环境损害责任与全球环境法的兴起

全球环境法是在全球化的背景下随着环境法律移植和创新的深入发展而得以产生和演进的,其中,全球环境损害责任制度堪为缩影和写照。在国内法层面,为了克服污染受害者起诉污染者承担损害赔偿责任的制度性障碍,一些国家采取了放宽因果关系证明要求和转移举证责任等多种因应措施。然而,在国际层面,对于针对美国跨国公司在国外的环境侵权行为的诉讼,美国法院往往以不方便美国法院原则、适用《外国人侵权法》在美国起诉须以被告违反国际法为条件、非居民外国人不具备审慎起诉资格等为由而拒不受理,致使环境受害者在美国的诉讼阻力重重。作为应对,发展中国家采取了一系列举措。其中,最典型的立法对策是,规定一旦案件在国外起诉,国内法院便自动丧失管辖权;在原告所在国起诉的,允许以被告所在国的法律来计算污染损害赔偿额,等等。因而,一国对外国原告提起的环境诉讼的接受和承认外国判决之互惠条件准则的出台,将变得越来越重要。今后跨国环境私人诉讼将不断推动全球环境损害责任制度的发展,而不断革新的全球环境损害责任制度也将成为全球环境法新格局中的重要组成部分。     

Developing a best practice model of refugee maternity care

BackgroundAbout one third of refugee and humanitarian entrants to Australia are women age 12–44 years. Pregnant women from refugee backgrounds may have been exposed to a range of medical and psychosocial issues that can impact maternal, fetal and neonatal health.Research questionWhat are the key elements that characterise a best practice model of maternity care for women from refugee backgrounds? This paper outlines the findings of a project which aimed at developing such a model at a major maternity hospital in Brisbane, Australia.Participants and methodsThis multifaceted project included a literature review, consultations with key stakeholders, a chart audit of hospital use by African-born women in 2006 that included their obstetric outcomes, a survey of 23 African-born women who gave birth at the hospital in 2007–08, and a survey of 168 hospital staff members.ResultsThe maternity chart audit identified complex medical and social histories among the women, including anaemia, female circumcision, hepatitis B, thrombocytopenia, and barriers to access antenatal care. The rates of caesarean sections and obstetric complications increased over time. Women and hospital staff surveys indicated the need for adequate interpreting services, education programs for women regarding antenatal and postnatal care, and professional development for health care staff to enhance cultural responsiveness.Discussion and conclusionsThe findings point towards the need for a model of refugee maternity care that comprises continuity of carer, quality interpreter services, educational strategies for both women and healthcare professionals, and the provision of psychosocial support to women from refugee backgrounds.     

中东与美国私立高等教育的发展

中东与美国的私立高等教育是极富特色的。在中东,海湾合作委员会成员国高等教育的惊人发展引起了其他阿拉伯国家的极大关注,其私立大学数量猛增,且最显著的特点是把美国大学模式当做唯一标准模式;约旦私立大学的出现被认为是扩大高等教育体系的一种策略,约旦政府为留住人才,推动经济发展,于1990年开始设立私立高校,作为对国内高等教育供不应求的反应。在美国,营利性高校被认为是对高等教育常态的偏离,但是在美国以外,却被认为是对高等教育常态的拓宽。营利性高校的佼佼者凤凰城大学,其学习模式不同于传统的大学,主要满足成人学生群体的学习需求。有学者认为,凤凰城大学的师资模式弱化了教师的作用,引发社会各界对其教育质量的担忧。美国私立高等教育专家阿尔特巴赫对营利性中学后教育机构进行了抨击,他称这类学校为“冒牌”大学,并将其与传统大学作了比较。本刊已连续五期刊登《私立高等教育：全球革命》（2005年）一书的部分文章,本期继续刊登中东与美国私立高等教育的相关文章,以飨读者（标题系编者所加）。     

新兴工业化中等收入国家的环境执法创新

本文考察了中国、巴西、印尼和墨西哥这几个新兴工业化中等收入国家为了改善环境法律执行状况而在近期采用的五种创新手段。在这五个案例中,当环境执法机关与其他国家机关、民间主体或市场主体联合起来形成执法联盟时,执法机关的监管能力得以扩大。此外,不同类型的主体参与环境执法对于执法的持续性效果具有一定的影响。更重要的是,当被监管企业通过自我检查、自我报告以及标签分类方案而参与环境监管时,监管机关对被监管企业遵守法律的设计方案与守法决心更具有依赖性。研究发现,由于中等收入国家的环境违法行为较为普遍,加上公众和市场对企业和产品的标签分类方案响应能力不足,所以,以降低监管自主性为特点的执法创新在中等收入国家的应用具有更大的风险。     

Attitudes towards globalization and cosmopolitanism: cultural diversity, personal consumption and the national economy

One of the widely accepted consequences of globalization is the development of individual outlooks, behaviours and feelings that transcend local and national boundaries. This has encouraged a re-assessment of important assumptions about the nature of community, personal attachment and belonging in the face of unprecedented opportunities for culture, identities and politics to shape, and be shaped by, global events and processes. Recently, the upsurge of interest in the concept of cosmopolitanism has provided a promising new framework for understanding the nexus between cosmopolitan dispositions and global interconnectedness across cultural, political and economic realms. Using data from a representative social survey of Australians this paper investigates the negotiation of belonging under the conditions of globalization. The data tap into attitudes and behaviours associated with a broad gamut of cosmopolitan traits in the domains of culture, consumption, human rights, citizenship, and international governance. They show how cosmopolitan outlooks are shaped by social structural factors, and how forms of identification with humanity and the globe are fractured by boundaries of self and others, threats and opportunities, and the value of things global and local.     

Multi-couple reflecting team: preliminary report

The aim of therapeutic help in marital crisis is to break the vicious circle of mutual hurtful accusations. The method that the authors present below involves a group of couples working within a closed cycle of meetings. In the course of successive group meetings, the various couples act as reflecting teams (RTs) for each other. This achieves two objectives: the couple recounting their crisis receives nonthreatening feedback, which helps them to implement positive changes and break out of the self-perpetuating destructive interaction. In addition, the couples acting as the RT learn nonjudgmental, nontheorizing and affirmative communication.     

A comprehensive workplace intervention and its outcome with regard to lifestyle, health and sick leave: the AHA study

This study is a prospective multicentre cohort study entitled Work and Health in the Processing and Engineering Industries, the AHA Study (AHA is the Swedish abbreviation for the study). Four large workplaces in Sweden participated during the years from 2000 to 2003. The present report has two objectives: (1) to present a comprehensive occupational health intervention programme and (2) to evaluate this programme with a focus on lifestyle (smoking and exercise), health related quality of life (HRQoL) and sick leave. Interventions were provided on an individual and group level, including evidence-based methods for four health/focus areas (individual level) and a group intervention based on a survey-feedback methodology. The analyses in this report were exclusively employed at an organizational level. The proportion of smokers decreased at three companies and the course of the HRQoL was advantageous at two of the companies as compared to a gainfully employed reference group. A significant decrease in sick leave was revealed at one company, whereas a break in an ascending sick-leave trend appeared at a second company as compared to their respective corporate groups. This comprehensive workplace intervention programme appears to have had positive effects on smoking habits, HRQoL and sick leave.     

Functional foods for cardiovascular disease in women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women. Functional food consumption can play an important role in the prevention and treatment of CVD. The purpose of this review is to establish recommendations for the intake of functional food ingredients in a healthy diet, such as soy proteins and isoflavone, omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) from fish oils (FOs) including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docoshexaenoic acid (DHA) and plant sterols-(PS) enriched foods - for prevention and treatment of CVD in postmenopausal women. First, controversial results exist on CVD risk factors after intake of soy protein and isoflavone that indicates that further clinical studies need to be done to better understand their role in maintaining and improving cholesterol levels. However, since soy contains polyunsaturated fats, replacing some higher fat meat protein sources with soy products may contribute to cardiovascular health. Secondly, FOs, including EPA and DHA, have shown promising effects for lowering triglyceride levels. In addition, emerging research appears to show that omega-3 FAs may have additional health effects with improved arterial health and a reduction in oxidative stress in postmenopausal women. Thirdly, foods and beverages supplemented with PS may reduce cholesterol; therefore, are a worthy addition to interventions aimed at lowering heart disease risk in women. Overall, incorporating functional foods into a healthy diet may be beneficial in helping to reduce lipids levels and thus the risk of CVD.