bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Meaning of Key Legal Terms and Concepts in Restructuring Plans
Authors: O'Dea Geoff
Published: May 2022

This chapter provides an extensive consideration of the new restructuring plan regime under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 and it covers the elements of the restructuring plan that are not common to Part 26 schemes.
Introduction: Administration and Receivership Sales and the Appropriation Remedy under the Financial Collateral Arrangements Regulations
Authors: O'Dea Geoff
Published: May 2022

An introduction to administration and receivership sales together with the appropriation remedy under the Financial Collateral Arrangements Regulations. This introductory chapter sets out a comparison between administration, fixed charge or LPA receivership, and appropriation under the Financial Collateral Arrangements Regulations, highlighting key features of each tool and consideration as to when each tool might be utilized. The chapter also considers tools for unsecured creditors and potential options for such creditors.
Practical Aspects of Restructuring Documentation
Authors: O'Dea Geoff
Published: May 2022

This chapter considers typical documentation used in restructurings, including engagement letters for both creditor and debtor legal and financial advisors, legal and financial advisor non-disclosure and information sharing agreements, stakeholder financial and non-disclosure and information sharing agreements, ad hoc committee appointment documents, waiver and forbearance letters, and lockup agreements and term sheets. Consideration is given to negotiation and practical practice points for these restructuring documents, including an examination of regulatory issues regarding insider dealing and market abuse laws. The chapter also considers the position with regards indemnities and other protections for security agents who are called upon to participate in enforcement processes.
The derivational timing of ellipsis
Authors: Lipták Anikó , Güneş Güliz
Published: May 2022

PF-deletion accounts of ellipsis currently enjoy popularity in the mainstream generative framework. These approaches assume that elided material has full syntactic representation. Since ellipsis clearly impacts the actual phonetic realization of a sentence, the lack of pronunciation in ellipsis is understood in these accounts as some kind of silencing of the syntactic structure, which takes place at PF. While this much is agreed on, there is no consensus yet within PF-deletion theories on the question of what operation (or lack thereof) in the derivation of the syntactic and/or the PF presentation causes the silencing. This chapter summarizes and highlights the attempts that have been made to determine when ellipsis applies in the grammar. By bringing together different views on the topic, we hope to pave the way towards a better understanding of the nature of ellipsis itself in silent structure theories.
Derivational ellipsis and vehicle change
Authors: Murphy Andrew , Müller Gereon
Published: May 2022

This paper offers a new perspective on the absence of Principle C effects under ellipsis, a phenomenon that is also known as vehicle change. While the established view treats vehicle change as a stipulated interpretational equivalence between pronouns and R-expressions inside ellipsis sites (Fiengo & May 1994), it is argued that these effects can also be captured by a derivational approach to ellipsis. The analysis proposed here assumes that ellipsis applies in a successive-cyclic fashion and that the absence of Principle C effects follows from the fact that the R-expression is no longer syntactically accessible at the relevant point in the derivation. It is shown how this can not only capture the central mono-clausal/bi-clausal distinction with vehicle change, but can also extend to additional data which prove problematic for the standard view.
Introduction
Authors: Kriza Ágnes
Published: May 2022

The Introduction outlines the significance of the invention of the Novgorod Sophia icon in the history of medieval Russian art, by highlighting its place in the great sixteenth-century debate over icons in Moscow. It sketches the historiography of the Sophia iconography and highlights its correlation with the Russian Sophiological controversy which emerged at the turn of the twentieth century. While there are different theories and concepts about the Sophia icon as a Christological or Trinitarian image, neither its precise meaning, nor the function, the place, and time of its creation have been clarified.
The Winged Bride
Authors: Kriza Ágnes
Published: May 2022

This chapter analyses the hidden patristic and liturgical quotations in the Sophia commentary which broaden the meaning of the Sophia icon. Its subchapters focus on four texts: the homilies of Ephrem the Syrian and Andrew of Crete, various liturgical commentaries, and the Ladder of John Climacus. These citations indicate that the function of the commentary is to evoke the manifold aspects of Christian ecclesiological doctrine, which is visualized and explained with the help of bird, angel, nuptial, and clothing metaphors. The strong link of the Sophia commentary with Slavonic liturgical commentaries proposes the Eucharistic significance of the image. This analysis also shows that the Sophia commentary is a Russian, not Greek, literary composition dating from after the turn of the fifteenth century.
The Hagia Sophia in Rome
Authors: Kriza Ágnes
Published: May 2022

In the 1470s, a new redaction of the Sophia commentary appeared which has a new incipit referring to the legendary Hagia Sophia church in Rome founded by Saint Sophia and consecrated by Apostle Peter. This legend about Saint Sophia and her Roman Sophia church has survived in a lengthy anti-Latin Slavonic polemical compilation the Greek sources of which have not yet been explored. This chapter investigates the link between the Sophia iconography and Russian anti-Latin polemics which obtained a new relevance after the Union of Florence and the subsequent Russian strive for ecclesiastical independence. It argues that the famous ‘Third Rome’ idea appeared bound up with the creation of the Novgorod Sophia icon and commentary. It studies the transmission of these intertwined anti-Latin Sophiological and Roman ideas and images from Novgorod to Moscow during the era of Makarii who in 1542, after being the archbishop of Novgorod, became the metropolitan of Moscow and the cleric who crowned the first Russian tsar, Ivan IV, in 1547. Following the appropriation of the Sophia image by Moscow, the image rapidly disseminated in the ever-growing Muscovite state to serve its ecclesiological and religious ideology.
Introduction
Authors: Taylor Emmeline
Published: May 2022

Several serendipitous encounters instigated the research that furnishes the pages of this book. In this introductory chapter, the research journey is outlined from a fortuitous chance meeting at an academic conference to a unnerving encounter at a second-hand thrift store. Often neglected, the chapter provides insight into how research comes to fruition and the sociocultural contexts which shape it. The resulting in-depth qualitative study of armed robbers draws together themes of identity, culture and the pursuit of the ‘Australian dream’. The introduction provides a succinct summary of the chapters that follow, exploring in detail the trajectories of these men’s lives, and how and why, they came to be ‘doing rob’.
The Edge of Reason
Authors: Taylor Emmeline
Published: May 2022

This chapter argues for a sociologically rich account of criminal motivations that acknowledges personal circumstance, cultural context and the pursuit of wrongdoing for its own sake, a phenomenon that is termed ‘affective transgression’. The concept of affective transgression is divided into three interrelated elements: affect as emotion, affect as transcendence, and affect as transformation. Reflecting the multiplicity of motivations and drivers, the armed robbers in this study had different trajectories to their offending behaviour. There were stories of violent upbringings, parental incarceration, homelessness, drug abuse, and falling in with the wrong crowd. Of course, money featured highly in self-reported reasons for committing commercial robbery, but beneath this simplistic motive lay other factors relating to self-identity, status, the evocative iconicity of robbers, and, for some, an intense urge for self-destruction that saw them recklessly embark on a path of violent abandon. While there were some old-school professionals in the sample who lamented the demise of the ‘art’ of armed robbery, largely they were chaotic, angry, despondent men, bleakly seeking a quick hit of hope to lift them, if only temporarily, from a morass of dejection.
The Lucky Country
Authors: Taylor Emmeline
Published: May 2022

‘The Lucky Country’ outlines three key pivotal mythscapes in Australia’s cultural history: convict ancestry, the nineteenth-century gold-rush ‘diggers’, and the ‘Anzacs’. These powerful symbols of contemporary nationhood abound with legendary characters such as Ned Kelly encapsulating the essence of Australianness. The culturally distinct aspirations of ‘the Australian Dream’ are explored in this chapter, alongside the ways in which the frustrations of lack of opportunity and self-fulfilment translate into criminal behaviour. Some have argued that as the Golden Era has given way to post-industrialism, a crisis of masculinity has ensued. The stable narratives of modernity—family, identity, and belonging—have become fractured and fluid. As jobs are no longer for life, families are splintered, people become dislocated, and so, against this unstable backdrop, a project of constant reinvention emerges as a central life task. This chapter examines how instructive narratives of masculinity forged in the industrial era have been displaced in Australia, producing a culturally distinct expression of criminality.
Becoming an Armed Robber
Authors: Taylor Emmeline
Published: May 2022

This chapter, ‘Becoming an Armed Robber’, focuses on the performativity and affective elements of identity transformation, explicating the ways in which offenders attempt to transform themselves, mentally and physically, into ‘armed robbers’ with varying degrees of success. Some young men had been exposed to violence, aggression, and criminality from a young age, whereas others were actively recruited to commit crimes by older uncles, cousins, and fathers. Several of the offenders had devised specific robbery rituals involving drugs, music, clothing, and weaponry in order to personify how they believed an armed robber should look, sound, feel, and act. Whereas most offenders seek not to be seen committing criminal acts, the modus operandi of the armed robber is one where they take centre stage, and this calls forth a certain degree of performativity. It is this dramatized display of ‘doing rob’, and the corporeal reactions it stimulates, that this chapter unpacks. The transformation was particularly striking for some individuals, particularly those who described themselves as being shy, weak, and physically slight. Starting from a point of timidity and depression, some drew upon various artefacts in order to affect and embody a fearless and threatening demeanour, whereas for others little performance was required.
Doing Rob (and Getting Away with It)
Authors: Taylor Emmeline
Published: May 2022

Chapter 6, ‘Doing Rob (and Getting Away with It)’ focuses on the actual conduct of armed robberies. The chapter opens with an overview of how offenders choose their target and finds that while some individuals will spend months meticulously planning and observing the premises, others commit impulsive, spur-of-the-moment robberies that are high risk and low reward. The choice of weapon and use of violence are also outlined; firearms are mostly used in high-end targets, such as banks and hotels, where the presence of more people (customers and staff) requires a degree of ‘crowd control’ by offenders. Controlling many people at once was perceived to be very difficult to achieve with any weapon other than a gun. The chapter also outlines armed robbers’ willingness to use physical violence, focusing on why and when. Most self-reported as reluctant to use violence, often eschewing responsibility for their actions and blaming ‘wannabe heroes’ for making them do so. Although there were certainly some participants who enjoyed inflicting pain and fear on their victims, particularly as it allowed them to release their pent-up anger and frustration, most had established narratives of being honourable robbers who would only use violence as a last resort.
Such Is Life
Authors: Taylor Emmeline
Published: May 2022

Chapter 10, ‘Such Is Life: Affect, Fatalism, and Crime’, is the final chapter of the book. It summarises the life trajectories of the armed robbers who participated in this study. By no means uniform, there were, however, similar themes relating to abuse, neglect, experiencing violence from an early age, homelessness, drug addiction, and feelings of low self-worth. Devoid of sensory stimulation in a land where they felt left behind, many would recklessly engage in the extremes of criminal behaviour. It was clear that their quest to construct identity and meaning from meagre resources prompted the ‘do or die’ mentality deeply entrenched in Australian narratives of white masculinity. Their stories reveal the plurality of criminal subjects and the complex reasons why they engage in violent crime. In drawing together the themes explicated throughout the book, the chapter makes the case for theoretical renewal in the field of criminology.
Housing
Authors: Brodie Marc
Published: May 2022

This chapter concentrates again upon unheard voices and desires, particularly those of women and other groups such as the elderly, whose less favourable views of their neighbourhoods, and demands for state action such as rehousing, were often less well reported. It argues that tensions and distrust among neighbours, and their complaints and fears about each other may have simply not appeared in the historical record because there was no ‘authority’ present to note these down. When there was, such as in the form of the rent-collecting women at the ‘model-dwelling’ Katharine Buildings in Whitechapel, a different dynamic became clear. This evidence can suggest what was the norm in other comparable but less monitored poor areas. Similar relationships and views are also seen, for example, in housing estates for the poor in early twentieth-century Glasgow.
Framing AU Law through the Lenses of International Constitutionalization and Federalism
Authors: Amao Femi
Published: May 2022

As an emergent concept, there is a need to examine and explore AU law from different perspectives in order to broaden its understanding. It is also a concept that is set to open up a panoply of debate from a variety of perspectives in years to come. The chapter thus explores AU law as an emergent legal order in the context of international constitutionalization and federalism. It considers AU law as a legal system and the interplay of that system with the idea of federalism and constitutionalization. It looks at the roles of Constitutive of the African Union, the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights as expressions of constitutionalization and federalism at the continental level.
The Evolution of the AU Private Business Structure
Authors: Otabor-Olubor Iyare
Published: May 2022

To facilitate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and the implementation of the Convention on Cross-border Cooperation (Niamey Convention), harmonization of private business structures in the African Union (AU) should be prioritized. This analysis considers whether it is feasible for Africa to achieve continental harmonization of private business registration procedures in line with existing AU regulations. The current challenges in harmonizing business registration include the difficulty of doing business, the number of processes involved in registering a business, type of processes required, and involvement of third-party professionals. Eight jurisdictions in Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA region are compared, based on recent secondary data from the World Bank Doing Business 2020 report. The discussion proceeds to explore reform initiatives of UNCITRAL Working Group I on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise reforms regarding its Draft Model Law, Draft Legislative Guide, and Best Practices in Business Registration. In conclusion, a tailor-made Business Registration Agreement under AU law to harmonize private business registration procedures for African businesses is recommended. The Business Registration Agreement, following the recommendations of the Niamey Convention 2014 and the AfCFTA Trade in Services Protocol, will serve as a driving force for Africa to achieve Agenda 2063 vision of inclusive economic growth and development.
Is the AU Best Placed to Advance Cross-Cutting Gender Rights’ Harmonization of Customary Laws?
Authors: Okoye Adaeze
Published: May 2022

This chapter addresses the nexus between gender rights and customary law in Africa. It examines women’s rights advocacy through the African Union (AU) against a background of legal pluralism within African legal systems. The focus is on customary laws and the drive to reconcile it with human rights. In March 2017, an AU/UN report was released on women’s rights in Africa. The report dealt with the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Protocol (the African Charter) to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol). The report identified that a number of countries had reservations about the Maputo Protocol on the grounds that certain articles were regarded as incompatible with their ‘national law, tradition, religion and culture’. It also identified the problem of ‘contestation’ between the ‘universality’ of human rights and particular African values relating to women. The chapter suggests that a contextual bottom-up approach should be key in creating and developing an AU law embedding gender rights issues in customary laws across the diverse states within the Union.
Enforcement Mechanisms in AU Human Rights Treaties: Lessons for the Wider AU Law
Authors: Olivier Michèle
Published: May 2022

The adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter) by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1981 aimed to address a long and ongoing history of human rights abuses in Africa. The Banjul Charter received wide endorsement for its branding a uniquely African approach to human rights, reaching beyond the traditional Western human rights paradigm designed to safeguard human rights in the Global North following the Second World War. The Banjul Charter confronts African challenges head on by introducing the notion of ‘peoples’ rights’ in addition to the traditional ‘individual rights’, as well as the novel concept of ‘individual duties’. It paved the way for recognition of human rights by OAU members through inclusion in their national constitutions. A number of human rights treaties and other instruments dealing with specific areas of concern which include refugees, women, children, elections, freedom of expression, and so forth followed. This array of African human rights instruments speaks of good intentions and provide fertile ground for academic study. However, despite its ambitious design, human rights protection in Africa leaves much to be desired. As with many OAU/AU initiatives, the proof of the pudding is in the implementation or lack thereof. To make sense of the implementation conundrum, this chapter focuses on means and methods of enforcement of AU human rights instruments at both the international (AU) and national levels, with a view to identify how it could guide the discourse on emergent AU law.
The AU and Issues of Institutional Capacity and Enforcement
Authors: Imoedemhe Ovo
Published: May 2022

In light of the emerging African Union (AU) legal order, this chapter examines AU’s institutions and courts to situate AU law in the wider context of AU’s enforcement mechanisms. In the nearly two decades of the operational phase of the AU, several institutions and courts have arguably ensured enforcements of its laws, policies, and decisions. Added to its judicial, human rights, and legal organs, the African Court of Human Rights has been at the disposal of the AU in the fight against human rights abuses and implementation of regional and international instruments in environmental and criminal law matters. What could potentially be the impact of these institutions on AU law? Also, will the evolving AU law require a separate enforcement mechanism, or could it rely on pre-existing institutions and courts? These issues become necessary in view of the AU’s commitment to implement Aspiration 3 of Agenda 2063, which amongst other things, envisions respect for human rights, justice, and the rule of law within the region. The chapter argues that the challenges of weak institutions, corruption, and internal conflicts are endemic within the continent. Therefore, it takes the view that a system of normative, cultural, and cognitive institutional reforms and transformation will be valuable.
Propagation and Enforcement of AU Law: Perspectives from the Peace and Security Arena
Authors: Ako Rhuks
Published: May 2022

This chapter contributes to the debate on the development of African Union (AU) law by focusing on the evolutionary process which it posits is underpinned by the evolution and operationalization of norms. Focusing on the peace and security arena, the chapter highlights the role that the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) plays in the evolutionary process of mainstreaming two contemporary issues – human rights and youth – into conflict prevention. The case studies of two thematic areas – human rights and youth – are used to highlight how issues hitherto thought to be unconnected to the peace and security agenda are gaining traction as being fundamental to it. The chapter discusses how the actions of and interactions among conflict prevention elements of the APSA have precipitated jurisprudence and practice on mainstreaming human rights and youth into the peace and security agenda. These norms, it is posited, underpin principles and actions that over time become state practice, or custom, within and among the AU Member States thereby contributing to its body of laws. In a nutshell, the chapter posits that mainstreaming at the continental level has impacts on regional institutions and Member States to the extent that they form part of the custom of practice, hence, form part of the evolving body of AU law.
AU Law and Its Future: Reform and the Kagame Report
Authors: Amao Femi , Olivier Michèle
Published: May 2022

This chapter highlights the possible impact and significance of the contribution that the chapters in this edited volume make to the discourse on AU law. Drawing on broad trends and central themes emerging from a selection of the chapters, it is posited that the book will enhance legal debate amongst scholars and researchers of Africa as regards the various dimensions of the evolving continental legal system. In addition, they would guide and influence decision-makers at both the Member States and the regional level within the context of a reformed AU. Furthermore, the ideas contained in this book will hopefully facilitate and pave the way for the incremental theoretical and systematic understanding of this emergent legal system and make a positive contribution towards achieving the objectives of the AU’s Agenda 2063 and beyond. Moreover, key proposals from the book could shape decision-making, enhance the rule of law, empower Africa on the international stage, promote an investor friendly environment with legal certainty and harmonization, and improve political accountability and the human security of ordinary Africans.
The Legality of the Use of Force against Individuals in War—Description of a Difficulty
Authors: Yip Ka Lok
Published: May 2022

This chapter describes the difficulty associated with speaking about the legality of the use of force against individuals in war to shed light on a fraught intersection between military operations, legal doctrines, and moral philosophy. The chapter is divided into three substantive sections. The first section surveys the key legal norms relevant to the use of force against individuals in war. The second section examines the key jurisprudence of international bodies and mechanisms that have considered the relationships among these legal norms. The third section reviews the key approaches to these relationships by dividing them into three broad categories according to their theoretical inclinations—positivist approaches, substantive approaches, and critical approaches—and outlines the approach adopted in this book by situating it against these key approaches.
Leonid Hurwicz
Authors: Radner Roy
Published: May 2022

This chapter details the author’s experience meeting Leonid Hurwicz when he was hired as a research assistant in the Cowles Commission at the University of Chicago. Cowles was an exciting intellectual center of new developments in economic theory and econometrics. Hurwicz came up to Chicago from the University of Illinois regularly to attend seminars and work with other members of the group. Later, the author had the privilege of working with Hurwicz and Stan Reiter on a model, originally proposed by Reiter and called “Sharks and Flounders,” of a market among agents with heterogeneous information. The final resulting paper described a stochastic process of repeated choices by a group of agents from a fixed set of feasible outcomes. They showed that—under certain conditions—the process of chosen outcomes converged to a Pareto-optimal outcome in a finite number of stages, although the agents would never know for sure when they had reached that outcome.
Sins of Princes
Authors: Najemy John M.
Published: May 2022

Chapter 2 surveys Machiavelli’s critical assessment of Italy’s princes and republics. He faults Venice for insatiable ambition for expansion without adequate arms. He criticizes Florence for inconsistent policies in its regional dominion, which produced the rebellions of Pisa (1494) and Arezzo (1502). Florentine policy in Italy he saw as controlled by private interests after Cosimo’s controversial decision to abandon Venice and support Francesco Sforza. The Milanese duchy under the Visconti and Sforza was frequently beset by succession crises and family rivalries. Machiavelli faults Sforza (before he seized the duchy) for practicing war as a full-time profession (“arte”) and highlights his brutality, and that of his heirs, Galeazzo Maria and Ludovico, against perceived threats. Italy’s central regions, including the papal states, produced many mercenaries who aspired to become rulers and also the so-called “minor princes,” who hired themselves out as professional soldiers, including Federico da Montefeltro of Urbino, Sigismondo Malatesta of Rimini, the Vitelli of Città di Castello, and the Este of Ferrara. Because Italy’s “principal states,” Machiavelli says with some exaggeration, were “unarmed,” the “arms of Italy” were in the hands of these two groups whose ambitions and betrayals frequently disrupted alliances and sparked wars among the “principal states.” The kingdom of Naples was agitated by revolts of the barons and by succession crises between Angevin and Aragonese contenders who embroiled other states in wars to defeat their rivals. Machiavelli portrays the Aragonese monarchs Alfonso I and Ferdinand I (Ferrante) as obsessed with aggressive territorial ventures.
Momentous and Natural Enmities
Authors: Najemy John M.
Published: May 2022

Chapter 5 turns to Machiavelli’s theoretical reflections on the causes of Italy’s disaster. His principal conclusions focus on the excessive ambition of nobles (grandi) and the need to restrain it. In The Prince he advises princes who achieve power with the favor of fellow citizens to seek the support of the people, not the nobles. The Discourses advance the radical thesis that the conflicts in Rome between nobles and plebs, which led to the creation of the tribunes, were beneficial to liberty. Nobles seek to dominate, whereas the plebs seek only not to be dominated. Nobles are the more dangerous class because with their wealth they can undermine governments with their private factions. The popolo/plebs, by contrast, depend on the institutions (ordini) of government to restrain the nobles. The absence of ordini for the adjudication of slanders resulted in the downfall of the Soderini republic in 1512. Discourses 1.55 affirms that “gentiluomini” who exercise jurisdiction over territories and their inhabitants are “pernicious” to republics, which can exist only where they do not exist; otherwise, only monarchies are possible. Private power undermines the legal equality essential to republics. Nobles unwilling to part with any of their wealth pose a constant danger to republics, as the patrician resistance to the agrarian reform of the Gracchi shows. Cosimo de’ Medici’s rise to power with the support of his followers (partigiani) endangered Florence’s republic. Roman generals who made armies their partigiani—loyal to them instead of the senate—similarly undermined the Roman republic.
The Question of Jurisdiction
Authors: Gallant Kenneth S.
Published: May 2022

The questions of whose law and what law any person must obey ideally should be easy to answer. In fact they are not. This chapter introduces the questions and develops their background. It develops both the positivist concept of law of HLA Hart and how value-laden criminal law fits within it. It develops the concept of three types of jurisdiction: prescriptive jurisdiction (authority to make law—in this case criminal law); adjudicative jurisdiction (authority to prosecute persons for alleged crimes); and enforcement jurisdiction (authority to arrest persons, seize evidence, punish, and do other acts of physical control in execution of criminal law).
The National and International Law of Criminal Jurisdiction
Authors: Gallant Kenneth S.
Published: May 2022

The doctrine of criminal jurisdiction has two sets of sources. On the one hand, the modern shape of jurisdiction to prescribe and to adjudicate emerged from national lawmaking, including legislation, case law, and other sources. On the other hand, international law sets limits on the external acts and external actors that a state may seek to regulate through the criminal law.
The Universality Principle
Authors: Gallant Kenneth S.
Published: May 2022

Universal prescriptive jurisdiction allows states to define certain crimes in situations where there is no connection recognized in international law, at the time of the crime, between state and either the actor, the victim, or the crime. Universal adjudicative jurisdiction is the exercise of authority to prosecute a case where the only ground for application of the law is universal prescriptive jurisdiction. Three broad types are generally recognized.
Summary
Authors: Gallant Kenneth S.
Published: May 2022

This chapter summarizes and synthesizes the international law of criminal jurisdiction as it exists today, based in the five principles of what we have been calling the standard model. As part of this, it summarizes the responses to the critiques of this view of criminal jurisdiction. It also synthesizes the materials on the place of the individual in the current international law of jurisdiction. This includes the extent of protections of the individual from excessive claims of criminal jurisdiction. It shows what means are available to persons as a matter of right, and what means states may use as legal/political tools to prevent internationally unlawful exercises of jurisdiction. Finally, this chapter summarizes how the doctrine of sources, which is the “rule of recognition” in international law, shapes, and is shaped by, the international law of criminal jurisdiction.
Futures of Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Geraci Robert M.
Published: May 2022

Twenty-first-century life is increasingly governed by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as machine learning, big data analysis, facial recognition, and robotics. For decades, an ideology of apocalyptic progress and cosmic transformation has accompanied the advancement of AI in the U.S.; that vision is intimately connected to transhumanism—the idea that humanity can transcend its limits, even mortality, using technology. Based on contributions from science and science fiction, advocates of such Apocalyptic AI suggest that the world will soon see godlike machine intelligence and that human beings will upload their minds into immortal machine bodies. The arrival of this ideology in India raises questions about how global cultures can contribute to AI technology and our beliefs about AI. These beliefs have gained a foothold in Indian visions of AI, but they have not been accepted uncritically; rather, Indian scientists and futurists revise the transhumanist vision and illustrate how traditional Hindu values can add to the global perspective. By describing the arrival and reconfiguration of transhumanist ideas in India, this book reveals how the nexus of religion and technology contributes to public life and our modern self-understanding while suggesting that the apocalyptic approach to AI should be tempered by other visions. By tracing the movement of Apocalyptic AI into India and exploring Indian efforts to redefine those transhumanist aspirations, Futures of Artificial Intelligence opens the door for rethinking our global approach to AI and advocates for technologies and visions of technology that advance human flourishing.
Waiting for the End of the World
Authors: Geraci Robert M.
Published: May 2022

Chapter 1 explores how 19th- and 20th-century Indians understood history, science, and politics. The chapter shows that the colonial era prompted many Indians to think in terms of historical renewal: an end to foreign rule and a renaissance of Indian (generally considered Hindu) wisdom. That rebirth was contested by those who disagreed over the precise contributions of India’s past and the mixture of Indian and European culture. Nevertheless, significant intellectual agreement emerged that a hybrid culture would bring together Indian traditions with contemporary science and technology and result in political freedom. For many, this view of history and the future was apocalyptic in its expectations: a new world would be born and science proved central to that formation.
Bearers of the Apocalypse
Authors: Geraci Robert M.
Published: May 2022

Chapter 3 asks what it would take to consider the transition of Apocalyptic artificial intelligence (AI) into the scientific and popular milieu of 21st-century India. Using traditional Hindu expectations about cosmic realities—even though a great many Indians are not Hindu and Hinduism is far from monolithic—this chapter experiments with how Hindu religious texts conceive of political transformations and what this means for the arrival of transhumanist thinking in India. It reflects on the history of futurist speculation in 20th-century India and, drawing on pop science and science fiction, the shifting dynamics of such interests in the 21st century.
Radial–axial transport coordination enhances sugar translocation in the phloem vasculature of plants
Authors: Nakad Mazen , Domec Jean-Christophe , Sevanto Sanna , Katul Gabriel
Published: May 2022

Understanding mass transport of photosynthates in the phloem of plants is necessary for predicting plant carbon allocation, productivity, and responses to water and thermal stress. Several hypotheses about optimization of phloem structure and function and limitations of phloem transport under drought have been proposed and tested with models and anatomical data. However, the true impact of radial water exchange of phloem conduits with their surroundings on mass transport of photosynthates has not been addressed. Here, the physics of the Munch mechanism of sugar transport is re-evaluated to include local variations in viscosity resulting from the radial water exchange in two dimensions (axial and radial) using transient flow simulations. Model results show an increase in radial water exchange due to a decrease in sap viscosity leading to increased sugar front speed and axial mass transport across a wide range of phloem conduit lengths. This increase is around 40% for active loaders (e.g. crops) and around 20% for passive loaders (e.g. trees). Thus, sugar transport operates more efficiently than predicted by previous models that ignore these two effects. A faster front speed leads to higher phloem resiliency under drought because more sugar can be transported with a smaller pressure gradient.
Effectiveness of Pain Neuroscience Education in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Suso-Martí Luis , Cuenca-Martínez Ferran , Alba-Quesada Patricio , Muñoz-Alarcos Vicente , Herranz-Gómez Aida , Varangot-Reille Clovis , Domínguez-Navarro Fernando , Casaña José
Published: May 2022

Purpose

To assess the effects of pain neuroscience education (PNE) on patients with fibromyalgia in terms of pain intensity, fibromyalgia impact, anxiety, and pain catastrophizing.

Methods

A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with RStudio software (RStudio, Boston, MA) for relevant outcomes and were pooled in a meta-analysis with the random effects model.

Results

A total of eight studies were included. The meta-analysis showed statistically significant differences in pain intensity with a moderate clinical effect in seven studies at the post-intervention assessment (SMD: –0.76; 95% CI: –1.33 to –0.19; P < 0.05) with evidence of significant heterogeneity (P < 0.05, I2 = 92%), but it did not show statistically significant differences in fibromyalgia impact, anxiety, and pain catastrophizing (P > 0.05). With regard to the follow-up assessment, only the fibromyalgia impact showed significant improvements, with a very small clinical effect in nine studies (SMD: –0.44; 95% CI: –0.73 to –0.14; P < 0.05) and evidence of significant heterogeneity (P < 0.05, I2 = 80%). After the application of a sensitivity analysis with the PNE face-to-face interventions, the meta-analysis showed a significant decrease in pain intensity, with a moderate clinical effect at the post-intervention and follow-up assessments without evidence of significant heterogeneity (P < 0.05, I2 = 10%).

Conclusions

There is low-quality evidence that in patients with fibromyalgia, PNE can decrease the pain intensity in the post-intervention period and the fibromyalgia impact in the follow-up period. However, it appears that PNE showed no effect on anxiety and pain catastrophizing.
NICU Parents of Black Preterm Infants
Authors: Waldron Mia K.
Published: May 2022

Background:

Black infants in the United States have the highest incidence of both infant mortality (IM) and preterm birth among all racial/ethnic groups. The IM disparity for Black preterm infants often occurs after neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge, when parents become the primary caregivers. The revised Kenner Transition Model (KTM) is situation specific and comprised 5 interrelated domains of parental need after NICU discharge that have not been previously applied to the transition from NICU to home of Black infants.

Purpose:

This study's purpose was to explore the conceptual fit of parental readiness to care for their Black preterm infants after NICU discharge with the revised KTM.

Methods:

A qualitative descriptive research approach was used for this single-site study of NICU parents of Black preterm infants. Qualitative analysis of 10 parents' perceptions before NICU discharge was via semantic content analysis; data were organized into categories aligned with the KTM. The Transition Questionnaire (TQ), an adjunct to the KTM, provided self- report quantitative data.

Results:

All parents endorsed the “Information Needs,” “Stress and Coping,” and “Professional Support” domains of the KTM. Parent TQ responses indicated perceptions of moderate to high levels of home transition readiness after NICU discharge.

Implications for Practice and Research:

The domains of the revised KTM were affirmed by parents of Black preterm infants in this study via coded interview and TQ responses. Additional study exploring the clinical assessment of transition readiness with theoretical grounding in diverse NICU families is warranted.

Video Abstract available at:

https://journals.lww.com/advancesinneonatalcare/Pages/videogallery.aspx.
Ultrasound to Verify Gastric Tube Position in Infants and Children
Authors: Manzo Bruna Figueiredo , Marcatto Juliana de Oliveira , Ribeiro Bruna Ferreira , Oliveira Thayane Gusmão P. , Gomes Vitório Guedes , Caldas Jamil Pedro de Siqueira , Parker Leslie A.
Published: May 2022

Background:

Placement of gastric tubes is commonly performed in infants and children but malpositioning is common and is associated with significant complications.

Objective:

The aim of this systematic review is to identify the evidence on the use of ultrasound to verify correct gastric tube placement in infants and children and gaps in the research.

Methods:

This review was performed using CINAHL, PUBMED, EMBASE and Web of Science databases. Studies were included if they used an empirical study design, were published in English, included infants or children, and evaluated the use of ultrasound to verify correct gastric tube placement compared to radiograph. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were evaluated.

Results:

Four articles were included in the review. Sensitivity estimates were 0.88 to 1.00 and a positive predictive value of 0.99 was reported in one study. Specificity was not reported in any of the included studies. Ultrasound may be an important method to correctly identify gastric tube placement in infants and children with less radiation exposure and cost.

Implications for Practice:

Ultrasound could be a used to verify gastric tube positioning in infants and children for both initial placement and continued verification leading to reduced radiation exposure and cost.

Implications for Research:

Research should focus on evaluating ultrasound specificity and the clinical feasibility of using ultrasound as a standard practice, including cost and time required to complete the exam, as well as the ability of ultrasound to verify gastric tube placement in infants weighing less than 1500 grams.
Clean Shot: Bacterial Contamination After Positive Pressure Irrigation of Low-Velocity Gunshot Wounds
Authors: Lindeman Katherine G. , Colen Alexander J. , Molinari Alexander , Ablove Robert H.
Published: May 2022

Objective:

Low-velocity gunshot wounds (LV-GSWs) are a common reason for emergency department visits. Optimal nonsurgical treatment has not been thoroughly studied and is not standardized. The goal of this study was to determine whether positive pressure irrigation reduces the bacterial contamination after a simulated GSW to soft tissue.

Methods:

Nineteen lamb shank specimens were prepared with denim inoculated with Serratia marcescens cultures. A 9-mm pistol round was fired from a distance of 3 m through the contaminated denim into the lamb shank. A culture swab was placed in the wound directly after firing, after 250 cubic-centimeters (cc) irrigation with normal saline, and after an additional 250 cc irrigation (for a total of 500 cc). Swabs were then cultured to determine the amount of bacterial growth.

Results:

Before irrigation, 0 (0%) plates showed no growth, 2 (10.5%) showed rare growth, 8 (42.1%) showed few growth, 6 (31.6%) showed moderate growth, and 3 (15.8%) showed many growth. After 500 cc irrigation, 2 (10.5%) showed no growth, 1 (5.3%) showed rare growth, 11 (57.9%) showed few growth, 2 (10.5%) showed moderate growth, and 3 (15.8%) showed many growth. Fisher exact test confirmed no significant change in bacterial concentration after irrigation (P = 0.59). A Pearson test found no correlation between irrigation and bacterial growth (r = −0.15, P = −0.25).

Conclusions:

Positive pressure irrigation with up to 500 cc normal saline did not significantly alter the quantity of bacterial growth within a simulated GSW cavity. The data suggest that bedside positive pressure irrigation may not be beneficial in the initial emergency department treatment of LV-GSWs.
Binocular Visual Function Changes After Corneal Collagen Cross-linking in Patients With Keratoconus
Authors: Fasciani Romina , Crincoli Emanuele , Fedeli Chiara , Rebecchi Maria Teresa , Senneca Marco , Mosca Luigi , Guccione Laura , Rizzo Stanislao
Published: May 2022

Purpose:

High-order aberrations (HOAs) have been demonstrated to profoundly affect both visual acuity and stereoacuity in patients with keratoconus. Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL) has been proven to significantly lower HOAs in keratoconus. Yet, to the present date, no evaluation of the effect of the procedure on stereopsis has been performed. The purpose of the study was to assess differences in binocular visual performance in patients with keratoconus before and after CXL.

Methods:

Patients with keratoconus undergoing standard Dresden protocol epi-off CXL in the ophthalmology department of Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli Hospital received slitlamp examination, uncorrected distance visual acuity and corrected distance visual acuity assessment, corneal tomography, Lang stereotest, TNO stereoacuity assessment, distance and near cover test, and Irvine test before surgery and 6 months after CXL. Stereopsis tests were performed with spectacle correction.

Results:

The analysis included 30 patients (mean age 24.63 ± 3.49 years). The Lang test improved after treatment (P 0.027), with 6 of 30 patients (20%) showing a positive Lang test before CXL compared with 16 of 30 patients (53.3%) after treatment. Moreover, TNO stereoacuity increased after treatment (P 0.043), and 14 of 30 patients (46.7%) manifested an improvement of at least 250″ at the TNO test after CXL. In this subgroup of patients, total root mean square values decreased after treatment (P < 0.001), whereas patients who did not manifest a clinically significant improvement in stereoacuity did not show a reduction in total root mean square values after CXL (P = 0.11). The results of cover test and Irvine test did not vary after CXL.

Conclusions:

Patients with keratoconus showing a reduction of HOAs after CXL also manifest a significant improvement in stereoacuity after the treatment.