Oversight Effectiveness and Political Will: Some Lessons from West Africa

The purpose of the present note is to advance two theoretical claims. The first claim proposed is that the impact of the availability of oversight tools and of the most broadly understood legislative capacity (availability of material, technical, financial resources; availability of well-trained staff) on the effectiveness with which legislative oversight is performed is conditional. The second claim put forward, after reviewing a rich body of work on executive–legislative relations and legislative oversight in West Africa, is that, of the various conditions that promote or prevent the effective use of oversight tools and capacity, political will is the single most important. These claims have both theoretical and practical relevance, for if political will is as important as is claimed for the effective performance of the oversight function, then international organisations may have to reconsider their approach to legislative strengthening.     

Default entitlements in personal data in the proposed Regulation: Informational self-determination off the table … and back on again?

This paper aims to assess the proposed General Data Protection Regulation through the framework of default entitlements in personal data. The notion of default entitlements comes from economic analysis of law and provides new insights into the implications of the data protection reform. While, under the principle of informational self-determination the default entitlements should lie with the individual, the Commission is shown to assign a great deal of default rights to others, including the Information Industry. This article cautions against the possibility of reducing the European system of data protection rooted in the values of individual autonomy and informational self-determination to a mere set of administrative rules channelling the flow of personal data, yet without a clear direction.     

Subaltern connections: Brazilian critical geographers,development and African decolonisation

Abstract

This article explores the relations to Africa and African decolonisation of three key figures in Brazilian critical geographies and development studies, Manuel Correia de Andrade (1922–2007), Josué de Castro (1908–1973) and Milton Santos (1926–2001). Based on an analysis of their works and unpublished archives, I argue the radical Third World perspectives these intellectuals expressed anticipated later critiques of development as a neocolonial device. Drawing upon current literature on decolonisation, international conferencing and anti-racist solidarity networks, I discuss these matters in relation to these authors’ interest in cultural diversity and internal colonialism. Crucially, they developed this sensitivity in the Brazilian Northeast, a region especially shaped by Afro–Brazilian and Indigenous cultural legacies. While supporting anti-imperialist nationalisms in the Third World, these Brazilian scholars fostered multilingual, internationalist and cosmopolitan activism and scholarship. This is revealed by the study of the transnational networks they developed during exile and the various persecutions that many of them suffered after the 1964 military coup. Finally, I argue these works can substantiate recent claims to ‘decolonise’ geography and development studies, on the condition that these fields of study take seriously their anti-imperial traditions and their ‘voices from the South’.     

State transformation goes nuclear: Chinese National Nuclear Companies’ expansion into Europe

Abstract

Most of the literature on state transformation focuses on China’s relations with African, Asian and Latin American countries and the National Oil Companies’ overseas expansion to show that China has become fragmented, decentralised and internationalised. This article contributes novel findings by focusing on China’s relations with Europe and the actions of China’s National Nuclear Companies (NNCs). It shows that NNCs, which have become relatively autonomous actors, often pursue their agendas of expansion into Europe without much coordination with, or even in contradiction to, other ministries’ agendas and interests, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Instead of being orchestrated by the central government, their expansion reflects considerable disorganisation and sometimes undermines China’s official strategy. The article demonstrates this through case studies of NNCs’ involvement in the UK and Romania.     

Chinese Eastern Industrial Zone in Ethiopia: unpacking the enclave

Abstract

This paper examines China’s engagement with Africa through economic zones (EZs). It moves beyond the conceptualisation of EZs as undifferentiated enclaves of foreign investment to a dynamic perspective on the locally negotiated process of zone development. Such a perspective entails critical unpacking of the specific zone regime to understand the diverse and evolving relationships among different state and non-state actors. Drawing upon empirical research on the Eastern Industrial Zone (EIZ) in Ethiopia, we explore the complex process of learning and adaptation by government, developers, investors, and workers throughout the development of a zone regime, with specific attention to capital–labour and expatriate–local relations. We find that despite the EIZ being a state-level cooperation project, private Chinese developers work diligently with the Ethiopian government to improve the institutional support for EZs. Chinese investors also collectively generate a management regime to enhance their overseas operational capacity and experiment with various tactics to transform local recruits into an industrial workforce. Local workers, with limited protection by official labour unions, turn to individual- and group-based agency to improve their working conditions. Despite the momentum created by multiple stakeholders, there are concerns regarding the long-term contributions of EZs to engender sustained industrial transformation and skills development.     

Transnational cooperation: a network analysis of town twinning in the Baltic Sea region

The patterns of cooperation between regions and urban spaces are no longer influenced, to the same extent, by national borders. Political integrative events changed the extent of transborder urban cooperation in the Baltic borderlands, a region that has undergone extensive changes. A social network analysis of cooperative ties in the form of town twinning indicates that the end of the Cold War strongly changed the network of town twinning in this region, whereas the effect of the various EU enlargement rounds seems to be more nuanced.     

Evaluation of canine training aids containment for homemade explosive and components by headspace analysis and canine testing

While canines are most commonly trained to detect traditional explosives, such as nitroaromatics and smokeless powders, homemade explosives (HMEs), such as fuel–oxidizer mixtures, are arguably a greater threat. As such, it is imperative that canines are sufficiently trained in the detection of such HMEs. The training aid delivery device (TADD) is a primary containment device that has been used to house HMEs and HME components for canine detection training purposes. This research assesses the odor release from HME components, ammonium nitrate (AN), urea nitrate (UN), and potassium chlorate (PC), housed in TADDs. Canine odor recognition tests (ORTs) were used with analytical data to determine the detectability of TADDs containing AN, UN, or PC. Headspace analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with solid-phase microextraction (SPME) or online cryotrapping were used to measure ammonia or chlorine, as well as other unwanted odorants, emanating from bulk AN, UN, and PC in TADDs over 28 weeks. The analytical data showed variation in the amount of ammonia and chlorine over time, with ammonia from AN and UN decreasing slowly over time and the abundance of chlorine from PC TADDs dependent on the frequency of exposure to ambient air. Even with these variations in odor abundance, canines previously trained to detect bulk explosive HME components were able to detect all three targets in glass and plastic TADDs for at least 18 months after loading. Detection proficiency ranged from 64% to 100% and was not found to be dependent on either age of material.     

Characterization of an odor permeable membrane device for the storage of explosives and use as canine training aids

The storage and use of explosives is regulated at the state and federal level, with a particular focus on physical security and rigorous accounting of the explosive inventory. For those working with explosives for the training and testing of explosive-detecting canines, cross-contamination is an important concern. Hence, explosives intended for use with canine teams must be placed into secondary storage containers that are new, clean, and airtight. A variety of containers meet these requirements and include screw-top glass jars (e.g., mason jars). However, an additional need from the explosive-detecting canine community is secondary containers that can also be used as training aids whereby the volatiles emitted by explosives are emitted in a predictable and stable manner. Currently, a generally accepted method for the storage of explosives and controlled emission of explosive vapor for canine detection does not exist. Ideally, such containers should allow odor to escape from the training aid but block external contaminates such as particulates or other volatiles. One method in use places the explosive inside a permeable cotton bag when in use for training and then stores the cotton bag inside an impermeable nylon bag for long-term storage. This paper describes the testing of an odor permeable membrane device (OPMD) as a new way to store and deploy training aids. We measured the evaporation rate and flux of various liquid explosives and volatile compounds that have been identified in the headspace of actual explosives. OPMDs were used in addition to traditional storage containers to monitor the contamination and degradation of 14 explosives used as canine training aids. Explosives were stored individually using traditional storage bags or inside an OPMD at two locations, one of which actively used the training aids. Samples from each storage type at both locations were collected at 0, 3, 6, and 9 months and analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) with Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME). FTIR analyses showed no signs of degradation. GC–MS identified cross-contamination from ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN) and/or 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB) across almost all samples regardless of storage condition. The contamination was found to be higher among training aids that were stored in traditional ways and that were in active use by canine teams.     

Evaluating the discriminating power of amino acid ratios on distinguishing dark colored hair samples

Human hairs are one of the most commonly encountered items of trace evidence. Currently, conventional methods for hair analysis include microscopic comparison and DNA analysis (nuclear and mitochondrial). Each approach has its own drawbacks. Hair proteins are stable and offer an alternative to DNA testing, as demonstrated with proteomics for distinguishing humans. However, proteomics is complicated and requires identifying peptides to remain intact following harsh sample preparation methods. Alternatively, the actual amino acid content of a hair sample may also offer important identifying information and actually requires proteins and peptides to be broken down completely rather than remaining intact. This study evaluated the discriminating power of using hair amino acid ratios to differentiate hair samples from 10 unrelated individuals with dark colored hair. Hair proteins were digested, derivatized, and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Amino acid ratios were calculated for each individual and comparisons using ANOVA and post-hoc pairwise t-test with Bonferroni correction were made with amino acid ratios for individuals. Overall, out of the 45 possible pairwise comparisons between all hair samples, 38 (84%) were differentiable. Out of the 36 possible pairwise comparisons between brown haired individuals, 32 (89%) were considered differentiable using univariate statistics. Multivariate statistics were also attempted but, overall, univariate models were sufficient for exclusionary purposes. These results indicate that amino acid ratio analysis can potentially be used as an exclusionary method using hair if DNA analysis cannot be performed, or to corroborate conclusions made following microscopic analysis.     

Managing children's and adolescents' medical complaints amid parent conflict: Strategies and tools for professionals

Children and adolescents who are having difficulty coping with stress often present with complaints of physical discomfort. Effective treatment approaches exist for many of these issues. Among high-conflict parents, however, children's medical issues can become another canvas for conflict, with parents focused more on blaming one another for the child's distress than on options for assisting the child. Professionals can be drawn into the conflict to such a degree that they overlook essential steps for addressing and managing these issues. The authors present a research-informed model for managing medical and psychophysiological issues amid parental conflict.