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Post-extractive juridification: Undoing the legal foundations of mining in El Salvador
Full text linkIn 2017 El Salvador passed the world’s first and only blanket ban on metal mining. This article explores this unique exception to the neoextractive path followed by much of Latin America since the early 2000s—an exception brought about by citizen-led lawmaking processes. Drawing from fieldwork research in El Salvador, I suggest that the ban was enabled not so much by a negative assessment of extraction-led development as by multiple other factors, including short-term electoral expediencies; the shared genealogy and history of grassroots opposed to mining and left-wing governments; the ongoing convergence of nationwide anti-mining movements supported by the Catholic Church; and a lack of vested interests in the mining industry on the part of local elites. Indeed, a few years on from the ban, successive governments have not fulfilled their obligation to eradicate mining, with many activists fearing an eventual repeal. Crucially, citizen-led lawmaking aimed at undoing the neoliberal ethos of the legal architecture that has facilitated mining throughout much of Latin America has failed to address the colonial legacies of this architecture. Overall, the article argues that mining-free futures require comprehensive lawmaking endeavours that include both legislative challenges to neoliberal statecraft and a comprehensive overhaul and decolonization of the legal foundations of mining
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
Full text linkChanging collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics
Survival Migration: A Study of Central American Transwomen’s Decision to Flee
Full text linkSystematic research on transgender migration is limited and mostly focused on the ‘during’ and ‘post’ stages of displacement. Little attention has been paid to the decision-making process and pre-migration phase.
In Central America, transwomen face severe discrimination, marginalization and abuses based on their gender identity and are exposed to constant physical and sexual violence. Despite limited data, reports show that they are part of the new wave of international displacement affecting the region. Analysing why they flee and the factors contributing to their decision is essential to understand the multiple facets
of displacement and this often-invisible phenomenon.
This study uses life-stories to deepen the knowledge of transwomen’s decision-making to flee across borders, often following multiple life experiences of internal displacement. It uses the concept of ‘survival migration’ to describe movements that literally save their lives, situations of flight that result from the deprivation of basic rights and from persecution, exploring how the broad range of factors affecting the decision interrelate.
The findings suggest that although seeking a safe place in which it would be possible to build a better life is important, their life experiences, and the decisions they make are complex. The changing circumstances in which their reactive or preventive movements occur will determine the nature of their decision to flee across borders. Often for them, migration does not necessarily mean freedom, but a limited strategy to survive.
The objective of this study is to provide a new insight into the complexity of transwomen’s decisions to flee. In doing so, it contributes to the knowledge about this community, and the urgent need to listen to them in order to understand the multitude of interconnected reasons underpinning their decisions to migrate
Menstrual Hygiene Management in the Refugee Context: Learning from Piloted Interventions in East Africa
Full text linkMenstruation and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) are issues that have long been shrouded in shame and silence. Poor access to safe and dignified MHM impacts the ability of women and girls to reach their full physical, social, and psychological potential and significantly effects quality of life. However, since the turn of the millennium, MHM has been gaining traction in the humanitarian world. The emergence of MHM in policies and guidelines has been accompanied by a limited number of piloted projects implemented in East Africa, with the goal of testing the feasibility of MHM activities in refugee camp contexts. To situate the pilot project findings in existing knowledge, this research considers the issues of health, sanitation, education, and gender both in low-income and in displacement settings. It also considers MHM against the backdrop of sociocultural factors, such as period shaming, taboos, and misconceptions. Similarly, the presence of MHM in international frameworks and operational guidelines is explored.
This research uses an MHM Toolkit, widely appreciated as the frontrunner in its field, to conduct a comparative narrative analysis to evaluate learnings from four piloted MHM projects against the Toolkit guidance. It identifies and explores synergies and gaps and allows for conclusions to be drawn regarding recommendations for future toolkits, such as better training for refugee camp staff or the restructuring of MHM material distributions. On a higher level, the research finds that further focus should be placed on scaling up projects
and addressing the subsequent sustainability and funding challenges. There is a need to magnify the focus from distribution of menstrual materials to scalable long-term strategies. Only then can MHM truly be considered at higher levels of programming, policy, and funding, comprehensively addressing women and girls’ rights to manage menstruation in a safe and dignified way
Non-political anger shifts political preferences towards stronger leaders
Full text linkPast research has shown that anger is associated with support for confrontational and punitive responses during crises, and notably with the endorsement of authoritarian ideologies. One important question is whether it is anger generated specifically in a political context that explains the association between anger and specific political preferences or whether any feeling of anger would be associated with changes in political attitudes. Here, we tested the effect of non-politically motivated incidental anger on the preference for strong leaders. In line with past research, we predicted that anger would increase preferences for strong leaders. Across two experiments, we exposed participants to an anger induction task. Before and after this experimental manipulation, we measured participants’ political leader preferences by asking them to choose between the faces of two leaders they would vote for in a hypothetical election. The level of self-reported anger predicted the probability of choosing more dominant-looking and less trustworthy-looking leaders after the induction, suggesting that even non-political incidental anger increases preferences for strong leaders
Decolonising languages: Ways forward for UK HE and beyond
No full textIn the following opinion article, Joseph Ford and Emanuelle Santos give a short account of work being done with a view to ‘decolonise languages’ in UK Higher Education and pose some fundamental questions that are still absent from mainstream discussions on the topic
Women Who Dare: Exploring experiences of participation among Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Full text linkGender norms in the Rohingya community dictate that women’s role is confined to the domestic sphere. As Rohingyas attribute these norms to religion, they are largely seen as immutable. Infringement of these norms can be severely punished, not only with violence but also with loss of individual and family honour. However, defying all odds many Rohingya refugee women in Bangladesh are active participants in camp governance spaces created by humanitarian organizations.
This paper explores how these women experience participation in their own narratives. It discusses women’s motivations, their strategies to navigate gender norms within their families and communities, and their means to reconcile their new roles with personal and collective values.
Women’s participation in the governance of refugee camps is greatly shaped by humanitarian organizations. Ever since the adoption of a human rights approach to humanitarian action, most organizations have made extensive commitments to participation and gender equality. However, neither concept is easily harmonized with the humanitarian principle of neutrality. Moreover, enduring humanitarian images of women as essentially vulnerable illustrate the contradictions between commitments to gender equality and disempowering practices that neglect the role of women as agents of change. This case study provides a strong argument to acknowledge these tensions as a first step to advance discussions in academic and practitioners’ domains
From Integration to Belonging? Exploring the Trajectory of Integration for Short-term Settled Refugee Women in Berlin
Full text linkSince 2015, Germany has welcomed over one million asylum seekers across its borders. While much has been written about their arrival - and the country’s initial response - there remains very little research on subsequent integration efforts. Existing literature on refugee integration in Europe too often fails to acknowledge the ways in which women refugees may benefit from or be disadvantaged by established institutional integration narratives and initiatives. This paper therefore, has three main aims: first, to provide a case study that prioritises the perspectives of refugee women living in Berlin as experts re their own experiences; second, to fill a research gap in refugee and migrant integration studies through focusing on the first five years of protracted displacement; third, to reassess the trajectory of integration in light of semi-structured interviews with nine refugee women, aged between 19 and 35. Crucially, the paper emphasises the agency of the interviewees in shaping their unique integration process and outcome. As a project with feminist foundations, this focus on the agency of women refugees, in contrast to their supposed status as vulnerable recipients of aid and sympathy, is of paramount importance
Moving Beyond Content‐Specific Computation in Artificial Neural Networks
Full text linkA new wave of deep neural networks (DNNs) have performed astonishingly well on a range of real‐world tasks. A basic DNN is trained to exhibit, in parallel, a large collection of different input‐output dispositions. While this is a good model of the way humans perform some tasks automatically and without deliberative reasoning, more is needed to approach the goal of human‐like artificial intelligence. Indeed, DNN models are increasingly being supplemented to overcome the limitations inherent in dispositional‐style computation. Examining these developments, and earlier theoretical arguments, reveals a deep distinction between two fundamentally different styles of computation, defined here for the first time: content‐specific computation and non‐content‐specific computation. Deep episodic RL networks, for example, combine content‐specific computations in a DNN with non‐content‐specific computations involving explicit memories. Human concepts are also involved in processes of both kinds. This suggests that the remarkable success of recent AI systems, and the special power of human conceptual thinking are both due, in part, to the ability to mediate between content‐specific and non‐content‐specific computations. Hybrid systems take advantage of the complementary costs and benefits of each. Combining content‐specific and non‐content‐specific computations both has practical benefits and provides a better model of human cognitive competence
Electronic Evidence and Electronic Signatures
Full text linkIn this updated edition of the well-established practitioner text, Stephen Mason and Daniel Seng have brought together a team of experts in the field to provide an exhaustive treatment of electronic evidence and electronic signatures. This fifth edition continues to follow the tradition in English evidence text books by basing the text on the law of England and Wales, with appropriate citations of relevant case law and legislation from other jurisdictions.
Stephen Mason (of the Middle Temple, Barrister) is a leading authority on electronic evidence and electronic signatures, having advised global corporations and governments on these topics. He is also the editor of International Electronic Evidence, and he founded the innovative international open access journal Digital Evidence and Electronic Signatures Law Review in 2004.
Daniel Seng (Associate Professor, National University of Singapore) is the Director of the Centre for Technology, Robotics, AI and the Law (TRAIL). He teaches and researches information technology law and evidence law. Daniel was previously a partner and head of the technology practice at Messrs Rajah & Tann. He is also an active consultant to the World Intellectual Property Organization, where he has researched, delivered papers and published monographs on copyright exceptions for academic institutions, music copyright in the Asia Pacific and the liability of Internet intermediaries