The Criminalization of Mass Starvations: From Natural Disaster to Crime Against Humanity

Edkins Jenny, 'The Criminalisation of Mass Starvations: From Natural Disaster to Crime Against Humanity', In: 'The New Famines: Why Famines Persist in an Era of Globalisation', (New York: Routledge), pp.50-65, 2006 RAE2008

Irish Times coverage of Irish relief and development nongovernmental organisations, legitimacy and accountability, 1994-2009: analysis and implications for the role of nongovernmental organisations

The overall aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which and ways in which Irish relief and development nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) were linked with the concepts of legitimacy and accountability in Irish Times newspaper coverage between 1994 and 2009. This research was based on a quantitative content analysis of 215 Irish Times articles and the results were analysed using statistical methods. Key findings of the research included that NGO accountability received significantly more coverage than NGO legitimacy, "principal-agent" approaches to NGO accountability received significantly more coverage than "stakeholder" approaches to NGO accountability, and questioning of NGOs based on either their accountability or legitimacy was very limited. It is suggested that these findings may indicate both a failure by Irish NGOs to promote "development literacy" and global solidarity among the Irish public, and a limited degree of "development literacy" and global solidarity among the Irish public.

What Have We Learned from the Deepwater Horizon Disaster? An Economist’s Perspective

This paper outlines what we have learned about the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil disaster from the economics discipline as well as what effect the DWH disaster has had on the economics discipline. It appears that what we know about the economic impact of the DWH spill today is limited, possibly because such analysis is tied up in the federal Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process and other state-led efforts. There is evidence, however, that the NRDA process has changed over time to de-emphasize economic valuation of damages. There is also evidence that economists may be producing fewer outputs as a result of the DWH relative to scholars from other disciplines because of an apparent absence of funding for it. Of the research that has taken place, this paper provides a summary and highlights the main directions of future research. It appears that the most pressing topic is addressing the incentives and policies in place to promote a culture of safety in the offshore oil industry. Also, it appears that the most prominent, and challenging, direction of future research resulting from the DWH is the expansion of an ecosystems services approach to damage assessment and marine policy. Lea el abstracto en español 请点击此处阅读中文摘要

Birth-death processes with disaster and instantaneous resurrection

A new structure with the special property that instantaneous resurrection and mass disaster are imposed on an ordinary birth-death process is considered. Under the condition that the underlying birth-death process is exit or bilateral, we are able to give easily checked existence criteria for such Markov processes. A very simple uniqueness criterion is also established. All honest processes are explicitly constructed. Ergodicity properties for these processes are investigated. Surprisingly, it can be proved that all the honest processes are not only recurrent but also ergodic without imposing any extra conditions. Equilibrium distributions are then established. Symmetry and reversibility of such processes are also investigated. Several examples are provided to illustrate our results.

An analysis of human behaviour during the WTC disaster of 9/11 based on published survivor accounts

This paper presents an analysis of survivor experiences from the World Trade Centre (WTC) evacuation of 11 September 2001. The experiences were collected from published accounts appearing in the print and electronic mass media and are stored in a relational database specifically developed for this purpose.

Methodologies employed in the collection, retrieval and storage of human factors information derived from first hand accounts of survivors of the WTC disaster of 11 September 2001

This article provides a broad overview of project HEED (High-rise Evacuation Evaluation Database) and the methodologies employed in the collection and storage of first-hand accounts of evacuation experiences derived from face-to-face interviews of evacuees from the World Trade Center (WTC) Twin Towers complex on September 11, 2001. In particular, the article describes the development of the HEED database. This is a flexible research tool which contains qualitative type data in the form of coded evacuee experiences along with the full interview transcripts. The data and information captured and stored in the HEED database is not only unique, but provides a means to address current and emerging issues relating to human factors associated with the evacuation of high-rise buildings

Options to renew leases: time for legislative relief?

Argues that England should follow the example of Australia and New Zealand and give the courts statutory power to grant a tenant relief against forfeiture of the right to exercise an option to renew a lease by reason of the tenant being in breach of covenant. Suggests the legislative provision introducing this power should adopt wording mirroring that in the Law of Property Act 1925 s.146(2).

Forfeiture relief

Looks at the common law forfeiture rule, preventing a person who has unlawfully killed another from profiting from the death, and the granting of relief under the Forfeiture Act 1982. Reviews case law on the forfeiture rule, its modification under s.2 in the interests of justice and the provision under s.3 that the rule does not preclude an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Reviews the Chancery Division ruling in Land v Land (Deceased), highlighting the ability for a claimant to choose whether to seek relief from forfeiture under s.2 of the 1982 Act or pursue a claim for reasonable financial provision from a deceased's estate under s.2 of the 1975 Act.

Fairness in Ancillary Relief

This article stems from setting student projects. It describes in detail the outcome of a project designed to ascertain the views of the public in relation to ancillary relief and what they consider to be a 'fair' outcome. The rationale for undertaking student projects has been discussed at length in another article and is therefore only alluded to here. The discussion centres around the law, findings and outcome of the project. Students studying the Family Law course at Sheffield University were required to survey members of the public in order to gather their views on the division of assets on divorce and then to analyse the public's response in light of the seminal decision of the House of Lords in White v White [2001] 1 AC 596.

Developing NGO competencies in post-disaster reconstruction: a theoretical framework

In the aftermath of recent natural disasters, NGOs have become increasingly involved in the permanent reconstruction of affected communities. These organizations, often operating well outside their expertise, encounter significant barriers as they implement reconstruction programmes. This paper presents the theoretical bedrock of a current research project, the overall goal of which is to design a competency-based framework model that can be used by NGOs in post-disaster reconstruction projects. Drawing on established theories of management, a unique perspective has been developed from which a competency-based reconstruction theory emerges. This theoretical framework brings together three distinct fields; Disaster Management, Strategic Management and Project Management, each vital to the success of the model. This theoretical study will incorporate a critical review of literature within each field. It is imperative that NGOs involved in post-disaster reconstruction familiarize themselves with concepts and strategies. It is hoped that the competence-based frame-work model that is produced on the basis of this theory will help define the standard of best practice to which future NGO projects might align themselves.