Poverty and Disasters: Do Remittances Reproduce Vulnerability?

Abstract

In many low-income countries, remittances are important in sustaining people’s livelihood and become even more significant during disasters. Meanwhile, the literature suggests that remittances are mainly accessible to middle and upper-income households, rather than to the poorest, thus implying differential capacities amongst households to overcome crises. The present study uses cyclone Evan that hit Samoa in December 2012 as a case study to test this hypothesis. It focuses on the village of Tafitoala and draws on interviews and participatory activities undertaken with the poorest households of the community. It indicates that the poor receive little to no remittances and that they struggled more than the rest of the community to cope with and recover from the cyclone. Their lack of access to remittances had negative consequences on the security and sustainability of their livelihoods. We conclude that remittances reproduce or even increase both inequalities and vulnerabilities existing within the community of origin.     

On the victims of terrorism and their innocence

Contrary to common usage, neither ‘victims’ nor their ‘innocence’ are necessary to the definition of the term ‘terrorism’. Though the primary targets ‐ as distinguished from audiences ‐ of most terrorist actions are people, and if the aim of the terrorists is to sow unreasoning fear, then symbolically important non‐human targets such as unmanned power sources, unoccupied government buildings and the like may serve the same purpose. Moreover, given that ‘victims’ are chosen for the shock value their death or injury may have, their ‘innocence’ (or even ‘guilt') may be incidental or even irrelevant to the violence visited upon them. A definition of ‘terrorism’ that focuses, generically, on its targets rather than on their qualities offers a more normatively neutral approach to the problem.     

Cervical Arterial Injury After Strangulation—Different Types of Arterial Lesions

After strangulation, cervical arterial injuries (CAI) are uncommon. We report three unusual cases where strangulation induced immediate stroke. CAI were examined using brain CT scan and Doppler ultrasonography in the three cases and then by autopsy in one of the victims. One of the two victims who survived the attempted strangulation had a unilateral carotid dissection, whereas in the other victim, no arterial dissection or thrombosis was observed. As regards the deceased victim, the autopsy confirmed the bilateral dissection showed on CT scan and Doppler ultrasonic examination and revealed that both carotid arteries were dilated up to two times the normal diameter. Microscopic examination showed a major bilateral hemorrhagic dissection of the media with obliterating fibrous endarteritis lesions associated with inflammatory damage. CT scan with arteriography does not demonstrate all the different types of arterial injury, particularly atheromatous embolism, direct compression, or prolonged spasm. Thus, traditional autopsy remains an essential forensic tool after strangulation to show the type of CAI.     

运用法医学二代测序技术侦破19年久冷案

基于Y染色体STR(Y-STR)多态性的男性家系排查技术帮助全国各地破获了诸多冷案积案。然而对于出现明显降解的生物检材,或因检出Y-STR基因座数量过少而无法开展有效排查。STRSeqTyperY68男性家系精细化排查试剂盒,定位于二代测序技术,利用Mi Seq FGx二代测序平台可单管实现52个单拷贝Y-STR基因座、6个二拷贝Y-STR基因座、1个三拷贝Y-STR基因座和1个性别判定基因座的分型检测,并能同时支持STR长度和/或序列多态分型,全部基因座扩增子长度在350bp以下,且其中62个不大于300bp,适用于降解检材的检测。本文报道一起长达19年未破的强奸杀人案,用传统STR检测方法仅得到24个Y-STR基因座分型,部分300bp以上的Y-STR片段未检出,但通过二代测序方法使用STRSeqTyperY68试剂盒完整得到了67个Y-STR和1个性别基因座分型,从而帮助办案单位锁定了嫌疑人所在的男性家系,为案件侦破提供了关键技术支撑。     

Is There an Informative Effect of Law? An Experimental Test

Debates on how the law affects citizens' behaviour have traditionally focused on two mechanisms: deterrence and perceptions of legitimacy. In recent years, some scholars have suggested that the law may also affect compliance through expressive mechanisms that reveal information about the world (for example, by eliciting the risks associated with a particular behaviour). Dharmapala and McAdams have called this the informative effect of law. However, to date very little empirical evidence of the existence of such an effect has emerged. In this article, we present the results of an experiment that tests for three different hypotheses as to how this effect may be produced. Our findings show that legislators' sincerity or their access to expert knowledge is not sufficient to produce information effects. Instead, we suggest an ‘asymmetry’ hypothesis: the fact that a law is passed or rejected has an asymmetrical information effect on subjects' risk perceptions.     

福州市物联网产业发展的若干思考

电子信息产业是福州的支柱产业,抓住新机遇,促进物联网产业的跨越发展,是实现＂十二五＂发展目标、推进福州跨越发展的关键。福州的物联网产业发展机遇与挑战并存。福州应瞄准未来市场需求和技术发展趋势,把物联网产业作为战略性新兴产业重点,以提高产业核心竞争力。     

中国网络治理的社会符号学阐释

网络治理是一项复杂系统的社会工程,符号学因其系统性可为网络治理构建和完善提供学理支撑。网络治理和网络空间作为社会符号具有时空性和社会性,其意义会随着历史的变迁和解释主体的不同而变化,主要受历史条件、网络治理实践和国家利益等语境因素的制约。网络空间命运共同体和网络主权是中国网络治理符号系统的重要组成部分,要不断推动其从价值独特性符号向价值共识性符号的转变,即既保持中国特色,又获得国际社会的普遍共识。此外,结合马克思主义哲学理论,中国网络治理具有时代性、人民性、科学性、实践性和全球性,是马克思主义在网络空间治理领域的中国实践,是历史符号在新时代的全新阐释。