Labour Law as Human Rights Law: A Critique of the Use of ‘Dignity’ by Freedland and Kountouris

In their recent book, The Legal Construction of Personal Work Relations, Mark Freedland and Nicola Kountouris present an ambitious study of the personal scope of (what they would not want to call) ‘employment’ law. The book does this within a broader argument that calls for the reconceptualization of labour law as a whole, and it is this broader argument on which I shall focus in this chapter. Their aim, in urging us to see labour law through the lens of ‘dignity’ is to bring labour law and human rights law into closer alignment than has sometimes been the case in the past. Increasingly, dignity is seen as providing a, sometimes the, foundation of human rights law, particularly in Europe. I shall suggest that whilst the aim of constructing a new set of foundations for labour law is a worthy and increasingly urgent task, the concepts on which Freedland and Kountouris seek to build their project pose significant difficulties. In particular, their espousal of ‘dignity’ presents problems that must be addressed if their reconceptualization is not to prove a blind alley.

Knowledge Exchange, Spatial Analysis & Healthy Urban Environments (KESUE): Project Report

The Knowledge Exchange, Spatial Analysis and Healthy Urban Environments (KESUE) project has extended work previously undertaken by a QUB team of inter-disciplinary researchers engaged with the Physical Activity in the Regeneration of Connswater (PARC) project (Tully et al, 2013). The PARC project focussed on parts of East Belfast to assess the health impact of the Connswater Community Greenway. The KESUE project has aimed to extend some of the tools used initially in East Belfast so that they have data coverage of all of Belfast and Derry-Londonderry. The purpose of this has been to enable the development of evidence and policy tools that link features of the built environment with physical activity in these two cities. The project has used this data to help shape policy decisions in areas such as physical activity, park management, public transport and planning.

Working with a range of local partners who part-funded the project (City Councils in Belfast and Derry-Londonderry, Public Health Agency, Belfast Healthy Cities and Department of Regional Development), this project has mapped all the footpaths in the two cities (covering 37% of the NI population) and employed this to develop evidence used in strategies related to healthy urban planning. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the footpath network has been used as a basis for a wide range of policy-relevant analyses including pedestrian accessibility to public facilities, site options for new infrastructure and assessing how vulnerable groups can access services such as pharmacies. Key outputs have been Accessibility Atlases and maps showing how walkability of the built environment varies across the two cities.

In addition to generating this useful data, the project included intense engagement with potential users of the research, which has led to its continued uptake in a number of policies and strategies, creating a virtuous circle of research, implementation and feedback. The project has proved so valuable to Belfast City Council that they have now taken on one of the researchers to continue the work in-house.

The Illusions of Post-Feminism, Ghosts of Gender and the Discourses of Law

This article seeks to consider evidence of post-feminist and "post-equality" gender narratives contained in the discourses of law in the UK and European contexts. Analysis of perennial ghosts of gender in the areas of gender-neutrality in policy, legislative regulation of sexual crimes, and the adjudication of gendered issues by judges will be undertaken in order to renew and reinstate the focus of the legal feminist project and advocate for continued scrutiny in these three practical areas.

WHO guidelines for a healthy diet and mortality from cardiovascular disease in European and American elderly: the CHANCES project

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents a leading cause of mortality worldwide, especially in the elderly. Lowering the number of CVD deaths requires preventive strategies targeted on the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to generate evidence on the association between WHO dietary recommendations and mortality from CVD, coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke in the elderly aged ≥60 y.

DESIGN: We analyzed data from 10 prospective cohort studies from Europe and the United States comprising a total sample of 281,874 men and women free from chronic diseases at baseline. Components of the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI) included saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, mono- and disaccharides, protein, cholesterol, dietary fiber, and fruit and vegetables. Cohort-specific HRs adjusted for sex, education, smoking, physical activity, and energy and alcohol intakes were pooled by using a random-effects model.

RESULTS: During 3,322,768 person-years of follow-up, 12,492 people died of CVD. An increase of 10 HDI points (complete adherence to an additional WHO guideline) was, on average, not associated with CVD mortality (HR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.86, 1.03), CAD mortality (HR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.14), or stroke mortality (HR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.88, 1.03). However, after stratification of the data by geographic region, adherence to the HDI was associated with reduced CVD mortality in the southern European cohorts (HR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.79, 0.96; I(2) = 0%) and in the US cohort (HR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.83, 0.87; I(2) = not applicable).

CONCLUSION: Overall, greater adherence to the WHO dietary guidelines was not significantly associated with CVD mortality, but the results varied across regions. Clear inverse associations were observed in elderly populations in southern Europe and the United States.

Promoter methylation correlates with reduced Smad4 expression in advanced prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent growth inhibitor in a wide range of cell types. A transducer of TGF-beta signaling known as Mothers against decapentaplegic homologue 4 (Smad4) is a known tumor suppressor found on chromosome 18q21.1 and is typically inactivated by deletion or mutation in pancreatic and colorectal cancers. The purpose of the article is to investigate Smad4 expression, gene copy number and methylation status in advanced cases of prostate cancer.

METHODS: We have employed Methylation Specific PCR (MSP) to identify methylation sites within the Smad4 promoter and combined this with quantitative real-time PCR to look for correlates between methylation status and Smad4 expression and to examine androgen receptor (AR) expression. Bacterial artificial chromosome-comparative genomic hybridization (BAC-CGH) has been used to look for genomic amplifications and deletions which may also contribute to expression changes.

RESULTS: We fail to find evidence of genomic deletions or amplifications affecting the Smad4 locus on chromosome 18 but show a correlation between promoter methylation and the loss of Smad4 expression in the same material. We confirm that the AR locus on the X chromosome is amplified in 30% of the advanced clinical samples and that this correlates with increased transcript levels as previously reported by other groups.

CONCLUSION: This indicates that epigenetic changes affect the expression of the Smad4 protein in prostate cancer and points to methylation of the promoter as a novel marker of and contributor to the disease warranting further study.

Physical activity assessment in cystic fibrosis: A position statement

Background

The aim of this position statement was to inform the choice of physical activity tools for use within CF research and clinical settings.

Methods

A systematic review of physical activity tools to explore evidence for reliability, validity, and responsiveness. Narrative answers to “four key questions” on motion sensors, questionnaires and diaries were drafted by the core writing team and then discussed at the Exercise Working Group in ECFS Lisbon 2013.

Results and summary

Our current position is that activity monitors such as SenseWear or ActiGraph offer informed choices to facilitate a comprehensive assessment of physical activity, and should as a minimum report on dimensions of physical activity including energy expenditure, step count and time spent in different intensities and sedentary time. The DigiWalker pedometer offers an informed choice of a comparatively inexpensive method of obtaining some measurement of physical activity. The HAES represents an informed choice of questionnaire to assess physical activity. There is insufficient data to recommend the use of one diary over another. Future research should focus on providing additional evidence of clinimetric properties of these and new physical activity assessment tools, as well as further exploring the added value of physical activity assessment in CF.

A novel TRNSYS type for short-term borehole heat exchanger simulation: B2G model

Models of ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems are used as an aid for the correct design and optimization of the system. For this purpose, it is necessary to develop models which correctly reproduce the dynamic thermal behavior of each component in a short-term basis. Since the borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is one of the main components, special attention should be paid to ensuring a good accuracy on the prediction of the short-term response of the boreholes. The BHE models found in literature which are suitable for short-term simulations usually present high computational costs. In this work, a novel TRNSYS type implementing a borehole-to-ground (B2G) model, developed for modeling the short-term dynamic performance of a BHE with low computational cost, is presented. The model has been validated against experimental data from a GSHP system located at Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain. Validation results show the ability of the model to reproduce the short-term behavior of the borehole, both for a step-test and under normal operating conditions.

Abstract: Psychometric properties of two self-report clinical competence scales for nursing students.

Abstract: Psychometric properties of two self-report clinical competence scales for nursing students.
Background: It is important to assess the clinical competence of nursing students to gauge their professional development and educational needs. This can be measured by self-assessment tools. Anema and McCoy (2010) contended that the currently available measures need further psychometric testing.
Aim: To test the psychometric properties of Nursing Competencies Questionnaire (NCQ) and Self-Efficacy in Clinical Performance (SECP) clinical competence scales.

Method: A non-randomly selected sample of n=248 2nd year nursing students completed NCQ, SECP and demographic questionnaires (June and September 2013). Mokken Scaling Analysis (MSA) was used to test the structural validity and scale properties, convergent and discriminant validity and reliability were subsequently tested.

Results: The NCQ provided evidence of a unidimensional scale which had strong scale scalability coefficients Hs =0.581; but limited evidence of item rankability HT =0.367. MSA undertaken with the SECP scale identified two potential unidimensional scales the SECP28 and SECP7, each with adequate evidence of good/reasonable scalablity psychometric properties as a summed scale but no/very limited evidence of scale rankability (SECP28: Hs = 0.55, HT=0.211; SECP7: Hs = 0.61, HT=0.049). Analysis of between cohort differences and NCQ/ SECP scale scores produced evidence of convergent and discriminant validity and good internal reliability: NCQ α = 0.93, SECP28 α = 0.96, and SECP7 α=0.89.

Discussion: The NCQ was verified to have evidence of reliability and validity; however, as the SECP findings are new, and the sample small, with reference to Straat and colleagues (2014), the SECP results should be interpreted with caution and verified on a second sample.

Conclusions: Measurement of perceived self-competence could inform the development of nursing competence and could start early in a nursing programme. Further testing of the NCQ and SECP scales with larger samples and from different years is indicated.


References:
Anema, M., G and McCoy, JK. (2010) Competency-Based Nursing Education: Guide to Achieving Outstanding Learner Outcomes. New York: Springer.
Straat, JH., van der Ark, LA and Sijtsma, K. (2014) Minimum Sample Size Requirements for Mokken Scale Analysis Educational and Psychological Measurement 74 (5), 809-822.

Aflatoxin Exposure and Associated Human Health Effects, a Review of Epidemiological Studies

flatoxins are fungal toxins that possess acute life threatening toxicity, carcinogenic properties and other potential chronic adverse effects. Dietary exposure to aflatoxins is considered a major public health concern, especially for subsistence farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where dietary staple food crops such as groundnuts and maize are often highly contaminated with aflatoxin due to hot and humid climates and poor storage, together with low awareness of risk and lack of enforcement of regulatory limits. Biomarkers have been developed and applied in many epidemiological studies assessing aflatoxin exposure and the associated health effects in these high-risk population groups. This review discusses the recent epidemiological evidence for aflatoxin exposure, co-exposure with other mycotoxins and associated health effects in order to provide evidence on risk assessment, and highlight areas where further research is necessary. Aflatoxin exposure can occur at any stage of life and is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma, especially when hepatitis B infection is present. Recent evidence suggests that aflatoxin may be an underlying determinant of stunted child growth, and may lower cell-mediated immunity, thereby increasing disease susceptibility. However, a causal relationship between aflatoxin exposure and these latter adverse health outcomes has not been established, and the biological mechanisms for these have not been elucidated, prompting further research. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information regarding the health effects of co-exposure to aflatoxin with other mycotoxins. Recent developments of biomarkers provide opportunities for important future research in this area.

An Evaluation of the Dual Diagnosis (substance use and mental health )Strategy in the South Eastern Trust Workers and Service Users Perceptions of Dual Diagnosis Issues

In the UK it is estimated that over 33% of psychiatric patients with enduring mental illness have a substance misuse problem, whilst over 50 % of clients currently accessing drug and alcohol services have a mental health problem. Between 2003 and 2013 in Northern Ireland, there were 741 recorded suicides by patients who were in contact with mental health services. Of this number, 68% (n=501) had a history of either alcohol or drug misuse or both, resulting in an average of 46 patient suicides per year associated with dual diagnosis (University of Manchester 2015).
The current evaluation examined staff attitudes towards working with dual diagnosis (co-existing difficulties) issues, staff confidence in working with clients with dual diagnosis, workers’ perceptions of the South Eastern dual diagnosis strategy and service user perspectives of dual diagnosis service provision.
The purpose of the evaluation was to provide evidence regarding the following in accordance with the current dual diagnosis strategy;
Staff understanding of the concept of dual diagnosis,
Staff attitudes towards working with dual diagnosis,
Staff confidence in working with individuals, who present with dual diagnosis,
Service users’ perspectives of SE Trust provision for dual diagnosis.
Staff views on the South Eastern Trust Dual Diagnosis Strategy.

Comunicação pública em territórios rurais – perceções e participação dos atores globais em Avelãs de Cima

Vivemos num mundo cada vez mais globalizado e uma das consequências é a crescente concorrência que existe entre territórios, reforçando-se a necessidade de fazer chegar aos públicos interessados, um conjunto de atributos e diferenciações, suficientemente atrativos e apelativos, para que estes territórios sejam “consumidos”, não só pelo seu reconhecimento temporal, mas também pela forma como ele se comunica. Se até ao momento esta diferenciação era apenas explicitada numa base meramente turística (pelos impactos económicos positivos que normalmente se conseguem), hoje a estratégia deve seguir um plano de marketing capaz de atrair e fixar quer residentes, excursionistas, turistas e investidores, satisfazendo-os. Dos estudos realizados é comumente aceite que o sucesso da execução de um plano de marketing territorial assenta num modelo participativo que promova e antecipe necessidades e desejos dos atores globais e que valide e identifique os pontos fortes, para ajudar a desenvolver (definir e implementar) uma estratégia sustentável, a prazo. Então é relevante chamar ao processo estes atores (públicos e privados, residentes e visitantes) envolvendo-os nesta identificação, comprometendo-os também nos seus resultados.Com este artigo apresenta-se então um estudo de caso aplicado a um território rural, na freguesia de Avelãs de Cima, tendo sido utilizada como metodologia um inquérito por questionário a todos os atores. Enumeram-se os fatores relevantes identificados, assim como os que não se desejam ver aplicados, requisitos evidentes para iniciar uma nova política de comunicação pública. Deste trabalho já resultou uma nova abordagem pelos atores públicos locais, destacando a perspetiva de utilização de sinergias pela integração dos recursos de duas outras freguesias, estando em construção um projeto comum de rotas com base nos atributos dessas localidades.-----We live in an increasingly globalized world and one of the consequences is the increasing competition that exists between areas, reinforcing the need to reach out to stakeholders, a set of attributes and differences sufficiently attractive and appealing, so that these territories are "consumed ", not only by their temporal recognition, but also for how it communicates. If so far this differentiation was only explained in a purely tourist base (by the positive economic impacts that usually can get), today the strategy must follow a marketing plan able to attract and retain residents, hikers, tourists and investors. There are studies where is commonly accepted that the successful implementation of a territorial marketing plan based on a participatory model that promotes and anticipate needs and desires of the global players and validate and identify the strengths, to help develop (define and implement) one sustainable strategy in the long term. So it is relevant to call these actors (public and private, residents and visitors) involving them in this identification and also committing them in their results. With this article we present a case study applied to a rural area in the parish of Avelãs de Cima, having been used a survey methodology for all actors. All the relevant identified factors are listed, as well as those which do not wish to see applied, clear requirements to start a new policy of public communication. This work has resulted in a new approach by local public actors, highlighting the prospect of using synergies by integrating the features of two other parishes, under construction with a common design routes based on attributes of those localities.

A experiência no NAE à luz da classificação internacional da funcionalidade, incapacidade e saúde - uma análise crítica

A Classificação Internacional da Funcionalidade, Incapacidade e Saúde é uma classificação que utiliza uma abordagem biopsicossocial para se compreender e explicar a incapacidade e a funcionalidade. A utilização desta nova abordagem poderá contribuir para se perceber quais os fatores que intervêm na promoção da participação e da realização de tarefas pelas pessoas com necessidades especiais. Este relatório tem como objetivo descrever e analisar críticamente o trabalho realizado no âmbito do apoio aos estudantes com necessidades educativas especiais na Universidade de Évora até 2008. A análise crítica é perspetivada à luz da CIF, procurando identificar os contextos académicos que se constituem como barreiras à participação e atividade destes estudantes, identificando também as estratégias que foram desenvolvidas para as ultrapassar. É ainda abordada a inclusão como única forma para se alcançar uma sociedade mais equitativa que promova o respeito da cidadania e da qualidade de vida de todos. A aposta na formação, como agente de mudança das forma de estar, pensar, sentir e agir e na procura incessante pelo desenvolvimento de uma universidade mais justa e mais humana, parece ser o caminho para alcançar o desiderato duma universidade inclusiva; ABSTRACT: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health is a classification that uses a bio psychosocial approach to understand and explain disability and functioning. Using this new approach could help to understand the factors involved in promoting participation and perform tasks for people with special needs. This report aims to describe and crítically analyze the work done in support of students with special needs at the University of Évora until 2008. The review is taken using of CIF, trying to identify the academic contexts which constitute barriers to participation and activity of these students, also by identifying the strategies that have been developed to overcome them. It also discusses the inclusion as the only way to achieve a more equitable society that promotes respect of citizenship and quality of life for all. A focus on training as an agent of change in the form of being, thinking, feeling and acting and the relentless pursuit by the development of a university fairer and more humane, seems to be the way to achieve the desideratum of an inclusive university.

Problems of minimal aerodynamic resistance

Nesta tese estamos preocupados com o problema da resistência mínima primeiro dirigida por I. Newton em seu Principia (1687): encontrar o corpo de resistência mínima que se desloca através de um médio. As partículas do médio não interagem entre si, bem como a interação das partículas com o corpo é perfeitamente elástica. Diferentes abordagens desse modelo foram feitas por vários matemáticos nos últimos 20 anos. Aqui damos uma visão geral sobre estes resultados que representa interesse independente, uma vez que os autores diferentes usam notações diferentes. Apresentamos uma solução do problema de minimização na classe de corpos de revolução geralmente não convexos e simplesmente conexos. Acontece que nessa classe existem corpos com resistência menor do que o mínimo da resistência na classe de corpos convexos de revolução. Encontramos o infimum da resistência nesta classe e construimos uma sequência regular de corpos que aproxima este infimum. Também apresentamos um corpo de resistência nula. Até agora ninguém sabia se tais corpos existem ou não, evidentemente o nosso corpo não pertence a nenhuma classe anteriormente analisado. Este corpo é não convexo e não simplesmente conexo; a forma topológica dele é um toro, parece um UFO extraterrestre. Apresentamos aqui várias famílias de tais corpos e estudamos as suas propriedades. Também apresentamos um corpo que é natural de chamar um corpo "invisíveis em uma direção", uma vez que a trajectória de cada partícula com a certa direcção coincide com a linha recta fora do invólucro convexo do corpo. ABSTRACT: In this thesis we are concerned with the problem of minimal resistance first addressed by I. Newton in his Principia (1687): find the body of minimal resistance moving through a medium. The medium particles do not mutually interact, and the interaction of particles with the body is perfectly elastic. Different approaches to that model have been tried by several mathematicians during the last 20 years. Here we give an overview of these results that represents interest in itself since all authors use different notations. We present a solution of the minimization problem in the class of generally non convex, simply connected bodies of revolution. It happens that in this class there are bodies with smaller resistance than the minimum in the class of convex bodies of revolution. We find the infimum of the resistance in this class, and construct a sequence of bodies which approximates this infimum. Also we present a body of zero resistance. Since earlier it was unknown if such bodies exists or not, evidently our body does not belong to any class previously examined. The zero resistance body found by us is non-convex and non-simply connected; topologically it is a torus, and it looks like an extraterrestrial UFO. We present here several families of such bodies and study their properties. We also present a body which is natural to call a body "invisible in one direction", since the trajectory of each particle with the given direction, outside the convex hull of the body, coincides with a straight line.

Contributos para a análise estatística de séries de contagem

A análise das séries temporais de valores inteiros tornou-se, nos últimos anos, uma área de investigação importante, não só devido à sua aplicação a dados de contagem provenientes de diversos campos da ciência, mas também pelo facto de ser uma área pouco explorada, em contraste com a análise séries temporais de valores contínuos. Uma classe que tem obtido especial relevo é a dos modelos baseados no operador binomial thinning, da qual se destaca o modelo auto-regressivo de valores inteiros de ordem p. Esta classe é muito vasta, pelo que este trabalho tem como objectivo dar um contributo para a análise estatística de processos de contagem que lhe pertencem. Esta análise é realizada do ponto de vista da predição de acontecimentos, aos quais estão associados mecanismos de alarme, e também da introdução de novos modelos que se baseiam no referido operador. Em muitos fenómenos descritos por processos estocásticos a implementação de um sistema de alarmes pode ser fundamental para prever a ocorrência de um acontecimento futuro. Neste trabalho abordam-se, nas perspectivas clássica e bayesiana, os sistemas de alarme óptimos para processos de contagem, cujos parâmetros dependem de covariáveis de interesse e que variam no tempo, mais concretamente para o modelo auto-regressivo de valores inteiros não negativos com coeficientes estocásticos, DSINAR(1). A introdução de novos modelos que pertencem à classe dos modelos baseados no operador binomial thinning é feita quando se propõem os modelos PINAR(1)T e o modelo SETINAR(2;1). O modelo PINAR(1)T tem estrutura periódica, cujas inovações são uma sucessão periódica de variáveis aleatórias independentes com distribuição de Poisson, o qual foi estudado com detalhe ao nível das suas propriedades probabilísticas, métodos de estimação e previsão. O modelo SETINAR(2;1) é um processo auto-regressivo de valores inteiros, definido por limiares auto-induzidos e cujas inovações formam uma sucessão de variáveis independentes e identicamente distribuídas com distribuição de Poisson. Para este modelo estudam-se as suas propriedades probabilísticas e métodos para estimar os seus parâmetros. Para cada modelo introduzido, foram realizados estudos de simulação para comparar os métodos de estimação que foram usados.

Optical fiber sensing using quantum dots

Recent advances in the application of semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, as biochemical sensors are reviewed. Quantum dots have unique optical properties that make them promising alternatives to traditional dyes in many luminescence based bioanalytical techniques. An overview of the more relevant progresses in the application of quantum dots as biochemical probes is addressed. Special focus will be given to configurations where the sensing dots are incorporated in solid membranes and immobilized in optical fibers or planar waveguide platforms.