rule of Law in Brazil, committed by state agents in the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964/1985), asserting that they remained unpunished. In view of this, to address this issue, it is proposed that criminal offenders be held liable. The issue of our slow Transitional Justice will also be examined, arguing for the criminal prosecution of state agents who violated human rights in Brazil, demonstrating how and how this can occur, all in order to move away from impunity, hitherto guaranteed by the Brazilian Amnesty Law, ensuring the effectiveness of justice and the strengthening of democracy.

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The Margin of Appreciation Revisited

10.1093/oso/9780198713258.003.0018 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

George Letsas

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Democratic Institutions ◽

International Human Rights ◽

Margin Of Appreciation ◽

International Human

The idea that states have discretion in complying with their human rights obligations, and the idea that human rights obligations should be compatible with a degree of diversity between states, are either trivial or misleading. In order to assess properly the doctrine of the Margin of Appreciation, one has to reconstruct it as a normative thesis about the conditions under which an international human rights court should place substantial weight on a decision by a domestic authority. Thus understood, however, the doctrine is problematic as it offends the values underlying human rights and the rule of international law. The chapter evaluates Andreas Follesdal’s particular defence of the Margin of Appreciation and argues that neither sovereignty nor democracy provides normative support for unqualified judicial deference. It argues further that the exceptions Follesdal wishes to place on deference to democratic institutions end up covering the whole of the scope of human rights obligations, making the idea of deference redundant.

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Empirical analysis on corporate environmental performance and environmental disclosure in an emerging market context

International Journal of Emerging Markets ◽

10.1108/ijoem-04-2019-0255 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. 1061-1082 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Merve Acar ◽

Hüseyin Temiz

Keyword(s):

Environmental Performance ◽

Emerging Market ◽

Positive Association ◽

Corporate Environmental Performance ◽

Tobit Regression ◽

Environmental Reporting ◽

Environmental Disclosure ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Content Type ◽

Environmental Disclosures

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the association between environmental performance of firms and the level of voluntary environmental disclosure in emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachWe used tobit regression OLS and t-test methods to reveal the association between environmental performance and the level of voluntary environmental disclosure.FindingsWe find a significant positive association between the level of discretionary environmental disclosures and corporate environmental performance. The result is in line with the arguments of economics disclosure theory that argues environmentally good performers disclose more.Practical implicationsMany of the environmentally good firms in Turkey are also listed in the “BIST Sustainability Index,” and this situation can be the result of the relative power of external regulations. Accordingly, it can be suggested to increase the community and governmental pressures for environmental reporting but also gives importance to increase intrinsic motivations for companies to engage in disclosure practices.Originality/valueThis study shed light on relation between environmental performance and environmental disclosure in an emerging market context. Also, it is revisited that the relation between environmental performance and the level of environmental disclosure by testing two different predictions on the level of environmental disclosures.

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Can Anhedonia Be Considered a Suicide Risk Factor? A Review of the Literature

Medicina ◽

10.3390/medicina55080458 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 55 (8) ◽

pp. 458 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bonanni ◽

Gualtieri ◽

Lester ◽

Falcone ◽

Nardella ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Suicidal Behavior ◽

Affective Disorders ◽

Suicide Attempts ◽

Positive Association ◽

Negative Association ◽

Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Search Terms ◽

Schizophrenia Spectrum

Background and Objectives: At present, data collected from the literature about suicide and anhedonia are controversial. Some studies have shown that low levels of anhedonia are associated with serious suicide attempts and death by suicide, while other studies have shown that high levels of anhedonia are associated with suicide. Materials and Methods: For this review, we searched PubMed, Medline, and ScienceDirect for clinical studies published from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2018 with the following search terms used in the title or in the abstract: “anhedonia AND suicid*.” We obtained a total of 155 articles; 133 items were excluded using specific exclusion criteria, the remaining 22 articles included were divided into six groups based on the psychiatric diagnosis: mood disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other diagnoses, attempted suicides, and others (healthy subjects). Results: The results of this review reveal inconsistencies. Some studies reported that high anhedonia scores were associated with suicidal behavior (regardless of the diagnosis), while other studies found that low anhedonia scores were associated with suicidal behavior, and a few studies reported no association. The most consistent association between anhedonia and suicidal behavior was found for affective disorders (7 of 7 studies reported a significant positive association) and for PTSD (3 of 3 studies reported a positive association). In the two studies of patients with schizophrenia, one found no association, and one found a negative association. For patients who attempted suicide (undiagnosed), one study found a positive association, one a positive association only for depressed attempters, and one a negative association. Conclusions: We found the most consistent positive association for patients with affective disorders and PTSD, indicating that the assessment of anhedonia may be useful in the evaluation of suicidal risk.

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An Analysis of Environmental Efficiency and Environmental Pollution Treatment Efficiency in China’s Industrial Sector

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052579 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2579 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiao-Ning Li ◽

Ying Feng ◽

Pei-Ying Wu ◽

Yung-Ho Chiu

Keyword(s):

Environmental Pollution ◽

Environmental Governance ◽

Income Group ◽

Industrial Sector ◽

High Income ◽

Environmental Efficiency ◽

Technical Level ◽

High Income Group ◽

Middle Income ◽

Income Groups

This research adopts the meta Dynamic Directional Distance Functions (DDF) model in order to calculate the environmental efficiency and environmental governance efficiency of China’s industrial sector from 2010 to 2017 from the overall, sub-regional, and sub-provincial perspectives and discusses the technical gaps in regional environmental pollution control and the reasons for ineffective environmental governance. The research results show that the overall level of environmental governance efficiency in China’s industrial sector is relatively high over this time period, and the group frontier calculation results have improved compared to the meta frontier. The actual technical level of the high-income group is closest to the potential technical level, and the upper-middle income group is still far from the potential technical level. The main reason for the ineffective environmental governance of the provinces in the high-income group is ineffective management, while the main reason for ineffective environmental governance of the provinces in the upper-middle-income groups is technical inefficiency. Regardless of high-income groups or upper-middle-income groups, each province’s inefficiency of environmental governance is caused by inefficiency of the input factors.

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Autophagic Markers in Chordomas: Immunohistochemical Analysis and Comparison with the Immune Microenvironment of Chordoma Tissues

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13092169 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 2169

Author(s):

Georgia Karpathiou ◽

Maroa Dridi ◽

Lila Krebs-Drouot ◽

François Vassal ◽

Emmanuel Jouanneau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tumor Cell ◽

Immune Cells ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Positive Association ◽

Immunohistochemical Analysis ◽

Vascular Density ◽

Immune Microenvironment ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Sequestosome 1 ◽

Cell Expression

Chordomas are notably resistant to chemotherapy. One of the cytoprotective mechanisms implicated in chemoresistance is autophagy. There are indirect data that autophagy could be implicated in chordomas, but its presence has not been studied in chordoma tissues. Sixty-one (61) chordomas were immunohistochemically studied for autophagic markers and their expression was compared with the expression in notochords, clinicopathological data, as well as the tumor immune microenvironment. All chordomas strongly and diffusely expressed cytoplasmic p62 (sequestosome 1, SQSTM1/p62), whereas 16 (26.2%) tumors also showed nuclear p62 expression. LC3B (Microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3B) tumor cell expression was found in 44 (72.1%) tumors. Autophagy-related 16‑like 1 (ATG16L1) was also expressed by most tumors. All tumors expressed mannose-6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (M6PR/IGF2R). LC3B tumor cell expression was negatively associated with tumor size, while no other parameters, such as age, sex, localization, or survival, were associated with the immunohistochemical factors studied. LC3B immune cell expression showed a significant positive association with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)+ immune cells and with a higher vascular density. ATG16L1 expression was also positively associated with higher vascular density. Notochords (n = 5) showed different immunostaining with a very weak LC3B and M6PR expression, and no p62 expression. In contrast to normal notochords, autophagic factors such as LC3B and ATG16L1 are often present in chordomas, associated with a strong and diffuse expression of p62, suggesting a blocked autophagic flow. Furthermore, PD-L1+ immune cells also express LC3B, suggesting the need for further investigations between autophagy and the immune microenvironment.

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Association between Health Practice and Food Stockpiling for Disaster

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13051414 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 1414

Author(s):

Moeka Harada ◽

Rie Kobayashi ◽

Jun Oka ◽

Nobuyo Tsuboyama-Kasaoka

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Online Survey ◽

Positive Association ◽

Good Health ◽

Food Shortage ◽

Multivariable Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Health Practices ◽

Health Practice ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Good Score

In this study investigated the association between health practices and food stockpiling for disasters in predicted areas with a high risk of food shortage due to the Nankai Trough earthquake. A survey was conducted during 18–20 December 2019 using a self-administered web-based questionnaire. In total, 1200 individuals registered with an online survey company participated in the study. The association between health practices and food stockpiling status was analyzed (n = 998). 59.1% of participants had a poor Breslow’s seven health practice scores (BHPS), 32.9% had a moderate score, and 8.0% had a good score. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that higher BHPS had a significantly higher prevalence of food stockpiling. Additionally, the interrupted group had the highest percentage of participants with low BHPS. Lower BHPS was significantly associated with interrupted stockpiled in the adjusted models. Among the seven health practices, the odds ratio of the “eating breakfast” practice was high. There was a significant positive association between higher health practice scores and food stockpiling for disasters in areas with a high risk of food shortage due to the predicted earthquake. Particularly, it was clarified that individuals who had fewer good health practices were associated with ending up interrupting food stockpiling.

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