Contribución de la misión de naciones unidas en Guatemala – Minugua, a la promoción, defensa y garantía de los derechos de la población indígena guatemalteca (1994 a 2004)

El conflicto armado en Guatemala se originó por el abuso de poder, la desigualdad, la exclusión y la profunda discriminación, sobre todo hacia la población indígena, a la que se le han desconocido históricamente sus derechos y que fue la más afligida durante el conflicto. Lo que desembocó en el nacimiento de grupos al margen de la ley, cuyo propósito fue reivindicar los derechos de la población, así como la equidad y justicia social. El conflicto se caracterizó por la formación de grupos paramilitares, la violación al Derecho Internacional Humanitario, el elevado número de víctimas del conflicto, mayoritariamente indígenas y porque más del 85% de las violaciones a los derechos humanos fueron perpetradas por el Estado. Gracias a la voluntad política, al respaldo de la comunidad internacional, especialmente de la Organización de Naciones Unidas -ONU, y a los buenos oficios de la Comisión Nacional de Reconciliación – CNR, se lograron firmar los Acuerdos de Paz y dar fin a este cruento conflicto de más de 36 años. Las partes firmantes vieron la necesidad de que un ente autónomo e imparcial de Naciones Unidas, verificara el cumplimiento de La Misión de Naciones Unidas en Guatemala - MINUGUA contribuyó a la promoción, defensa y garantía de los derechos de la población indígena guatemalteca. Específicamente, incidió en el cumplimiento de los compromisos contenidos en el Acuerdo sobre Identidad y Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas guatemaltecos –AIDPI, que fue suscrito el 31 de marzo de 1995, asimismo, contribuyó a la garantía del derecho a la justicia de la población indígena, lo que se evidenció en las acciones y el papel que desempeñó en los componentes de verdad, justicia y reparación.

Políticas sociais no Município de Mafra: desafios e possibilidades de implementação sob o olhar da sociologia

No quadro de uma sociologia da ação, procurámos conhecer as políticas públicas do setor social em preparação ou implementadas pela autarquia de Mafra e, simultaneamente, perceber a influência que a interação e o grau de concordância dos diferentes atores sociais envolvidos no desenvolvimento do projeto social do município, exercem no processo de concretização das mesmas, contribuindo, deste modo, para o sucesso do plano de ação social programado para o território, ou, pelo contrário, dificultando a sua implementação. Neste sentido, procurámos encontrar os desafios e, ao mesmo tempo, os obstáculos que se apresentam à Câmara Municipal de Mafra na implementação de um projeto social adequado à realidade da comunidade local, enquanto ator privilegiado no campo da proteção social à população, ação que vem assumindo ao longo das últimas décadas, evidenciando um papel prioritário e determinante na programação das políticas públicas desenvolvidas no território, considerando, igualmente, a influência que a regularidade da representação política dos órgãos autárquicos deste município vem exercendo também na concretização deste processo de intervenção social. Através de uma estratégia metodológica orientada para a realização de um diagnóstico prospetivo, propusemo-nos estudar os elementos principais do sistema de implementação de políticas sociais no Município de Mafra e, neste sentido: a) delimitámos o sistema e estudámos os seus elementos mais pertinentes, nomeadamente, a posição estratégica da autarquia no desenvolvimento de um projeto de intervenção social adequado ao território; b) assinalámos os objetivos estratégicos do plano de intervenção social elaborado pela autarquia em coordenação com outros atores com responsabilidade social no município e posicionámos os atores relativamente a estes objetivos estratégicos; e por fim, c) avaliámos as convergências e as divergências possíveis e a implicação dos atores na concretização dos objetivos deste plano estratégico de intervenção social. As principais conclusões deste estudo referem a existência de uma grande convergência dos atores perante os objetivos do plano de intervenção social programado pela autarquia para o município, tendo em conta a sua participação e intervenção na elaboração e execução deste projeto de âmbito social, sendo identificado como principal obstáculo de implementação, a escassez de recursos financeiros, e, como desafio de execução com maior importância, a cooperação entre a autarquia e os demais parceiros sociais do município reveladora da congregação de esforços conducentes ao desenvolvimento da estratégia de intervenção social mais adequada às necessidades do território; ABSTRACT: In the context of an action sociology sought to know the public policies in the social sector in preparation or implemented by the municipality of Mafra and simultaneously realize the influence that interaction and the degree of agreement of the different social actors involved in the development of the social project city, play in the process of implementation of the same, thus contributing to the success of social action plan scheduled for the territory, or, conversely, hindering its implementation. In this sense, we tried to meet the challenges and at the same time, the obstacles that are presented to the Municipality of Mafra in the implementation of an adequate social project the reality of the local community, as a privileged actor in the field of social protection of the population, action is taking over the past decades, showing a priority and decisive role in the planning of public policies developed in the territory, considering also the influence that the regularity of political representation of local government bodies in this municipality has exercised also in the realization of this process of social intervention. Through targeted methodological strategy for the realization of a prospective diagnosis, we proposed to study the main elements of the system of implementation of social policies in the city of Mafra and in this regard: a) delimit the system and studied the relevant elements, namely, the strategic position of authority in the development of a social intervention project suitable to the territory; b) have pointed out the strategic objectives of social intervention plan drawn up by the municipality in coordination with other actors with social responsibility in the city and we positioned the actors for these strategic objectives; and finally, c) we evaluated the convergences and divergences and the possible involvement of actors in achieving the objectives of this strategic plan of social intervention. The main findings of this study relate to the existence of a large convergence of actors towards the objectives of social intervention plan set by the local authority for the city, taking into account their participation and assistance in the preparation and implementation of the social context of the project, being identified as main obstacle to implementing the scarcity of financial resources, and the challenge of implementing more importantly, cooperation between the municipality and the other social partners in revealing municipality of congregation of efforts leading to the development of more appropriate social intervention strategy to the needs of territory.

The protection and security of vulnerable populations in complex emergencies using the Dadaab refugee camps in the north eastern province of Kenya as a case study

The past two decades has seen a dramatic upheaval in the international world order: the end of the Cold War, the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent 'War on Terror', increased Jihadist activities, the accelerated pace of globalization, climate change and the 2008 global financial crisis have contributed to fear, uncertainty, poverty, conflict, massive displacements of populations of asylum seekers and refugees globally and a proliferation of Protracted Refugee Situations (PRS), defined as situations in which refugees have been in exile 'for 5 years or more after their initial displacement, without immediate prospects for implementation of durable solutions. In the past two decades there has been a huge proliferation of these with more than 7.2 million refugees now trapped in these PRS, with a further 16 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) trapped in camps within their own countries. The Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya, which of as March 2012, holds over 463,000 refugees, is the most significant and extreme example in recent times of a PRS. It was established in 1991 following the collapse of the Somali Government of Dictator Siad Barre, and the disintegration of Somalia into the chaos that still exists today. PRS such as Dadaab raise particular issues about humanitarianism in terms of aid, protection, security, human rights and the actions (or inaction) of the various stakeholders on an international, national and local level. This thesis investigates these issues by the use of a case study methodology on Dadaab as a PRS, framed in the context of humanitarianism and in particular the issues that arise in terms of how the international community, the UN system and individual states provide assistance and protection to vulnerable populations. Although the refugee camps have been in existence (as of 2012) for over 20 years, there has never been such a detailed study of Dadaab (or any other PRS) undertaken to date and would be of interest to academics in the areas of international relations, refugee/migration studies and global Governance as well as practitioners in both humanitarian response and development

Improving the provision of learning assistance services in higher education

This study is motivated by the need to look continually for ways to improve Griffith University's learning assistance services so that they meet the changed needs of stakeholders and are at the same time cost-effective and efficient. This study uses the conceptual tools of cultural-historical activity theory and expansive visibilisation to investigaate the developmenet and transformation of learning assistance services at Griffith University, one of Australia's largest mult-campus universities.

Renal and genitourinary emergencies

Genitourinary (GU) problems are a common complaint in the community and to the emergency department (ED). Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the second most common bacterial disease. UTIs rank as the sixteenth most frequently reported problem to general practitioners in Australia1 and between 10% and 20% of women will experience at least one UTI in their lifetime. Over 1,000,000 Australians are currently suffering with nephrolithiasis (renal calculi) and it is hy-pothesised that Australia’s hot, dry climate causes more stone formation than many other coun-tries in the world. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of any trauma. Hypovol-aemia results in severe hypotension and this precipitates the development of acute tubular necrosis and subsequent AKI. The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising across the world. CKD is classified into five stages with those in stage 5 being classified as being in end stage kidney disease (ESKD). It is estimated that there are over 1.5 million people in Australia with CKD and there were over 16,000 Australians and over 2900 individuals in New Zealand with ESKD.2 Indigenous populations from both countries (Aboriginals, Torres Strait Islanders, Maoris, and Pacific Islanders) are over-represented in the number of people with all stages of CKD in both countries. Patients with compromised renal function often require the assistance of paramedics and will arrive at the ED with life-threatening fluid and electrolyte imbalances. Spe-cific GU emergencies discussed in this chapter are acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis, chronic kidney disease, UTIs, acute urinary retention, urinary calculi, testicular torsion, epididymitis, and priapism. Refer to Chapter 31 for discussion of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in women and to Chapter X for discussion of genitourinary trauma.

Encouraging, assisting, and time to eat : comparison of mealtime assistance interventions in elderly medical inpatients

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition in older adults is reported to be as high as 60% and is associated with poor health outcomes. Inadequate feeding assistance and mealtime interruptions may contribute to malnutrition and poor nutritional intake during hospitalisation. Despite being widely implemented in practice in the United Kingdom and increasingly in Australia, there have been few studies examining the impact of strategies such as Protected Mealtimes and dedicated feeding assistant roles on nutritional outcomes of elderly inpatients. AIMS: The aim of this research was to implement and compare three system-level interventions designed to specifically address mealtime barriers and improve energy intakes of medical inpatients aged ≥65 years. This research also aimed to evaluate the sustainability of any changes to mealtime routines six months post-intervention and to gain an understanding of staff perceptions of the post-intervention mealtime experience. METHODS: Three mealtime assistance interventions were implemented in three medical wards at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital: AIN-only: Additional assistant-in-nursing (AIN) with dedicated nutrition role. PM-only: Multidisciplinary approach to meals, including Protected Mealtimes. PM+AIN: Combined intervention: AIN + multidisciplinary approach to meals. An action research approach was used to carefully design and implement the three interventions in partnership with ward staff and managers. Significant time was spent in consultation with staff throughout the implementation period to facilitate ownership of the interventions and increase likelihood of successful implementation. A pre-post design was used to compare the implementation and nutritional outcomes of each intervention to a pre-intervention group. Using the same wards, eligible participants (medical inpatients aged ≥65 years) were recruited to the preintervention group between November 2007 and March 2008 and to the intervention groups between January and June 2009. The primary nutritional outcome was daily energy and protein intake, which was determined by visually estimating plate waste at each meal and mid-meal on Day 4 of admission. Energy and protein intakes were compared between the pre and post intervention groups. Data were collected on a range of covariates (demographics, nutritional status and known risk factors for poor food intake), which allowed for multivariate analysis of the impact of the interventions on nutritional intake. The provision of mealtime assistance to participants and activities of ward staff (including mealtime interruptions) were observed in the pre-intervention and intervention groups, with staff observations repeated six months post-intervention. Focus groups were conducted with nursing and allied health staff in June 2009 to explore their attitudes and behaviours in response to the three mealtime interventions. These focus group discussions were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 254 participants were recruited to the study (pre-intervention: n=115, AIN-only: n=58, PM-only: n=39, PM+AIN: n=42). Participants had a mean age of 80 years (SD 8), and 40% (n=101) were malnourished on hospital admission, 50% (n=108) had anorexia and 38% (n=97) required some assistance at mealtimes. Occasions of mealtime assistance significantly increased in all interventions (p<0.01). However, no change was seen in mealtime interruptions. No significant difference was seen in mean total energy and protein intake between the preintervention and intervention groups. However, when total kilojoule intake was compared with estimated requirements at the individual level, participants in the intervention groups were more likely to achieve adequate energy intake (OR=3.4, p=0.01), with no difference noted between interventions (p=0.29). Despite small improvements in nutritional adequacy, the majority of participants in the intervention groups (76%, n=103) had inadequate energy intakes to meet their estimated energy requirements. Patients with cognitive impairment or feeding dependency appeared to gain substantial benefit from mealtime assistance interventions. The increase in occasions of mealtime assistance by nursing staff during the intervention period was maintained six-months post-intervention. Staff focus groups highlighted the importance of clearly designating and defining mealtime responsibilities in order to provide adequate mealtime care. While the purpose of the dedicated feeding assistant was to increase levels of mealtime assistance, staff indicated that responsibility for mealtime duties may have merely shifted from nursing staff to the assistant. Implementing the multidisciplinary interventions empowered nursing staff to "protect" the mealtime from external interruptions, but further work is required to empower nurses to prioritise mealtime activities within their own work schedules. Staff reported an increase in the profile of nutritional care on all wards, with additional non-nutritional benefits noted including improved mobility and functional independence, and better identification of swallowing difficulties. IMPLICATIONS: The PhD research provides clinicians with practical strategies to immediately introduce change to deliver better mealtime care in the hospital setting, and, as such, has initiated local and state-wide roll-out of mealtime assistance programs. Improved nutritional intakes of elderly inpatients was observed; however given the modest effect size and reducing lengths of hospital stays, better nutritional outcomes may be achieved by targeting the hospital-to-home transition period. Findings from this study suggest that mealtime assistance interventions for elderly inpatients with cognitive impairment and/or functional dependency show promise.

Building indicators in media assistance; four ways evaluation reports present “change”

The international aid and development community has supported programs that aim to build the capacity of media professionals or contribute to an enabling environment throughout the past 20 years. However, two decades on from the first modern media assistance programs, the sector is still struggling to identify, measure and understand the changes effected by their programs. There are questions raised as to whether it is even feasible to identify impacts on society and governance. This paper draws on some preliminary findings from a comparative thematic analysis of 47 evaluation documents of media assistance programs. The aim of this analysis is to identify trends in impact evaluation practice in the media assistance field, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of different evaluation approaches. This paper presents four types of social change claims commonly presented in reports; hypothetical changes, introduction of new opportunities, concrete examples of immediate impacts, and analysis of ongoing social and political changes. Although these types may appear as a spectrum from weak to strong, the interactions are perhaps more accurately understood using metaphors such as building blocks. This paper explores these types in more detail and suggests that a robust set of impacts-types could be useful in developing more grounded theories of change and indicators.

Emergency powers and pandemics : federalism and the management of public health emergencies in Australia

Under the International Health Regulations 2005 Australia is obliged to develop a domestic framework designed to equip it to respond to public health emergencies. The legislative arrangements for the declaration of a public health emergency in Australia are complex, vary across state jurisdictions and intersect with other emergency powers. The task of harmonising laws and other arrangements within a federal system poses both challenges and opportunities for flexibility and choice. This article argues that Australia's current multi-strand and multi-level response provides a coordinated framework which also accommodates desirable levels of flexibility and choice.

Evaluation of hospital preparedness for public health emergencies in Sichuan (China)

The aim of this research was to develop a set of reliable, valid preparedness metrics, built around a comprehensive framework for assessing hospital preparedness. This research used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods which included interview and a Delphi study as well as a survey of hospitals in the Sichuan Province of China. The resultant framework is constructed around the stages of disaster management and includes nine key elements. Factor Analysis identified four contributing factors. The comparison of hospitals' preparedness using these four factors, revealed that tertiary-grade, teaching and general hospitals performed better than secondary-grade, non-teaching and non-general hospitals.

Letter to congregation in Jamaica asking assistance to build a synagogue

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Public and private technical assistance programs for non-industrial private forest landowners in the southern United States.

XVIII IUFRO World Congress, Ljubljana 1986.