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Guideline values are prescribed for drinking water to ensure long term protection of the public against anticipated potential adverse effects. There is a great public and regulatory agencies interest in the guideline values of uranium due to its complex behavior in natural aquatic system and divergent guideline values across the countries. Wide variability in guideline values of uranium in drinking water may be attributed to toxicity reference point, variation in threshold values, uncertainty within intraspecies and interspecies, resource availability, socio-economic condition, variation in ingestion rate, etc. Although guideline values vary to a great extent, reasonable scientific basis and technical judgments are essential before it could be implemented. Globally guideline values are derived considering its radiological or chemical toxicity. Minimal or no adverse effect criterions are normally chosen as the basis for deriving the guideline values of uranium. In India, the drinking water limit of 60 µg/L has been estimated on the premise of its radiological concern. A guideline concentration of 2 µg/L is recommended in Japan while 1700 µg/L in Russia. The relative merit of different experimental assumption, scientific approach and its methodology adopted for derivation of guideline value of uranium in drinking water in India and other countries is discussed in the paper.

Cholera, a disease with a long history, continues to devastate populations around the world. Due to the route of transmission of Vibrio cholerae, the bacterial pathogen that causes the disease, cholera only seems to affect developing countries, giving rise to a health disparity. For developed countries with adequate water and sewage treatment systems, the threat of cholera is irrelevant. Meanwhile, developing countries which have underlying vulnerabilities of poverty and lack basic access to clean water and proper sanitation are disproportionately affected. There are many factors that put different populations at risk for cholera outbreaks. Epidemiological studies of cholera outbreaks show that the combination of poverty with the effects of conflict or natural disaster produces the most vulnerable population of refugees or internally displaced persons (IDP). Not only are these populations more susceptible to the risk of cholera outbreak, but they are more vulnerable to its devastating effects. Refugee and IDP camps experience higher attack rates and case fatality rates (CFR) due to the scarcity of resources (Brown, Jacquier, Bachy, Bitar, & Legros, 2002). Cholera outbreaks in displaced populations present a public health hazard in an emergency context. If these outbreaks are not properly managed, they can develop into epidemics and pandemics.  Thus, it is important to implement a swift and effective strategy to manage cholera outbreaks in refugee and IDP camps. To do this there are two main objectives: control transmission of the disease and emergency medical relief. Control of transmission must be accomplished through short- and long-term solutions: a supply of adequate water and sanitation combined with a public health campaign to promote knowledge and proper practices. Emergency medical relief would consist of establishment of cholera treatment centers (CTC) that would provide urgent intervention to efficiently diagnose and treat cases of cholera to reduce fatality rates.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) was founded based on the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants to address the immigrants' needs and hosting states' responsibilities. This study aims to better understand how GCM became part of the global public policy agenda and was formulated through the interactions of three main streams to create "the window of opportunity." This study reflects upon the knowledge of the policy process through leveraging the multiple streams theory (MST) and modifying it to reconcile the differences between the national and the global public policies. The synthetic review shows the convergence of the problem, regime, and policy streams to affect the global agenda on the basis of global partnership and the global community. It also recognizes the actors who participated in creating GCM and their influence on this process. The utilization of a modified version of MST apprehends the interactive drivers of the GCM issue to enter the global public policy agenda and the global agora of formation. This study provides a structural explanation of the GCM's composition and illustrates that "focusing events" in a state require global cooperation to mitigate the turmoil and potential spillover effects of the crisis. Lastly, the review reveals the main phases in GCM development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops an analytical framework geared at making sense of global governance as patchwork. Our three-step methodology operationalizes the concept of 'bricolage' by focusing on the political practices and the value struggles that underpin the making of global public policies. This framework throws light on the widespread contestation over the objectives and solutions that should be pursued globally, as well as on the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion that structure global governance. To demonstrate the relevance of our approach, we examine a key initiative drawn from contemporary IPE and development politics: the making of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Analyzing the making of the SDGs through our methodology sheds light on the bricolage of global public policies in three interconnected ways: (1) in showing the social mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion; (2) in documenting the variety of views involved and the prevalence of conflict; and (3) in identifying practical and normative alternatives that get discarded along the way. Overall, the proposed framework helps restore the contingency and idiosyncrasies of global policies, while also uncovering their common patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how the HIV care cascade, an analytical tool, has become a policy practice that determines the direction and content of international AIDS policy. It traces the development of the cascade through from its emergence around 2011 to its position framing global AIDS policy by 2018. The article distinguishes between the cascade model as a mapping tool and the care cascade as a policy that aims to end the AIDS epidemic. It then argues that the move from an analytical to a policy tool has important implications, both for the scope of policies and for policy-relevant research. It concludes by considering its implications in determining policy direction. The qualitative research that informs the article is based on published care cascade research and policy documents, and observations of the presentations and discussions at the 2012 and 2018 International AIDS Conferences (IAS). The article uses textual analysis to develop its argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'policy entrepreneur' concept arises from the Multiple Streams' theory of agenda setting in Policy Studies. Through conceptual stretching', the concept is extended to global policy dynamics. Unlike 'advocacy networks' and 'norm entrepreneurs', the discussion addresses the strategies of 'insider' or 'near-governmental' non-state actors. The analysis advances the policy entrepreneur concept in three directions. First, the discussion develops the transnational dimensions of this activity through a case study of International Crisis Group. Second, rather than focusing on charismatic individuals, the discussion emphasizes the importance of organizational resources and reputations for policy entrepreneurship and access into international policy communities. Organizations maintain momentum behind policy solutions and pressures for change over the long term when individuals retire or depart for other positions. Third, the discussion outlines four distinct entrepreneur strategies and techniques that both individuals and organizations cultivate and deploy to enhance their power and persuasion in global policy processes and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humanity needs food system sustainability transitions to align future food demand with the planetary boundaries. This requires stakeholders and organisations to react to each other to change their position, strategies and practices. On the basis of niche-regime interactions in sustainability transitions, we explore the case of Denmark's plant-based food business sector development through 27 company case and expert interviews. We identify four development phases and a sequence in which the different environments of society, users, business, and policy contributed to the diffusion and mainstreaming of 'plant-based' in food. We find that the development is characterized by an outside-in and bottom-up direction, meaning that the original trigger came from the international level as well as the consumer demand. Businesses see their key internal success factors in the interplay of their organizational set-up, their product and technology, and their strategic choices. The plant-based market is characterized by changes in terms of increasing competition, a diversification of motives among the users, and marketing communication moving away from 'vegan/vegetarian' and towards appealing to the mainstream, flexitarian consumer. Results highlight the importance of change and collaboration among all environments, and the crucial role of the international level as a trigger for national developments. • Food system transition needs profound changes by all stakeholders • We explore one country's plant-based sector sustainability transition through 27 in-depth interviews • We identify internal and external company success factors and three market changes • A outside-in and bottom-up development emerges • All environments – users, society, business, policy - play a role for the transition but in a different sequence [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses some of the changes occurred at a global level, after the 9/11 events, not only in what concerns the main States and civilizational groups, but also organizations like NATO and UN.

Given the increasingly decaying environment on which our very existence relies upon and our unabashed ignorance, more so displayed by political office-holders and key, global economic actors, I set out in this article to summarize the current relevant debates on the topic, and why environmental issues rarely do gain salience in the political arena using a cross-disciplinary framework that I believe is most capable of providing a justification for our current state of affairs concerning the environment. To this end, I am using multiple concepts and arguments, while arguing that if we ever are to expect any significant betterment of our climate, it is going to be first and foremost the responsibility of nation-states to coordinate their efforts in order to improve and avert a potential devastating catastrophe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract There are heightened debates on limited opportunity of the global adaptation policy goals of the Paris Climate Agreement (PaCA) to match efforts at mitigation and adaptation. This has been attributed partially to the overstatement in Article 7 Paragraph 4 of the PaCA that "greater levels of mitigation" reduces the cost of additional adaptation through mitigation Co-benefits. Therefore, the paper explores how Article 7 of the PaCA partially faults the natural synergy between mitigation and adaptation to equally reduce aggregate emission, although mitigation could help reduce adaptation to physical exposure. Co-benefits are non-climate ancillary benefits from emission reduction that is human-centered. Article 7 of the PaCA overtly favors efforts at mitigation compared to adaptation, yet how much mitigation benefits match adaptation cost including human dimension issues remain speculative and also constrained emission leakages. Thus, the sole attribution of avoiding additional adaptation cost to increased mitigation efforts is far from the reality as adaptation could offset its own additional cost through benefits that reduce emissions, and synonymous to mitigation Co-benefits. For example, the adaptation intentions of ecosystem-based adaptation (Eba), urban NEXUS, integrated water resources management (IWRM) and climate smart agriculture (CSA) in aspects of biodiversity conservation, energy redistribution from human activity, water purification and nutrient recycling are also major sources of emission sink. Therefore, the Article 7 of the PaCA could be enhanced by broadening the definition of Co-benefits to reflect the two-way equity-bound efforts at mitigation and adaptation towards reduced emission leakages and additional adaptation cost. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Adaptation policy actions of the Paris Climate Agreement lacked specific targets. • Non-climate benefits of mitigation policies called co-benefits are adaptation-related. • Standalone mitigation policy could not significantly reduce additional adaptation cost. • Sustainable adaptation management also provides benefits to mitigation. • Increased adaptation credence of Paris Climate Agreement's Articles 7 could increase co-benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an increased globalizing world, there has been tendency for global regulation of certain issues impacting the communities beyond the traditional boundaries of nation states. Formulation, enactment and institutionalization of rules and procedures for global regulation and control have given rise to conditions of global governance. It implies that along with states other multinational / transnational entities and international institutions are involved in the negotiations and adoptions of global policy instruments. This institutional edifice of global governance cannot be equated with a system of world government but is involved in governance of multiple trans-boundary issues ranging from spread of diseases, terror financing, environment, drugs and human trafficking, trade, commerce, finance to transportation and communication. In the governance of such global issues and areas, the questions of accountability and responsibility have greatly surfaced on the forefront. This has attracted distinct theoretical formulations from realist, liberal institutionalist, Marxist, feminist, functionalist to cosmopolitan perspectives. This paper is an attempt to delve into the main strands of cosmopolitanism and its impact on available literature on the structures and processes of global governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]