State Efforts Research Articles

RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF DESIGNING ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ANTI-CORRUPTION

It has been established that international legal countermeasures against corruption are carried out at three levels: global (by the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, etc.); regional integration (Council of Europe, European Union, other integration associations); bilateral intergovernmental and interagency cooperation. There is no coordination of directions and means of combating corruption between them. Therefore, international anti-corruption activities at all three levels developed not only in different directions, but also in many ways spontaneously. It has been proven that the wide participation of international organizations in the fight against corruption and the variety of anti-corruption legal means used by them contribute to the concentration and coordination of the efforts of states in the fight against corruption. Another positive effect of the acts of international organizations is also noted: drawing the attention of civil society to the tasks of combating corruption, they significantly strengthen the potential for their full solution. On the other hand, the variety of subjects and legal forms of international legal anti-corruption often create legal conflicts between acts operating in this area. Such collisions create, for example, different approaches to defining the concept of corruption. It is noted that the concepts of designing anti-corruption acts, based on the ideas and methods of system design of complex technological processes and objects, are more and more widely used in the law-making practice of international organizations and states of the modern world. Their influence on the legal regulation of social relations is increasing, confirming that at the current stage of socio-economic, technological, informational development, the complication of social relations, the rapid increase in their quantitative parameters and indicators, the growing danger of man-made and natural disasters, the introduction of system design becomes impossible. It is gradually displacing the maximally ineffective under such conditions practices of «industry», «fragmentary», «point», «situational» legal regulation. It has been established that the systematic design of anti-corruption acts primarily involves conducting comprehensive studies of law-making initiatives. In the course of such studies, all factors that may affect the intended sphere (object) of legal regulation must be analyzed; the opinions, positions, and evaluations of not only regulatory and control-supervisory state bodies, but also potential participants in the projected legal relations should be taken into account.

Trends in Workplace Violence for Health Care Occupations and Facilities Over the Last 10 Years

Abstract Issues of workplace violence (WPV) in healthcare has garnered increasing attention, due to the impact on the health care worker well-being and retention. Yet, our understanding of whether and how WPV rates vary between health care facilities and occupations is limited, particularly information on growth over time. This information is needed to develop and target policies and interventions toward health care workers and settings most at risk. We examined trends in WPV among healthcare occupations and facilities over the past decade (2011-2021/2022), utilizing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illness (SOII). Findings reveal a 30% increase across all health care facility types between 2011 and 2021/22; however there was no difference in the average rate of WPV for health care occupations over the same time period. The increase of WPV for health care facilities began long before the pandemic, suggesting larger systemic issues are likely driving WPV. Existing state and organizational efforts aim to mitigate WPV, yet targeted interventions are crucial. Understanding variations across occupations and facilities will inform tailored strategies to safeguard healthcare workers.

Problems and prospects of developing spelling skills in schoolchildren with visual impairments in Uzbekistan

This article addresses issues concerning the development of accurate word pronunciation skills in English among students with visual impairments in Uzbekistan. The challenges include a scarcity of Braille literature, discrepancies in word writing and pronunciation between Uzbek and English, confusion stemming from similarities and differences in the Braille-based English alphabet and the Latin-script Uzbek alphabet, as well as a lack of educational materials and the production of essential and supplementary educational literature. The complexities associated with these issues are examined, with particular focus on psychological obstacles faced by students in the same demographic when learning English. Additionally, practical recommendations for enhancing this field will be formulated based on empirical research findings. Special attention is also given to the needs of consumers requiring educational materials for this demographic, adherence to academic standards, and the promotion of a conducive learning environment for students with visual impairments studying English.In addition, the issue of ensuring communication between schoolchildren with visual disabilities and their teachers, as well as assistants aiding in lesson preparation for the same group of students, in creating child-specific dictionaries and educational literature, is being addressed. There is also a need to coordinate the efforts of both state and non-state organizations on international and local levels to support the development of dictionaries and educational materials for teaching English to visually impaired students in Uzbekistan, along with establishing a system for delivering them and the necessary educational equipment

International legal mechanisms of liability for nuclear damage

Based on the analysis of accidents in the nuclear sphere, many states have come to the conclusion of the need to develop international legal principles for the settlement of disputes related to accidents and the formation of a regime of responsibility for damage caused to the life and health of people and the environment. The unification of the efforts of many states to develop joint approaches to ensure the safe development of atomic energy allowed the creation of a complex international legal regime – “international nuclear law”. The aim of the work is determination of the international legal bases of responsibility for causing nuclear damage. The methodological basis of the study. The following methods of cognition were used in the research process: analysis and synthesis, generalization, dialectical, system-structural methods, formal-legal, legal-technical method. Results. Various international organizations play an important role in the formation of nuclear law: the IAEA, the Atomic Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (NEA OECD), WNA and others. The documents issued by the IAEA serve as guidelines for the development and approval of laws and other regulatory acts related to the safe use of atomic energy in the countries of the world. Conventions on liability for nuclear damage were drafted in such a way that most of their provisions (especially the basic principles) were self-executing. Therefore, in principle, each participating state has the right to independently decide, on the basis of its constitutional or legal system, which approach it will use to bring its legislation in accordance with this or that convention: direct application of the provisions of the convention or preparation based on the text of the convention of the national law on nuclear liability. Conclusions. Currently, in the issue of liability for nuclear damage, countries can be divided into two groups: one group – those that have adopted a special regime in the field of nuclear liability either by joining international conventions or by adopting national legislation; another group – countries that do not have such a special regime.

County-level associations between drinking water PFAS contamination and COVID-19 mortality in the United States.

Epidemiologic and animal studies both support relationships between exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and harmful effects on the immune system. Accordingly, PFAS have been identified as potential environmental risk factors for adverse COVID-19 outcomes. Here, we examine associations between PFAS contamination of U.S. community water systems (CWS) and county-level COVID-19 mortality records. Our analyses leverage two datasets: one at the subnational scale (5371 CWS serving 621 counties) and one at the national scale (4798 CWS serving 1677 counties). The subnational monitoring dataset was obtained from statewide drinking monitoring of PFAS (2016-2020) and the national monitoring dataset was obtained from a survey of unregulated contaminants (2013-2015). We conducted parallel analyses using multilevel quasi-Poisson regressions to estimate cumulative incidence ratios for the association between county-level measures of PFAS drinking water contamination and COVID-19 mortality prior to vaccination onset (Jan-Dec 2020). In the primary analyses, these regressions were adjusted for several county-level sociodemographic factors, days after the first reported case in the county, and total hospital beds. In the subnational analysis, detection of at least one PFAS over 5 ng/L was associated with 12% higher [95% CI: 4%, 19%] COVID-19 mortality. In the national analysis, detection of at least one PFAS above the reporting limits (20-90 ng/L) was associated with 13% higher [95% CI: 8%, 19%] COVID-19 mortality. Our findings provide evidence for an association between area-level drinking water PFAS contamination and higher COVID-19 mortality in the United States. These findings reinforce the importance of ongoing state and federal monitoring efforts supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2024 drinking water regulations for PFAS. More broadly, this example suggests that drinking water quality could play a role in infectious disease severity. Future research would benefit from study designs that combine area-level exposure measures with individual-level outcome data.

Self-judgment in international law: Between judicialization and pushback

Abstract The legally binding unilateral application of norms holds potential for abuse. Nonetheless, self-judgment is alive and kicking. Self-judgment language commonly features in treaties and states frequently invoke their authority to ‘self-judge’ sensitive issues, such as matters related to national security, before international judicial bodies. In many of these cases, the controversy whether a norm has a self-judgment quality or not has been decisive for the outcome of the dispute. Yet, the meaning and consequences of self-judgment remain contested. This article develops self-judgment as the authoritative application of international legal norms by states. It posits that steps towards the judicialization of self-judgment by judicial bodies have given rise to state efforts to preserve unfettered discretion. Notably, states have responded to attempts by judicial bodies to gain authority over the application of self-judgment by drafting provisions more explicitly. This dynamic continues to make self-judgment a site of judicialization and pushback. The only way to understand the meaning, limitations and development of self-judgment is by studying this process. Doing so conceptually refines self-judgment and allows for more meaningful references to the notion in practice.

Part I - Health Issues of Those Experiencing Trafficking: Background and Context for Dermatologists

Human trafficking is a global human rights violation affecting millions of individuals across diverse demographics with severe health consequences. Despite the frequent interactions that exploited individuals have with healthcare systems, many remain unrecognized, positioning healthcare providers, including dermatologists, as critical first responders. In the first part of this three-paper series, we discuss the current landscape of human trafficking from a healthcare perspective, emphasizing the role of dermatologists in recognizing and responding to this issue. This paper reviews the current understanding of trafficking, outlines the epidemiology and legal framework surrounding trafficking, and discusses gaps in training for healthcare providers and policy that may hinder effective identification and intervention. It also explores state and national efforts to incorporate human trafficking education into healthcare training, emphasizing the need for standardized, trauma-informed approaches within dermatology. By fostering awareness and advocacy within the dermatology community, this paper aims to contribute to the broader efforts to combat human trafficking and improve the care and support provided to this patient population.

A Prosopographic Analysis of the Social Profiles of Late Ottoman Ambassadors and Consuls

In response to the growing demands of diplomacy within the increasingly institutionalized Ottoman diplomatic framework, a significant expansion in the number of diplomats employed by the state was observed during the final quarter of the nineteenth century. Concurrent with the rapid increase in diplomatic personnel, a systematic appointment process was implemented to enhance the recruitment of qualified and knowledgeable individuals. This study aims to examine the impact of the institutionalization of the Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its ambassadors and consuls, who were the principal executive officers of the institution. Additionally, the article explores the social histories of Ottoman ambassadors and consuls by analyzing the evolution of their professional responsibilities and educational backgrounds. This study employs a prosopographic methodology to investigate the social and educational backgrounds and professional careers of Ottoman ambassadors and consuls, focusing on their personnel records archived in the Ottoman Archives. Through this analysis, the study aims to elucidate how the state's efforts to establish a centralized and institutionalized bureaucratic system, and to emphasize merit-based appointments, contributed to the formation of a distinct professional identity among Ottoman diplomats by the end of the nineteenth century.

Метафорическая концептуализация в текстах международных документов на примере аутентичных текстов Парижского соглашения по климату (2015 г.) на русском, английском и французском языках

The research aims to determine the role of metaphorical concepts in establishing the degree of equivalence of units in authentic texts with invariant content represented by an international treaty in Russian, English, and French from the perspective of the cognitive approach. The article examines authentic texts of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015), a significant international document reflecting the efforts of states to combat global climate change, in the aforementioned languages, taking into account the correspondences of metaphorical concepts and methods of their verbalization identified in the document’s text. The research is novel in that it is the first one to identify the features of equivalence of metaphorical concepts in the texts of international treaties, whose authenticity was established in Russian, English, and French. As a result, it was found that the concepts and methods of their verbalization predominantly coincide in the texts in Russian, English, and French. However, it is worth noting that a greater number of conceptual metaphors verbalized in the text is characteristic of the document in English, while a smaller number is characteristic of the document in French.

The AISP Network of cross-sector data linkage efforts: Results & lessons from a national survey of 40 state and local systems in the US

Objectives and ApproachThis session will share findings from a national survey of 40 state and local cross-sector data linkage efforts using data to impact policy and outcomes across the United States (US). The survey, conducted in February 2023 by Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) at the University of Pennsylvania, captured each effort’s purpose(s) for sharing data (the “why”), approach to linkage (the “how”), and the data sources being integrated (the “what”). Respondents are all current or prospective members of the AISP network, representing a cross-section of systems at different stages of development and engaged in peer exchange. ResultsThe presentation will share results that describe the core purposes of system development and how systems operate; this includes governance structures to institutionalize sharing relationships; staffing, funding sources, and operating budgets; legal frameworks; and technical infrastructure. The presentation will also explore what data systems share, and the role a peer-led community of practice plays in developing and honing approaches to public sector data use. ConclusionsNetwork members have demonstrated widespread impact in their communities. In the last two years, respondents collectively reported that their integrated data enabled 365 reports and briefings for policymakers to affect policy change and 160 research articles to advance knowledge for impact. They also widely reported improved relationships and trust across agencies and improved ability to evaluate what works. ImplicationsThis presentation showcases the impact of the US community of practice in supporting diverse models for impact-oriented data systems.

Explaining state efforts to create Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) agreements

AbstractObjectivesWith the rejuvenated emphasis on nonpoint pollution under the Water Quality Act (WQA) of 1987, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to face an onslaught of lawsuits designed to pressure the EPA to enforce the requirements of Section 319 of the WQA to address nonpoint pollution. Known as Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) agreements, the purpose of these plans was to limit the amount of polluted runoff reaching a state's waterways. While some states took a proactive stance on these plans, other states resisted the implementation of Section 319. This article seeks to understand state choices in the development and implementation of TMDL agreements.MethodsUtilizing a data set spanning state‐level data from 2000 to 2020, we test a novel cross‐sectional time series model employing the number agreements entered into by a state as the dependent variable.ResultsWe find that both political and need explanations are generally supported, while policy need explanations are somewhat more promising.ConclusionsTaken together, the models offer several insights into state choices around TMDL creation. The political model is the weakest, suggesting that TMDLs are not overtly political. Policy needs seem to play a more critical role in the preponderance of TMDL agreements than partisan politics.

Guideline for Promote Basketball Club in Shaanxi China

Background and Aims: To further enrich the learning life of students and cultivate talents with all-round development in ethics, intellect, physicality, social skills, and aesthetics, the State issued the Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework on Students in Compulsory Education and the Burden of Out-of-School Training. The "double reduction" directly restricts the size of subject-based out-of-school training organizations and reduces the number of hours they conduct extracurricular training, which can greatly impact out-of-school training organizations. Based on the development of extracurricular training institutions in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, this study examines the strength of the correlation between the policy context and the development of local sports training institutions. The "Double Reduction" policy refers to the state's efforts to reduce the extracurricular burden on students and the economic pressure on parents while promoting the all-round development of students. As the sports environment improves and schools pay more attention to physical education, the development of basketball training institutions in the policy context is also worth studying. Understanding the development of youth basketball training institutions in Xi'an, Shaanxi under the double reduction policy can provide reference and guidance for cultivating excellent basketball reserves in Xi'an and promote improving China's basketball level. Youth basketball training institutions are an important base for cultivating excellent basketball reserve talents, and understanding their development in the context of the double-reduced policy can help assess the effect of the existing training model on talent cultivation and put forward suggestions for improvement. Methodology: This paper focuses on the youth basketball training institutions in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and adopts the questionnaire survey method and interview method to conduct research. Using the 4M theory and POLC theory, 270 samples, including 20 managers, 50 coaches, and 100 students and parents each, were selected and studied by questionnaire survey method. Summarize the development status and give specific development measures. Finally, the results of the study were given to nine experts for evaluation to obtain a high-quality, scientific management guide for the sustainable development of basketball training organizations in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Results: The measures were screened and finally six specific management guidelines were identified after expert evaluation and recommendations, which were accepted by the experts after validation, and the feasibility of the specific measures was verified. Conclusion: The study finds that the release of policies has a significant impact on the development of organizations. The release of policies may trigger changes in the competitive landscape of the basketball training organization industry, and the changes in the market prompt basketball training organizations to improve their strengths to adapt to the new rules of competition. However, it can also provide guidance and direction for the development direction and focus of basketball training organizations, prompting them to transform and upgrade to grasp new development opportunities. Stricter regulatory standards and requirements have prompted basketball training institutions to strengthen compliance management and improve service quality and standardization.

Advocacy: a reflection on my 30 years of orthopedic practice

As orthopedic surgeons, we have the responsibility for advocating for our patients and our profession, on the local, state, and federal levels. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) created the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons to allow for political advocacy. The Association Political Action Committee, OrthoPAC, was created in 1999 and has become an effective tool in our advocacy committee. The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), along with many orthopedic subspecialty societies, has established an advocacy effort and works with the AAOS through the OrthoPAC as a member of the Advisor’s Circle, which is designed to provide AAOS Members’ group practices and specialty societies with a leadership role within the Political Action Committee of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (Orthopaedic PAC). If we are to preserve individual patient access to specialized musculoskeletal care, we must support state and federal advocacy efforts. This can be in the form of financial support or personal involvement in relationship building. I encourage all members of ASES, especially the younger ones, to support your state orthopedic societies, the ASES, and the AAOS in their advocacy efforts. The well-being of our patients and the future of our profession depend on you.

The gift of sanctions: an analysis of assessments of the Russian economy, 2022–2023

This essay analyzes a few prominent Western assessments, both official and private, of the effect of sanctions on the Russian economy and war effort during the first 18 months after February 2022. It seeks to understand the main goals of sanctions, alongside the facts and causal inferences behind the consensus view that sanctions were highly effective. Such understanding may then help to clarify the relationship between claims made by economist-observers outside Russia and those emerging from Russian sources – notably economists associated with the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) – which drew sharply different inferences from the same facts. We conclude that when applied to a large, resource-rich, technically proficient economy, after a period of shock and adjustments, sanctions are isomorphic to a strict policy of trade protection, industrial policy and capital controls. These are policies that the Russian government could not plausibly have implemented, even in 2022, on its own initiative. Sanctions were, in this sense, a gift to the Russian state and war effort.

РЕГИОНАЛЬНЫЕ МЕХАНИЗМЫ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ СОЦИАЛЬНО- ОБЕСПЕЧИТЕЛЬНЫХ ПРАВ В РАМКАХ СНГ В РЕТРОСПЕКТИВЕ

This article discusses topical issues of the conditions for the emergence of social security pension rights of citizens in regional interstate treaties of the CIS countries on the basis of comparative legal analysis in their retrospective. The purpose of the study involves revealing the features and content of the applied territorial and proportional principles in the implementation of social security rights by citizens of the Commonwealth countries. Problematic issues are the preservation of pension rights and the export (transfer) of pensions, the calculation of pensions that arise when a person carries out labor activities in one state, when a citizen changes his place of residence or moves from one state to another. It is noted that it is necessary to resolve legal conflicts that have arisen by determining the applicable principles for the implementation of pension rights that apply not only to citizens, but to other categories of the population. The author comes to the conclusion that a rational way out of the current situation in the context of the integration of several states is a fair distribution of responsibility according to the principle of proportional responsibility. It is proposed to coordinate the efforts of the CIS states to bring closer together migration, labor, pension and other areas of legislation, which seems to be an important problem for states due to the intensity of migration flows.

Continuous tracking of effort and confidence while listening to speech-in-noise in young and older adults

Reporting discomfort when noise affects listening experience suggests that listeners may be aware, at least to some extent, of adverse environmental conditions and their impact on listening experience. This involves monitoring internal states (effort and confidence). Here we quantified continuous self-report indices that track one’s own internal states and investigated age-related differences in this ability. We instructed two groups of young and older adults to continuously report their confidence and effort while listening to stories in fluctuating noise. Using cross-correlation analyses between the time series of fluctuating noise and those of perceived effort or confidence, we showed that (1) participants modified their assessment of effort and confidence based on variations in the noise, with a 4 s lag; (2) there were no differences between the groups. These findings imply extending this method to other areas, expanding the definition of metacognition, and highlighting the value of this ability for older adults.

Credit in agrarian India: narrative policy struggles over farmer surplus

Debt is fundamental to agrarian life across the world. In India, over half of agricultural households are indebted and borrow from myriad credit sources. Formal institutional credit (e.g., bank loans) has historically, and up to the present day, been proposed as a tool for rural development and to eliminate exploitative informal moneylenders. This is true in India, where despite decades of state policies to displace informal lending using formal credit, informal lending persists and increasing debt is an ever-present symptom of the agrarian crisis. Informal lending made up 30% of farmers’ credit sources in 2019; for farmers who owned less than 0.01 ha of land, this was 71.8%. In this paper we provide an historical examination of the numerous state responses to the proliferation of agrarian debt, surveying lending policy as a state development tool in India. We analyze how moneylending has been treated in different historical periods and the increasing participation of the state (from colonial to present times) in agrarian debt and use a Narrative Policy Analysis to synthesize the underlying “narratives” that characterize evolving policy forms. In the process, we reveal not only a consistent narrative assuming the displacement of informal credit with formal credit, one contradicted by the situation on the ground: an absolute increasing trend in borrowing, and a crucial propagation of the number and variety of credit sources. This we observe to be precisely a result of the largely fruitless state effort to formalize credit and to eliminate informal lending. This persistent discourse that posits formality as a solution to informality, we further conclude, is not only a cultural project of the colonial, post-colonial, and modernization state, but one essential for the circulation and accumulation of capital, enhancing its urgency. The failed effort to eliminate informal lending has resulted, furthermore, in a decline in farmer autonomy and the creation of a state-underwritten struggle − between multiple actors in the credit sector − over the redistribution of agrarian surplus.

How Should the European Court of Human Rights Remedy Violations of Article 18 echr? The Case for Remedial Realignment

Abstract This article assesses whether the European Court of Human Right’s (Court) remedial reasoning in Article 18 European Convention on Human Rights (Convention) judgments coheres with the Court’s merits-based reasoning finding a violation of this particular provision. Article 18 violations have come to highlight structural problems in state parties, most notably complicity from domestic judiciaries and/or state prosecutors in state efforts to restrict Convention rights for anti-democratic ulterior purposes. The article finds that this substantive feature of Article 18 violations does not generally extend to the Court’s approach to formulating remedies and that the Article 18 violation judgments evidence the same remedial oversight generally present in the Court’s broader case law. The article argues, however, that the Court’s remedial approach in Article 18 violation judgments should be highly prescriptive and specific in respect of both individual and general measures on account of the reality that Article 18 serves both individual and constitutional justice and engages the positive dimension of subsidiarity.

Constitutional safeguard research of female equal employment right in China- Based on the perspective of empirical investigation

Employment is the foundation of people's livelihood. As a basic human right, the right to equal employment has always been a top priority for constitutional protection. Female workers are an important part of the economy and society, and their equal employment is an important catalyst for economic development. Women's right to equal employment is an important element in realizing women's personal and social values, as well as an important element of the State's efforts to build a harmonious society. Compared with the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the protection of women's equal rights in employment has made great progress. However, the influence of history, culture and traditional concepts still lingers, and the burden of women's maternity has aggravated the invisible discrimination in employment, while the newly released "three-child" policy has also had a certain impact on equal employment. The phenomenon of women being discriminated against in employment is still not uncommon. Therefore, this paper explores the problems, countermeasures and future development direction of the protection of women's right to equal employment in China from the system of protection of women's right to employment in China's Constitution and other laws and judicial practice. On the one hand, China should improve the existing laws and regulations, improve judicial procedures, define the criteria for determining discrimination in employment, and formulate a special anti-discrimination law; on the other hand, we should strengthen the law enforcement mechanism, and set up a specialized labor inspection and enforcement agency to protect equal employment and a more pro-employment “Equal Employment Commission”.

Investigating the complexity of naloxone distribution: Which policies matter for pharmacies and potential recipients

Despite efforts to expand naloxone access, opioid-related overdoses remain a significant contributor to mortality. We study state efforts to expand naloxone distribution through pharmacies by reducing the non-monetary costs to prescribers, dispensers, and/or potential recipients of naloxone. We find that laws that only address liability costs have small and insignificant effects on the volume of naloxone dispensed through pharmacies. In contrast, we estimate large effects of laws removing the need for patients to obtain prescriptions from traditional prescribers (e.g., primary care physicians): laws authorizing non-patient-specific prescription distribution and laws granting pharmacists prescriptive authority. We test whether areas designated as primary care shortage areas—where it would be costlier to obtain a prescription—were disproportionately impacted. Shortage areas experienced sharper growth in pharmacy naloxone dispensing in states adopting prescriptive authority policies. These gains were primarily due to those facing low out-of-pocket costs, suggesting that price barriers also must be addressed to increase naloxone purchases.