238 research outputs found
The Business of Piracy in Somalia
No full textThis article argues that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to control Somali piracy for four reasons. First, Somali piracy is a land-based problem and naval control mechanisms are not changing the incentives for pirates. Second, improving Somalia's anarchic political situation will not necessarily stop piracy. Our analysis demonstrates that piracy is a business which improves with a more stable operating environment. Third, piracy is organized criminal activity, and like other organized crime groups will be difficult to control, especially if it becomes embedded in state structures. Finally, we argue that few of the relevant players have any real incentives to alter their behaviour.Piracy, Somalia, Law Enforcement, Organised Crime, EU Atalanta
The investigation and characterisation of colourless glass from forensic and archaeological contexts using multiple interdisiplinary analytical techniques
No full textThe techniques used to analyse glass in forensics and archaeology differ:
forensic analysis relies almost completely on Refractive Index, whereas archaeology
uses compositional analyses. This thesis focuses on examining, explaining and
challenging those differences through the analysis of colourless glass from forensic
and archaeological contexts.
Two major studies are undertaken, one focussing on stained and painted glass
from Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, and one based on modern automotive glass.
The analytical techniques common to each discipline are applied to the samples of
glass used in the research. The studies each focus on individual research questions;
the Christ Church study investigates the 17th century Van Linge window scheme, the
compositions of fragments of glass from throughout the cathedral’s history are
investigated, and shown to separate into distinct compositional groups. The study also
successfully recreates the Van Linge window scheme; and the historical and
compositional analyses allowed the study of one of the in-situ painted windows in the
cathedral. The automotive glass study investigates the complex relationship between
glass manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers. The research revealed that certain
makes of vehicle were beginning to group and glass from specific areas of the world
was also grouping together. This study highlights the potential use for glass as a tool
for intelligence gathering rather than just as evidence.
The application of the different analytical techniques to each study is
discussed along with the merits of using each of the techniques. The potential of using
forensic techniques in archaeology and archaeological techniques in forensics is
evaluated. Specifically, LA-ICP-MS, which is rarely used in forensics, could be an
innovative and potentially important tool for the forensic evaluation of cars and other
glass evidence. A discussion of the research and databases needed to make the most of
the techniques is assessed
“Robin Hook”: The developmental effects of Somali piracy
No full textCopyright @ 2011 Brunel UniversityNaval counter-piracy measures off Somalia have failed to change the incentives for pirates, raising calls for land-based approaches that may involve replacing piracy as a source of income. This paper evaluates the effects of piracy on the Somali economy to establish which (domestic) groups benefit from ransom monies. Given the paucity of economic data on Somalia, we evaluate province-level market data, nightlight emissions and high resolution satellite imagery. We show that significant amounts of ransom monies are spent within Somalia. The impacts appear to be spread widely, benefiting the working poor and pastoralists and offsetting the food price shock of 2008 in the pirate provinces. Pirates appear to invest their money principally in the main cities of Garowe and Bosasso rather than in the backward coastal communities
Differential effects of riluzole on subpopulations of adult rat dorsal root ganglion neurons in vitro
No full textRiluzole is clinically approved for the treatment of motoneuron disease. We have previously shown that this drug is neuroprotective for both sensory neurons and motoneurons and promotes neurite outgrowth [Bergerot A, Shortland PJ, Anand P, Hunt SP, Carlstedt T (2004) Exp Neurol 187(2):359-366; Shortland PJ, Leinster VH, White W, Robson LG (2006) Eur J Neurosci 24:3343-3353]. This study explored the effects of exogenous administration of 0.1 μM riluzole on the neurite growth of specific subpopulations of adult rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in vitro. Neuronal branching and neurite length were measured in calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), Griffonia simplicifolia Isolectin B4 (IB4), N52 and parvalbumin positive neuronal subpopulations. Riluzole was found to enhance neurite branching in both CGRP and IB4 positive neurons compared to vehicle treated cultures. However, neurite length was only significantly increased in CGRP positive neurons in riluzole treated cultures. The results suggest that riluzole affects specific subpopulations of sensory neurons in vitro and that its effects may be mediated through activation of neurotrophic factor receptors, since neurite outgrowth could be blocked by the administration of K252a (at 10 nM). Riluzole may offer a new pharmacological approach to promote sensory regeneration following small fibre neuropathies
"Robin Hook": The Developmental Effects of Somali Piracy
No full textNaval counter-piracy measures off Somalia have failed to change the incentives for pirates, raising calls for land-based approaches that may involve replacing piracy as a source of income. This paper evaluates the effects of piracy on the Somali economy to establish which (domestic) groups benefit from ransom monies. Given the paucity of economic data on Somalia, we evaluate province-level market data, nightlight emissions and high resolution satellite imagery. We show that significant amounts of ransom monies are spent within Somalia. The impacts appear to be spread widely, benefiting the working poor and pastoralists and offsetting the food price shock of 2008 in the pirate provinces. Pirates appear to invest their money principally in the main cities of Garowe and Bosasso rather than in the backward coastal communities.Somalia, piracy, cash transfers, economic development, remote sensing, satellite imaging
From mine to microbe - the Neolithic copper melting crucibles from Switzerland
No full textThe occurrence of chalcopyrite in several late Neolithic crucibles from NW Switzerland and SW Germany has been variously interpreted as indicating evidence for local copper smelting, or being due to post-depositional phenomena. This study uses optical microscopy and a discussion based on textural and micro-tratigraphical arguments to demonstrate that chalcopyrite is a late formation and not indicative of copper smelting. This has significant implications for the technological and archaeological interpetation of these finds, but also illustrates the potential of image-based studies in science-based archaeology
Foreign Interventions and Abuse of Civilians during the Peruvian Civil War
No full textThe international community has a declared intention to protect innocent civilians from direct and deliberate violence in civil conflicts, but its track record of actually doing so is mixed. Using a new monthly time-series data set, we explore the factors associated with variations in the number of civilians killed or wounded by participants in the civil war in Peru during the 1980s and 1990s. We find that an increase in the level of abuse by one side is strongly associated with subsequent increases in the level of abuse by the other. Certain types of foreign intervention had a large and statistically significant impact on the level of abuse; some types of intervention raised the level of violence, but others reduced it.Peru, civil war, conflict, abuse against civilians
Between Victim and Perpetrator Imaginary: The Implicated Subject in Works by Rachel Seiffert and Cate Shortland
No full textThe future of Germany’s murderous past is now being reconsidered by a new generation of artists who have to navigate an increasing distance to the Third Reich and its remaining witnesses. Thus it is not surprising that recent postmemory work registers shifts, both with respect to mnemonic perspective and representational strategy. This article considers “Lore,” a story published in the trilogy The Dark Room (2001) by the British-German author Rachel Seiffert, and its cinematic adaptation by the Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland (2012) as two examples of such shifts. The mnemonic perspective of both works offers a productive tension. On the one hand they present the emotionally charged perspective of children of Nazi perpetrators, yet on the other hand they employ representational modes that are bare, impassive and minimalist. What are we to make of material that invites identification with protagonists born into a perpetrator legacy, particularly when these historical witnesses are aesthetically reconceived as ‘innocent children’? Seiffert’s and Shortland’s reconfiguration of the historical witness raises the question of whether the victim/perpetrator imaginary can be a constructive lens through which to understand historical agency and its legacies across multiple generations. This article argues that recent re-conceptualizations of historical subject positions, such as the ‘implicated subject’ (Michael Rothberg), offer a more nuanced exploration of historical agency. In different ways and to different degrees, both Seiffert’s and Shortland’s work engage with contradictions of historical subject positions by probing and acknowledging inadvertent, yet persistent, implications in legacies of historical violence
Political Violence and Excess Liquidity in Egypt
No full textIn this article we estimate a time-series model of excess liquidity in the Egyptian banking sector. While financial liberalisation and financial stability are found to have reduced excess liquidity, these effects have been offset by an increase in the number of violent political incidents arising from conflict between radical Islamic groups and the Egyptian state. The link between political events and financial outcomes provides a rationale for economic policy interventions by the international community in response to increases in political instability
Combating "Maritime Terrorism" off the Coast of Somalia
No full textThis paper evaluates the effectiveness of the international naval mission in the Gulf of Aden from 2008-2010, both in terms of its counter-piracy and its counter-terrorism objectives. We draw on arguments developed in the literature of law and economics, detailed statistical analyses and a large number of in depth interviews. Counter-piracy operations are a qualified success: their main effects are the stabilisation of attacks at a high level and the substitution between the relatively well protected transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden and the open sea. However, the counter-piracy measures appear to deter pirates from forming alliances with Islamist movements and may therefore make a major contribution to international security.Piracy, Somalia, counter-terrorism, law and economics, deterrence, naval intervention
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