Hegemony, Institutionalism and US Foreign Policy: theory and practice in comparative historical perspective

This paper explores the theoretical and policy implications of contemporary American hegemony. A key argument is that the development of US hegemony generally, and the distinctive turn in US foreign policy that has occurred in the wake of 11 September in particular, can best be understood by placing recent events in a comparative and historical framework. The immediate post-World War II order laid the foundations of a highly institutionalised multilateral system that provided key benefits for a number of countries while simultaneously constraining and enhancing US power. An historical reading of US hegemony suggests that its recent unilateralism is undermining the foundations of its power and influence.

UK and US board director perceptions of the significance of gender and racial diversity on board governance

This mixed-methods study examines the perceptions and opinions of United Kingdom FTSE 350, and US Fortune 500 board of director members regarding the significance of gender and racial diversity on board governance. Perceptions were gathered from eighty-two directors using self-reported surveys and semi-structured interviews. This thesis provides: (1) an opportunity to investigate the perceptions (opinions) of directors regarding the effects of board gender and racial diversity on new board appointments and on the dynamics of board decision making (2) an opportunity to investigate the perception (opinions) of directors regarding the effects of social capital, new board appointments and the dynamics of board decision making, and (3) an opportunity to investigate comparatively the differences between UK and US director perceptions regarding the effects of board gender and racial diversity on new board appointments and board decision making. My findings indicate that directors believe that expertise and experience are by far the most important attributes when decisions on the selection of new directors are being considered. While US directors report observing tangible benefits to gender and racial diversity, for their firms, as well as a willingness to consider diversity as an attribute in the selection process; most UK directors were strongly opposed to positive discrimination measures.1 A majority of directors do not believe that their own demographic characteristics, such as race or gender were attributes to their being selected to a board position; however white males perceive that these attributes were considered attributes to the appointment of diverse directors. Moreover, in the United Kingdom, male directors reported that they may be at a disadvantage for board selection when compared to their female counterparts, hence advocating for a selection process with minimal considerations of the demographic characteristics of new directors. Directors do not seem to consider diverse social capital of directors when making board appointments. Instead, US directors were more likely to be assisted in board appointments by their having similar social capital, and UK directors indicated that they only consider director expertise, and that expertise is considered to ensure a broad mix of skills and professional experience on the board.

Issues in EU and US Foreign Policy, edited by M. Cebeci (Plymouth: Lexington Books, 2011, ISBN 9780739147177); vii+394pp., £51.95 hb.

Book review

Szervezeti karriergondozás a nők előmenetelének szolgálatában: Sikeres európai uniós és hazai megoldások (Organizational career development in the career chance of women: successful European and Hungarian solutions)

A szerző tanulmányában a női karrierpálya és a szervezeti karriergondozás sajátosságait mutatja be. A női munkaerő sajátos munkaerő. Sajátosságait a társadalmi munkamegosztásban elfoglalt helye, szerepe, az ebből is táplálkozó férfiakétól eltérő személyisége, motivációja, habitusa, munkahellyel és munkakörrel kapcsolatos elvárásai alkotják. A hatékony emberierőforrás-menedzsment célja, hogy a rendelkezésre álló munkaerő-potenciált, kompetenciatárat minél jobban kihasználja. Ezért hasznosítja a sokszínűségből fakadó szinergiahatást, és számol a különböző alkalmazotti rétegek eltérő adottságaival. _____________________ The career needs of women demands special requirements towards organizational career development which covers the whole process of the human resource management. It is necessary to take attention to the elimination of all forms of discrimination in the organization, to develop an objective selection process based on competences, to eliminate barriers of advancement, to contact and inform women during the paid child-care period, to provide new ways to balance career and family, to extend the mentor system, to aid the preparation of individual career plans, to extend the different forms of flexible employment, to eliminate the wage and income differences. In Hungary the lack of women-friendly social environment and organizational culture prevent the development of diversity management, the fulfilling of the special mission and tasks of female career development. These circumstances waste the human resources in social and organizational level, too. It results the insufficient utilization of the competences of skilled workforce, especially that of women.

Re -"interpreting" the conquest: European and Amerindian translators and go -betweens in the colonization of the Americas, 1492--1675

This dissertation aims to recover the lives and careers of those Amerindians and Europeans who voluntarily or involuntarily took on the role of intercultural interpreters in the contact, conquest, and early colonial period in the Americas between 1492 and 1675. It intends to prove that these so-called “marginal” figures assumed roles that went far beyond those of linguistic and cultural translators, and often had a decisive impact on early Indian-colonial relations. ^ In the course of my research, I consulted hundreds of published sixteenth- and seventeenth-century chronicles, narratives, and memoirs in my search for references to interpreters. I augmented these accounts with information derived from unpublished archival documents, drawn primarily from the Archivo General de Indias, in Seville, Spain. ^ I organized my findings in theme-driven chapters that begin with a consideration of the historiography of that subject. Each chapter is further subdivided into chronologically-arranged historical vignettes that focus on the interpreters who mediated between the Spanish, Portuguese, French, English and Dutch and the various Native American polities and cultures. ^ I found that colonial authorities and Amerindian communities alike recognized the absolute necessity of recruiting competent and loyal interpreters and go-betweens, and that both sides tried to secure their loyal service by means both fair and foul. Although pressured, pushed, and pulled in contrary directions, most interpreters recognized the pivotal position they held in cross-cultural negotiations and rarely remained passive pawns in the contests between the forces of domination and defense. ^ All across the Americas, interpreters used their linguistic and diplomatic skills, and their intimate knowledge of the “other” not simply to facilitate conquest or spearhead the opposition, but to transform themselves from “culture brokers” into “power brokers.” Many of the decisive events that shaped colonial-Indian relations turned on the actions of these culturally-ambiguous individuals, a fact bemoaned and begrudgingly acknowledged by most of the contemporary conquistadors, chroniclers, and colonial founders, and recognized by this author. ^

The Military-Industrial Complex and US Military Spending After 9/11

This article examines the economic, political and institutional power of the military-industrial complex (MIC) by examining its influence on military spending before and after the events of 9/11. The reasons for the continuity of MIC influence in US foreign policy is explored. This includes the role of military contractors in financing policy planning organizations, the relationship between military contractors and the Defense Department, and the centralization of executive branch authority in foreign policy decision-making, especially during critical junctures or foreign policy crises.

Money Market Funds in the EU and US, Regulations and Practice

This is the first comprehensive analysis of the regulation of money market funds in the EU and US at both the theoretical and practical levels.  Its unique mutli-disciplinary approach provides a rigorous framework for comparative analysis and expert opinions on complex regulations that will help practitioners with decisions on portfolio management and in solving regulatory compliance issues. The theoretical framework has unique cases and examples and includes checklists to assist with the practice of fund management and legal risk analysis.

Summary and Risks of ABS Transactions Under EU and US Law

This chapter examines the legal concept of summary in terms of its potential legal liability and other types of risks under EU and US disclosure laws.

Disclosures Of ABS Transaction Structure Under EU And US Law

This chapter examines the legal concept of transaction structures under EU and US law for asset-backed securities

Kunitzins: Prototypes of a new class of protease inhibitor from the skin secretions of European and Asian frogs

Amphibian skin secretions contain biologically-active compounds, such as anti-microbial peptides and trypsin inhibitors, which are used by biomedical researchers as a source of potential novel drug leads or pharmacological agents. Here, we report the application of a recently developed technique within our laboratory to “shotgun” clone the cDNAs encoding two novel but structurally-related peptides from the lyophilized skin secretions of one species of European frog, Rana esculenta and one species of Chinese frog, Odorrana schmackeri. Bioanalysis of the peptides established the structure of a 17-mer with an N-terminal Ala (A) residue and a C-terminal Cys (C) residue with a single disulphide bridge between Cys 12 and 17, which is a canonical Kunitz-type protease inhibitor motif (-CKAAFC-). Due to the presence of this structural attribute, these peptides were named kunitzin-RE (AAKIILNPKFRCKAAFC) and kunitzin-OS (AVNIPFKVHLRCKAAFC). Synthetic replicates of these two novel peptides were found to display a potent inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli but were ineffective at inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans at concentrations up to 160 μM, and both showed little haemolytic activity at concentrations up to 120 μM. Subsequently, kunitzin-RE and kunitzin-OS were found to be a potent inhibitor of trypsin with a Ki of 5.56 μM and 7.56 μM that represent prototypes of a novel class of highly-attenuated amphibian skin protease inhibitor. Substitution of Lys-13, the predicted residue occupying the P1 position within the inhibitory loop, with Phe (F) resulted in decrease in trypsin inhibitor effectiveness and antimicrobial activity against Esherichia coli, but exhibits a potential inhibition activity against chymotrypsin.

Genetic Polymorphisms in Replication-related Genes and Risk of Breast Cancer Among European and East Asian Women

Background: The role of common, low to intermediate risk alleles in breast cancer need to be examined due to their relatively high prevalence. Among many cellular pathways, replication has a pivotal role in cell division and frequently targeted during carcinogenesis. Replication is governed by a host of genes involved in a number of different pathways. This study investigates the effects of replication-gene variants in relation to breast cancer and how this relationship is affected by ethnicity, menopausal status and breast tumour subtype. Methods: Data from a case-control study with 997 incident breast cancer cases and 1,050 age frequency matched controls in Vancouver, British Columbia and Kingston, Ontario were used. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios between 45 replication gene variants and breast cancer risk, assuming an additive genetic model adjusted for age and centre, presented for Europeans and East Asians separately. Polytomous logistic regression was used to assess odds ratios between each SNP and four breast cancer subtypes defined by hormone receptor status among Europeans. All analyses were stratified by menopausal status. The Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) was used to address multiple comparisons. Results: Among Europeans, the SNPs in FGFR2, TOX3 and 11q13 loci were associated with breast cancer after controlling for multiple comparisons. Test of heterogeneity showed the SNPs rs1045185, rs4973768, rs672888, rs1219648, rs2420946 among Europeans and rs889312 among East Asians conferred differential risk across the tumour subtypes. Conclusions: Specific SNPs in replication genes were associated with breast cancer, and the risk level differed by tumour subtype defined by ER/PR/Her2 status and ethnicity.