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This paper explores the policies of the United Nations and specialized institutions concerning the coordination of international community efforts to combat terrorist threats. Terrorism remains a significant threat to international security, despite the war in Ukraine taking priority in terms of insecurity. In this regard, international cooperation aimed at countering terrorism remains relevant, and the actions taken between 2015 and 2018 must be expanded and intensified. Such cooperation requires the participation of a broad spectrum of actors in international relations, including states, governmental international organizations, and civil society. Terrorism continues to be a global problem, and multilateral cooperation is both timely and necessary to counter it. Terrorist movements have not taken a break, despite their lack of large-scale actions, as they continue to express themselves through the activities of crisis cells or lone wolves. Consequently, prophylaxis methods must be supplemented, considering the new forms of terrorism expression. The United Nations organization continues to prove itself as the institution authorized to develop the legal framework and coordinate international efforts to counter this scourge.

An important issue in the field of combating terrorism is the formation of an appropriate regulatory framework and the existence of an effective system of counteraction at the national and international levels. Many states have adopted special laws regarding the fight against terrorism; most countries long ago came to the conclusion that the fight against terrorism must be the prerogative of special organizations. The article will highlight the activity, the political and legal framework of the Anti-terrorism Center of the Republic of Moldova in the field of combating and preventing terrorism.

Implicit (i.e. unconscious) racial biases held by health professionals negatively affect patient–practitioner communication and health outcomes. Implicit biases are typically assessed through implicit association tests (IATs). We extracted cross‐sectional IAT data originating in Australia from two large publicly available data sets hosted by Project Implicit. In total, IATs were available from 1956 healthcare workers (1249 of European ethnicity; 829 professionals/technicians as opposed to support workers). All had participated between 2006 and 2022. Levels of implicit skin tone bias were found to be moderate according to Project Implicit guidelines and substantially greater than zero (d = 0.87). Participants of European ethnicity and older age scored higher, but there were no differences across occupation types (professional vs. support worker) or over years. Consistent with findings around the world, the findings highlight a need for interventions that could reduce implicit bias and thereby improve the healthcare experiences of people from minority groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied a simple binary prediction task and discovered that,when making predictions, humans display sequential effectssimilar to those in reaction time. Moreover, we found that thereare considerable individual differences in sequential effects inprediction, again similarly to reaction time studies. We discussour results in light of the view that sequential effects are thetrace of an attempt at detecting a pattern in the sequence, aswell as the possible influence of randomness perception in ourresults. We conclude that the same pattern detection mech-anism is likely to underlie sequential effects in reaction timeand prediction.

This article explores the concept of soft power and its evolution in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the 21st century. The concept of soft power, has gained widespread popularity in recent decades among both researchers and politicians and civil servants. The emergence and rapid development of this concept is due to scientific research conducted by the representative of the neoliberal school of international relations Joseph Nye, an American foreign policy specialist and professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Thus, soft power can be defined as the political activity of state and public institutions and organizations, in the long run, both in traditional and modern diplomacy, designed to protect and achieve national interests, by creating a positive image of the state on the international arena and the formation in other countries of friendly and influential communities. The United Kingdom is the country that ranks first in most surveys and a paper conducted by renowned research institutes and has extensive experience in using soft power resources to promote the image of the state.

This article explores the public diplomacy of the European Union at the current stage and its reflection in the Republic of Moldova. The methods and techniques of public diplomacy have been used in the foreign policy of states over the centuries, however, only in the second half of the twentieth century they began to turn into a conscious state policy, with a solid theoretical and legislative framework. Public diplomacy is the most efficient and frequently used method of implementing the “soft power” of the state, which includes cultural, educational, sports, journalism, scientific, etc. projects, focused on interaction with the elite and society in other countries and which aims to create an attractive image of their country. The EU started to develop intensively public diplomacy and strategic communication actions in the Republic of Moldova in order to inform effectively the citizens of Moldova about its assistance and support in the process of the European integration of the country. Therefore, this article analyses the specific tools and strategies of public diplomacy applied by the European Union in the Republic of Moldova.

Following the March 15th Christchurch terrorist attack, members of our research team have been repeatedly asked to comment or provide summary statistics from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS) on prejudice toward Muslims. As the curators of the NZAVS, we think that these findings should be in the public domain and accessible to as wide an audience as possible. In this article, we aim to provide a comprehensive summary of what we know from the NZAVS about attitudes toward Muslims and prejudice in New Zealand more generally. From 2012 onwards, the NZAVS included a feeling thermometer rating of people's level of warmth toward Muslims. Here, we summarize what we know from the NZAVS about levels of warmth toward Muslims in the New Zealand population. We describe the distribution of thermometer ratings of warmth toward Muslims annually from 2012 onward, and compare these with thermometer ratings of a range of other groups that we also track. We present a regression model documenting the extent to which a broad range of demographics and aspects of personality are associated with low levels of warmth toward Muslims, and present a parallel model assessing warmth ratings toward immigrants as a comparison. Finally, we present a series of growth curve models outlining the relative level and rate of change over time in warmth toward Muslims and other groups from 2012-2018. Results from these analyses indicate that over the 2012-2018 period, levels of warmth toward Muslims in New Zealand were comparatively low relative to warmth ratings of other groups. However, warmth toward Muslims has also been steadily but gradually increasing over time in New Zealand. Keywords: Prejudice, Muslim, Christchurch Terrorist Attack, Feeling Thermometer, Introduction The shock and horror of the March 15th 2019 terrorist attack in Christchurch will shape our nation for many years to come. With 51 Muslim men, women, and children [...]

Background/Aims: Fecal incontinence (FI) is a common, debilitating condition that causes major impact on quality of life for those affected. Non-surgical treatment options include anorectal biofeedback therapy (BF) and percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), usually performed separately. The aims of the current study were to determine the feasibility, tolerability, safety, and efficacy of performing a combined BF and PTNS treatment protocol. Methods: Female patients with urge FI were offered a novel pilot program combining BF with PTNS. The treatment protocol consisted of 13 weekly sessions: an educational session, followed by 5 combined BF and PTNS sessions, 6 PTNS and a final combined session. Anorectal physiology and clinical outcomes were assessed throughout the program. For efficacy, patients were compared with BF only historical FI patients matched for age, parity, and severity of symptoms. Results: A total of 12/13 (93%) patients completed the full program. Overall attendance rate was 93% (157/169 sessions). Patient comfort score with treatment was rated high at 9.8/10 (SD 0.7) for PTNS and 8.6/10 (SD 1.7) for the BF component. No major side effects were reported. A reduction of at least 50% in FI episodes/week was achieved by 58% of patients by visit 6, and 92% by visit 13. No physiology changes were evident immediately following PTNS compared with before, but pressure during sustained anal squeeze improved by the end of the treatment course. Comparing outcomes with historical matched controls, reductions in weekly FI episodes were more pronounced in the BF only group at visit 6, but not week 13. Conclusions: In this pilot study, concurrent PTNS and anorectal biofeedback therapy has been shown to be feasible, comfortable, and low risk. The combined protocol is likely to be an effective treatment for FI, but future research could focus on optimizing patient selection.

This paper explores the policies of the United Nations and specialized institutions concerning the coordination of international community efforts to combat terrorist threats. Terrorism remains a significant threat to international security, despite the war in Ukraine taking priority in terms of insecurity. In this regard, international cooperation aimed at countering terrorism remains relevant, and the actions taken between 2015 and 2018 must be expanded and intensified. Such cooperation requires the participation of a broad spectrum of actors in international relations, including states, governmental international organizations, and civil society. Terrorism continues to be a global problem, and multilateral cooperation is both timely and necessary to counter it. Terrorist movements have not taken a break, despite their lack of large-scale actions, as they continue to express themselves through the activities of crisis cells or lone wolves. Consequently, prophylaxis methods must be supplemented, considering the new forms of terrorism expression. The United Nations organization continues to prove itself as the institution authorized to develop the legal framework and coordinate international efforts to counter this scourge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The illusion of control refers to the inference of action-outcome contingency in situations where outcomes are in fact random. The strength of this illusion has been found to be affected by whether the frequency of successes increases or decreases over repeated trials, in what can be termed a “success-slope” effect. Previous studies have generated inconsistent findings regarding the nature of this effect. In this paper we present an experiment (N = 334) that overcomes several methodological limitations within this literature, employing a wider range of dependent measures (measures of two different types of illusory control, primary (by self) and secondary (by luck), as well as measures of remembered success-frequency). Results indicate that different dependent measures lead to different effects. On measures of (primary, but not secondary) control over the task, scores were highest when the rate of success increased over time. Meanwhile, estimates of success-frequency in the task did not vary across conditions and showed trends consistent with the broader literature on human memory.

The undeclared and unprovoked war of the Russian Federation in Ukraine has substantially changed the list of dangers to international security. After the end of the Cold War, the main danger was determined by international terrorism, expressed primarily through the actions of transnational organizations. The conflict in Ukraine has brought nuclear weapons back to the forefront (similar to the bipolar period), which complements conventional weapons. However, attention to terrorist movements should not be reduced, expressed primarily through cells that consist of a few individuals, lone wolves, and the amplification of state terrorism. In this sense, the phenomenon of terrorism remains an important subject from both a theoretical and political-legal standpoint, including the elaboration of a synthesis definition. The article will highlight the the issue of international political-legal regulation of cooperation for countering terrorism in Europe comprehensively, exploring various specific components of the process of countering terrorism within the complex activities of the Council of Europe, European Union and OSCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, terrorism has been perceived as a paramount threat to security at all levels of international functionality -- local, national, regional, interregional, and global. Terrorism can be referred to as a peril, a real and long-lasting threat of significant proportions. Currently, it is one of the major factors that affect global development and shapes the socio-political agenda at all levels, from national to international. The Republic of Moldova is in solidarity with the activities of both state and non-state actors aimed at countering terrorism. While the capacities of the Republic of Moldova are relatively limited, it takes a firm stance against terrorism and has always expressed readiness to align with international efforts. The Republic of Moldova considers the consolidation of international efforts necessary, convinced that only through the cooperation of all anti-terrorist forces can this scourge be suppressed. Currently, the attention of international actors is focused on identifying solutions to the armed conflict in Ukraine and preventing other outbreaks of conflict. International terrorism seems to have been relegated to a lower priority, but this does not preclude the need for the prevention of potential terrorist actions. In this context, international cooperation in the field of counterterrorism is indispensable and timely. The article will highlight the particularities of the international cooperation of the Republic of Moldova with international governmental organizations in the field of combating and preventing international terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]