Maastricht University - Open Journals
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Granting Nature Legal Rights: A Shift Towards an Ecocentric Conception of Nature in Germany?
Get PDFThis interdisciplinary research paper is centred around the concept of environmental personhood as a means of tackling the impending climate crisis. More specifically, it focuses on how the implementation of legal personhood as a juridical tool could lead to a shift towards a more ecocentric conception of nature. A philosophical approach will highlight the underlying discussion of the worth we grant nature and its correlated socio-cultural tradition. A legal approach will set this into the context of the German constitution and examine this issue by proposing constitutional amendments.
Keywords: Environmental Personhood, Legal Personhood, Ecocentrism, German Constitution, Socio-Cultural Traditio
Gender-Based Violence During the Armenian Genocide: An Inclusive Perspective
Get PDFThis paper analyses atrocities during the Armenian genocide through a gendered lens. Asking to what extent men and women have been differently affected by gender-based violence, Carpenter’s framework is applied that specifically recognises men’s often-overlooked victimisation of gender-based violence. The application concludes that men were, just like women, victims of gender-based violence during the Armenian genocide, but that the rationales behind the targeting of women and men greatly differed. It follows that, while Carpenter is right in arguing that gender-based violence against women and men cannot be prevented separately from each other, as the gender roles naturalising the violence depend on one another, the mainstreaming of gender in atrocity-prevention and treatment should still safeguard female-tailored sexual violence prevention and treatments, given their remaining higher victimisation and the additional underlying rationales for their victimisation that do not apply to men.
Keywords: Armenian Genocide, Atrocity-Prevention, Gender-Based Violenc
The Medicalisation of Ayahuasca as a Depression Treatment : Cultural Reductivism and Biopiracy Concerns
Get PDFThis paper examines the possible consequences of medicalising the psychedelic Ayahuasca to be used as a treatment for depression. Through a science and technology studies (STS) understanding of the social construction of scientific facts, I consider how traditional indigenous uses of Ayahuasca are translated into Western medicine. Two special points of attention are: (1) the cultural reductivism entailed in the standardisation of the active substance of Ayahuasca (DMT), understood through Martin’s (2000) analysis of neuroreductivism in Western medicine, and (2) the issue of biopiracy, wherein biological resources are appropriated without fair compensation for indigenous communities. In conclusion, I suggest that the dangers of medicalising ayahuasca boil down to an unjustified hierarchy of scientific knowledge over indigenous knowledge systems, which might lead to serious consequences also for the effectiveness of the proposed treatment.
Keywords: Medicalization, Ayahuasca, Neuroreductivism, Biopirac
Neurobiological Correlates of Decision-Making in Framing Conditions
Get PDFHuman decision-making is a complex process, of which the neurobiological correlates are not well understood. Several theories have been proposed, among others Prospect theory which assumes a different evaluation of gains and losses of the same value. De Martino et al. tested the influence of the “framing effect” on decision-making and we aimed to replicate their study as some of the findings remained unclear. A general tendency to act in accordance with the frame was shown in a behavioural study. In order to uncover the underlying neural correlates, participants performed the same task in an fMRI scanner. Even though the amygdala could not be linked to framing, increased activity in the ACC when making frame-incongruent decisions was established. This can be related to acting in a more rational manner. Furthermore, activity in the cerebellum was increased when making a choice, indicating the involvement of this brain area in decision-making under uncertainty
Does Resistance Training Have Positive Effects on Redox Homeostasis in the Human Body?
Get PDFRegular aerobic or resistance training are related to better body composition, greater physical and mental health, and a reduction in all-cause mortality. Physical exercise also lowers the risk for diseases that are related to chronic oxidative stress like cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. Paradoxically, exercise induces oxidative stress in the body. This review aims to investigate the positive effects of resistance training on redox homeostasis in the human body. From the studies reviewed here, it can be concluded that regular resistance training leads to training adaptations of the antioxidant system. These adaptations enable the body to cope better with future oxidative stress induced by exercise or other bodily or environmental factors. This effect has been demonstrated over different ages, gender, health status, as well as resistance training intensities. Therefore, it should be recommended as a general health behavior for the prevention and potential therapy of a wide range of diseases
The Implications of Europeanized EU-Journalists on the Citizens and its Government : The Brussels Bubble- a paradise for EU-journalists´ to become a good reporter?
Get PDFThe national media plays a central role for European citizens by functioning as an information transmitter, ensuring fact-orientated news coverage, to ultimately fulfill a democratic role within the EU system. Not least due to enhanced EU integration, European news coverage of EU-related matters has significantly increased. This is important, as good news coverage is essential for citizens to hold their national government accountable. By conducting 26 semi-structured interviews with German and Italian EU-journalists, this research identifies EU-journalists´ exposure to Europeanization and assesses its impact on their views and framing of EU news. The research explores two potential effects from Europeanisation; a first looks at the possible detachment from the national audience while a second focuses on the quality of a journalists information network as a result of Europeanisation. The findings that Europeanization of EU-journalists improves access to exclusive information through an established quality information network thereby strengthening their accountability role. By contrast, Europeanisation can compromise journalists bridging role as they need to prioritizing the national audience´s interest when selecting EU affairs topics
Wait, who Controls the Council? The Role of the Dutch Parliament and Organized Interests to Hold the Council of Ministers Accountable
Get PDFThis paper examines the role of organized interests as indirect scrutinizers of the Council of Ministers. Whereas the ministers of the Council are only accountable to national parliaments, the latter face many difficulties in controlling the former. This is problematic as it potentially increases the EU’s democratic deficit. This thesis researches a possible solution to this problem by testing McCubbins and Schwartz’s fire-alarm theory. McCubbins and Schwartz argue that organized interests can alarm national parliaments who can then scrutinize better. The research focuses on the Netherlands as a most likely case-study. Eleven interviews with prominent Dutch organized interests led to the conclusion that the fire-alarm model functions limitedly at best. The analysis points at two structural impediments -tradeoff and issue-dependence- that explain the lack of interaction between organized interests and national parliaments. Indeed, organized interests prefer contact and collaboration with other actors; most notably the Commission and the EP
PARTICIPATORY FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE CLIMATE ADAPTATION IN MEXICO CITY: A Literature Review and Case Study
Get PDFIn the context of rapid urbanization and the increasing intensity of flood events in metropolitan areas such as Mexico City, the urban poor became particularly vulnerable to flood hazards. Hence, it is a timely manner to implement inclusive strategies for flood risk management. This study aims to fill the gap in understanding the present conditions, risks, and responses to flood hazards in Mexico City from a people-centered perspective. The paper draws on a purposive literature review and case study approach to explore how public policy can involve community-level actors in flood risk management and thereby, promote long-term sustainability. The findings show that policymakers can shift from technocratic to participatory resilience strategies by investing in generic capacity-building and poverty alleviation with geographic literacy and technological flood control innovations.
Media and National Accountability in the European Union : An explorative study on the impediments EU - journalists encounter when fulfilling their accountability role towards national governments
Get PDFIn Western democracies, mass media are the main means through which citizens receive information regarding the European Union. Although national ministers play an important role at the EU level, citizens are not always aware of the national ministers’ activities within the Council. Since citizens mainly experience politics through the media, which act as mediators between the politicians and the public, this paper conceptualizes the media as an accountability forum. The research aims to explore the impediments EU-journalists face in fulfilling their watchdog role towards national governments. By conducting 26 in-depth semi-structured interviews in two EU member states Germany and Italy, this research explores the impediments journalists face at the structural and individual level. The findings revealed that although there is an increasing homogenization of the informational impediments, journalists seem to experience differences due to preferential treatments. Finally, organizational impediments such as political and economic pressure, and the way journalists conceptualize their role, also affect how and what they decide to report
WHEN THE POOR WELCOME THE PERSECUTED: Recognizing the Economic Potential of Refugee Reception in Low-income Host Countries
Get PDFWhile a ‘burden narrative’ dominates the popular and political discourse regarding the economic impact of refugees, scholars increasingly recognize their economic potential. One such scholar is economist Philippe Legrain who argues that welcoming refugees constitutes “a humanitarian investment that yields economic dividends” (Legrain, 2016, p.1). This paper investigates the validity of such claim in the context of low-income host countries via a comparative analysis of Tanzania and Uganda. The hypotheses derived of Legrain’s work confirm that low-income countries benefit economically as refugees improve market conditions by spurring demand, trade, and entrepreneurialism. Certain policies can strengthen such potential if prioritizing the right to work, freedom of movement and assistance programs encouraging entrepreneurialism. Doing so allows refugees and hosts to mutually benefit rather than to compete for economic opportunities