Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article explores the influence of national politics on shaping responses to refugee crises in the Middle East. The article focuses on the case of Lebanon, typically described as a weak or failed state, to explain the progression of policies the Lebanese government used to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis. By using qualitative data from interviews with political officials, the article conceptualizes the change in relations between the Lebanese government and United Nations agencies as evidence of a progression in policies by the Lebanese government. Moving from largely a policy of no-policy, as the crisis in Syria turned into a protracted conflict, we depict Lebanon as moving from a mere recipient of aid from the United Nations to a more active player in shaping crisis response policies. The main thrust of this work is to highlight how exogenous shocks can make governments more influential in shaping United Nations agencies.

PurposeDrawing upon the authors' experiences as minoritised academic scholars within leadership roles of a Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network in the United Kingdom (UK) academe, the authors explored the research question "In what ways do racially minoritised academics use coping techniques and strategies to counter racism and inequality in the higher education environment".Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a collective autoethnography approach accompanied by storytelling, underpinned by a qualitative interpretative process, supported by inductive, data-driven theorising. The authors' approach is supplemented by the usage of content analysis (Schrieier, 2012) to analyse the data and generate findings.FindingsThe research findings specifically highlight (1) collectivism, solidarity and belonging, (2) knowledge expansion and critical consciousness, (3) disarming approaches and emotional labour, (4) resistance through setting boundaries and (5) intersectionality and BAME men allyship, as specific approaches for taking forward anti-racism.Research limitations/implicationsAutoethnographic research has encountered challenges around verification, transparency and veracity of data, and issues have been debated due to its subjective nature (see Jones, 2010; Keeler, 2019; Méndez, 2013). Additional complications arise regarding neutrality and objectivity associated with the researchers' identities and experiences being represented in autoethnographic accounts. The authors acknowledge that the accounts provided are subjective, and have influenced the research process and product.Originality/valueResearch on the experiences of minoritised academics leading staff equality networks constitutes a research gap. This article offers an original analysis through outlining the authors' lived experiences in leadership positions of a BAME Network and hope to other minoritised employees undertaking anti-racist work.

Abstract
Limitations on membership and participation in host societies sharply constrain refugee young people's civic development. Especially when refugees attend national schools, they find themselves submerged in civic learning that does not include them or represent their experiences and realities. To explore possibilities for civic learning among refugees, we examine the education created by a Syrian community inside the structures of a Lebanese private school in Beirut. We conceive of this school as a 'borderlands' and find that it supports civic membership and participation in three ways: through adaptations to the Lebanese structures, curricula, and languages of schooling; through pedagogies focused on pragmatism; and through opening limited spaces for students to practice civic skills. We argue that the borderlands space created by this school holds lessons for both refugee and national teachers and school systems seeking to foster civic learning among refugees.

Biodiversity conservation in Lebanon ought to be guided by practical assessment tools in order to promote conservation efforts amid destructive and profit driven urban and industrial expansion. The challenge for national conservation scientists, however, is to develop such tools while reconciling between scientific 'rigor' and pressing national realities. Those include rapid habitat loss, limited human and financial resources, and the fact that biodiversity is a low national priority compared to other social, political, and economic issues. It is in this context that we propose a rapid management strategy guide based on a habitat assessment tool for riparian ecosystems (which are typically threatened in Lebanon). The proposed riparian habitat assessment tool (RiHAT) consists of a habitat condition index based on twelve indicators grouped under two attributes, floristic and lndscape.

Biodiversity conservation in Lebanon ought to be guided by practical assessment tools in order to promote conservation efforts amid destructive and profit driven urban and industrial expansion. The challenge for national conservation scientists, however, is to develop such tools while reconciling between scientific 'rigor' and pressing national realities. Those include rapid habitat loss, limited human and financial resources, and the fact that biodiversity is a low national priority compared to other social, political, and economic issues. It is in this context that we propose a rapid management strategy guide based on a habitat assessment tool for riparian ecosystems (which are typically threatened in Lebanon). The proposed riparian habitat assessment tool (RiHAT) consists of a habitat condition index based on twelve indicators grouped under two attributes, floristic and lndscape.

Digital technology is increasingly used in humanitarian action and promises to improve the health and social well-being of populations affected by both acute and protracted crises. We set out to (1) review the current landscape of digital technologies used by humanitarian actors and affected populations, (2) examine their impact on health and well-being of affected populations, and (3) consider the opportunities for and challenges faced by users of these technologies. Through a systematic search of academic databases and reports, we identified 50 digital technologies used by humanitarian actors, and/or populations affected by crises. We organized them according to the stage of the humanitarian cycle that they were used in, and the health outcomes or determinants of health they affected. Digital technologies were found to facilitate communication, coordination, and collection and analysis of data, enabling timely responses in humanitarian contexts. A lack of evaluation of these technologies, a paternalistic approach to their development, and issues of privacy and equity constituted major challenges. We highlight the need to create a space for dialogue between technology designers and populations affected by humanitarian crises.

BACKGROUND: We examined the associations between germline variants and breast cancer mortality using a large meta-analysis of women of European ancestry. METHODS: Meta-analyses included summary estimates based on Cox models of twelve datasets using ~10.4 million variants for 96,661 women with breast cancer and 7697 events (breast cancer-specific deaths). Oestrogen receptor (ER)-specific analyses were based on 64,171 ER-positive (4116) and 16,172 ER-negative (2125) patients. We evaluated the probability of a signal to be a true positive using the Bayesian false discovery probability (BFDP). RESULTS: We did not find any variant associated with breast cancer-specific mortality at P < 5 × 10-8. For ER-positive disease, the most significantly associated variant was chr7:rs4717568 (BFDP = 7%, P = 1.28 × 10-7, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.84-0.92); the closest gene is AUTS2. For ER-negative disease, the most significant variant was chr7:rs67918676 (BFDP = 11%, P = 1.38 × 10-7, HR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.16-1.39); located within a long intergenic non-coding RNA gene (AC004009.3), close to the HOXA gene cluster. CONCLUSIONS: We uncovered germline variants on chromosome 7 at BFDP < 15% close to genes for which there is biological evidence related to breast cancer outcome. However, the paucity of variants associated with mortality at genome-wide significance underpins the challenge in providing genetic-based individualised prognostic information for breast cancer patients. ; BCAC is funded by Cancer Research UK [C1287/A16563 and C1287/A10118], the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant numbers 634935 and 633784 for BRIDGES and B-CAST, respectively), and by the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement number 223175 (Grant number HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS).