Auckland,New Zealand – fair game for central party politics

This paper explores the influence of central party politics in Auckland local government, in New Zealand’s largest city, following the 2010 amalgamation. Political parties have been an accepted and dominant presence in European representative democratic local government, throughout the 20^th century. Not so, however, in New Zealand and Australia, where citizens have ‘flocked to the banner “Keep Politics out of Local Government”. Our analysis of the self-declared party accreditation status of candidates and elected members demonstrates that political affiliation, at least in the main centre Auckland, is on the rise, counter to assumptions that New Zealand local government is largely removed from central politics.     

Elsa Lanchester and Bohemian London in the Early Twentieth Century

Elsa Lanchester (1902–86) is best known today as a character actress in Hollywood, who played the title role in the Bride of Frankenstein. Less well known is her remarkable early life in Britain where she participated in the avant-garde through dance, theatre, film and other forms of performance. This article explores Lanchester's world before her marriage to the actor Charles Laughton in 1929 to investigate aspects of bohemian culture in the early twentieth century. It focuses on Lanchester's artistic nightclub, the Cave of Harmony, on the edges of London's West End. Bohemianism, modern dance and musical comedy opened up new identities and spaces for female self-exploration.     

Strengthening Humanitarian Law: what role for Commonwealth countries

This article explores some of the new challenges confronting Commonwealth countries in the context of international humanitarian law (IHL). The very nature of non-international armed conflicts presents new challenges that did not exist in the context of inter-State conflicts, which were conducted in the traditional battlefield with well demarcated boundaries. The point is made that, in addressing the role of the Commonwealth in relation to contemporary IHL issues, a good starting point would be the shared commonalities between the two branches of law, HRL and IHL, notwithstanding their distinct paths of development. There are several important areas that could form the core of Commonwealth cooperation in strengthening IHL, including in the area of legislation, national mechanisms for the implementation of IHL and regional measures to strengthen IHL.     

Stature estimation from foot dimensions

Identification of an individual is the mainstay in forensic investigations. The dimensions of the foot have been used for the determination of sex, age, and stature of an individual. The present study examines the relationship between stature and foot dimensions among Gujjars, a North Indian endogamous group. Stature, foot length and foot breadth of 200 subjects comprising 100 males and 100 females were measured. Statistical analyses indicated that the bilateral variation was insignificant for all the measurements except foot breadth in males (p<0.01). Sex differences were found to be highly significant for all the measurements (p<0.01). Linear and multiple regression equations for stature estimation were calculated using the aforementioned variables and multiplication factors were computed. The correlation coefficients between stature and foot dimensions were found to be positive and statistically highly significant. The highest correlation coefficient between stature and foot length in males and foot breadth in females indicates that the foot length provides the highest reliability and accuracy in estimating stature of an unknown male and foot breadth in a female. Prediction of stature was found to be most accurate by multiple regression analysis.     

Al Qaeda in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Beyond

After the U.S. led coalition forces attacked Al Qaeda and Taliban infrastructure in Afghanistan beginning in October 2001, the epicenter of global terrorism moved from Afghanistan to tribal Pakistan. Known as the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) in Pakistan, this region has emerged as the premier hunting ground for the Al Qaeda leadership. With the co-option of new groups in FATA and its adjacent North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), the Al Qaeda threat has proliferated. The threat posed by the Afghan Taliban has been compounded with the addition of a new range of actors notably the Pakistani Taliban. Working together with multiple threat groups, both foreign and Pakistani, Al Qaeda directs its global jihad campaign from FATA. Unless the terrorist enclave is cleared on the Afghan-Pakistan border, the threat to Afghanistan and mainland Pakistan will continue. This article seeks to map the evolution of Al Qaeda and its associated groups since their relocation to FATA.     

Technology and special needs provision in the UK: is current law satisfactory?

Recently, the government has issued legislation on disability discrimination (the UK Disability Discrimination Act 2005) that is silent on the issue of access to technology for those adults and minors with special needs/disabilities either in the classroom or out of the classroom. At the same time, commercial legislation from Europe drives forward with new directives on the regulation of technology as part of the European Union's Lisbon Goals to make Europe more efficient through the use of Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) and to provide an increasing array of on-line services (payment of taxes, licensing, identity cards, and access to public services). With more rapid provision of public and private services on-line, there is a pressing need to ask to what extent current legislation should address access to assistive technology for those with special needs and disabilities. Furthermore, the legal obligation on government to provide ICTs as communications aids in school classrooms either as an auxiliary aid or service, or as an education and associated service for those who are disabled is unclear under current UK disability discrimination and special needs law. As far as the writer is aware, currently, no study as yet has reviewed disability and SEN legislation to determine what obligations (if any) arise on government to provide communications aids based on ICTs to children with disabilities. And yet, disability remains a central issue.