Legislation Grants Research Articles

Barriers and facilitators to the application of nurse practitioners' training pilot programs in China: A CFIR-guided descriptive qualitative study

BackgroundThe Guidelines on Prescriptive Authority for Nurses released by the International Council of Nurses indicate that 44 countries or territories worldwide have enacted legislation granting prescriptive authority to nurses. In the US, 27 states, two territories, and Washington, D.C. have authorized certified nurse practitioners full practice authority, including prescriptive authority, and momentum is building. Currently, in mainland China, there is no national legal mandate for nurse practitioners to prescribe, although a few institutions have initiated pilot training programs for nurse practitioners. However, little is known about the factors influencing their prescribing. Research on the value of such pilot programs from the perspectives of nurse practitioners and stakeholders is required.AimThe purpose of this study is to identify, assess and synthesize the perceptions of nurse practitioners and stakeholders in two pilot training programs on the barriers and facilitators to the potential development and implementation of nurse prescribing in mainland China. DesignA descriptive qualitative research design. SettingsThe study was conducted at two nurse practitioner pilot institutions in mainland China. ParticipantsFive nurse practitioners, three collaborators, three policymakers and three trainers of nurse practitioners from two pilot institutions. MethodsData were collected via semi-structured interviews. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used as a framework to orient the data analysis. ResultsWithin the five Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research domains, we identified 31 barriers and 50 facilitators influencing the potential implementation of nurse practitioner prescribing. Barriers mainly included insufficient urgency for change, lack of policy and legal support, inadequate education and training on prescribing, and low public awareness. Facilitators encompassed nurses' practical prescribing experience, their competence and confidence in role expansion, effective teamwork, and a strong demand orientation within healthcare settings. ConclusionOur findings suggest that China possesses significant potential to successfully carry out nurse practitioner prescribing initiatives. It is crucial to explore factors hindering or promoting the development of nurse practitioners to effectively support their implementation within healthcare systems while strategizing for future advancements in this area. In the case that the national policy has not yet been promulgated, the outcomes derived from our pilot work will carry substantial influence over national policies.

Contextualising the investigation work in China: the facilitators and barriers in using mobile phone evidence

ABSTRACT Despite the huge quantity of potentially relevant data on crimes, victims, and offenders generated by and associated with technologies such as smartphones, evidence suggests these are rarely used in court proceedings. Moreover, while empirical findings suggest that techniques for analysing digital trace evidence have outstripped the abilities of investigators to interpret it, there is a lack of research on the specific challenges and potential solutions for upskilling police officers to handle digital evidence. This study seeks to identify facilitators and barriers for investigators interpreting mobile phone evidence generated during criminal investigations in China. Based on interviews with 29 frontline investigators regarding their working experience and perceptions, findings illustrate that although Chinese legislation grants investigators access to and legitimacy in retaining mobile phone data and applying it as admissible evidence, and despite the acknowledged importance of this data, investigators often lack the capability to interpret it. The lack of functional techniques for efficiently reviewing and analysing data is identified as a barrier. But more importantly, unfamiliarity with technological innovations in criminal activities hinders investigators’ capabilities to understand the generation and meaning of mobile phone data within the context of the investigation.

Bounced Cheque as an Enforceable Instrument: A Comparative Study between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) & French Legislations

Purpose: This research aims to define the bounced cheque, which is considered an Enforceable Instrument, and to clarify its cases, implementation procedures, and the conditions associated with this execution through a comparative study of the prevailing legal provisions in both Emirati and French law. Theoretical reference: The study examines the concept of a bounced cheque as an Enforceable Instrument under the legal frameworks of the UAE and France. It analyzes the criteria, cases, and procedural requirements for executing a bounced cheque in both jurisdictions, highlighting the differences and similarities in their legislative approaches. Method: A comparative analysis was conducted, scrutinizing the legal provisions and enforcement procedures related to bounced cheques in Emirati and French law. The study involved reviewing relevant statutes, case laws, and legal commentaries to understand the practical implications of treating a bounced cheque as an Enforceable Instrument in both countries. Results and Conclusion: The research reveals that in UAE law, a bounced cheque is considered an Enforceable Instrument as soon as the bank notes the absence of sufficient funds or that the drawer's account has been closed. In contrast, French legislation grants Enforceable Instrument status to an unpaid cheque only after a thirty-day period, allowing the drawer time to settle the cheque's value or reach a settlement with the beneficiary. The study concludes that while both legal systems recognize the enforceability of bounced cheques, they differ significantly in the timing and conditions under which this enforceability is granted. Implications of research: The findings suggest that while the immediate enforceability of bounced cheques in the UAE provides swift recourse for beneficiaries, the French approach of granting a grace period offers a more balanced consideration for the drawer. The research implies that incorporating a reasonable time frame for fulfilling the value of the bounced cheque, as suggested in the recommendations, could harmonize the interests of both parties involved. Originality/value: The research provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of the enforcement of bounced cheques in Emirati and French law, offering valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of each system. The proposed recommendation of a balanced time frame for cheque fulfillment contributes to the ongoing discourse on optimizing legal procedures for financial instruments, potentially influencing future legislative reforms.

Implementasi Keamanan Cyber Berbasis Nilai Nilai Kebangsaan UUD 1945 di Era Digital Best Practice di Perusahaan Pertamina

The advancement of digital technology has brought about significant progress across various sectors, while simultaneously introducing new risks, particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. Cybersecurity has become a critical concern for companies, including energy giants like Pertamina. In the context of Indonesia, adherence to cybersecurity within Pertamina must align with relevant legal frameworks, such as the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945). This research aims to explore optimal approaches to implementing cybersecurity within Pertamina, with a focus on the legal underpinnings of the 1945 Constitution. Key attention is directed towards Article 27, paragraph (3) of the Constitution, which guarantees universal access to education, including information security training for employees—a crucial element in thwarting cyber threats. Furthermore, Article 28, paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, safeguarding freedom of association, can be interpreted to endorse collaboration between Pertamina and external entities, like cybersecurity institutions and regulatory bodies, to bolster cyber defense capabilities. Integration of cutting-edge security technology is paramount, aligning with the principles outlined in Article 33, paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, emphasizing the preservation of natural resources. This extends to safeguarding Pertamina's data and digital infrastructure through measures like encryption technology, robust network security protocols, and effective intrusion detection systems. By heeding the legal foundations provided by the 1945 Constitution, the implementation of cybersecurity at Pertamina must be comprehensive, encompassing employee education, technological upgrades, and collaborative efforts with external stakeholders. Such measures aim to mitigate cyber risks, safeguard operational interests, and shield sensitive information from evolving threats in today's digital landscape. Additionally, Law Number 11 of 2008 plays a crucial role in governing information technology and electronic transactions in Indonesia. This legislation grants legal validity to electronic documents, signatures, and transactions, while also ensuring information security and user privacy. It imposes criminal penalties for illicit activities in the realm of information technology, fostering a secure environment for electronic transactions and upholding user rights in the digital age.

Peculiarities of legal regulation of the tax system of local self-government bodies in the Republic of Poland

The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of the legal regulation of the tax system of local self-government bodies in the Republic of Poland.
 It is shown that the modern system of local taxes began to form in the 90s of the last century, together with the restoration of the institution of local self-government. Despite the constitutional enshrinement of the right of all local self-government bodies to determine the amount of local taxes, ordinary legislation grants tax powers exclusively to the lowest link in the three-level system - the commune. Financing of the functions and powers of local self-government bodies of voivodships and poviats takes place through deductions from national taxes and fees. The author focuses on the existence of a distinction between the terms "local taxes” and "taxes of local self-government bodies” in the Polish doctrine of tax law. Local taxes are taxes that, by virtue of the law, are a permanent, indefinite and exclusive source of income for local budgets. Meanwhile, taxes of local self-government bodies are payments in respect of which local self­government bodies have tax powers. In light of the accepted criteria, for example, inheritance and gift tax is a local tax, but cannot be called a tax of local governments. Funds from this tax are fully credited to the budget of the territorial community, but local self-government bodies do not have tax authority over it. The list of local taxes is contained in the Law "On Local Taxes and Fees”. However, in reality, this list is incomplete and does not include a number of local taxes that are regulated by other legislative acts. In general, the list of local taxes is quite voluminous, in which only real estate tax, vehicle tax, forest tax and agricultural tax belong to the taxes of local self-government bodies. They meet the formal and material criteria that characterize the "own income” of local self-government units, while others only meet the formal criteria.

Evidentiary value of the conclusion of a veterinary expert in a judicial proceeding

The paper discusses the issue of the authority of non-certified experts ‒ specialists in veterinary medicine ‒ to conduct forensic veterinary examinations, as well as the evidentiary value of expert opinions in legal proceedings. The authors address the issue of conducting forensic veterinary examinations in criminal, civil, and administrative cases in the context of the evidentiary value of expert conclusions regarding the establishment of illegal acts and causation between such acts and the negative consequences that have arisen. Special emphasis is placed on the significance of expert conclusions in the field of veterinary medicine in cases involving the compensation of moral and material damages. The article includes separate provisions on the mandatory conduct of expert examinations in certain cases. It has been found that the relevant legislation does not provide a detailed description of the requirements for who can be considered an expert, but it does contain specific requirements for the level of education, qualifications, and necessary knowledge to address the issues at hand. The authors have identified the requirements for individuals who can be considered experts. It has been established that current legislation grants the right to conduct forensic veterinary expertise to persons who are not registered as certified experts, provided they can demonstrate their qualifications as experts in the relevant field, and exceptions to this rule are also indicated. The determination of who can be an expert can be based not only on official certification but also on proof of qualifications and experience in the relevant field. It has been established that an expert's conclusion can be used as evidence in cases of compensation for moral and material damages, provided that it contains appropriate conclusions regarding the unlawful behavior of the person who caused the damage, the existence of a causal link between the unlawful behavior and the damage caused, and the guilt of the person who caused the damage.

Regional Representative Council in the Indonesian State Governance System: A Study of the Bicameral System

This study aims to examine and analyze the authority of the DPD in the law-forming process based on the bicameral system. This study uses normative legal research with the statute and comparative approaches. The collected legal material is then qualitatively analyzed to describe the problem and answer study purposes. The results show that the DPD members possess strong political legitimacy, because members of both chambers within the legislative branch are elected through the electoral process in Indonesia. However, no provision in the legislation grants the DPD a legislative function. Instead, the DPD holds limited authority in the law-forming process, only able to propose, participate in discussions, and provide considerations to the DPR over draft laws. In comparison, Indonesia’s DPD has significantly more limited authority than senates in other countries with bicameral systems. Additionally, several perspectives, paradigms, and differentiating factors help explain the reasons and objectives behind implementing bicameral systems. Therefore, it is recommended that stakeholders understand the various perspectives, paradigms, and differentiating factors that explain the reasons and objectives behind implementing bicameral systems in other countries. This understanding aims to enhance the authority of the DPD as a legislative power within the Indonesian state governance system. This understanding can also serve as a consideration for stakeholders in amending the 1945 Constitution, Law Number 17 of 2014, and Law Number 12 of 2011. In this context, the legislative function in a bicameral system refers to forming and ratifying laws by both chambers within the legislative branch. Consequently, Indonesia’s bicameral system can become more effective, responsive, and inclusive, ultimately promoting a more democratic and stable state governance system in the future.

Tyrannicide, Law, and Sacrifice in Julius Caesar

This essay introduces Plutarch's Life of Publicola as a crucially important yet previously neglected intertext. The first of two passages relevant to Shakespeare's drama involves Publicola's legislation granting immunity to anyone carrying out tyrannicide if specified conditions are met; the second concerns an abortive conspiracy against the Republic's founding consuls. In conjunction with Graeco-Roman and early modern views of tyranny and antityranny, these passages act as an imaginative matrix and new interpretative framework for Julius Caesar's engagement with tyrannicide, the constitutional implications of one-person rule, the conspirators' hands immersed in the slain Caesar's blood, and the Republic's transition to Imperial rule.

Machine unlearning: linear filtration for logit-based classifiers

Recently enacted legislation grants individuals certain rights to decide in what fashion their personal data may be used and in particular a “right to be forgotten”. This poses a challenge to machine learning: how to proceed when an individual retracts permission to use data which has been part of the training process of a model? From this question emerges the field of machine unlearning, which could be broadly described as the investigation of how to “delete training data from models”. Our work complements this direction of research for the specific setting of class-wide deletion requests for classification models (e.g. deep neural networks). As a first step, we propose linear filtration as an intuitive, computationally efficient sanitization method. Our experiments demonstrate benefits in an adversarial setting over naive deletion schemes.

Engaging Contract Labour: Learnings from Landmark Judgements

Despite debates on its hiring, contract labour is a growing form of employment in India. Establishments usually maintain a workforce composition of both regular workers and contract labour for optimizing their available resources and ensuring financial prudence. However, in the process, they often get embroiled in compliance issues related to regularization and ‘equal pay for equal work’ in the context of contract labour. In this article, we have explored the different judicial interpretations of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, on contract labour. For this, we have referred to the landmark judgements passed by the Supreme Court of India on the deployment and regularization of contract labour, and also their entitlement to equal pay for equal work. A scrutiny of these judgements directs us to advise establishments to avoid engaging contract labour in their core and perennial activities. Considering the statutory provisions and the possible legal complications, we have recommended some measures to establishments to mitigate the underlying risks in deploying contract labour alongside regular workforce in similar kinds of jobs or activities. We propose that the legislative framework grants flexibility to industries to generate employment to contract labour, without compromising on the rights of these workers.

The Wealth of Knowledge: Land-Grab Universities in a British Imperial and Global Context

The Wealth of Knowledge:Land-Grab Universities in a British Imperial and Global Context Caitlin P. A. Harvey (bio) the colonial legacy of the American land-grant university traced by the Land-Grab Universities (LGU) project, of public universities "built not just on Indigenous land, but with Indigenous land," reveals a far-reaching pattern of institutional development that relied on the leasing and selling of enormous tracts of expropriated Indigenous lands to raise universities' endowment capital.1 The mechanism effecting this tremendous land redistribution was the Morrill Act (1862). Yet while it was the largest, the Morrill Act was not the only legislative grant of Indigenous land made to fund higher education in the United States or among settler societies worldwide. Contextualizing the LGU findings within the larger history of land-grant universities in British settlement societies makes clear that the American land-grant phenomenon was just one episode in the expanding territoriality of settler-colonial universities. Particularly in Canada and New Zealand but also in Australia and South Africa, fledgling public universities received substantial blocks of unceded Indigenous territory as financing from their governments. The development of America's educational institutions, therefore, did not unfold in isolation from the trends established in other Anglo-dominant settler societies. When we consider the land-grant university in British imperial and global perspective, the full territoriality of land-grant universities comprises over 15 million acres spread over three continents (table 1). Settlers' provincial and federal governments sponsored land-grant institutions with the aim of applying scientific methods to agriculture, fostering technological innovation, and creating an internationally competitive yet civic-minded workforce.2 In New Zealand (Aotearoa) in 1869, for instance, the Province of Otago's legislators issued deeds of 100,000 acres for the University of Otago, followed by another 100,000 acres on the South Island (Te Waipounamu) in the 1870s.3 The Ngāi Tahu disputed this reallocation. But with the New Zealand Wars ongoing and swayed by the complaints of Otago University's largest land lessee, Robert Campbell, the colonial state evicted the Māori landholders.4 [End Page 97] Click for larger view View full resolution Table 1. Aggregate Totals of University Land by Grant and Location In England, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge had long relied on the rental income generated by landholding. Even today, the Oxbridge colleges "are among the largest institutional landowners" in land-scarce England.5 Settler societies carried on this European custom on a larger and more devastating scale. Particularly where capital was lacking from benefactions, fees, or government subsidies, the resort to land-granting was continuous. As early as 1619, the British government assigned 10,000 acres to a "Henrico College" in Virginia. Warfare with the Powhatan Confederacy and chronic underpopulation ensured that this institution was short-lived.6 Reaching forward to the nineteenth century and prior to the Morrill Act, The Constitutional History of New York indicates that in 1846 the U.S. [End Page 98] government released to "Tennessee 1,300,000 acres of public land in that state for the endowment of a college."7 This land, nearly the size of Delaware, lay to the "south and west of the Congressional reservation line." Supposedly "vacant and unappropriated Lands" existed there after the violent removal of the Cherokee.8 In nearly the same moment, one of the earliest educational land grants in British North America went to King's College, a precursor to the University of Toronto, in 1828. An Anglican bishop, John Strachan, secured 225,944 acres of valuable Crown Reserves for the new college.9 It is likely that much of this property once supported the Mississaugas of New Credit (Mississauga Ojibwa). Under the strain of recurring Indigenous-settler skirmishes, the Mississaugas ceded 250,808 acres of their land—covering most of what is now the city of Toronto and region of York—first to the British Crown in 1787 and then to the Upper Canadian government in 1805. The Toronto Purchase, as these agreements became known, followed the influx of Loyalists into Upper Canada after the American Revolutionary War.10 Following Canadian Confederation in 1867, institutions of higher learning repeated Toronto's (and, by then, also...

The Wealth of Knowledge: <em>Land-Grab Universities</em> in a British Imperial and Global Context

The Wealth of Knowledge:Land-Grab Universities in a British Imperial and Global Context Caitlin P. A. Harvey (bio) the colonial legacy of the American land-grant university traced by the Land-Grab Universities (LGU) project, of public universities "built not just on Indigenous land, but with Indigenous land," reveals a far-reaching pattern of institutional development that relied on the leasing and selling of enormous tracts of expropriated Indigenous lands to raise universities' endowment capital.1 The mechanism effecting this tremendous land redistribution was the Morrill Act (1862). Yet while it was the largest, the Morrill Act was not the only legislative grant of Indigenous land made to fund higher education in the United States or among settler societies worldwide. Contextualizing the LGU findings within the larger history of land-grant universities in British settlement societies makes clear that the American land-grant phenomenon was just one episode in the expanding territoriality of settler-colonial universities. Particularly in Canada and New Zealand but also in Australia and South Africa, fledgling public universities received substantial blocks of unceded Indigenous territory as financing from their governments. The development of America's educational institutions, therefore, did not unfold in isolation from the trends established in other Anglo-dominant settler societies. When we consider the land-grant university in British imperial and global perspective, the full territoriality of land-grant universities comprises over 15 million acres spread over three continents (table 1). Settlers' provincial and federal governments sponsored land-grant institutions with the aim of applying scientific methods to agriculture, fostering technological innovation, and creating an internationally competitive yet civic-minded workforce.2 In New Zealand (Aotearoa) in 1869, for instance, the Province of Otago's legislators issued deeds of 100,000 acres for the University of Otago, followed by another 100,000 acres on the South Island (Te Waipounamu) in the 1870s.3 The Ngāi Tahu disputed this reallocation. But with the New Zealand Wars ongoing and swayed by the complaints of Otago University's largest land lessee, Robert Campbell, the colonial state evicted the Māori landholders.4 [End Page 97] Click for larger view View full resolution Table 1. Aggregate Totals of University Land by Grant and Location In England, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge had long relied on the rental income generated by landholding. Even today, the Oxbridge colleges "are among the largest institutional landowners" in land-scarce England.5 Settler societies carried on this European custom on a larger and more devastating scale. Particularly where capital was lacking from benefactions, fees, or government subsidies, the resort to land-granting was continuous. As early as 1619, the British government assigned 10,000 acres to a "Henrico College" in Virginia. Warfare with the Powhatan Confederacy and chronic underpopulation ensured that this institution was short-lived.6 Reaching forward to the nineteenth century and prior to the Morrill Act, The Constitutional History of New York indicates that in 1846 the U.S. [End Page 98] government released to "Tennessee 1,300,000 acres of public land in that state for the endowment of a college."7 This land, nearly the size of Delaware, lay to the "south and west of the Congressional reservation line." Supposedly "vacant and unappropriated Lands" existed there after the violent removal of the Cherokee.8 In nearly the same moment, one of the earliest educational land grants in British North America went to King's College, a precursor to the University of Toronto, in 1828. An Anglican bishop, John Strachan, secured 225,944 acres of valuable Crown Reserves for the new college.9 It is likely that much of this property once supported the Mississaugas of New Credit (Mississauga Ojibwa). Under the strain of recurring Indigenous-settler skirmishes, the Mississaugas ceded 250,808 acres of their land—covering most of what is now the city of Toronto and region of York—first to the British Crown in 1787 and then to the Upper Canadian government in 1805. The Toronto Purchase, as these agreements became known, followed the influx of Loyalists into Upper Canada after the American Revolutionary War.10 Following Canadian Confederation in 1867, institutions of higher learning repeated Toronto's (and, by then, also...

Binding Hands or Granting Discretion: Congress, the President, and the Design of Economic Sanctions

Prior scholarship on the role of the U.S. Congress in sanctions policy making has highlighted how sanctions legislating is shaped by domestic political pressures. We move beyond a focus on interest groups, public opinion, and electoral incentives while investigating an important but underappreciated dimension of sanctions legislation – whether and how legislation grants the executive branch discretion regarding its implementation. We explain how deterrence objectives, treaty commitments, signaling concerns, and the uncertainties and trade-offs associated with different issues influence the degree and type of flexibility provided to the executive branch in sanctions legislation. We test hypotheses derived from this argument with evidence from a novel data set, created directly from the complete corpus of U.S. government documents dealing with sanctions from 1988-2016. Our analysis also has important implications for research on the effectiveness of sanctions, high- lighting the importance of taking into account underappreciated legislative design features when evaluating the success or failure of this commonly used policy tool.

State Prosecutors at the Center of Mass Imprisonment and Criminal Justice Reform

State prosecutors around the country have played a crucial role in mass imprisonment. Little supervision and virtually unsurpassed decision making power have provided them with unrivaled influence over the size, growth, and composition of our criminal justice system. They decide which cases to prosecute, whether to divert a case, whether to offer a plea, and what sentence to recommend. Their impact does not stop at sentencing. They weigh in on alternative dockets, supervision violations, parole release, and even clemency requests. But they are also part of a larger system that constrains them. Funding, judicial limits on their power, and legislative grants of authority to other players in the criminal justice system all serve to limit the freedom of prosecutors. The public health threat COVID-19 presents to those detained in jails and prisons has turned into a case study of prosecutorial authority. It powerfully displays the sway political ideology, divergent purposes of punishment, and public safety considerations hold over release decisions. The prosecutors most successful in decreasing inmate population numbers quickly have been not only proactive but also able to build effective coalitions with other criminal justice actors. Whether COVID-19 will in the long run lead to smaller jail populations and shorter prison terms remains an open question. Yet, it further reinforces and strengthens the role of prosecutors whose expansive reach into our communities—with an eye to incarceration or decarceration—continues to be a powerful feature of the American criminal justice system.

Notch‐1 signaling through MCL‐1 modulates macrophage polarization and immune defense against Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis infection in autoimmune disease

We previously reported that IL‐6 plays a major role in the survival of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) in infected macrophages. MAP has been associated with Crohn’s disease (CD) and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. The role of Notch‐1 signaling in macrophages during intracellular infection such as MAP is not clearly understood. We hypothesis that IL‐6 expression in macrophages is induced by Notch‐1 signaling which inhibits apoptosis through Myeloid cell leukemia sequence‐1 (MCL‐1), which ultimately induce persistence of chronic infection. In this study, we measured the in vitro effect of MAP infection on Notch‐1 signaling and downstream influence on IL‐6 and MCL‐1. Specifically, we evaluated the role of Notch‐1 signaling in apoptosis and consequent MAP viability in infected macrophages and its effect on macrophage polarization and inflammatory response. Overall, the data showed that MAP infection upregulated Notch‐1, IL‐6, and MCL‐1 by (1.2, 1.8 and 4.2 fold expression, respectively) in activated THP‐1 compared to uninfected macrophages. Interestingly, treatment of MAP‐infected macrophages with IL‐6 showed upregulation of Notch‐1 and MCL‐1, which suggest a role for Notch‐1 and IL‐6 in the upregulation of MCL‐1 and possibly regulation of apoptosis in MAP infected macrophages. Targeting Notch signaling by a gamma‐secretase inhibitor resulted in decreased expression of IL‐6 and MCL‐1 (1.38 ± 0.32 and 0.63 ± 0.034, respectively) in infected macrophages compared to untreated macrophages (2.7 ± 0.25 and 2.0 ± 0.21, respectively). Moreover, gamma‐secretase inhibitor decreased MAP viability by 1.3 log CFU/ml. On the other hand, MAP modulates the macrophage polarization toward M1 macrophage polarization (M1/M2=2.20) compared uninfected macrophages (M1/M2=1.27), whereas the Notch inhibitor promotes M2 and diminish M1 macrophage polarization (M1/M2=0.76). Collectively, targeting Notch‐1 signaling will regulates the inflammatory response and enhances bacterial clearance in MAP infected macrophages. The study provides significant data that support the mechanistic role of Notch‐1 signaling in chronic infection in autoimmune disease.Support or Funding InformationThis work was funded, in part, by the Florida Legislative Grant.

Two Myths of Administrative Law

In an upcoming set of cases, the Supreme Court of Canada will review its approach to the standard of review of administrative action. In this paper, the author suggests that the Court must go back to the foundation of judicial review in redesigning the standard of review, namely, the task of courts to police the legal boundaries of the administrative body. To do so, courts must authentically interpret the legislative grant of authority to the administrative decision-maker, particularly to determine the appropriate intensity of review. To that end, the author suggests that the Court should discard two myths that have pervaded modern administrative law: (1) that administrative decisionmakers should be granted deference based on purported expertise in matters of statutory interpretation; and (2) that jurisdictional questions exist separately from questions of law. The myths may impose a different standard of review than the one discernible with the ordinary tools of statutory interpretation. The author argues that these court-created devices should not exist at the expense of the constitutionally prescribed duty of the courts to exercise their policing function and engage in genuine statutory interpretation to determine the appropriate standard of judicial review in a given case.

Board Structure and Advisory Role of Outside Directors: Evidence From U.S. Legislation Granting China Permanent Normal Trade Status in 2000

We investigate how a shock to corporate demand for experienced directors (i.e., U.S. Congress’ grant of Permanent Normal Trade Relations status to China in 2000) affects U.S. firms’ board structure and board advisory role. We find that firms appoint more outside directors with China-related experience after the grant. Firms with such directors realize higher returns around announcements of investments involving Chinese firms and better post-deal operating performance, particularly when these directors reside in the U.S. The appointment of directors with China experience is also greeted more positively by the stock market and they gain more board seats after the grant.

Between exercising of public powers and economic activity. The latest findings on the notion of entrepreneur made in the process of judicial review of the decision of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection

Aim: There is no doubt that public authorities may be directly or indirectly involved in economic activity. A traditional way of distinguish state activity which is not subject to the rules of the market is to decide when the state acts as public authority. In case of state activity two category of situations should be distinguished: these where the state is engaged in an economic activity (sphere of dominium) and these when the state acts by exercising of public powers (sphere of imperium). In the opinion of the author of the article, the distinction between imperium and dominium is still relevant. According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Act of February 16, 2007, an entrepreneur is inter alia natural and legal person, as well as an organisational unit without a legal status to which legislation grants legal capacity, organising or providing public utility services which do not constitute economic activity in the meaning of the provisions on freedom of economic activity. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection found that public authorities exercising their administrative powers (sphere of imperium) may be classified as entrepreneurs. In the recent decisions which were subject of judicial review the President of UOKiK decided that the National Health Fund – a state authority responsible for organization and management of health care services in Poland – is an entrepreneur in the meaning of the Polish law (act on competition and consumer protection). The aim of this article is to answer the question whether competition rules should be applied to the state activity in the imperium sphere. This article will focus on the notion of an entrepreneur (undertaking) in polish and EU law in the context of the activity of the state. Design / Research methods: The objective of the article is achieved through doctrinal analysis of the relevant rules of the Polish and EU law and analysis of the recent decisions issued by the President of UOKiK, as well as judgments of the EU Courts, concerning the possibility of qualification of the widely understood state as an undertaking (entrepreneur).Conclusions / findings: From the analysis of the same concept applied in polish and EU law clearly follows that public entities acting ‘by exercising public power’ or ‘in their capacity as public authorities’ (imperium sphere) should not be classified as entrepreneurs (undertakings) in the meaning of competition law. The main scientific value added of the article are the conclusions that the provisions on the protection of competition should be applicable only to the activity of the state in the dominium sphere and that the definition of an entrepreneur and business (economic) activity should be connected to the existence of a market. Originality / value of the article: Paper should be interesting for public authorities, as well as for lawyers, dealing with problems concerning of qualification of public entities in the context of the competition law. The results of the research may be applied for example in the decisions that would be taken by the President of UOKiK. The consequences of application of the findings of the research to practice may be a change of approach to qualification of public entities in the context of the provision of competition law.

Inferences of Judicial Lawmaking Power and the Law of Nations

This article, presented at a symposium occasioned by the publication of A.J. Bellia’ and Bradford Clark’s The Law of Nations and the United States Constitution, seeks to build on their work. It argues that the law of nations at the time of the founding can inform modern questions of statutory interpretation, at least those with structural constitutional implications. For one important statutory problem, namely a judicial inference of the authority to make federal common law from a grant of subject-matter jurisdiction, the legacy of the founding era’s law of nations still matters. Bellia and Clark observe that the Supreme Court twice has invoked an inference of prescriptive power from an assignment of adjudicative authority ‒ what I will call a prescriptive inference ‒ to authorize the federal courts to make (their take on) international law into federal law. In 1917, the Court inferred congressional authorization for the federal courts to make federal common law based on international maritime law from the constitutional and legislative grants of admiralty jurisdiction. In 2004, the Court inferred a power to develop a federal common law of international-law torts from the 1789 Judiciary Act’s grant of jurisdiction over tort claims brought by aliens based on the law of nations. Each of these moves frustrates a central goal that, Bellia and Clark argue, the framers pursued. Both increase the risk that the federal judiciary, acting without support or guidance from the political branches, may disturb the friendly relations of the United States with foreign states. These instances of the prescriptive inference present at least two puzzles. First, why make the inference with respect to admiralty and alien torts, but not alienage jurisdiction, at least in cases invoking the law merchant? The framers created federal alienage jurisdiction to get control over private-law disputes between Americans and foreigners, which State courts had mishandled to the harm of the nation. Why recognize a judicial power to override aberrant state rules in the case of admiralty and alien torts, but not other disputes involving aliens and one of the branches of the law of nations? Second, where does private international law fit in all this? Did the framers hope to promote the development of uniform rules of recognition of foreign law and judgments through the federal courts, just as they expected the courts to apply the international law merchant and maritime law? If the answer is yes, what explains our modern approach, which allows States to disregard private international law whenever they choose? I argue that prescriptive inferences generally are problematic and, in the case of international law, confront strong reasons for their avoidance. Contemporary practice with the law merchant and private international law offers a model for a kind of federalism that tolerates State law affecting foreign relations, while reserving to Congress the power to intervene to suppress State misrule. This model fits admiralty and human rights as much as international commerce and recognition of foreign law and judgments.

ZAWARCIE MAŁŻEŃSTWA ‘LIBERORUM PROCREANDORUM CAUSA’ W PRAWIE RZYMSKIM

MARRIAGE LIBERORUM PROCREANDORUM CAUSA IN ROMAN LAWSummaryOne of the chief purposes of the Roman institution of matrimony was procreation (liberorum procreandorum causa). There are numerous references in the sources to the institution of matrimony commending those citizens who marry in order to beget children. They are said to be living as Nature intended, since procreation secures the continuance of the family and tribe, especially as regards the passing down of the family name and estate to its heirs, and the guarantee that the religious rites (sacra familiaria and sacra gentilicia) will continue to be performed. Such observations were an expression of concern for the future of the Roman family. Marriage for the purpose of begetting progeny was regarded as sacrosanct, a religious duty: uxorem liberorum quaerundum causa ducere religiosum est. However, this applied only to children born of a iustum matrimonium – born in lawful wedlock to a couple who had entered an “approved marriage.” Roman citizens were encouraged and urged by the kings under the Monarchy, and even compelled by the censors, to marry and procreate. Augustus introduced legislation granting privileges to citizens who married, and special rights to families with a large number of children.