External Mediation Research Articles

The 21st Century Israel-Palestine Conflict Over Jerusalem and its Peace Processes

Jerusalem is a depiction of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict's national politics and contrasting identities. The continuous rise in violence, with its devastating effect on peace and security prompts the examination of the conflict, various peace processes and the status of Jerusalem. The major objectives of this paper are to examine the Israel-Palestine conflict over Jerusalem in the 21st century and analyse the status of Jerusalem and different peace talks through external mediation and intervention. The theory of structural realism was adopted for this study; which, concerning the conflict over Jerusalem, emphasises that war is a significant, and fundamental instrument of change in international affairs. Secondary data was used in this paper, by reviewing and analysing data gathered from scholarly publications, journals, articles, and online materials. The paper finds an intensified increase of violence between Israel and Palestine, especially regarding the status of Jerusalem and Palestine as an independent state. The paper concludes that despite numerous peace processes and diplomatic efforts, a lasting resolution has remained elusive. The failure to achieve a comprehensive agreement stems from a combination of factors, including conflicting narratives, incompatibility of goals, deep-rooted mistrust, geopolitical complexities, and the influence of external actors. Peace, stability, and acceptable status of Jerusalem can only be initiated and resolved solemnly between Israel and Palestine, but until then, neither the status of Jerusalem nor Palestine would be defined.

Sophie, Greta, Cuiyuan, and Feminist Desire

Sophie, Greta, Cuiyuan, and Feminist Desire

Men Becoming Gods in “Style”

Men Becoming Gods in “Style”

An Empirical Analysis of the Influence of Divorce Cooling-off Period on Divorce Rate in Chinese Context

In 2020, the number of divorcees in China was as high as 3.733 million. The high divorce rate has become an unavoidable problem in today's society. Therefore, China officially implemented a cooling-off period policy for divorce in 2021, aiming to reduce the occurrence of impulsive divorces and lower the divorce rate by Increase the consideration time of the parties. Since its implementation, the policy has sparked heated discussions about its ethical and practical effects in China. This study focuses on the practical effects of divorce cooling-off period, and uses Ordinary Least Square (OLS) mixed multiple linear regression and other empirical tools to test the impact of divorce cooling-off period on divorce rate. The results show that the implementation of divorce cooling-off period has a significant effect on the decrease of divorce rate, however, the decrease regression coefficient is not large. It can be shown that in the context of China, the divorce cooling-off period plays a certain role and can be further implemented, but at the same time, more attention should be paid to its improvement. Subjective initiative should be exerted and external mediation mechanism should be added in the cooling-off period in order to achieve better results.

Oxygen Tolerance in Surface-Initiated Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerizations: Are Polymer Brushes Turning into Technology?

Over the past three decades, the development of reversible deactivation radical polymerizations (RDRP), and advancements toward more user-friendly and accessible experimental setups have opened the door for nonexperts to design complex macromolecules with well-defined properties. External mediation, improved tolerance to oxygen, and increased reaction volumes for higher synthetic output are some of the many noteworthy technical improvements. The development of RDRPs in solution was paralleled by their application on solid substrates to synthesize surface-grafted "polymer brushes" via surface-initiated RDRP (SI-RDRP). This Viewpoint paper provides a current perspective on recent developments in SI-RDRP methods that are tolerant to oxygen, especially highlighting those that could potentially enable scaling up of the synthesis of brushes for the functionalization of technologically relevant materials.

Insights on surface characterization of 3D printed polymeric parts

For polymeric materials, FDM provides limitations in accuracy and surface finish. Polymeric 3D printed parts have a rough surface because of the filament deposition, texture of the slices laid and staircase effect. Application of surface coatings to these parts may improve mechanical properties, including surface texture and dimensions accuracy. Recent studies indicate development of surface-coated 3D printed polymeric parts primarily for use in automobiles, aviation, ships, food packaging, electrical, and textile applications. Researchers have studied the impact of surface coatings on surface finish and dimensional accuracy. Various processes, such as icing-delay, anti-frosting, and self-cleaning, benefit from super hydrophobic surface. Super hydrophobic surfaces are characterized by important characteristics, like durability and storage, corrosion resistance. Self-healing polymers are emerging as a novel smart material as they possess the ability to heal upon damage without any external mediation. These can appear in a variety of forms, intrinsic or extrinsic, and can be made to take different forms. This paper presents insights into the state of research being carried out in the field of surface characterization especially on 3D printed polymeric parts.

МОТИВИ САМОСТІЙНОГО ВДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ СТУДЕНТАМИ ПЕРЕКЛАДАЦЬКОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ

Students’ language learning motivation is an important factor to ensure the quality of higher education in Ukraine in the context of its integration into the European Higher Education Area. The present study reveals the findings that showcase both pedagogical and psychological factors influencing students’ foreign language learning motivation in translation competence. The authors used a set of basic theoretical research methods to analyze, synthetize and classify scientific and methodological sources on the research problem; empirical methods of questionnaire surveys with direct and indirect questioning to represent learning motivational characteristics, statistical analysis to summarize the research results. Both psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the socially heterogeneous respondents’ motivation made it possible to determine the external socio-cultural and internal self-concept motives in their self-improvement and self-regulated learning. It is established that the respondents’ external motives have arisen due to such stimulating factors as "competitive advantage in the labor market" and "career growth potential". Internal motives are mainly related to the satisfaction of a student’s personal needs in the foreign language learning (interest, awareness of the insufficient level of communicative competence, internal belief in the need for self-improvement of foreign language translation skills, etc.). Analysis of the diagnostics results provided an opportunity to distinguish the obstacles to the self-development of respondents in translation education. Experimental testing of the learning motivation within the internal and external mediation allowed to reveal the dominance of internal motives over external ones in all categories of respondents. Insufficient or low level of independent self-regulated learning has been identified as the main obstacle to self-improvement of foreign language translation competence. The paper contributes to the current understanding of translation education, especially in the context of Ukraine, by investigating factors influencing students’ learning motives and their pedagogical and theoretical implications.

FhirSpark - Implementing a Mediation Layer to Bring FHIR to the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics.

cBioPortal is a commonly used data warehousing solution for genomic cancer studies. The software is being extended for patient care application in a molecular tumor board by the MIRACUM consortium within the Medical Informatics Initiative Germany. A key feature for this use case is the ability to enter therapy recommendations for individual patients, which requires interoperability with the hospital information system. A RESTful interface between cBioPortal and an external mediation layer was selected from the different implementation options. It achieves interoperability by using a FHIR capable server to store data and applying the HL7 FHIR Genomics Reporting implementation guide. For systems not supporting the FHIR standard, the well-established HL7 Version 2 standard is available as a fallback export format.

Mediation of complaints against police: a review of programs in Los Angeles and New York City

ABSTRACT The investigation of complaints against the police is important to law, order and justice. The public expects high ethical standards from its police service and when breaches occur, complaints often follow. How the police respond to complaints can influence the trust and confidence that underpins the civilian-police relationship. This paper examines some of the key issues faced by police services in the management of complaints and reviews the effectiveness of mediation as a measure to rebuild relations. The Los Angeles and New York City Police Departments were selected for the study because there are very few civilian-police complaints mediation programs in operation and these sites had reports on the public record that indicated some success. A qualitative case study approach was used, incorporating public source material and interviews with key informants. The findings show that the inclusion of external mediation in police complaints systems offers complainants a transparent, impartial and often restorative mechanism to resolve complaints. However, any perceived conflict surrounding the independence and equity of the mediation vendor can engender police and complainant mistrust in the process. As such, ongoing public and police education on the aims, process and benefits of mediation is required to sustain its use.

Autonomous snapping and jumping polymer gels.

Snap-through buckling is commonly used in nature for power-amplified movements. While natural examples such as Utricularia and Dionaea muscipula can autonomously reset their snapping structures, bio-inspired analogues require external mediation for sequential snap events. Here we report the design principles for self-repeating, snap-based polymer jumping devices. Transient shape changes during the drying of a polymer gel are exploited to generate mechanical constraint and an internal driving force for snap-through buckling. Snap-induced shape changes alter environmental interactions to realize multiple, self-repeating snap events. The underlying mechanisms are understood through controlled experiments and numerical modelling. Using these lessons, we create snap-induced jumping devices with power density outputs (specific power ≈ 312 W kg-1) that are similar to high-performing jumping organisms and engineered robots. These results provide the demonstration of an autonomous, self-repeating, high-speed movement, marking an important advance in the development of environmental energy harvesting, high-power motion that is important for microscale robots and actuated devices.

From Nile Basin Initiatives (NBI) to External mediator: Challenges of the Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam Negotiations

The riparian countries, especially Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, have had intricated relations since the building of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). There have been many mediations but none of Egypt's historical, Sudan's development and Ethiopia's natural rights have ever been settled satisfactorily. Egypt and Sudan continue to state their dissatisfaction with the status quo as they rejected Ethiopia's proposal. The mediator also departed, peripheral actors apart from the Nile basin and the African Union. The US efforts to mediate in all three countries have also failed. Thus, from the Nile riparian states to external mediation, the Renaissance dam negotiations were not

Temperature- and pH-responsive chitosan-based injectable hydrogels for bone tissue engineering.

Spontaneous bone regeneration is heavily restricted because of bone defects, and external mediation is required to enhance repair and regeneration. Bone tissue engineering (BTE) is a multidisciplinary field that offers promising substitutes to traditional methods-namely, autografts, allografts, and xenografts. Amidst the various scaffolds for BTE applications, it has been demonstrated that hydrogels are promising templates for bone regeneration owing to their similarities to the natural extracellular matrix. Regardless of the development of a variety of biomaterials, chitosan (CS) as a natural biopolymer has drawn tremendous attention in recent years for its use as a valuable graft material to form thermo/pH-responsive injectable hydrogels. Formulations of CS-based injectable hydrogels are advantageous in terms of their high-water imbibing capability, minimal invasiveness, porous networks, and ability to mold perfectly into an irregular defect. In this review, the physicochemical properties and applications of thermo/pH-responsive CS-based hydrogels and their future perspectives in BTE are briefly outlined.

Use of different external mediating mechanisms of the Bohr atom model: Evidence of Meaningful Learning through verbal-gestural analysis in elementary school students

The present article sought to investigate if the use of different external mediation mechanisms to teach the Bohr Atom model in elementary education with the didactic methodology of the Potentially Significant Teaching Units (PSTU) can result in Meaningful learning. Therefore, we naturally use the theoretical contribution of the Ausubelian Meaningful Learning Theory, in particular by discussing elements that indicate evidence of meaningful learning. This theory was adopted with the purpose of understanding and analyzing whether or not there is evidence of meaningful learning with elementary level students after about a year of using the didactic methodology. The didactic methodology used was the application of didactic sequences inspired by the PSTU model, modified to be applied in Elementary School. We also use different external mediation mechanisms that independently reproduce the Bohr atom model, such as model building (psychophysical mediation), teacher explanation on a blackboard (social mediation), use of textbooks (cultural mediation) and computer simulations (hypercultural mediation). Data analysis was carried out through two semi-structured interviews according to the Report Aloud protocol followed by the depictive gestural analysis, performed with an interval of almost one year, both interviews were carried out after the application of the didactic methodology, in order to assess the retention of the learning residue. We argue that the students' verbal-gestural production indicates that there was meaningful learning of the Bohr Atom model, especially related to social and hypercultural mediations.

A Cloud of Witnesses: External Mediation in Frodo’s Journey to Rivendell and Beyond

A Cloud of Witnesses: External Mediation in Frodo’s Journey to Rivendell and Beyond

Just Say No: Explaining the Lack of International Mediation in Kashmir

AbstractThe dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir is one of the world’s most protracted and potentially dangerous conflicts. While the international community has strong interest in limiting violent conflagration between the two states, third party action aimed at amelioration has been very limited. This contrasts with overall global mediation efforts, which have increased in the post-Cold War period. Using archival research, this study explores the reasons for the Government of India’s implacable opposition to any external intervention in the conflict. We argue that both strategic and ideational motivations have influenced its decisions. In particular, India’s strict adherence to the principle of strategic autonomy precludes the possibility of accepting external mediation. By exploring how and why strategic and ideational motivations intersect to become a formidable barrier to third party intervention, this article contributes to our understanding of why certain countries develop resistance to mediation.

Analysis of the paralysis of government leadership in sub-Saharan Africa

This article examines the nature of the paralysis of public governance, leadership, conflict and economic development in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that ineffective political leadership and conflict will serve as a lever to poor economic growth and social development. Servant leadership and democratic representation are the continuous process of development that could be accomplished through the participation of the citizens in their own development. The dynamics of development and participation at both national and grassroots levels must involve the exposure of government change agents to peace, participatory learning and action models. The article uses data derived from primary and secondary sources to analyse the problem of political conflict, peace, leadership and economic growth. The conceptual framework is based on the structural conflict theory, negative and positive peace theories, frustration-aggression theory, physiological theories, human needs theory and economic theories. The findings show that there is a negative correlation between authoritarian political leadership and economic growth in Africa. In addition, there is a positive relationship between authoritarian political leadership and conflict in several countries in Africa. The article recommends internal and external mediation and peace education mechanisms to prevent conflict from escalating or degenerating into avoidable crises. Thus, government, private sector and nongovernmental organisations should collaborate to restore justice and equality by liberating citizens from cultural, and ethnic elements that subjugate them. The nations in sub-Saharan Africa need to establish capacity-building initiatives that could help to nurture changes in behaviour, attitudes, peace and humanist paradigm, as well as offer not only the basis for self-reliance, participatory sustainable development, but also a means to peaceful shared governance and inclusive democracy.

Politics in deeply divided societies

Preface vi List of Tables viii 1 Introduction 1 2 The Characteristics of Deeply Divided Societies 13 3 Violence, Order and Justice 33 4 The Challenge of Policing 55 5 Limits to Integration 77 6 Partition and Population Transfer 95 7 Power-Sharing and Political Accommodation 113 8 External Mediation 133 9 Conclusion 154 Bibliography 161 Index 168

Hybrid Peacemaking: Building National “Infrastructures for Peace”

POTENTIALLY VIOLENT TENSIONS OR ONGOING VIOLENCE ARE INCREASINGLY insusceptible to one-time external mediation or local conflict resolution as: 1. Conflicts are not limited to the primary protagonists alone, but extend through the different levels of society, from political and civic leaderships down through to communities, and over issues such as land, natural resources, and governance; 2. Contemporary societies face continuous political or socioeconomic transformation where the challenge is not the resolution of a specific conflict, but providing sustained accompaniment to all relevant actors so that the eventual outcomes are based on inclusion and consensus and do not lead to more instability (many countries in the Middle East are undergoing such transition); 3. Potentially violent instability may result from the creeping influence of illicit trafficking, especially in weapons or narcotics. Instead, what are required are standing internal capacities for managing recurring tensions at national and local levels so that new conflicts are transformed into opportunities for greater reform and inclusion, rather than violence, in an approach referred to as conflict transformation. Such transformation in turn requires the use of external norms and skills as well as traditionally available resources within a society to obtain mediated results that encompass several levels of a conflict. This hybrid peacemaking bridges the illiberal and liberal frameworks identified in this issue by Anna K. Jarstad and Roberto Belloni. In supporting countries to build these capacities, external partners can help bridge the real or perceived gaps between international norms and practices on the one hand, and existing internal mechanisms for conflict management on the other. These hybridized internal mediation capacities therefore enable a more progressive teleology for governance in that constructively negotiated solutions to governance-related contests, generated within a context of national capacity and ownership, are also likely to be more and participatory across a wider range of actors than otherwise. National Infrastructures for Peace as Hybrid Peacemaking A critical emerging tool for hybrid peacemaking is for peace. Meeting in Naivasha, Kenya, in 2010, representatives from fourteen African countries agreed on a definition of infrastructures for peace, or the dynamic network of interdependent structures, mechanisms, resources, values, and skills which, through dialogue and consultation, contribute to conflict prevention and peace-building in a society. (1) Such infrastructures can help a country: 1. Manage recurrent conflicts over land, natural resources, apportioning of mineral wealth, and contested elections, especially where development itself has exacerbated these conflicts; 2. Complement external mediation targeted at the primary parties with internal negotiations that bring together actors at different levels of the society and polity, thus broadening the base for peace; 3. Negotiate and implement new governing arrangements in an and consensual manner, especially after periods of turbulent political or socioeconomic transition. The World Bank's World Development Report for 2011 focuses on the challenges of addressing protracted fragility and highlights the extended period of time required for meaningful transformation and the necessity in this context of inclusive enough that can generate the collective political will for reform. The internal bargaining required to sustain these coalitions highlights the necessity for infrastructures for peace, and the report mentions Ghana's National Peace Council (described below) as one example. The report of the UN Secretary-General to the General Assembly on Civilian Capacity in the Aftermath of Conflict (2011) also advocates for better use of existing national capacities. …

Fatores críticos para a implantação do balanced scorecard: a visão de consultores organizacionais

Based on the premise that organizational aspects capable of promoting or inhibiting the application of Balanced Scorecards should be present in businesses where the use of this management resource is common practice, the current study has attempted to understand the critical factors involved in this process. As to its nature, this study, which is based on phenomenography, is reflexive and phenomenological. It is also simultaneously bibliographical, descriptive and exploratory. By means of a research project carried out among consultants active in Rio de Janeiro who have participated in the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard project in both public and private businesses in Brazil, the study aimed at identifying, on the basis of their insights, those factors that are critical for putting this resource into effective use. Based on the content analysis method, the interviews revealed four elements: leadership engagement, perception of values resulting from the assimilation of methodological concepts, continuous learning and external mediation by the consultants. In view of the limits imposed by this study, as well as a result of some issues identified during the field research, the following is suggested for future research: a detailed investigation of the existence of possible relations between critical success factors and organizational culture; an analysis of people’s performance subsequent to the application of Balance Scorecards.Key words: Balanced Scorecard, leadership, learning, competitive advantage, consultant.

日本の住宅平面図における介在外部空間

本研究では，建築家が住宅を設計する際の外部環境に対する意識を探るべく，平面図を対象として住宅内外の空間構成を分析する．とくに，住宅内部とそれを取り巻く外部環境との間に存在する専有的な外部空間を「介在外部空間」と位置づけ，３１戸の住宅に存する４２の介在外部空間ついて，その図的特徴を数値化し，定量的に解析することにより類型化を試みた．その結果として，以下のことを明らかとした．(1)介在外部空間を持つ住宅の空間構成は，「領域性」，「一室性」，「規模性」，「内包性」，「接続性」と呼べる５つの因子によって決定づけられる．(2)介在外部空間には，「主室付属型」，「個室接続型」，「内包型」，「一室拡張型」，「準主室型」と呼べる５つの類型が見出せる．(3)建築家の住宅作品における介在外部空間は，内部空間の構成に多様性をもたらすと同時に，それ自体が内部と対等な居室性を有する領域として計画されたものであると考えられる．