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This paper explores the role of apology in the resolution of conflict through mediation. The paper outlines the distinctive features of mediation that contribute to its unique potential to help restore relationships, with apology forming a potentially transformative aspect to this. However, not all apologies are the same and not all apologies are effective. Working from the literature, this article seeks to clarify the characteristics of apology that are likely to make it effective in mediation. A review of the literature also reveals a range of moderating factors that can further impact the effectiveness of apology. Particular attention will be paid to these moderators in considering what contributes to a template of apology effectiveness in the context of mediation. In this study, the first of its kind in an Irish context, empirical data from an online survey of 97 practicing mediators along with in-depth interviews with a sample of 24 organisational mediators is analysed, in relation to five core questions aimed at determining the fundamental nature of apology in mediation. While the mediators who were interviewed operate in the ‘organisational’ context, the mediators we surveyed practice across a range of mediation contexts, including civil, workplace, and family. Therefore the context, in this case, was not controlled. Nonetheless, the analysis yields insights that support the view found in the literature that an apology can, in certain circumstances, be an effective means of transforming the mediation process. A summary of these findings indicates that: (a) Practicing mediators confirm that apology is a prominent feature of mediation, and that the process represents fertile soil for apology. This represents a challenge to the mediator where apology is not forthcoming. (b) Where an apology is forthcoming but hesitant, skilled mediators can act as a conduit of apology between parties. (c) The data also suggests that a high-quality apology, issued spontaneously, can have a transformative effect on the dispute, particularly where the relationship is on-going. The main contribution of this paper lies in its potential to inform mediation practice, by illustrating the potential impact of apology and by offering role guidance to practitioners who wish to facilitate such potential where circumstances allow. The paper also contributes to the literature through insights offered by the research respondents which shed new light on existing themes. Ultimately this research argues that mediation can accommodate apology as a potent means of repairing relationships, and that the mediator can play a key role in this. The paper will make the case for a nuanced, yet structured approach to apology, one that needs to be reflected in mediator training and practice. The case for further research is presented at the end.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Hurth ◽  
Iain S. Stewart

As the extent of damage to environmental systems from our business-as-usual activity becomes ever more alarming, Universities as core social institutions are under pressure to help society lead the transition to a sustainable future. Their response to the issues, that they themselves have helped reveal, has, however, been widely criticised for being wholly inadequate. Universities can be observed to engage with sustainability issues in ad-hoc ways, with the scale of attention and commitment dependant mainly on the level of pressure exerted by stakeholders that works to overcome aspects of inherent inertia. Sustainability initiatives can therefore be regarded mainly as bolt-ons. This mirrors how other sectors, including businesses, have tended to respond. As the environmental and social crisis mounts and the window for adaptive change to ensure long-term wellbeing for all narrows, the pressure for deeper systemic change builds. It is in this context that transformation to a “purpose-driven organisation” has emerged as a systemic approach to change, enabling an organisation to align deeply and rapidly with society's long-term best interest and hence a sustainable future. Nowhere has this concept been taken forward more obviously than in the business sector. As business leadership towards purpose becomes more apparent, so the lack of action in this area by universities appears starker. In this paper we clarify what it means to be a purpose-driven organisation, why and how it represents a deep holistic response to unsustainability, and what core questions emerging from the business world university leaders can ask themselves to begin the practical journey to transform their institutions into purpose-driven universities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-260
Author(s):  
Andreas Østhagen

Abstract Boundaries in the ocean are man-made constructs of importance to everything from oil and gas production, to fisheries and environmental protection. How do states delineate such ownership and rights? These are the core questions examined in this article, which studies Australia’s maritime boundary agreements, starting with Indonesia in 1971 and ending with Timor-Leste in 2019. In addition to depicting and documenting the main drivers and impediments to these agreements whenever Australia has had to negotiate with a third country, it examines Australia’s approach to boundary-making at sea more generally. Drawing on international law and political science, this article shows why we need understand the interplay between security politics, legal considerations and domestic interests in order to understand what motivates states to settle their maritime disputes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 183-183
Author(s):  
Benjamin Olivari ◽  
Christopher Taylor ◽  
Lisa McGuire

Abstract Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias begin with mild early symptoms of memory loss, progressing to more severe cognitive and functional impairment. Reports of worsening memory and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are often the earliest possible signs of dementia onset. The trajectory of certain types of dementia may require early detection of worsening memory in the disease progression for successful interventions. However, the predictive value of subjective measures of cognitive decline is limited; the majority of those who report subjective symptoms do not progress to diagnosed cognitive impairment or dementia. These two realities create a significant challenge in confronting the growing dementia crisis. Population-level data can be beneficial in tracking trends in SCD. Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) core questions related to chronic diseases and from the SCD optional module from survey years 2015-2019 were aggregated across the participating 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico for this analysis. Among 181,097 U.S. respondents aged ≥45 years, 11.3% (95% CI=10.9-11.6) reported SCD; among 20,424 with SCD symptoms, 39.4% (37.6-40.6) reported functional difficulties associated with SCD symptoms and 33.9% (32.4-35.5) needed assistance with day-to-day activities resulting from symptoms. Studies suggest persons experiencing SCD symptoms and associated functional difficulties are at increased risk for dementia compared with those with SCD without functional difficulties. Combining responses about SCD with associated functional difficulties, anxiety, and other measures might help to better inform the future burden of more severe cognitive impairment than SCD status alone.


Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Bradley Hoot ◽  
Shane Ebert

The that-trace effect is the fact that many languages (like English) ban the extraction of embedded-clause subjects but not objects over an overt complementizer like that, while many other languages (like Spanish) allow such extractions. The effect and its cross-linguistic variation have been the subject of intense research but remain largely a mystery, with no clear consensus on their underpinnings. We contribute novel evidence to these debates by using Spanish–English code-switching (the use of two languages in one sentence) to test five contemporary theoretical accounts of the that-trace effect. We conducted a formal acceptability judgment experiment, manipulating the extracted argument and code-switch site to test different combinations of linguistic features. We found that subject extraction is only permitted in Spanish–English code-switching when both the C head (que ‘that’) and the T head (i.e., the verb) are in Spanish, but not when either functional head is in English. Our results demonstrate indirect support for two of the five theories we test, failing to support the other three. Our findings also provide new evidence in favor of the view that the that-trace effect is tightly linked to the availability of post-verbal subjects. Finally, we outline how our results can narrow the range of possible theoretical accounts, demonstrating how code-switching data can contribute to core questions in linguistic theory.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca A. Lenihan

<p><b>While New Zealand has been described as more Scottish than any other country beyond Scotland, and Scots consistently made up nearly 20 per cent of the immigrant population of New Zealand to 1920, as a group New Zealand's Scots migrants have remained relatively blurred. The distinctive national backgrounds of New Zealand's British migrants have seldom been recognised in general histories or in specialist studies of migration to the country, migrants having tended to be categorised as 'British' and 'Non-British', leading to what Akenson aptly described as the 'lumpingof all white settlers into a spurious unity.' This thesis, conceived as part of a larger research project investigating the experiences and contributions of Scots in New Zealand, seeks to establish key characteristics of the Scottish migrants arriving between 1840 and 1920. Five core questions are addressed: 'from where in Scotland did they come?', 'who came?', 'when?', 'in what numbers?', and 'where did they settle?'.</b></p> <p>While previous studies have suggested partial answers to some of these questions, the present research offers a more full and detailed profile of New Zealand's Scots migrants than has previously been available. Critically, it takes the earlier findings further. Though the investigation has been based primarily upon statistical analysis ofa genealogically-sourced database of 6,612 migrants, quantitative analysis has beensupplemented by qualitative case studies. Comparison with a second set of data derived from death certificates has enabled a testing of the validity of genealogical data as a source for migration studies. In addition to the five central questions around which the thesis is structured, the study also addresses issues of internal migration within Scotland, emigration to otherdestinations prior to arrival in New Zealand, individual and generational occupationalmobility, chain and cluster migration among Shetland migrants, and return migration.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Rebecca A. Lenihan

<p><b>While New Zealand has been described as more Scottish than any other country beyond Scotland, and Scots consistently made up nearly 20 per cent of the immigrant population of New Zealand to 1920, as a group New Zealand's Scots migrants have remained relatively blurred. The distinctive national backgrounds of New Zealand's British migrants have seldom been recognised in general histories or in specialist studies of migration to the country, migrants having tended to be categorised as 'British' and 'Non-British', leading to what Akenson aptly described as the 'lumpingof all white settlers into a spurious unity.' This thesis, conceived as part of a larger research project investigating the experiences and contributions of Scots in New Zealand, seeks to establish key characteristics of the Scottish migrants arriving between 1840 and 1920. Five core questions are addressed: 'from where in Scotland did they come?', 'who came?', 'when?', 'in what numbers?', and 'where did they settle?'.</b></p> <p>While previous studies have suggested partial answers to some of these questions, the present research offers a more full and detailed profile of New Zealand's Scots migrants than has previously been available. Critically, it takes the earlier findings further. Though the investigation has been based primarily upon statistical analysis ofa genealogically-sourced database of 6,612 migrants, quantitative analysis has beensupplemented by qualitative case studies. Comparison with a second set of data derived from death certificates has enabled a testing of the validity of genealogical data as a source for migration studies. In addition to the five central questions around which the thesis is structured, the study also addresses issues of internal migration within Scotland, emigration to otherdestinations prior to arrival in New Zealand, individual and generational occupationalmobility, chain and cluster migration among Shetland migrants, and return migration.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 221-238
Author(s):  
Einar Øverbye

Academic disciplines offer different perspectives on welfare states, depending on what are core questions within the discipline. This review of seven disciplinary perspectives lists the following questions: Does the welfare state enhance social integration or does it undermine social integration (sociology)? Does the welfare state enhance economic efficiency or is it a drag on economic efficiency (economics)? Is the welfare state a result of conflict politics or of consensus politics (political science)? Does the welfare state redistribute to the poor or is it mainly of benefit to the better off (social policy)? Is a publicly or privately managed welfare state best able to provide cost-effective benefits and services of an acceptable quality (social administration)? Does a welfare state enable and empower marginal citizens or is it a means to control and discipline them (social work)? Does the welfare state represent a strengthening or a weakening of the rule of law (legal studies)?


2021 ◽  
pp. 0169796X2110472
Author(s):  
Ronn Pineo

This article explores the history of influenza, focusing on the four major flu pandemics in the last century and a half, outbreaks starting in 1889, 1918, 1957, and 1968. The article looks closely at flu etiology and the historical puzzles over which flu subtype was responsible for each major outbreak. Some mysteries regarding pandemic influenza remain, with core questions stubbornly refusing to yield answers. This article seeks to explore the history of flu in the hope that we can take away some lessons learned as we try to get ready for potential future flu pandemics.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Grażyna Baranowska

The main aim of the article is to test how states implement international humanitarian law (IHL) with regard to the families of missing persons. The article shows relevant IHL shortcomings and compares them with rules applicable in cases of enforced disappearance. The national legislation collected in the section titled ‘The Missing and Their Families’ of the National Implementation Database of the International Committee of the Red Cross is then examined. The analysis addresses three core questions that are particularly relevant for families of missing persons: (1) Who is considered a missing person under each law? Approaching this question allows the testing of whether states follow the understanding of ‘missing persons’ under IHL treaty law. The second and third questions address two issues that are crucial for families of missing persons that are not addressed in IHL: (2) How is the legal status of the missing person regulated? (3) Are family members provided with measures of reparation and/or assistance? This approach reveals that states rarely apply the IHL understanding of ‘missing persons’ and predominantly exceed IHL by addressing some of the identified shortcomings. It further shows that states provide families of missing persons either with reparation measures – in cases of human rights violations – or, less often, with measures of assistance in post-conflict situations.


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