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Understanding, celebrating, sharing. Be part of it!

Iriss is working to raise the profile of the social services workforce by sharing practitioner experiences of working in care and support. We know that often, research about the social services workforce fails to reach those who work most closely with those supported by services, so we need your help to make sure that your voice is heard.

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Understanding and Responding to the Needs of Carers of People with Dementia in the UK, US and Beyond

This research compares the different approaches to supporting carers of people with dementia across the UK, US and beyond.  Carried out by the University of Birmingham, this work explores the role and experience of carers in different national contexts, highlighting good practice examples and making policy and practice recommendations.  Unsurprisingly perhaps, the report highlights just how much we have in common with other countries in trying to make available effective, personalised supports against a backdrop of increased demand and diminishing resource.  Interestingly, the report explores the language of ‘respite’ which it suggests has ‘negative overtones’ and proposes a more creative approache to service provision is needed.




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A Better Understanding of NFPA 70E: Conducting Risk Assessments for Electrical Safety Month

  Rather than a blog on manufacturer’s responsibility, this blog is about risk assessment. Once again it is May and National Electrical Safety Month, sponsored by Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) to raise awareness of




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Teacher pushes for resolution in long-standing lawsuit on school racism

Former principal Minerva Zanca of Pan American High School in Queens allegedly targeted black staffers from 2012-13, calling one a “gorilla” and “nappy-haired," according to a lawsuit filed in 2016 by the federal Justice Department.




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Understanding Nancy Pelosi: She 'Knows Exactly What Her Leverage Is'

Pelosi author Molly Ball says the key to the speaker's success is her mastery of the inside game in politics — building relationships, counting votes, plotting strategy and working around the clock.




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What's on TV Thursday: Last Man Standing on Fox; Coronavirus

What's on TV Thursday, April 30: Coronavirus TV specials; season finales of 'Last Man Standing' on Fox; '60 Days In' on A&E; 'Better Thinks' on FX; 'Cake' on FXX




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After Treating Barely Any Patients for a Massive $7.5 Million Each, 16 Emergency COVID Hospitals Are Standing Down

At a cost of $7.5 million a patient, they were 16 very expensive field hospitals. Yet, according to NPR, those hospitals are now “stand[ing] down.” You probably remember them from headlines early in the pandemic: makeshift medical centers being assembled at breakneck speed by companies contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers in anticipation of…

The post After Treating Barely Any Patients for a Massive $7.5 Million Each, 16 Emergency COVID Hospitals Are Standing Down appeared first on The Western Journal.




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Understanding the dynamics of the Indo-Pacific: US–China strategic competition, regional actors, and beyond

6 November 2019 , Volume 96, Number 1

The first issue of International Affairs in 2020 explores the geopolitics of the 'Indo-Pacific' region.

Kai He and Mingjiang Li

As a geographical concept, ‘Indo-Pacific’ has existed for decades. As a political and strategic concept, it has since 2010 gradually become established in the foreign policy lexicon of some countries, especially Australia, India, Japan and the United States. However, China seems to be reluctant to identify itself as part of the Indo-Pacific; Chinese leaders believe that the US-led Indo-Pacific strategy aims to contain China's rise. While the battle between the two geographical concepts ‘Indo-Pacific’ and ‘Asia–Pacific’ may be fairly easily settled in the future, US–China strategic competition has just begun. Will the Indo-Pacific become a battlefield for US–China rivalry? How will China cope with the US ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ (FOIP) strategy? How will other regional actors respond to the US–China strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific? What are the strategic implications of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ concept for regional order transformation? How will the Indo-Pacific be institutionalized, economically, politically and strategically? This article introduces the January 2020 special issue of International Affairs, which aims to address those questions, using both country-specific and regional perspectives. Seven articles focus on the policy responses of major players (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and ASEAN) to the US FOIP strategy and related US–China rivalry in the region. A further three articles examine the profound implications of Indo-Pacific dynamics for regional institution-building and for geopolitical and geo-economic architecture.




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Understanding South Africa's Political Landscape




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Understanding Decolonization in the 21st Century




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Undercurrents: Episode 46 - Understanding Decolonization, and China’s Response to Coronavirus




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Understanding China’s Evolving Role in Global Economic Governance

Invitation Only Research Event

21 November 2019 - 4:00pm to 22 November 2019 - 5:00pm

The Hague, The Netherlands

Almost four years since it was established, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved 49 projects and proposed 28. The AIIB claims to be more efficient and less bureaucratic than traditional multilateral development banks (MDB’s) which has threatened the existing model of multilateral development finance. At the same time, China’s increased role in previously Western-led economic institutions, such as the WTO and IMF, has raised questions over the future of the international trade order. How will a rising China shape the international institutional order? Where are there opportunities for potential collaboration and what areas pose challenges? And how should other states and international organizations respond?

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. 

Lucy Ridout

Programme Administrator, Asia-Pacific Programme
+44 (0) 207 314 2761




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Understanding the dynamics of the Indo-Pacific: US–China strategic competition, regional actors, and beyond

6 November 2019 , Volume 96, Number 1

The first issue of International Affairs in 2020 explores the geopolitics of the 'Indo-Pacific' region.

Kai He and Mingjiang Li

As a geographical concept, ‘Indo-Pacific’ has existed for decades. As a political and strategic concept, it has since 2010 gradually become established in the foreign policy lexicon of some countries, especially Australia, India, Japan and the United States. However, China seems to be reluctant to identify itself as part of the Indo-Pacific; Chinese leaders believe that the US-led Indo-Pacific strategy aims to contain China's rise. While the battle between the two geographical concepts ‘Indo-Pacific’ and ‘Asia–Pacific’ may be fairly easily settled in the future, US–China strategic competition has just begun. Will the Indo-Pacific become a battlefield for US–China rivalry? How will China cope with the US ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ (FOIP) strategy? How will other regional actors respond to the US–China strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific? What are the strategic implications of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ concept for regional order transformation? How will the Indo-Pacific be institutionalized, economically, politically and strategically? This article introduces the January 2020 special issue of International Affairs, which aims to address those questions, using both country-specific and regional perspectives. Seven articles focus on the policy responses of major players (Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and ASEAN) to the US FOIP strategy and related US–China rivalry in the region. A further three articles examine the profound implications of Indo-Pacific dynamics for regional institution-building and for geopolitical and geo-economic architecture.




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CBD News: Statement from the Executive Secretary, Ahmed Djoghlaf, on the occasion of the 2008 CIC Markhor Award Ceremony for Outstanding Conservation Performance, 27 May 2008, Bonn, Germany.




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CBD News: Statement by the Executive Secretary, Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, at the 28th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention, Strasbourg, France, 24 November 2008.




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CBD News: Statement by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats




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CBD Press Release: Understanding Forest Ecosystems is Key for Successful Climate-Change Mitigation.




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CBD Press Release: BirdLife and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).




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CBD News: Statement by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the Meeting of the Second Standing Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 17 April 2011, Panama City, Panama




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CBD News: Press Release - In the context of the launching of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity, the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding




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CBD News: In conjunction with the 61st meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Government of Switzerland, in partnership with the Japanese presidency of the tent




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CBD Communiqué: Biodiversity Convention signs Memorandum of Understanding with UN-Habitat




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CBD Press Release: UN Biodiversity Chief Signs Memorandum of Understanding with World Future Council




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CBD Press release: Saving oceans and coasts - outstanding political solutions: Future Policy Award 2012 goes to Palau




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CBD News: Bringing international recognition and a substantial monetary prize to three outstanding individuals, nominations are now invited for The MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2014. The call for nominations remains open from 1 March to 31 May 2014.




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CBD News: The Midori Prize for Biodiversity, established by the AEON environmental Foundation, was awarded today to three individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at all levels.




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CBD News: The signature on 15 November 2014 of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations will ensure joint implementation of the Pacific region's Framework for Nature Conservation and Protected Areas in the Pacific Island Region 2014




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CBD News: On 21 March 2015 the CBD Secretariat and the Korea Forest Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding for implementation of the Forest Ecosystem Restoration Initiative.




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Understanding What Kepler Did--Part I




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Understanding Kepler II--Earth's Motion




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Understanding Kepler III--Predecessors




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Semiclassical Standing Waves with Clustering Peaks for Nonlinear Schrodinger Equations

Jaeyoung Byeon, KAIST, and Kazunaga Tanaka, Waseda University - AMS, 2013, 89 pp., Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-9163-6, List: US$71, All AMS Members: US$56.80, MEMO/229/1076

The authors study the following singularly perturbed problem: (-epsilon^2Delta u+V(x)u = f(u)) in (mathbf{R}^N). Their main result is the...




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Understanding the diversity of cancer evolution based on computational simulation

(The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo) Understanding the principles of cancer evolution is important in designing a therapeutic strategy. A research group at The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (IMSUT) announced a new simulation model that describes various modes of cancer evolution in a unified manner.




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£1.2 million awarded to improve our understanding of the Sun

(Northumbria University ) Researchers from Northumbria University have been awarded £1.2m to help advance our understanding of the Sun and its impact on the planets within our solar system.




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Understanding Cybercrime for Better Policing: Regional and Global Challenges

Research Event

18 June 2019 - 9:00am to 5:30pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

In recent years, cybercrime has evolved from a niche technological concern into a prominent global issue with substantial preventative and remedial costs for businesses and governments alike. Despite heavy investment in sophisticated cybersecurity measures and the adoption of several legal, organizational and capacity-building measures, cybercrime remains a major threat which is evolving on a daily basis. Today’s cybercrime is more aggressive, more complex, more organized and – importantly – more unpredictable than ever before.

The challenges posed by cybercrime are experienced acutely by countries undergoing digital transformations: as the level of connectivity rises, so too does the potential for online theft, fraud and abuse. Cybercrime is pervasive but governments can work to limit its impact by creating a resilient overall economy and robust institution, and appropriately equipping law enforcement and the justice system to navigate its novel challenges.

To advance the discourse surrounding these issues, this workshop will assess the current cyber threat landscape and how it is evolving. It will identify the main obstacles encountered by law enforcement, the judiciary and prosecutors in their fight against cybercrime. It will also compare national, regional and global approaches that countries can use to effectively curb cybercrime and tackle its emerging challenges.

Calum Inverarity

Research Analyst and Coordinator, International Security Department
+44 (0) 207 957 5751




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Who’s Afraid of Huawei? Understanding the 5G Security Concerns

9 September 2019

Emily Taylor

Associate Fellow, International Security Programme
Emily Taylor examines the controversy around the Chinese tech giant’s mobile broadband equipment and the different approaches taken by Western countries.

2019-09-06-Huawei.jpg

Huawei's Ox Horn campus in Dongguan, China. Photo: Getty Images.

As countries move towards the fifth generation of mobile broadband, 5G, the United States has been loudly calling out Huawei as a security threat. It has employed alarmist rhetoric and threatened to limit trade and intelligence sharing with close allies that use Huawei in their 5G infrastructure.

While some countries such as Australia have adopted a hard line against Huawei, others like the UK have been more circumspect, arguing that the risks of using the firm’s technology can be mitigated without forgoing the benefits.

So, who is right, and why have these close allies taken such different approaches?

The risks

Long-standing concerns relating to Huawei are plausible. There are credible allegations that it has benefitted from stolen intellectual property, and that it could not thrive without a close relationship with the Chinese state.

Huawei hotly denies allegations that users are at risk of its technology being used for state espionage, and says it would resist any order to share information with the Chinese government. But there are questions over whether it could really resist China’s stringent domestic legislation, which compels companies to share data with the government. And given China’s track record of using cyberattacks to conduct intellectual property theft, there may be added risks of embedding a Chinese provider into critical communications infrastructure.

In addition, China’s rise as a global technological superpower has been boosted by the flow of financial capital through government subsidies, venture and private equity, which reveal murky boundaries between the state and private sector for domestic darlings. Meanwhile, the Belt and Road initiative has seen generous investment by China in technology infrastructure across Africa, South America and Asia.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch or a free network – as Sri Lanka discovered when China assumed shares in a strategic port in return for debt forgiveness; or Mexico when a 1% interest loan for its 4G network came on the condition that 80% of the funding was spent with Huawei.

Aside from intelligence and geopolitical concerns, the quality of Huawei’s products represents a significant cyber risk, one that has received less attention than it deserves.

On top of that, 5G by itself will significantly increase the threat landscape from a cybersecurity perspective. The network layer will be more intelligent and adaptable through the use of software and cloud services. The number of network antennae will increase by a factor of 20, and many will be poorly secured ‘things’; there is no need for a backdoor if you have any number of ‘bug doors’.

Finally, the US is threatening to limit intelligence sharing with its closest allies if they adopt Huawei. So why would any country even consider using Huawei in their 5G infrastructure?

Different situations

The truth is that not every country is free to manoeuvre; 5G technology will sit on top of existing mobile infrastructure.

Australia and the US can afford to take a hard line: their national infrastructure has been largely Huawei-free since 2012. However, the Chinese firm is deeply embedded in other countries’ existing structures – for example, in the UK, Huawei has provided telecommunications infrastructure since 2005. Even if the UK decided tomorrow to ditch Huawei, it cannot just rip up existing 4G infrastructure. To do so would cost a fortune, risk years of delay in the adoption of 5G and limit competition in 5G provisioning.

As a result, the UK has adopted a pragmatic approach resulting from years of oversight and analysis of Huawei equipment, during which it has never found evidence of malicious Chinese state cyber activity through Huawei.

At the heart of this process is the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre, which was founded in 2010 as a confidence-building measure. Originally criticized for ‘effectively policing itself’, as it was run and staffed entirely by Huawei, the governance has now been strengthened, with the National Cyber Security Centre chairing its oversight board.

The board’s 2019 report makes grim reading, highlighting ‘serious and system defects in Huawei’s software engineering and cyber security competence’. But it does not accuse the company of serving as a platform for state-sponsored surveillance.

Similar evidence-based policy approaches are emerging in other countries like Norway and Italy. They offer flexibility for governments, for example by limiting access to some contract competition through legitimate and transparent means, such as security reviews during procurement. The approaches also raise security concerns (both national and cyber) to a primary issue when awarding contracts – something that was not always done in the past, when price was the key driver.

The UK is also stressing the need to manage risk and increase vendor diversity in the ecosystem to avoid single points of failure. A further approach that is beginning to emerge is to draw a line between network ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ components, excluding some providers from the more sensitive ‘core’. The limited rollouts of 5G in the UK so far have adopted multi-provider strategies, and only one has reportedly not included Huawei kit.

Managing the risks to cyber security and national security will become more complex in a 5G environment. In global supply chains, bans based on the nationality of the provider offer little assurance. For countries that have already committed to Huawei in the past, and who may not wish to be drawn into an outright trade war with China, these moderate approaches offer a potential way forward.




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Understanding NATO Obligations Under the NPT

The objective of the project is to understand Alliance obligations within the framework of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament treaties.

Examining obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and exploring new approaches that NATO could adopt to reconcile strategic stability with nuclear disarmament policies which could be introduced at the 2020 NPT Review Conference (RevCon).

The project facilitates the reconciliation of different positions in advance of the RevCon by providing a platform for stakeholders to communicate their respective positions and engage in constructive dialogue. Key research findings and contemporary analysis will be disseminated to officials and the policy community.

Through dialogue and research, the project aims to reduce polarisation in the nuclear field and consequently lay a foundation for increased collaboration during the discussions. It also provides a unique opportunity for NATO countries to explore specific new approaches, including in relation to identifying and analysing relevant geopolitical conditions for nuclear disarmament measures that will inform their inputs into the RevCon and related policy framework discussions.

This project is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.




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Understanding South Africa's Political Landscape

Members Event

14 November 2019 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Event participants

Carien du Plessis, Journalist; Co-Author, Understanding South Africa

James Hamill, Associate Fellow, International Institute for Strategic Studies; Author, Africa's Lost Leader: South Africa's Continental Role Since Apartheid

Martin Plaut, Senior Researcher, Institute of Commonwealth Studies; Co-Author, Understanding South Africa

Chair: Pumela Salela, UK Country Head, Brand South Africa 

President Cyril Ramaphosa led the African National Congress (ANC) to electoral victory in South Africa in May 2019. His promise of rooting out corruption and generating job-creating growth resonated with an electorate scarred by corruption scandals and structural economic and racial inequality.

However, divisions within the ruling party have meant that the delivery of these promises has been slow. Complex and often divisive racial dynamics continue to dominate political discourse especially around land reform and economic transformation.

The country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), faces its own political crisis following the resignation of former leader Mmusi Maimane, bringing into question the role of opposition parties in the young democracy. 

At this event, South African journalists, Martin Plaut and Carien du Plessis, discuss their new book, Understanding South Africa, providing insights into the current and historical trends that define the political fault lines of modern South Africa. Is Ramaphosa shying away from the difficult political decisions necessary to encourage meaningful change in South Africa’s political environment? And how should the international community understand the trends and dynamics that dominate South African politics?

Members Events Team




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Africa’s Long-standing Leaders Are Disappearing

3 January 2020

Dr Alex Vines OBE

Managing Director, Ethics, Risk & Resilience; Director, Africa Programme
Leaders who cling to power are being pushed out across the continent, and the trend looks set to continue in 2020.

2020-01-03-Zim.jpg

A man holds a portrait of Robert Mugabe during his official funeral ceremony. Photo: Getty Images.

Africa’s dinosaur leaders are members of an increasingly small and unstable club. Popular protests last year forced Algeria’s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, out of office after almost 20 years in power, as well as Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, who ruled for 30 years. In 2017, Robert Mugabe was deposed in a military coup (although this was denied) after 40 years. 
And in 2011, mass protests led to the downfall of Tunisia’s president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, after he had been in power for 23 years.

Somewhat smoother are the political transitions in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). José Eduardo dos Santos, after almost 38 years in power, stepped down from office in 2017 as his term ended. So did his younger neighbour, Joseph Kabila, in January 2019, after 18 years in the presidency.

What the six former leaders had in common was that they wanted to remain heads of state and considered succession planning or stepping down only as a last resort. This year will be crucial for the six countries in political transition particularly as the reform-window period is short.

From A to Z 

Algeria: Tens of thousands of protesters have rallied in the capital Algiers and other cities against the December 2019 elections, rejecting what they see as sham transitional politics. A soft landing for Algeria in 2020 is unlikely, and what happens in the year has significant regional implications.

Angola: A transition is under way, led by President João Lourenço. This shift is smoother than many others, but 2020 will be the watershed year. The country has been in economic recession for four years but is predicted to see gross domestic product growth in 2020. Investment and job creation will determine the pace of change. The honeymoon period has ended and there are signs of increasing frustration among the urban youth and the middle class.

DRC: Despite his constitutionally mandated term expiring in December 2016, Joseph Kabila continued his presidency by continuously postponing elections until 30 December 2018. This election saw a three-way contest between the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDSP), the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party and the People’s Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD). Fèlix Tshisekedi of the UDSP was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission on January 10 last year with 38.6% votes. He was followed by Martin Fayulu of the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party, with 34.8%. He denounced the election results. In third place was Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, of the PPRD, a key ally of Kabila.

Although this was the first peaceful transition of power in DRC, there were widespread electoral inconsistencies and some observers believed that Fayulu was the legitimate winner. In 2020 it will become clearer whether a genuine transition from Kabila’s influence is taking place.

Sudan: More promising than the DRC or Algeria, a 39-month transitional administration led by a technocratic prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, has been established and enjoys domestic and international goodwill. This honeymoon is likely to be short, and the transitional administration needs to show results. The United States can help by removing Sudan from its terror list, thereby lifting the de facto ban on Sudan’s access to the dollar-based international financial system.

Tunisia: A low-profile, conservative law professor beat a charismatic media magnate released from prison in the presidential election runoff in October 2019. Kais Saied won 70% of the vote and his victory and the putting together of a new governing coalition is another step forward in an open-ended democratic transition that started in 2011 after Ben Ali fell.

Zimbabwe: This is a deeply troubled transition with an acute foreign exchange liquidity crisis, a deteriorating economy, hyperinflation and underperforming government. The state’s clinics and hospitals are closed or turn away patients as medical supplies run out and the doctors’ strike over decimated wages continues. There are power outages and almost half of the people face hunger and starvation as a result of drought and the economic crisis.

Zimbabwe’s 2020 looks bleak, a far cry from the euphoria of two years ago when a “military assisted transition” removed Mugabe and replaced him with Emmerson Mnangagwa.

More changes coming

So what do these political developments in 2019 tell us more broadly?

Long-standing leaders have been persistent in Africa, despite the end of single-party rule in favour of a multiparty system. About a fifth of all African heads of state since independence can be classed as long-standing leaders — in power for more than a decade — and only five countries have never experienced one. But the trend is in decline.

It remains most resilient in central Africa and in the Great Lakes regions. Cracks are appearing in their citadels in Malabo and Kampala, but in 2019 Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo celebrated 40 years in power and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni 33 years.

Will there be any more departures from the dinosaurs club in 2020?

One of the shortest serving members of this club, President Pierre Nkurunziza (14 years in power) has said he will not stand for the 2020 elections in Burundi, although this is uncertain given that a 2018 constitutional referendum could allow him to stay in power until 2034. Togo’s Faure Gnassingbé (14 years in power) will stand for re-election to the presidency again after Parliament in 2019 approved a constitutional change permitting him to potentially stay in office until 2030.

Amending constitutions to change term limits so that incumbent leaders can run for office is a favoured tactic. Rwanda’s Paul Kagame (19 years in office) and the Republic of Congo’s Denis Sassou Nguesso (25 years in power) have done this. But Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki has never held an election during his 16 years in power.

Attempts at dynasties have been less successful, such as with Grace Mugabe in Zimbabwe or Gamal Mubarak in Egypt, but Obiang is grooming his playboy son Teodorin to succeed him and Gabon’s Ali Bongo and Togo’s Gnassingbé both succeeded their fathers.

The year is a reminder that more of these long-standing leaders will, in 2020 and beyond, step down or die. Most long-standing leaders in Africa are over the age of 70, with Paul Biya, aged 86, having served 37 years as Cameroon’s president.

Some former leaders capitulated under internal pressure: in Algeria, Sudan, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. Only in Angola and the DRC was a transition process organized as part of an elite bargain.

What the political transitions have in common is that honeymoons are short and that, whether they are led by interim administrations or elected leaders, they need to deliver political and socioeconomic improvements to succeed, but have inherited shambolic economies. Their success depends on accountable political leadership and domestic and international support.

This article was originally published by the Mail & Guardian.




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Understanding China’s Evolving Role in Global Economic Governance

Invitation Only Research Event

21 November 2019 - 4:00pm to 22 November 2019 - 5:00pm

The Hague, The Netherlands

Almost four years since it was established, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved 49 projects and proposed 28. The AIIB claims to be more efficient and less bureaucratic than traditional multilateral development banks (MDB’s) which has threatened the existing model of multilateral development finance. At the same time, China’s increased role in previously Western-led economic institutions, such as the WTO and IMF, has raised questions over the future of the international trade order. How will a rising China shape the international institutional order? Where are there opportunities for potential collaboration and what areas pose challenges? And how should other states and international organizations respond?

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. 

Lucy Ridout

Programme Administrator, Asia-Pacific Programme
+44 (0) 207 314 2761




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The rule of law and maritime security: understanding lawfare in the South China Sea

4 September 2019 , Volume 95, Number 5

Douglas Guilfoyle

Does the rule of law matter to maritime security? One way into the question is to examine whether states show a discursive commitment that maritime security practices must comply with international law. International law thus provides tools for argument for or against the validity of certain practices. The proposition is thus not only that international law matters to maritime security, but legal argument does too. In this article, these claims will be explored in relation to the South China Sea dispute. The dispute involves Chinese claims to enjoy special rights within the ‘nine-dash line’ on official maps which appears to lay claim to much of the South China Sea. Within this area sovereignty remains disputed over numerous islands and other maritime features. Many of the claimant states have engaged in island-building activities, although none on the scale of China. Ideas matter in such contests, affecting perceptions of reality and of what is possible. International law provides one such set of ideas. Law may be a useful tool in consolidating gains or defeating a rival's claims. For China, law is a key domain in which it is seeking to consolidate control over the South China Sea. The article places the relevant Chinese legal arguments in the context of China's historic engagement with the law of the sea. It argues that the flaw in China's approach has been to underestimate the extent to which it impinges on other states' national interests in the maritime domain, interests they conceptualize in legal terms.




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Standing Behind People

    You are the, Reduction, Sweet wine, the Product of every, Human Being, Behind you, and That is all; Behind every, Great human, is God, Behind every great, Man, a woman A woman, a man, A man, a man and, A woman, a woman, you Are the original ancestor, You. ♦Picture – 500Px♦ -short […]




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Diabetes Insipidus - the danger of misunderstanding diabetes

Diabetes is synonymous with sugar, but diabetes insipidus, "water diabetes", can't be forgotten. Between 2009 and 2016, 4 people died in hospital in England, when lifesaving treatment for the condition was not given. In this podcast, we hear some practical tips for non-specialists to aid diagnosis, and how patients should be managed during...




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Understanding Diabetic Neuropathy--From Subclinical Nerve Lesions to Severe Nerve Fiber Deficits: A Cross-Sectional Study in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Healthy Control Subjects

Studies on magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) in diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) have found proximal sciatic nerve lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional relevance of sciatic nerve lesions in DPN, with the expectation of correlations with the impairment of large-fiber function. Sixty-one patients with type 2 diabetes (48 with and 13 without DPN) and 12 control subjects were enrolled and underwent MRN, quantitative sensory testing, and electrophysiological examinations. There were differences in mechanical detection (Aβ fibers) and mechanical pain (A fibers) but not in thermal pain and thermal detection clusters (C fibers) among the groups. Lesion load correlated with lower Aα-, Aβ-, and A-fiber but not with C-fiber function in all participants. Patients with lower function showed a higher load of nerve lesions than patients with elevated function or no measurable deficit despite apparent DPN. Longer diabetes duration was associated with higher lesion load in patients with DPN, suggesting that nerve lesions in DPN may accumulate over time and become clinically relevant once a critical amount of nerve fascicles is affected. Moreover, MRN is an objective method for determining lower function mainly in medium and large fibers in DPN.




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Understanding the Policy Context for Migrant Return and Reintegration

In advance of the December 2018 adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration and its commitment to facilitate the return, readmission, and reintegration of migrants, this webinar examines the policies, practices, and contextual factors that make compulsory returns such a difficult issue for international cooperation, and the programs that are being implemented to make reintegration of returnees sustainable.




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Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting With Standing or Walking Attenuates the Postprandial Metabolic Response in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Acute Study

Joseph Henson
Jan 1, 2016; 39:130-138
IDF-ADA Translational Symposium




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Leukocyte Telomere Length, DNA Oxidation, and Risk of Lower-Extremity Amputation in Patients With Long-standing Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE

Telomere shortening and DNA oxidation are associated with premature vascular aging, which may be involved in lower-extremity amputation (LEA). We sought to investigate whether leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and plasma 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a biomarker of DNA oxidation, were associated with LEA in subjects with type 1 diabetes at high vascular risk.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

LTL (quantitative PCR) and plasma 8-OHdG concentrations (immunoassay method) were assessed at baseline in the GENEDIAB (Génétique de la Néphropathie Diabétique) type 1 diabetes cohort. Logistic and Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted to estimate odds ratio (OR) (at baseline) and hazard ratio (HR) (during follow-up), with related 95% CI, by increasing biomarker tertiles (T1, T2, T3).

RESULTS

Among 478 participants (56% male, mean ± SD age 45 ± 12 years and diabetes duration 29 ± 10 years), 84 patients had LEA at baseline. Baseline history of LEA was associated with shorter LTL (OR for T2 vs. T1 0.62 [95% CI 0.32–1.22] and for T3 vs. T1 0.41 [0.20–0.84]) but not with plasma 8-OHdG (1.16 [0.56–2.39] and 1.24 [0.61–2.55], respectively). New cases of LEA occurred in 34 (12.3%) participants during the 10-year follow-up. LTL were shorter (HR T2 vs. T1 0.25 [95% CI 0.08–0.67] and T3 vs. T1 0.29 [0.10–0.77]) and plasma 8-OHdG higher (2.20 [0.76–7.35] and 3.11 [1.07–10.32]) in participants who developed LEA during follow-up compared with others. No significant interaction was observed between biomarkers on their association with LEA.

CONCLUSIONS

We report the first independent association between LTL shortening and excess risk of LEA in type 1 diabetes. High plasma 8-OHdG was also associated with incident LEA but partly dependent on cofounding variables.




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