Towards a policy framework for the empowerment of social movements

As they move from responding to needs and demands to a more rights-based approach, some French NGOs are rethinking both their areas of work and their ways of working. ‘Empowerment’ has become a key concept in this changing context, although it is sometimes difficult to know how best to apply it and understand what it really means in an NGO setting. This article shares some thinking on empowerment, analysing its ‘object’ (individuals, organisations, networks, or movements) and the ‘process’ through which it is realised. Drawing on the author's own experience and on a brief literature review, it is illustrated by the examples of the international disability and US gay rights movements.     

Building peace from below—the potential of local models of conflict prevention in Haiti

International media has established an image of Haiti as a disorganised and violent society. However, this article argues that—and reveals why—this characterisation is incorrect. The article explores how the structures and traditions of Haitian local communities react and respond to the needs of the communities and to the disputes that arise within them. It explores the causes of local conflicts and their relationship with the larger conflict picture in Haiti, and furthermore investigates the challenges faced by local models of conflict prevention and how these are affected by national policies as well as by the presence of foreign actors in the country. The analysis is based on a survey and on fieldwork carried out in different regions of Haiti during the period 2007–2013. The article concludes with recommendations to pay more attention to the challenges that local conflict prevention efforts face—as a result of the larger liberal peace-building framework.     

欧洲对于私生活的法律保护:法国与德国的比较

比较法的研究有助于对欧盟成员国的不同法律传统的理解.①加强共同体公民的法律保障必须要借助于对其基本权利的保护.②在发现成员国的法律保护机制之间存在一定的相似性之后,比较法研究可以揭示出成员国国内法之间存在的一些重要差别.对于法国和德国尤其是如此.     

Discrepancies between forensic identification kits explained by a laser power supply shutdown

The occurrence of two null alleles for the same individual was suspected because of the discrepancy at two loci (vWA and THO1) between genotypes characterized by the mean of two different commercial kits. Reanalysis of the samples indicated there was no null allele, and that this abnormality was indeed related to an automatic laser power shutdown. The laser power supply was set to a value (6.4V) too close to the automatic shutdown threshold (6.0V). The alleles were undetected because of the absence of emission at the time of migration of the two alleles through the detection device. However, since no alarm is triggered in such an event, the users should monitor their laser power supply values.     

Post-traumatic venous and systemic air embolism associated with spinal epidural emphysema: multi-slice computed tomography diagnosis

A 30-year-old man was admitted with chest trauma after a road traffic accident. The patient was paraplegic and suffered from transient monoparesia of the left arm. The chest X-ray revealed a severe right tension pneumothorax and thoracic spine fractures. Emergency right thoracic drainage was carried out followed by angiography. Unfortunately the patient died and an autopsy was not permitted. Consequently post-mortem multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) was performed, revealing presence of air inside the right cerebral arteries, bilateral pneumothorax accompanied by a severe right tension pneumothorax, bilateral haematic pleural effusion, pneumomediastinum and bilateral lung contusions. Air was also observed within the right coronary artery, ascending aorta and right ventricle. Thoracic and cervical spinal epidural emphysema were diagnosed. Venous air embolism followed by arterial air embolism producing paradoxical embolism was diagnosed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case illustrating by post-mortem MSCT such simultaneous complications after chest trauma as spinal epidural emphysema and cerebral and coronary air embolism.     

Military frames and Canada’s Conservative government: from extending to transforming perceptions of Canadian identity

This article looks at framing strategies behind the recent Canadian Conservative government’s rhetoric on the military. Critics argue that Conservative rhetoric has politicised Canadian history and overemphasised the armed forces. Few scholars, however, have looked at the specific forms this rhetoric took and the strategies it suggested. The article presents the results of a systematic analysis of Conservative rhetoric between 2005 and 2015. It argues that three key frame alignment strategies were at the heart of the Conservative Government’s rhetoric: extension, consolidation and transformation, with truly transformative rhetoric transpiring only in the last phase. While agreeing with critics that this emphasis on the military aimed to alter perceptions of Canadian identity, the article shows that Conservative rhetoric was far from and monolithic.