Search Results (961)

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are being added to the Newborn Bloodspot Screening (NBS) programme in the Republic of Ireland. To support this expansion, we conducted a scoping review to identify reported timeframes for implementing national, regional or state-wide expanded NBS programmes. We performed a scoping review of the literature published between 2015 and 2025. Eligible articles described the timeframes for implementation of expanded NBS programmes for SCID, SMA or additional metabolic conditions. Sources included PubMed, Embase, citation searching, the International Journal of Neonatal Screening and grey literature. A narrative synthesis was undertaken. Fourteen articles met the inclusion criteria, describing the addition of new conditions—SCID (N = 7), SMA (N = 4), or multiple conditions (N = 3) to expanded NBS programmes in the United States (US), Europe (Belgium, Catalonia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Tuscany), Hong Kong and New Zealand. In most jurisdictions, the implementation of NBS programmes for new conditions took two to six years. The implementation of NBS for new conditions requires considerable time and coordinated efforts. Further research providing greater detail on the specific implementation steps, along with associated timelines, would provide valuable guidance for jurisdictions aiming to expand NBS programmes globally. Full article

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies are increasingly recognised as critical components of global climate mitigation strategies. However, the effective monitoring and verification of greenhouse gas emission reductions from carbon capture, utilisation and storage facilities remain significant challenges. This review synthesises current monitoring methods, including in situ sensing, drone-based observations and satellite remote sensing, and critically evaluates their strengths, limitations and applicability to various carbon capture, utilisation and storage contexts. We analyse the regulatory frameworks that govern monitoring practices across jurisdictions, identify methodological gaps and assess the performance of existing technologies with respect to detection thresholds, the integration of multiple data sources and the requirements for long-term verification. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of data assimilation and inversion modelling in interpreting measurements and quantifying emissions. Based on this synthesis, we recommend a more harmonised, concentration-based approach to monitoring that combines diverse observation platforms to enhance the accuracy, transparency and cost-effectiveness of verification efforts. This review aims to support the development of best practices for environmental monitoring and assessment in the context of carbon capture, utilisation and storage deployment. Full article

The integration of Bitcoin into corporate treasuries constitutes a critical strategic choice, motivated by its capacity to bolster liquidity and serve as an inflation hedge, while simultaneously being encumbered by pronounced financial volatility and regulatory ambiguity. This investigation examines sectoral variations in Bitcoin adoption, with particular attention to the manner in which financial risks, regulatory structures, and decentralized governance mechanisms shape corporate conduct across the technology, cryptocurrency mining, retail, healthcare, and e-commerce sectors. Drawing on a cross-sectional dataset encompassing 102 publicly traded firms collectively holding 1,001,861 BTC, the analysis employs MAD-based volatility, Firth logistic regression incorporating a U.S. regulatory dummy to account for the BITCOIN Act of 2025, and heatmap visualization to evaluate risk profiles and adoption patterns. Results demonstrate marked sectoral disparities: the technology and mining sectors command predominant holdings yet confront heightened risk exposure, whereas retail and healthcare sectors proceed with greater caution, guided by considerations of cost-value efficiency and regulatory adherence. The U.S. regulatory dummy is significant, indicating the BITCOIN Act facilitates high Bitcoin adoption, while recent transactional activity is marginally significant. The heatmap accentuates the technology sector’s pre-eminence in aggregate Bitcoin reserves and illuminates the differential influence of regulatory frameworks in non-U.S. jurisdictions. Anchored in Institutional Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, and Transaction Cost Economics, the study advances the field by quantifying sector-specific risks and visually representing regulatory impacts, thereby furnishing actionable insights for treasury risk management and regulatory policy formulation within a decentralized financial ecosystem. Full article

Vessel Traffic Service systems play a critical role in maritime safety by providing timely advisories to vessels in congested waterways. However, the optimal timing for VTS operator interventions has remained largely unstudied, relying primarily on subjective operator experience rather than empirical evidence. This study presents the first large-scale empirical analysis of VTS operator intervention timing using automated speech recognition technology applied to actual maritime communication data. VHF radio communications were collected from five major VTS centers in Korea over nine months, comprising 171,175 communication files with a total duration of 334.2 h. The recorded communications were transcribed using the Whisper speech-to-text model and processed through natural language processing techniques to extract encounter situations and advisory distances. A tokenization and keyword framework was developed to handle Maritime English and local-language communications, normalize textual numerical expressions, and facilitate cross-site analysis. Results reveal that VTS operator intervention timing varies by encounter type. In head-on and crossing encounters, advisories are provided at distances, with mean values of 3.1 nm and 2.8 nm, respectively. These quantitative benchmarks provide an empirical foundation for developing standardized VTS operational guidelines and decision support systems, ultimately enhancing maritime safety and operational consistency across jurisdictions. Full article

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence has unsettled traditional legal conceptions of authorship and originality by challenging the foundational premise of copyright, namely, the requirement of human intervention as a precondition for protection. Such disruption exposes the anthropocentric limits of existing regulatory frameworks and underscores the absence of coherent, harmonized responses across jurisdictions. The study proposes a normative framework for determining the minimum threshold of human creativity necessary for works produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence to qualify for legal protection. Through comparative and doctrinal analysis, it advances the criterion of substantial creative direction, defined through three essential elements: effective control over the generative process, verifiable creative input, and identifiable expressive intent. On this basis, a graduated model of copyright protection is suggested, modulating the scope of rights according to the degree of human intervention and complemented by procedural reforms aimed at enabling its administrative implementation. The proposal seeks to reorient copyright toward an adaptive paradigm that safeguards technological innovation while preserving the centrality of human creativity as the normative foundation of the system, thereby ensuring a balanced relationship between regulatory flexibility and legal certainty. Full article

This study examines Panama’s 2023 mining restrictions to illuminate persistent legitimacy crises in extractive governance. Employing a qualitative case study, it draws on 25 semi-structured interviews with government officials, industry representatives, Indigenous leaders, local communities, mining critics and other civil society actors, alongside policy and document analysis. Findings suggest that legitimacy reconstruction relies on four interdependent conditions: procedural justice, institutional trust, epistemic legitimacy, and relational governance. Stakeholders consistently emphasized transparency, capacity building, and inclusive engagement as essential for future mining activity, underscoring that technical standards alone are insufficient without credible institutions. Building on—but extending beyond—frameworks such as Social License to Operate (SLO) and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), this paper offers Social Legitimacy for Mining (SLM) as a provisional, co-produced framework. Developed through literature synthesis and refined by diverse stakeholder perspectives, SLM is applied in Panama as an illustrative proof of concept that may inform further research and practice, while recognizing the need for additional adaptation across jurisdictions. Full article

This study constructs a Stackelberg differential game model for green technology invest-ment in the food industry under a governmental coordination mechanism. The optimal dynamic strategies for local governments and enterprises are derived using Pontryagin’s maximum principle. The backward differential equation method is employed in this study. It is used to analyze the impact of shadow prices on the optimal decisions of both parties. Furthermore, the study examines how social welfare benefits influence the food quality levels within the jurisdiction of local governments. Based on these findings, optimal strategy pathways are proposed to achieve social welfare and enterprise profit maximization in the green transition process of both government and enterprises. The results indicate that a local government’s investment in food quality improvement significantly enhances the food quality levels within their jurisdictions—greater government investment leads to higher food quality. At the same time, food quality levels are positively correlated with the enterprises’ green technology capital investment. Additionally, consumer price sensitivity and sensitivity to price differences have a notable impact on product pricing. As consumers become more price-sensitive, product prices decrease accordingly, which, in turn, helps increase the market share of the enterprises’ products. Full article

This article develops an interdisciplinary framework that applies topological and graph-theoretical methods to public procurement markets and digital platform economies. Conceptualizing legal–economic interactions as dynamic networks of nodes and edges, we show how structural properties—centrality, clustering, connectivity, and boundary formation—shape contestability, resilience, and compliance. Using EU-relevant contexts (public procurement directives and the Digital Markets Act), we formalize network representations for buyers, suppliers, platforms, and regulators; define operational indicators; and illustrate an empirical, value-weighted buyer → supplier network to reveal a sparse but highly modular architecture with a high-value backbone. We then map these structural signatures to concrete legal levers (lotting and framework design, modification scrutiny, interoperability and data-access duties) and propose dashboard-style diagnostics for proactive oversight. The findings demonstrate how topological modelling complements doctrinal analysis by making hidden architectures visible and by linking measurable structure to regulatory outcomes. We conclude with implications for evidence-informed regulatory design and a research agenda integrating graph analytics, comparative evaluation across jurisdictions, and machine-learning-assisted anomaly detection. Full article

Contractual agreements often contain clauses that are unfair, creating unjust suffering in one party to the agreement. ContractNerd leverages advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) to analyze contractual agreements and identify issues across four categories: missing clauses, unenforceable clauses, legally sound clauses, and legal but risky clauses. By using a structured methodology that integrates LLM-based clause comparison, enforceability checks against jurisdiction-specific regulations, and assessments of risk-inducing traits, ContractNerd provides a comprehensive analysis of contractual terms. To evaluate the tool’s effectiveness, we compare its analyses with those from existing platforms on rental clauses that have led to court litigation. ContractNerd’s interface helps users (both drafters and signing parties) to navigate complex contracts, offering actionable insights to flag legal risks and disputes. Full article

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 was enacted despite significant opposition from refugee charity and legal sectors. It is without question that the Act changes the domestic landscape of the refugee status determination system and has the potential to also negatively influence refugee status determinations in other jurisdictions. There are several sections of the Act that are particularly problematic for women’s claims of asylum. The Act reverses well-established international and regional human rights and refugee law principles and standards. The reversal, in some cases, of decades of jurisprudence on the interpretation of the Refugee Convention poses a concern for the integrity of the law and administrative justice. While the Act imposes barriers for all claimants, it disproportionately affects some of the most complex cases, including refugee women fleeing gender-based persecution. Of the various changes brought about by the Act, this article focuses on three that are particularly relevant to women asylum seekers: first, the regressive way in which membership of a particular social group has been framed; second, the heightened standard of proof now required; and third, the associated evidential burdens in relation to trauma and disclosure. Ultimately, these changes are likely to have a disproportionate and discriminatory impact on women seeking asylum, particularly those fleeing gender-based persecution. Full article

This study systematically evaluates website blocking as both an anti-piracy enforcement mechanism and a cybersecurity control, analyzing its effectiveness in reducing piracy across four Southeast Asian jurisdictions with distinct legal frameworks, assessing blocking speed, procedural barriers, and circumvention tactics, providing new empirical insights for policymakers and cybersecurity practitioners. Using a quasi-experimental design during the COVID-19 pandemic, this research examines the impact of website blocking measures in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. For the first time, the findings reveal that swift, systematic website blocking—exemplified by Indonesia—serves as an effective cybersecurity control, significantly reducing access to infringing content while redirecting traffic toward legitimate platforms. Jurisdictions with procedural delays and inconsistent enforcement, however, demonstrate limited efficacy, highlighting the need for dynamic responses to evolving threats such as domain hopping and proxy servers. The findings inform broader cybersecurity applications like network segmentation, access control, and threat intelligence. This work links traditional copyright enforcement to proactive incident detection and response strategies, providing insights into broader applications for cybersecurity, such as network segmentation, access control, and threat intelligence. Full article

Audit Quality Indicators (AQIs) have become vital tools for assessing and improving audit performance. This study examines how AQIs are defined, implemented, and interpreted across jurisdictions, with a particular focus on their integration into ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) assurance. Through a cross-jurisdictional comparison covering the EU, UK, US, and Canada, we analyze regulatory diversity and explore how different oversight models influence AQI adoption. Our findings reveal that AQIs play an increasingly important role not only in enhancing audit transparency but also in reinforcing the credibility of sustainability reporting under evolving frameworks like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). However, implementation remains fragmented, and standardization challenges persist. The study offers empirical insights from a large-scale survey of audit professionals, highlighting how perceptions of audit quality vary by country, experience, and organizational context. We conclude that the harmonization of AQI frameworks, especially with ESG-focused metrics, is essential to foster public trust and ensure the accountability of sustainability assurance. Full article

This article explores the philosophical and legal foundations of the Metaverse as an emerging socio-technological reality. It examines the co-evolution of technology, law, and society, emphasizing the need for new frameworks to address identity, subjectivity, and regulation in virtual spaces. Central to the analysis is the concept of Metasubjectivity, which affirms the ontological equality of humans, AI, and digital avatars. The study critiques classical anthropocentric paradigms and highlights postanthropocentric approaches that integrate ethical pluralism and algorithmic governance. Key risks, including dehumanization, identity crises, and algorithmic discrimination, are discussed in the context of digital subjectivity and emerging e-jurisdictions. The study presents a philosophical model that integrates critical rationalism, process philosophy, and the e-jurisdiction legal paradigm, with the aim of ensuring fairness and balance in digital ecosystems. Full article

This study explores how digitalization by focal firms affects carbon performance across the entire supply chain, advancing the literature by adopting a holistic supply chain perspective rather than a single-firm lens. We further draw on dynamic capability theory to explain the mechanisms through which digitalization enhances supply chain carbon performance. Based on an unbalanced panel dataset of Chinese listed firms from 2008 to 2022, we construct a three-tier supply chain panel linking upstream, focal, and downstream firms. The benchmark regression results show that focal firm digitalization significantly enhances overall supply chain carbon performance. Mechanism analyses identify two critical transmission channels: (1) optimizing supply chain resource allocation efficiency, through improved inventory turnover and strengthened supply chain finance; and (2) enabling collaborative technological upgrading, by enhancing the total factor productivity of upstream and downstream partners. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of digitalization on improving carbon performance is more pronounced in regions with stronger environmental regulation and in non-regulated industries. In addition, we analyze the moderating role of the Supply-Chain Pilot-Cities Program. The findings provide practical insights for firm managers globally seeking to leverage digitalization for supply chain decarbonization and for policymakers across jurisdictions aiming to design supportive mechanisms that facilitate digital and green integration. Full article

The transition from linear to circular systems remains slow and fragmented, despite the increasing recognition of circular economy (CE) as a strategic pathway to sustainability. This review identifies and categorizes the main policy levers supporting the adoption of Circular Business Models (CBM) in an analytical framework comprising eight determinants: policy agenda, governance, regulation, standardization, economic incentives, information, cooperation, and digitalization. Based on a semi-systematic review of 95 scientific and grey literature sources, the study reveals persistent gaps in policy coherence, governance coordination, and support for high-circularity strategies. The proposed framework offers a practical tool for policymakers to assess existing policy landscapes, identify gaps, and design integrated policy mixes tailored to specific contexts. It also provides a foundation for future empirical research and benchmarking across jurisdictions. By highlighting the interplay between top-down and bottom-up initiatives, the study underscores the need for inclusive, stable, and digitally enabled policy environments to accelerate the circular transition. Full article