International Debate Research Articles

Evaluating boundary-crossing collaboration in research-practice partnerships in teacher education: Empirical insights on co-construction, motivation, satisfaction, trust, and competence enhancement

This study examined boundary-crossing collaboration in a research-practice partnership (RPP) in initial teacher education in Germany, exploring improvements for the theory-practice link. This study aimed to evaluate this particular cooperation format, especially to identify success factors for RPPs and differences between actor groups. Characteristics examined include motivational factors, collaboration aspects, co-constructive knowledge acquisition, competence enhancement and satisfaction. The study drawed on a quantitative survey with 78 participants from four groups: school practitioners, researchers, teacher students, partners from extracurricular organizations. A one-way ANOVA was conducted, and a path model on effective relationships was calculated. Results revealed that RPPs are collaboration “on equal footing”; participation enables professional development in teaching, assessing, and innovation; sharing practical experiences is the dominant factor in knowledge co-construction and main driver of success; and motivation to participate is mainly regulated intrinsically. This study contributes to the international debate on RPPs and advocates their establishment in teacher education.

Recreational cannabis policy reform-What mental health nurses need to know about minimising harm and contributing to the reform debate.

The recently rapidly evolving legal status of recreational cannabis in various countries has triggered international debate, particularly around measures required to minimise resulting harms. The present article argues that mental health nurses should have a key role in promoting safe and appropriate use of recreational cannabis, and minimising harm based on the extant evidence. The article summarises the factors driving legalisation, outlines the evident medicinal benefits of cannabis, and appraises the evidence on the negative mental health impacts associated with use. We go on to discuss research findings on the potentially deleterious mental health effects resulting from legalising recreational cannabis and strategies to minimise these harms, including directions for future research and evaluation. Further, we consider the importance of the implementation of harm minimisation measures that are context-specific, using Thailand as an example. Finally, we present the key health promotion messages that mental health nurses should aim to convey to people who use or consider using recreational cannabis. Ultimately, we aim to provide a summary of the existing evidence that mental health nurses can draw upon to promote mental health and engage with the policy reform debate.

Spectres of Intellectual Property in the Soviet Union: The Development and Recognition of the Inventor’s Certificate

Abstract After the October Revolution in 1917, the legal protection for inventions in the Soviet Union underwent a series of transformations. One of the key changes was the emergence of the “inventor’s certificate” as a socialist alternative to patents, whereby inventions were declared to be state property, but inventors were entitled to recognition and compensation. Patents were generally available in parallel to inventor’s certificates, but the latter remained the preferred mechanism for encouraging the worker-inventor and mass inventing activity, as well as promoting the free flow of information that capitalist patent systems had failed to achieve. However, as the Soviet Union started to pursue membership of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, several socialist countries sought to amend the treaty to recognise their inventor’s certificates as equivalent to patents. This sparked a debate amongst Paris Union members, during which the socialist countries portrayed the inventor’s certificate in a manner analogous to Schrödinger’s cat: it simultaneously was and wasn’t a patent. While the debate was never fully resolved by the Paris Union members, this article revisits the history and international debates about the Soviet protection of inventions to consider what the uncertainty about the inventor’s certificate might reveal about the circulation of technical information and the nature of global intellectual property law.

The Role of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer Patients Who Become Clinically Node-Negative Following Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy: A Literature Review.

In clinically node-positive (cN+) breast cancer (BC) patients who become clinically node-negative (cN0) following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) after lymphatic mapping with lymphoscintigraphy is not widely accepted; therefore, it has become a topic of international debate. Our literature review aims to evaluate the current use of this surgical practice in a clinical setting and focuses on several studies published in the last six years which have contributed to the assessment of the feasibility and accuracy of this practice, highlighting its importance and oncological safety. We have considered the advantages and disadvantages of this technique compared to other suggested methods and strategies. We also evaluated the role of local irradiation therapy after SLNB and state-of-the-art SLN mapping in patients subjected to NACT. A comprehensive search of PubMed and Cochrane was conducted. All studies published in English from 2018 to August 2023 were evaluated. Breast units are moving towards a de-escalation of axillary surgery, even in the NACT setting. The effects of these procedures on local irradiation are not very clear. Several studies have evaluated the oncological outcome of SLNB procedures. However, none of the alternative techniques proposed to lower the false negative rate (FNR) of SLNB are significant in terms of prognosis. Based on these results, we can state that lymphatic mapping with SLNB in cN+ BC patients who become clinically node-negative (ycN0) following NACT is a safe procedure, with a good prognosis and low axillary failure rates.

Machine guardians: The Terminator, AI narratives and US regulatory discourse on lethal autonomous weapons systems

References to the Terminator films are central to Western imaginaries of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). The puzzle of whether references to the Terminator franchise have featured in the United States’ international regulatory discourse on these technologies nevertheless remains underexplored. Bringing the growing study of AI narratives into a greater dialogue with the International Relations literature on popular culture and world politics, this article unpacks the repository of different stories told about intelligent machines in the first two Terminator films. Through an interpretivist analysis of this material, we examine whether these AI narratives have featured in the US written contributions to the international regulatory debates on LAWS at the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in the period between 2014 and 2022. Our analysis highlights how hopeful stories about what we coin ‘machine guardians’ have been mirrored in these statements: LAWS development has been presented as a means of protecting humans from physical harm, enacting the commands of human decision makers and using force with superhuman levels of accuracy. This suggests that, contrary to existing interpretations, the various stories told about intelligent machines in the Terminator franchise can be mobilised to both support and oppose the possible regulation of these technologies.

Aquatic toxicity and fate of styrene oligomers in the environment

Styrene oligomers (SOs) are ubiquitous contaminants that appear in the environment, sometimes to significant extent (see section 3.1). Despite the ongoing international debate on the human health risks posed by SOs, to the best of my knowledge, there are no studies on the aquatic toxicity and environmental fates (biodegradation and atmospheric degradation) of SOs in the environment. This study is to predict the aquatic toxicity and environmental fate of SOs by using the US EPA EPI suite program as an in-silico method. For better understanding, the risks and fates of SOs are compared with those of the well-known bisphenol A (BPA) and styrene monomer (SM or styrene). As a result of this study, SOs are predicted to be relatively more toxic than BPA and SM to aquatic and terrestrial organisms in the freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments. In particular, the biodegradability of SOs is predicted to be relatively very slow in the environment, and most SOs are more likely to be effectively decomposed by hydroxyl radicals than by ozone in the atmosphere. As a result, this study can contribute to motivating understanding of the aquatic toxicity and fate of ubiquitous SOs in the environment.

Unaddressed regulatory issues in xenotransplantation: a hypothetical example.

The last few years have seen a significant increase in the use of technology to manipulate genetic sequences and generate animals as a source of xeno-organs. This has made the generation of genetically bespoke organisms a reality. This paper will analyze the regulatory and practical aspects of such an innovative approach to xenotransplantation on the basis of a hypothetical case study applied to Germany and highlight the gaps in the current regulation. This paper thus provides the basis for legal debate within a specific country. In addition, the identified gaps also pose a barrier toward the harmonization of international regulation. This publication therefore lays the groundwork for guiding the international debate regarding the regulatory framework for solid organ xenotransplantation toward specific issues.

A new rural digital divide? Taking stock of geographical digital inclusion in Australia

This article reflects on and progresses Australian and international debates about the urban–rural digital divide. In commentary style, I draw on my own experience of living in rural Australia and six years of scholarship devoted to understanding digital inclusion in geographically remote communities. The paper is anchored theoretically in global scholarly debates around rural digital inclusion, but also deeply contextualised in the current state of digital infrastructure and capability investment and the lived experiences of people in rural Australia. In tacking stock of the geographical digital divide, I combine findings and vignettes from my published research with the insights of other authors and data from the Australian Digital Inclusion Index. I make observations about the evolution of geographical digital inclusion in Australia focused on three themes: incremental digital development; the complexity and cost of getting connected; and compounding factors of disadvantage. These insights culminate in articulation of an emerging digital divide within rural cohorts.

Reflections on Decolonising of Medium of Instruction at South African Universities

The 2015/6 #Rhodes Must Fall student protest reignited the debate to decolonise higher education in South Africa and many parts of the world. One way of achieving this is through decolonising the language of teaching and learning in higher education to increase access. Within this caveat, we anticipate that this article will add a crucial contribution to contemporary international and local debates on decolonising the medium of instruction by providing evidence from South African institutions’ unique challenges and prospects associated with the quest to deliver quality decolonised education. While tremendous strides have been made in expressing the constitutional right of every learner to receive primary education in a language of their choice, at the university level, the development and implementation of inclusive language policies have been dismal at best. With the demise of the apartheid regime that significantly stifled African languages in South Africa, one could have hoped for changes in attitude and language usage in universities, mainly because universities still have discernible remnants of the apartheid legacy. This article highlights the urgent need for decolonising South African higher education, particularly concerning using English as the medium of instruction. We further hope that this study will benefit practitioners and stakeholders involved in formulating language policies at their respective learning institutions and prompt them to treat the decolonisation process with befitting urgency.

Global research on nuclear energy in the context of health and environmental risks, considering economic interests

AbstractThe question of whether nuclear energy—as a source with relatively low carbon dioxide emissions—can be classified as a sustainable energy source has come into focus in connection with climate change. There is a controversy over securing independence from fossil fuels and gas supplies from other countries through a revival of nuclear energy. On the other hand, some viewpoints are critical: the handling of nuclear waste and the still unclear risks to human health and the environment, especially in light of recent perils from Russian military attacks on Ukrainian nuclear plants. To evaluate the worldwide publications on nuclear energy under health and environmental aspects, socio‐economic parameters were included to provide an informed background for all stakeholders, from scientists to decision‐makers. The correlation between the number of nuclear power plants and the publication output of the countries is proven to be highly significant. Thus, the operating countries publish the most. It has been shown that the development and economic use of nuclear energy are major stimuli for scientific endeavors. Reactor accidents have also spurred research. Mathematical risk modeling has been the area with the highest citation rate to date, but environmental and health aspects have become more important, especially after major accidents. The results show the importance of economic interests in research on nuclear energy from health and environmental aspects. Against the background of transnational hazards, global research participation should be encouraged. Moreover, the international debate should not ignore the reality of threats and their possible impacts.This article is categorized under: Policy and Economics > Research and Development Policy and Economics > Security Human and Social Dimensions > Energy and Climate Justice

Academics' perceptions regarding performance evaluations and the consequences for their professional and personal activity

PurposeImproving and assuring the quality of higher education has become a key element of policy agendas worldwide. To this end, a complete accountability system has been developed through various evaluation procedures. Specifically, this study analyzes the perceptions of university teaching staff on the impact of performance appraisal systems on their professional activity, health and personal lives.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a nonexperimental descriptive and causal-comparative design using a questionnaire that was completed by a sample of 2,183 Spanish teachers. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and comparisons of differences.FindingsThe results show that, according to teachers, the evaluation criteria undermine the quality of their work by encouraging them to neglect teaching, increase scientific production and engage in unethical research practices. Their views also emphasize the social and health-related consequences of an increasingly competitive work climate, including increased stress levels. Finally, significant differences are observed regarding gender, professional category and academic discipline, with women, junior faculty and social sciences teachers expressing particularly strong views.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in the application of a method that contributes to the international debate through a national perspective (Spain) that has so far received little attention.

Active non-alignment: Brazil and the measurement of South-South Development Cooperation

Measuring South-South cooperation (SSC) has gained policy and political salience in International Development Cooperation (IDC) debates in recent decades. This article applies the concept of active non-alignment to analyze the efforts of “southern providers”, such as Brazil, for autonomous, differentiated, and proactive engagement in the measurement debate, as well as in the field of international development more broadly. The article combines analyses of foreign policy and public policy and traces the evolution, since 2010, of the international debate and the Brazilian response – diplomatic, institutional, and non-governmental – to the growing “duty of measuring” the flows and impact of its SSC. Far from being purely a technical issue, the reconstruction of processes and negotiations surrounding the creation of measurement instruments and practices to count and account for Brazilian SSC contribute to illustrating political, geopolitical, and (inter)bureaucratic disputes in the production of transnational public policies, such as Brazil’s IDC.

Individual funded pension accounts and the World Bank: evolving views

Introduction: This paper sets out a brief history of World Bank involvement in pensions. Section 1 considers the period 1980–2000, and in particular a major pension reform in Chile in 1981 and the World Bank’s support for that approach, discussing the reforms and how well, or otherwise, they performed. Section 2 explains increasing diversity of views within the World Bank, and section 3 the more balanced view of recent years.Objective: The main goal of the presented article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and controversies surrounding individual funded pension accounts, with a primary focus on the Chilean model and its global impact. The article aims to critically examine the historical context, the World Bank’s role, internal and external debates, and recent developments in pension policy. Ultimately, it seeks to foster a more balanced understanding of pension systems, acknowledging their complexities, objectives beyond consumption smoothing, and the need for responsive policy adjustments in the face of real-world challenges.Materials and methods: The analysis is based on historical and policy documents, literature review, comparative analysis, qualitative assessments, and policy evaluation.Results: The main conclusion of the article is that the widespread adoption of individual funded pension accounts, as championed by the World Bank and initially implemented in Chile, has faced significant challenges and limitations. While these accounts were promoted as a panacea for pension reform challenges, the article argues that they have not lived up to their promises. Issues such as incomplete coverage, inadequate pensions, high administrative charges, gender inequality, and fiscal transition costs have raised concerns. The article also highlights a shift in recent years toward a more balanced and comprehensive approach to pension policy, emphasizing the importance of addressing poverty relief and broader social protection objectives.

Historical Geographies of Coastal Tourism: Mossel Bay, South Africa c.1850-1988

During the past decade there has occurred a burst of international research and debate on coastal tourism as part of the ‘blue economy’ including a growth of geography-specific scholarship. Arguably, however, within the extant geographical literature there is an overwhelming ‘present-mindedness’ and limited historical perspectives. This paper addresses this neglected knowledge gap by using an historical approach and archival sources to undertake a locality-based study of the historical transitions which have shaped and reshaped one coastal settlement in South Africa. The Mossel Bay area is of considerable historical significance because of its long history of indigenous settlement before the first European contacts triggered by the arrival in 1488 of Bartholomew Diaz and crew who were in search for a trading sea route for Portugal to India. The nature of the colonial growth of tourism in Mossel Bay and the distinctive tourism economy of the town under apartheid is interrogated. This culminated in the scripting of the controversial 1988 Dias festival hosted to celebrate the opening of ‘apartheid’s last museum’ which occurred before Mossel Bay would experience a radical social transition following South Africa’s democratic elections. Overall, the evolutionary pathways and transitions in the historical geography of this coastal locality are the focus of discussion.

MobiLithics: Fingerprinting the exploitation of lithic resources during the Upper Pleistocene

MobiLithics is a multiscalar project aimed at characterizing the lithic resources exploitation and territorial adaptive responses among the last Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens to different climatic, cultural, and biological dynamics. The project focuses on the Middle-to-Later Stone Age, in North Africa, and the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition in the Mediterranean basin of the Iberian Peninsula, as key scenarios for the origin and expansion of our species. Results on geospatial modelling, petrographic and geochemical analyses, and multivariate statistics and predictive models determine the variability on resource procurement and territorial structure. These will contribute to the international debate on the adaptability of our species to different palaeoenvironments, sociocultural realities, and changing climatic conditions.

Florentius Schuyl and the origin of the beast-machine controversy

ABSTRACT The international debate on the animal machine was initiated by the preface that the Dutch philosopher and later professor of medicine Florentius Schuyl in 1662 added to his Latin translation of Descartes’ Treatise on Man. Schuyl defended the animal machine in reaction to the vehement attacks, mostly in the vernacular, against the philosophy of Descartes in the Dutch Republic in the 1650s, wherein the theory of the animal machine had become one of the flashpoints. These polemics were part of a power struggle, not a quest for philosophical truth. Schuyl focused on the points that had appeared as controversial in these debates: biblical exegesis, arguments from common sense, and to some extent physiology, but ignored wider philosophical questions. Questions about the soul and human uniqueness came to the fore only when his work was picked up in a new context, the international republic of letters. Schuyl's preface is therefore an interesting example of knowledge taking shape by circulation.

Children and Young People’s Experiences and Understandings of Gambling-Style Systems in Digital Games: Loot Boxes, Popular Culture, and Changing Childhoods

Developing current geographical debates on children’s digital geographies and popular culture, this article examines children and young people’s experiences and understandings of gambling-style systems in digital games. Chance-based mechanisms such as loot boxes are a growing feature of the global gaming industry. This article examines the space between gaming and gambling and provides new perspectives to this emerging field, drawing on empirical research from video ethnography game-play sessions with children and young people. This article uniquely foregrounds these accounts, giving room for their voices in a debate dominated by adults. We argue gambling-style systems must be understood within children’s everyday sociospatial experiences, including friendship, family, and curating collections. We provide a fuller picture of children and young people’s situatedness and negotiations around digital gaming through interviews with parents and game designers. We demonstrate the conceptually striking ways they narrate generational change, mobilizing powerful social constructions of childhood. We advance understandings of children’s popular culture and nostalgia in academic debates on digital childhoods, arguing that loot boxes are a new and important lens through which to view wider anxieties. Furthermore, we reveal potential risks associated with these systems and offer recommendations for a timely international policy debate.

The Politics and Economics of Brazilian Competition Law

Against the renewed international debate on the relationship between competition law and wider social and economic goals, this paper examines the underpinnings of Brazilian competition law. It describes the evolution of the law against the backdrop of the wider transformations in capitalism, and reveals how legal, political, and economic disputes – both domestically and internationally – have shaped its design and implementation. The paper argues that while the foundation of modern Brazilian competition law can be found in a progressive Constitution and in principles that guide the economic order towards the promotion of substantive justice, competition enforcement and scholarship in Brazil have been gradually decoupled from the promotion of socioeconomic rights. This insulation of Brazilian competition practice from wider socio-political concerns was deeply influenced by the epistemological assumptions and the economic methodology of the Chicago School, that have directed competition – in the US and in other jurisdictions – towards formalist notions of efficiency.

The Potential Role of Ammonia for Hydrogen Storage and Transport: A Critical Review of Challenges and Opportunities

Hydrogen is being included in several decarbonization strategies as a potential contributor in some hard-to-abate applications. Among other challenges, hydrogen storage represents a critical aspect to be addressed, either for stationary storage or for transporting hydrogen over long distances. Ammonia is being proposed as a potential solution for hydrogen storage, as it allows storing hydrogen as a liquid chemical component at mild conditions. Nevertheless, the use of ammonia instead of pure hydrogen faces some challenges, including the health and environmental issues of handling ammonia and the competition with other markets, such as the fertilizer market. In addition, the technical and economic efficiency of single steps, such as ammonia production by means of the Haber–Bosch process, ammonia distribution and storage, and possibly the ammonia cracking process to hydrogen, affects the overall supply chain. The main purpose of this review paper is to shed light on the main aspects related to the use of ammonia as a hydrogen energy carrier, discussing technical, economic and environmental perspectives, with the aim of supporting the international debate on the potential role of ammonia in supporting the development of hydrogen pathways. The analysis also compares ammonia with alternative solutions for the long-distance transport of hydrogen, including liquefied hydrogen and other liquid organic carriers such as methanol.

Examining the treatment gap between expert and semi-expert patients in obstetrics using a difference-in-differences approach

ABSTRACT Using detailed patient-level data, we show that patients who enjoyed relevant medical training (physicians and midwives) are 3.1 percentage points less likely to receive a C-section than semi-expert patients (nurses and physiotherapists). We examined whether this treatment gap diminishes after a Dutch law reform that aimed to (1) strengthen patients’ position in health care processes and (2) increase quality of care through more openness about clinical decisions and learning from medical incidents. We hypothesize that prescriptions of the law, such as more internal debates about appropriate treatment and improved communication of clinical decisions and potential complications during consultations, are expected to make semi-expert patients more informed. Exploiting the reform in a difference-in-differences approach, in which semi-expert patients constitute the treatment group and expert patients the control group, we show that the likelihood of semi-expert patients receiving a C-section after the reform is eight percentage points lower than the changes in C-section rates among expert patients. Given that the reform especially impacted the information level of semi-experts, these findings seem to support the idea that the treatment gap is driven, at least to some extent, by agency discrimination.