Union World Research Articles

All Roads Lead to Rome? Pope Pius XII and Non-Confessional Internationalism During and After the Second World War (1944–1948)

Religion is the great absentee in the history of internationalism. Earlier studies have begun to highlight the critical role played by religious internationalism in the making of the modern world, but the relations between non-confessional internationalism and religious actors have, to date, been completely overlooked. This article explores the relationship between non-confessional internationalism and Catholicism, with the intention of enriching both the history of internationalism and that of Catholicism in the twentieth century. Specifically, it focuses on the relationship between a number of non-confessional internationalist actors – from the Paneuropean Union and other world and European federalist movements to war refugees – and Pope Pius XII, between 1944 and 1948. Based on the recently opened Vatican archives, the following pages address three fundamental issues: (1) What did the Pope represent in the internationalist imagination? (2) Why did non-confessional internationalists seek contact with him? (3) How did the Pope respond to the requests for support that he received? As a whole, the requests for support examined in this paper clearly show the centrality of Pius XII in the imagination – and strategies – of non-confessional internationalism in the 1940s, including popular internationalism. Between 1944 and 1948, all roads really seemed to lead to Rome.

Study on simultaneous determination of OCPs, PCBs and PBDEs in fish sample: application for marine fish tissues collected from Hai Phong province

In this work, a GC-MS/MS-based analytical method using accelerated solvent extraction combined with multi-layer silica gel column for sample preparation was developed to simultaneously determine 20 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), 28 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 8 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in fish tissue. The method detection limits (MDLs) were achieved in the range of 0.053 ng/g (α-chlordane) – 1.65 ng/g (δ-BHC), 0.07 ng/g (PCB-209) – 1.84 ng/g (PCB-28), 0.323 ng/g (BDE-209) – 0.796 ng/g (BDE-47) for OCPs, PCBs and PBDEs, respectively. Intra-day and inter-day repeatability of the analytical signal (peak area) were below 10.5% and 12.4%, correspondingly. The overall recovery was investigated by spiking experiments and ranged from 70.9 to 114%. The confirmation of this developed method was assessed by analysis of the standard reference material (SRM-1947) sample. The measured concentrations of target compounds were within the range of the certified values. This developed method was applied for analysis of OCPs, PCBs and PBDEs in five fish tissues collected randomly from local markets at Hai Phong province. Their concentrations (<MDL – 206 ng/g for OCPs, <MDL – 20.7 ng/g for PCBs and <MDL – 66.7 ng/g for PBDEs) were lower than the maximum residue levels permitted by European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization.

Performance Science Domains: Contemporary Strategies for Teams Preparing for the Rugby World Cup.

As the start of the 10th Rugby Union World Cup approaches, performance staff will be working on the final elements of their teams' preparation. Much of this planning and preparation will be underpinned by the latest performance science research. In this invited commentary, we discuss contemporary performance science research in rugby union centered around 4 key performance domains. First, we outline a systematic approach to developing an overall understanding of the game demands and how performance staff can enhance the players' preparedness for competition. We then move on to outline our understanding of the training science domain, followed by a brief overview of effective recovery strategies at major tournaments. Finally, we outline research in the area of competition-day strategies and how they can positively impact players' readiness to compete. Evaluating a team's preparation for the Rugby Union World Cup can be achieved by mapping their performance plan based on the 4 domains outlined above.

Children deserve simple, short, safe, and effective treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis

Children deserve simple, short, safe, and effective treatment for rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis

The epidemiology of head injuries at 2019 Rugby Union World Cup

ABSTRACT Introduction The sequelae of concussion are of growing concern within Rugby. World Rugby has introduced rule changes to improve player welfare and reduce head injury frequency. We aimed to report the incidence of head injuries and head injury assessment (HIA) at the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC). Methods We reviewed all 45 tournament matches and recorded the number of head injuries, the injured player’s position, and the mechanism of injury; whether the player had an HIA; and if they returned to play following injury. We compared these findings with previous RWCs. Results We recorded 68 head injuries (1.33/game). Thirty-six players (52.9%) were removed from the field of play for an HIA. Of these, 23 (63.9%) failed and therefore considered to have concussion. The head injury rate in 2019 was 37.8 per 1000 player hours, which increased from previous tournaments (22.0 in 2015, 14.6 in 2011, and 4.7 in 2007). The concussion rate was 23 per 1000 player hours in 2019, which was lower than 29 in 2015. In 2019, 63.9% of HIAs were failed compared to 48.7% in 2015. We identified 17 cases where medical staff did not attend to a player suffering a head injury on-field. Of these, four players underwent an HIA after the match doctor reviewed the incident. Conclusion We recorded a higher rate of head injuries, and a player was more likely to fail their HIA than in previous tournaments. These findings may represent a greater awareness from medical staff and the benefits of education. However, 25% of head injuries not receiving an initial on-field assessment provide room for improvement.

The financial challenges of hosting sports events: a problem of insufficient separation between decision-making and decision-control

ABSTRACT Research question: This article aims to explain that poorly functioning separation between decision-making, decision-control, and risk-bearing is a fundamental reason for the financial underperformance of major or large sport events. We look at empirical data from four major sports events hosted in Norway: The 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, the 2011 International Ski Federation (FIS) World Skiing Championship, the 2014 FIDE Chess Olympiad, and the 2017 International Cycling Union (UCI) World Road Cycling Championships. All these events suffered financially. Research methods: The study data were collected from 66 semi-structured interviews and different types of documents, like guides and reports filed by different stakeholders, applications for financial support, collaboration agreements, protocols of meetings, e-mail correspondence, financial statements, and budgeting documents. Results and findings: Through an examination of the previous literature, our analysis confirms drivers and symptoms of financial problems at sport events. These are: the exaggerated focus on legitimising the event, soft-budget practices, interference by political interests, and so on. We argue that many of these factors could have been handled better if a more consequent separation of risk-bearing, decision-making, and decision-control was in place. Implications: We propose a better separation between the decision-making and decision-control function, by means of a permanent and independent entity that is responsible for the decision-control function. Such an institution could enhance knowledge transfer, contribute competence and skills, and improve the financial outcome of a sports events.

The persistence of partition: Boundary-making, imperialism, and international law

This article implores political geographers to engage with the sub-discipline's imperial roots in which international law was foundational. It does so by revisiting the practice of partition – defined here as an imposed boundary – which remains central to historical and current-day imperialism. This is the case, both regarding longstanding partitions, such as Northern Ireland, Kashmir, the Chagos Islands/British Indian Ocean Territory, Cyprus, Korea, and Western Sahara, and with regard to proposals to impose new partitions in Kosovo, Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, Palestine, and in the South China Sea. By adopting an historical perspective on the geopolitics of bordering, partition can be understood as an imposed boundary, in which the negotiators, to the extent they were consulted, were not presented with a free choice. Partitions in colonial situations only became illegal during the height of decolonization and the Cold War confrontation with the West, when the Soviet Union and Third World succeeded in modifying international law in a way that required the colonial powers to obtain the consent of the representatives of the communities whose territories they proposed to partition. As the world enters a more uncertain period, with increasing geopolitical competition, partition could make a comeback, in various guises, in which it may become necessary to pass judgment on the legality of partition, and not just its efficacy.

The role of digital skill in mitigating digital divide: evidences from Asia-Pacific region

PurposeThis paper aims to make a modest attempt to classify the Asia-Pacific countries in terms of the access to information and communication technology (ICT) to unearth the prevalence of digital divide (if any) in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to that, this paper also examines the role played by the digital skill in bridging the digital divide in the context of Asia–Pacific countries.Design/methodology/approachSecondary data on 43 Asia-Pacific countries for the period from 2012 to 2017 was collected from International Telecommunication Union (ITU) database and World Development Indicators, World Bank. K-means clustering technique was applied to explore the natural grouping of the Asia-Pacific countries based on ICT access. The role of digital/ICT skill in narrowing the access-based digital divide was investigated using panel data regression technique.FindingsClustering of countries suggested a significant difference amongst the Asia-Pacific countries in terms of ICT access, signifying the prevalence of access based digital divide. Digital skill played pivotal role in promoting ICT access and thereby reducing the digital divide during the period of the study. Per capita income level, level of education, openness of the economy and urbanisation were observed to be the determining factors in reducing the digital divide during the period of study in the Asia-Pacific region.Originality/valueThe study makes an unique attempt to explore the role of digital/ICT skill in tapering the access-based digital divide in the context of Asia-Pacific region.

Líos que esclarecer. Política y faccionalismo durante el primer peronismo en Mendoza, 1945-1955

Este artículo describe la vida interna de un peronismo del interior del país a través del seguimiento de las dinámicas de sus principales actores políticos, provenientes del radicalismo y allegados al mundo sindical vernáculo. Mediante el análisis de conflictos y acuerdos en torno a momentos electorales y de disputa partidaria en la provincia de Mendoza, se constata cómo fue transformándose el peronismo en un espacio local entre 1945 y 1955. El principal aporte del trabajo es su llamado de atención para pensar a los actores como partícipes activos de la configuración de disputas y soluciones situadas que los involucraron. Se sostiene que si el peronismo fue con el tiempo adoptando modalidades más enrevesadas de lidiar con los problemas internos fue también como consecuencia de conveniencias y acomodamientos de los propios actores provinciales que coyuntural y parcialmente se beneficiaban de esas resoluciones en una variedad de situaciones que requieren ser esclarecidas en cada caso. Se trabaja a partir del análisis documental de prensa gráfica, desde una perspectiva de historia pragmática sobre las fuentes, es decir, desde un enfoque que las considera, ante todo, como una reivindicación en el presente de la acción que les dio origen.

ParlTech: Transformation Framework for the Digital Parliament

Societies are entering the age of technological disruption, which also impacts governance institutions such as parliamentary organizations. Thus, parliaments need to adjust swiftly by incorporating innovative methods into their organizational culture and novel technologies into their working procedures. Inter-Parliamentary Union World e-Parliament Reports capture digital transformation trends towards open data production, standardized and knowledge-driven business processes, and the implementation of inclusive and participatory schemes. Nevertheless, there is still a limited consensus on how these trends will materialize into specific tools, products, and services, with added value for parliamentary and societal stakeholders. This article outlines the rapid evolution of the digital parliament from the user perspective. In doing so, it describes a transformational framework based on the evaluation of empirical data by an expert survey of parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators. Basic sets of tools and technologies that are perceived as vital for future parliamentary use by intra-parliamentary stakeholders, such as systems and processes for information and knowledge sharing, are analyzed. Moreover, boundary conditions for development and implementation of parliamentary technologies are set and highlighted. Concluding recommendations regarding the expected investments, interdisciplinary research, and cross-sector collaboration within the defined framework are presented.

Infectious Diseases Outbreak Management Tool for endurance mass participation sporting events: an international effort to counteract the COVID-19 spread in the endurance sport setting

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable economic damage throughout the world in addition to a severe health crisis. Social distancing is the main preventative measure for person to person transmission...

Follow-up of Acute Respiratory Disorders in Cyclists Competing in the 100th Giro d'Italia.

Acute respiratory disorder is a common sub-clinical condition affecting elite cyclists. Monitoring the perturbations of the immunological cells in the respiratory tract, indicative of a likely proinflammatory state, during an International Cycling Union world tour is a challenging task. The aim of this study was to follow up on the sign and symptoms of upper way respiratory infections with or without asthma, using non-invasive methods, during a 21-day race (100° Giro d'Italia, 2017). Nine male elite cyclists of the Bahrain Merida Team were evaluated before the training season and daily during the race. Clinical history, skin prick and spirometric test, acute respiratory symptoms were measured using validated questionnaires, and values of fraction of exhaled nitric oxide were collected longitudinally. Four of the 9 athletes had allergies with/or consistent abnormal spirometric curves before the race. During the race, 5 athletes had a fraction of exhaled nitric oxide values >20 ppb which correlated with respiratory symptoms collected through questionnaires. These were related to the environmental characteristics of the places travelled through in the race. The athletes with a predisposition to chronic respiratory inflammation in the pre-competitive season were more likely to develop acute respiratory symptoms during the race.

Eleven Years' Monitoring of the World's Most Successful Male Biathlete of the Last Decade.

To report the changes in the training characteristics, performance, and heart-rate variability (HRV) of the world's most successful male biathlete of the last decade. During the analyzed 11-year (2009-2019) period, the participant won 7 big crystal globes, corresponding to the winner of the International Biathlon Union World Cup. The training characteristics are reported as yearly volume (in hours) of low-intensity training (LIT), moderate- and high-intensity training, and speed and strength training. Performance was quantified by the number of World Cup top-3 positions per season. HRV was expressed as low- and high-frequency spectral power (in milliseconds squared), root-mean-square difference of successive R-R interval (in milliseconds), and heart rate (in beats per minute). The training volume increased from 530 to ∼700hours per year in 2009-2019, with a large polarization in training intensity distribution (ie,LIT 86.3% [2.9%]; moderate-intensity training 3.4% [1.5%]; high-intensity training 4.0% [0.7%]; strength 6.3% [1.6%]). The number of top-3 positions increased from 2 to 24-26 in 2009-2018 but decreased to 6 in 2019. The mean supine values in the root-mean-square difference of successive R-R interval and high-frequency spectral power divided by heart rate increased until 2015, which were stable over 2016-2018 but decreased in 2019. The number of top-3 positions was related to the total (r = .66, P = .02) and LIT (r = .92, P < .001) volume and to several markers of supine parasympathetic activity. The improvement in performance of the participant was mainly determined by the progressive increase in training volume, especially performed at low intensity, and was correlated to parasympathetic activity markers. This case study confirms the effectiveness of the training method, with a large amount of LIT in an elite endurance athlete, and of regular HRV monitoring.

Культурно-исторические установки студентов гуманитарных и технических специализаций

The article is devoted to the study of cultural and historical attitudes of students. The attitudes of students to the period of existence, causes and consequences of the collapse of the USSR as the main topic are investigated. The study used two versions of the questionnaire developed for this purpose: an abbreviated one, containing 14 questions and expanded version based on it, containing 50 questions. The expanded version of the questionnaire in particular allowed to obtain data on students perception of the problem of the existence of the people as a cultural and historical phenomenon, the problem of the existence of sovereign countries, democracy, the possibility of creating a union world state and a number of others. The article presents the results concerning the connection of cultural and historical attitudes of students with their socio-demographic characteristics.

Warm-up strategies of elite triathletes competing in the International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series and Paratriathlon events: A case study

Warm-up strategies of elite triathletes competing in the International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series and Paratriathlon events: A case study

Zea maize reference materials for genetically modified organism detection in Mexico.

Zea maize reference materials for genetically modified organism detection in Mexico.

Usage Analysis and Evaluation of Slab Track Constructions

Slab track is one of the technical possibilities to achieve the following goals: increase the conductivity of a railway, increase the highest permitted train speed, reduce the cost of railway maintenance, and increase the railway lifetime. However, the abundance of slab road constructions that occurred during the development stages presents a challenge to railway operators, designers and researchers, about the selection of a right slab track and establishing requirements to it. The present article analyses the ballastless track constructions that are used in the European Union and other world countries. The market is analysed, and a comparative evaluation of the ballastless track construction is carried out, based on the quality and price, by rating and providing the evaluation of usability and recommendations.

A baseline assessment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within European Student Union web environments

The world of student unions is under-researched, particularly relating to global issues and challenges, despite them holding a large proportion of the future workforce. At present, the European Students Union (ESU) has a duty of care to approximately 15 million European students, with subsequent policies and information. This paper addresses the disparity between these areas, with a specific focus on the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals - in partnership with the UK National Union of Students, under the Dissertations for Good Programme. An innovative web mining method was created and refined over a 10-week data collection period on ESU public web domains using websites from January 2014-18. A pre-determined selection of seventeen key terms were used to quantify the overall knowledge and understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals on a country by country basis, with the UK National Union of Students as a control during the study. This resulted in the successful analysis of 39 ESUs, showing a wide range of keyword abundance, knowledge depth and breadth across member nations. 89% of all key term sites were located within the UK & Switzerland unions, creating 86% of all key terms found – highlighting disparity against developments in European Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). To conclude, this research has highlighted both the lack of visual representation of the Sustainable Development Goals to students and therefore, the variation in education quality across nations, allowing for potential inequality of sustainability skillsets required by graduates on a global scale to tackle global challenges.

Commission 38 (Exchange of astronomers) and Commission 46 (Teaching of astronomy): two commissions that played a unique role in the history and development of the IAU

AbstractThe founding and development of two commissions of the IAU that played a unique role in IAU history are traced. Commission 38 for the Exchange of astronomers was founded in 1946 with Frederick Stratton as first president, and it expended funds (initially granted by UNESCO) for astronomers to travel on exchange visits. Commission 46 for the Teaching of astronomy was founded in 1964 with Evry Schatzmann as first president. This was a time of rapidly growing interest in the IAU for teaching astronomy and in due course for promoting astronomy in developing countries. For a while, both commissions operated under the wing of the Executive Committee. Their role was unique as they were the only IAU commissions to have their own budget, as well as aspiring to bring about social change in the astronomical community. By 2000 both commissions merged into C46 (Astronomy education and development) and by that time various programmes such as the International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA), the working group World-wide Development of Astronomy (WWDA) and the working group Teaching Astronomy for Development (TAD), which grew out of the Visiting Lecturers’ Program (VLP), were all run by C46. When the IAU established the Office of Astronomy for Development in 2011, many of these functions were removed from the commission and in any case C46 ceased to exist in 2015 when all the old commissions were disestablished. In 2015 the Office for Young Astronomers took over the running of the ISYA. The history of C38 and C46 represents a time of active change in the way the IAU was engaging with people. It was more than just a union for scientific research, but in the world of scientific unions, it was remarkable for taking an active hands-on role in implementing social change. In the history of these two commissions, the Swiss astronomer Edith Müller played a leading dynamic role. She served as president of C46 (1967-73), of C38 (1985-88) as well as IAU General Secretary (1976-79).

Nutritional intake and body composition changes in a UCI World Tour cycling team during the Tour of Spain

The aim of this study was to quantify the food intake of an International Cyclist Union (UCI) World Tour professional cyclist team and to analyse changes in body composition during the Tour of Spain. Nine male professional road cyclists (31.3 ± 3.0 years) volunteered to participate in the study. Nutritional data were collected each day throughout the 3-week Tour by two trained investigators who weighed the food ingested by the cyclists. Mean nutritional intake of the cyclists was as follows: carbohydrate, 12.5 ± 1.8 g/kg/day of body weight (BW) (65.0 ± 5.9%); fat, 1.5 ± 0.5 g/kg/day BW (17.9 ± 5.6%); and protein, 3.3 ± 0.3 g/kg/day BW (17.1 ± 1.6%). Intake of all micronutrients, except for folate, vitamin D and potassium (which were 78.7%, 46% and 84% of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), respectively), exceeded the RDA. Height, weight, skinfolds, circumferences and diameters were taken following the guidelines outlined by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry. Body density, body fat percentage, muscle mass, total muscle mass and fat mass of the arms and thighs were calculated. Percentage body fat, fat mass and upper arm fat mass significantly decreased (p < .05) after the Tour independent of the equation method used in the calculations. Total muscle mass remained unchanged. Generally, this sample of cyclists consumed more protein and less fat than the recommended amount and had low weight, BMI and fat mass. It is suggested that sports nutritionists design personalised diets in order to maintain a correct proportion of nutrients as well as controlling possible anthropometrical changes that could affect performance.