Challenging conventional views on mobile-telecommunications investment: evidence from conflict zones

Huge amounts are being invested in information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as mobile phones and their telecommunications infrastructure. Development agencies adopt a conventional view on the ‘climate’ needed to encourage such investment, believing particularly that good governance and security are required. We question this conventional view with a study of mobile telecommunications in three insecure states that score very badly in the Worldwide Governance Indicators. Data are limited, but they suggest that insecurity and ‘bad governance’ may not be the barriers to investment that are normally supposed. Indeed, it is possible – at least for this type of digital technology – that they may encourage investment.     

俄格冲突的根源探析

近来俄格围绕南奥塞梯的激烈冲突绝非仅仅是涉及其双边关系的一个孤立事件,其背后隐藏着诸多复杂因素;格鲁吉亚的"亲西方"政策、俄格在阿布哈兹和南奥塞梯问题上的历史积怨、以美国为首的西方对俄罗斯的战略挤压以及俄美对里海地区能源的争夺乃是俄格冲突的根源所在;此外,俄罗斯不断提升的综合国力也是催生俄格冲突的一个因素.     

民间文学艺术特殊性与著作权性质的冲突与协调

对民间文学艺术进行保护已成为许多发展中国家的共识,但人们对用著作权法保护民间文学艺术,如何确定民间文学艺术的权利主体及其性质存在争议。根据民间文学艺术保护现状,分析它的特殊性与著作权性质的冲突与协调来寻求保护民间文学艺术的最佳途径。     

权利冲突的研究现状、基本类型与处理原则

中国的权利冲突研究经历了产生、反思、深化三个阶段,当前仍存在着抽象的理论研究与具体层面的研究脱节及研究道路不足等缺陷。同种类型权利间的冲突与不同类型权利间的冲突是权利冲突的基本分类方法。处理权利冲突,应坚持私权利优先于公权力、社会公共利益优先等原则。     

World views in peace building: a post-conflict reconstruction challenge in Cambodia

This article explores post-conflict reconstruction in Cambodia through an analysis of both the dangers of liberal peace building and the positive role that training in capacity building plays in war-torn societies. The central question addressed is how insider–outsider dynamics influence Cambodia's post-conflict reconstruction projects; and what assumptions do international workers and Cambodian NGO staff make about ‘the good life’ that will be constructed? The article offers an overview of Cambodia's history and cultural context to situate its analysis of liberal peace building and foreign donors, as well as the behavioural characteristics of international peace builders operating within Cambodia. It assesses the potency of elite capture of insider–outsider partnership, specific NGO management practices, and the role of gender to better illuminate the challenges for post-conflict reconstruction. The article concludes with recommendations for improving future partnerships between insiders and outsiders in Cambodian peace-building projects.     

No effects in independent prevention trials: can we reject the cynical view?

Recent studies suggest that the reported effect sizes of prevention and intervention trials in criminology are considerably larger when program developers are involved in a study than when trials are conducted by independent researchers. This paper examines the possibility that these differences may be due to systematic bias related to conflict of interest. A review of the evidence shows that the possibility of a substantial problem cannot be currently rejected. Based on a theoretical model about how conflict of interest may influence research findings, the paper proposes several strategies to examine empirically the extent of systematic bias related to conflict of interest. It also suggests that, in addition to improved standards for conducting and publishing future experimental studies, more research is needed on the extent of systematic bias in the existing body of literature.

An overview of the content and historical context of the international freshwater agreements that South Africa has entered into with neighbouring countries

Southern Africa is at a pivotal point in time for transboundary water cooperation. The number and extent of coverage of existing international water agreements and joint management institutions merits cautious optimism about future water management in the region. Yet, taken alone, a numerical account of water treaties reveals little about the context in which the agreements were negotiated, the nature of the rules and regulations adopted, or the influence of the agreements in addressing problems or enhancing joint governance. Drawing on a database containing all the international freshwater agreements entered into between South Africa and its neighbours since 1910, this article examines trends in the articulation of these treaties and discusses the implications of the rules and regulations they embody. Specific consideration is given to issues of information sharing, water allocation and organizations. This analysis is a first step towards understanding the impact of existing agreements, identifying opportunities for the negotiation of new treaties and enhancing existing systems.

Trauma‐Informed Interventions in Parent–Child Contact Cases

Parent–child contact problems may arise in the context of high conflict separation/divorce dynamics between parents. In cases where there are parent–child contact problems and children resist or refuse contact with one of their parents, there may also be incidents of child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, or compromised parenting that can be experienced by a parent or child as traumatic. The circumstances around separation and/or post‐divorce often result in intense stress for families. In this paper we distinguish between the stressful circumstances that may arise as a result of high interparental conflict and pulls for alignment from a parent, and the real or perceived trauma as a factor which contributes to resistance or refusal of a child to have contact with a parent. Interventions to address both trauma responses and the resist‐refuse dynamics are differentiated and discussed. After screening and assessment, the intent is to treat trauma responses with short‐term, evidence‐based therapy, either before or concurrent with co‐parent and family intervention.     

The Application of the Polyvagal Theory to High Conflict Co‐Parenting Cases

Families, litigants, lawyers, advisors embroiled in cases of complex divorce with child contact issues, manage many stressors at once. Participants involved with these types of cases are often exhausted and burned‐out from the long‐term battles of prolonged litigation. The inability to problem‐solve or even communicate effectively reflects the chaos and traumatic stress of the experience and can be seen as a hallmark of this population. When people are consistently stressed, there is a breakdown of communication skills that can create an immunity to receiving help from any direction. Often all parties involved appear to be both hyper‐alert to potential threat, and hyper‐reactive to one another: no one feels safe. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory is premised on the idea that neuroception plays a key role in the nervous system's ability to assess danger in the environment. Neuroception is a neurophysiological response that does not involve cognitive processing. When cognitive processing is not involved, the result may lead to misinterpretation of, and an inability to accurately assess situations: executive functioning including rational thinking and communication skills are lost to physiological response. Rather than evaluating families and individuals involved in the aforementioned complex divorce cases through the lens of pathology, Polyvagal Theory explains their behavior as an adaptive stress reaction. Utilizing Polyvagal Theory offers a promising path to treatment with these families and diminishing the poor communication and the heightened emotion, assisting practitioners in understanding the impact of neurobiological response in managing stress and trauma. Applying Polyvagal Theory to court involved populations can help both litigants and practitioners recognize the role of the autonomic nervous system, providing the opportunity to understand, to self‐regulate, and to improve communication and decision making.     

Displacement,resettlement, and livelihood restoration: safeguard standards in practice

This article presents a case study of development practice based on the author’s experience of designing a livelihood restoration plan and monitoring its implementation. The plan was based on safeguard standards of a multilateral development bank that funded a private sector renewable energy project on land belonging to a vulnerable community in Central India. Illustrating the challenges faced in implementing and monitoring this plan and the reasons for its failure, the article argues that a complex set of institutional and individual relationships determine the way in which safeguard policies are translated into practice by diverse and interrelated actors.