'Calling the Judiciary to Account for the Past: Transitional Justice and Judicial Accountability in Nigeria'

Institutional and individual accountability is an important feature of societies in transition from conflict or authoritarian rule. The imperative of accountability has both normative and transformational underpinnings in the context of restoration of the rule of law and democracy. This article argues a case for extending the purview of truth-telling processes to the judiciary in postauthoritarian contexts. The driving force behind the inquiry is the proposition that the judiciary as the third arm of government at all times participates in governance. To contextualize the argument, I focus on judicial governance and accountability within the paradigm of Nigeria’s transition to democracy after decades of authoritarian military rule.

The Postmodern Non-city in Miquel de Palol’s "El Jardí del Set Crepuscles"

El Jardí del Set Crepuscles –primera novela del escritor y arquitecto catalán Miquel de Palol– nos brinda la oportunidad de reflexionar acerca de la metamorfosis experimentada por la ciudad occidental a principios de los años setenta del siglo pasado. De acuerdo con autores como Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, Giandomenico Amendola o Edward Soja, el surgimiento de la ciudad posmoderna en el marco de la transición hacia el modo de acumulación postfordista se presenta acompañado por un debilitamiento del tejido social y de la esfera pública y cívica. El objetivo del presente artículo es ilustrar las estrategias narrativas y retóricas con las que el texto de Miquel de Palol representa, y analiza, dicho fenómeno.

Young children returning home from care: The birth parents' perspective

While a wide range of literature exists on the experiences of children in foster care or adoption, much less is known about children who return home from care to their birth parents. This paper focuses on the perspectives of a small sample of birth parents of young children who returned home from care. It draws on findings from the Northern Ireland Care Pathways and Outcomes Study that has been following a population (n = 374) of children who were under 5 years and in care in Northern Ireland on the 31st of March 2000. As part of this study, interviews were conducted with the foster parents of 55 children, the adoptive parents of 51 children and the birth parents of nine children who had returned home from care. The paper explores the birth parents’ views on how they coped while their child was in care, how they were coping after the child had returned home and how their child was faring at home. Results revealed that these parents, and their children, were experiencing multiple difficulties and struggled to cope after the children had returned home.

"Cómo pintar el aire". Fundamentos científicos de la perspectiva atmosférica

La perspectiva aérea o atmosférica es juzgada por los pintores como parte esencial de la pintura, una vez establecidos los presupuestos geométricos de la representación naturalista mediante la perspectiva lineal. Leonardo da Vinci fue el primer autor en definir la perspectiva aérea o atmosférica, conocidos ya a través de L. B. Alberti los fundamentos geométricos de la perspectiva lineal en el tratado De Pictura (1435). Doscientos años después, tras la influyente publicación del Optics de Newton, contextualizadas bajo el espíritu racionalista del siglo XVIII, el artículo estudia las recomendaciones que desde la ciencia y los científicos (específicamente a través de tres figuras relevantes: Brook Taylor, J. H. Lambert y Gaspard Monge) se dan a los pintores con la pretensión de arbitrar una medición exacta del color, en confrontación con el tradicional empirismo del mundo artístico. Este tema puede considerarse un capítulo de gran interés en la larga historia de la pintura y la representación de los fenómenos atmosféricos, cuyos antecedentes teóricos tienen su inicio en el Débat sur le Coloris de la Académie Française del siglo XVII y sus resultados, conducirán hacia el nacimiento de la moderna Teoría del color, en respuesta a una cuestión tan compleja sobre cómo pintar el aire.

What Happened to the ‘Development’ in Sustainable Development? Business Guidelines Two Decades After Brundtland

Over twenty years ago ‘Our Common Future’ presented a conceptualization and explanation of the concept of sustainable development. Since then numerous alternative definitions of the concept have been offered, of which at least some are exclusive to each other. At the same time, the role of business in the transition to sustainable development has increasingly received attention. Bringing these two trends in sustainable development together, this paper returns to the Brundtland version of the concept to examine to what extent the original principles of sustainable development are still embedded within key business guidelines, namely the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ICC Business Charter for Sustainable Development, the CAUX Principles, the Global Sullivan Principles and the CERES Principles. The findings suggest that these business guidelines tend to emphasize environmental rather than social aspects of sustainable development, in particular to the detriment of the original Brundtland prioritization of the needs of the poorest. Furthermore, the attention to environmental aspects stresses win-win situations and has a clear managerialist focus; whereas more conceptual environmental issues concerning systems interdependencies, critical thresholds or systemic limits to growth find little attention. The normative codes and principles targeted at the private sector thus not only add another voice to the multiple discourses on sustainable development but also contribute to a reinterpretation of the original agenda set by Brundtland towards conceptualizations of sustainable development around the needs of industrialised rather than developing countries. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

CHEMISTRY IN A PROTOPLANETARY NEBULA

In this paper we investigate gas-phase chemistry in the remnant 'superwind' of a carbon-rich red giant star, during its transition to a planetary nebula. The interacting stellar winds model is used. It is found that during the first few hundred years of transition, significant abundances of a few small molecules and ions (e.g. CH+, CH2+, CH3+, CH, CH2, NH) may occur in the thin, dense, shocked shell of gas predicted by thiS model, but that most molecules observed in protoplanetary nebulae will be rapidly destroyed, through photodissociation by strong UV from the central star. If dense clumps are present during transition, they may allow the gas-phase formation and/or survival of small amounts of some molecules, such as HCN, CN, C2H2, and HC3N, until about 2000 yr after termination of the superwind; and young, fully developed planetary nebulae may show observable amounts of polyatomic molecules by this means. Such clumping may explain the existence of, e.g., HCN in NGC 7027.

Implementation of Menter's Transition Model on an Isolated Natural Laminar Flow Nacelle

This study evaluates the implementation of Menter's gamma-Re-theta Transition Model within the CFX12 solver for turbulent transition prediction on a natural laminar flow nacelle. Some challenges associated with this type of modeling have been identified. The computational fluid dynamics transitional flow simulation results are presented for a series of cruise cases with freestream Mach numbers ranging from 0.8 to 0.88, angles of attack from 2 to 0 degrees, and mass flow ratios from 0.60 to 0.75. These were validated with a series of wind-tunnel tests on the nacelle by comparing the predicted and experimental surface pressure distributions and transition locations. A selection of the validation cases are presented in this paper. In all cases, computational fluid dynamics simulations agreed reasonably well with the experiments. The results indicate that Menter's gamma-Re-theta Transition Model is capable of predicting laminar boundary-layer transition to turbulence on a nacelle. Nonetheless, some limitations exist in both the Menter's gamma-Re-theta Transition Model and in the implementation of the computational fluid dynamics model. The implementation of a more comprehensive experimental correlation in Menter's gamma-Re-theta Transition Model, preferably the ones from nacelle experiments, including the effects of compressibility and streamline curvature, is necessary for an accurate transitional flow simulation on a nacelle. In addition, improvements to the computational fluid dynamics model are also suggested, including the consideration of varying distributed surface roughness and an appropriate empirical correction derived from nacelle experimental transition location data.

Surgical optimisation and characterisation of a minimally invasive aortic banding procedure to induce cardiac hypertrophy in mice

Left ventricular pressure overload in response to aortic banding is an invaluable model for studying progression of cardiac hypertrophy and transition to heart failure. Traditional aortic banding has recently been superceded by minimally invasive transverse aortic banding (MTAB) which does not require ventilation so is less technically challenging. Although the MTAB procedure is superior, few laboratories have documented success and minimal information on the model is available. The aim of this study was to optimise conditions for MTAB and to characterise the development and progression of cardiac hypertrophy. Isofluorane proved the most suitable anaesthetic for MTAB surgery in mice and one week after surgery MTAB animals showed significant increases in systolic blood pressure (110±6 v's 78±3(mmHg), MTAB v's sham, n=7,p

Vegetation responses to rapid climatic changes during the last deglaciation 13,500-8,000 years ago on southwest Andoya, arctic Norway

The late-glacial vegetation development in northern Norway in response to climate changes during the Allerod, Younger Dryas (YD), and the transition to the Holocene is poorly known. Here we present a high-resolution record of floral and vegetation changes at lake Lusvatnet, south-west Andoya, between 13500 and 8000 cal b.p. Plant macrofossil and pollen analyses were done on the same sediment core and the proxy records follow each other very closely. The core has also been analyzed using an ITRAX XRF scanner in order to check the sediment sequence for disturbances or hiatuses. The core has a good radiocarbon-based chronology. The Saksunarvatn tephra fits very well chronostratigraphically. During both the Allerod and the Younger Dryas time-periods arctic vegetation prevailed, dominated by Salix polaris associated with many typically arctic herbs such as Saxifraga cespitosa, Saxifraga rivularis and Oxyria digyna. Both periods were cold and dry. Between 12450 and 12250 cal b.p. during the Younger Dryas chronozone, the assemblage changed, particularly in the increased abundance of Papaver sect. Scapiflora and other high-Arctic herbs, suggesting the development of polar desert vegetation mainly as a response to increased aridity. After 11520 cal b.p. a gradually warmer and more oceanic climate initiated a succession to dwarf-shrub vegetation and the establishment of Betula woodland after 1,000 years at c. 10520 cal b.p. The overall late-glacial aridity contrasts with oceanic conditions in southern Norway and is probably related to sea-ice extent.

Behavioural and physiological responses of heifer calves to acute stressors: long-term consistency and relationship with adult reactivity to milking

The present study investigated the long-term consistency of individual differences in dairy cattles’ responses in tests of behavioural and hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis reactivity, as well as the relationship between responsiveness in behavioural tests and the reaction to first milking. Two cohorts of heifer calves, Cohorts 1 (N = 25) and 2 (N = 16), respectively, were examined longitudinally from the rearing period until adulthood. Cohort 1 heifers were subjected to open field (OF), novel object (NO), restraint, and response to a human tests at 7 months of age, and were again observed in an OF test during first pregnancy between 22 and 24 months of age. Subsequently, inhibition of milk ejection and stepping and kicking behaviours were recorded in Cohort 1 heifers during their first machine milking. Cohort 2 heifers were individually subjected to OF and NO tests as well as two HPA axis reactivity tests (determining ACTH and/or cortisol response profiles after administration of exogenous CRH and ACTH, respectively) at 6 months of age and during first lactation at approximately 29 months of age. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to condense correlated response measures (to behavioural tests and to milking) within ages into independent dimensions underlying heifers’ reactivity. Heifers demonstrated consistent individual differences in locomotion and vocalisation during an OF test from rearing to first pregnancy (Cohort 1) or first lactation (Cohort 2). Individual differences in struggling in a restraint test at 7 months of age reliably predicted those in OF locomotion during first pregnancy in Cohort 1 heifers. Cohort 2 animals with high cortisol responses to OF and NO tests and high avoidance of the novel object at 6 months of age also exhibited enhanced cortisol responses to OF and NO tests at 29 months of age. Measures of HPA axis reactivity, locomotion, vocalisation and adrenocortical and behavioural responses to novelty were largely uncorrelated, supporting the idea that stress responsiveness in dairy cows is mediated by multiple independent underlying traits. Inhibition of milk ejection and stepping and kicking behaviours during first machine milking were not related to earlier struggling during restraint, locomotor responses to OF and NO tests, or the behavioural interaction with a novel object. Heifers with high rates of OF and NO vocalisation and short latencies to first contact with the human at 7 months of age exhibited better milk ejection during first machine milking. This suggests that low underlying sociality might be implicated in the inhibition of milk ejection at the beginning of lactation in heifers.

Poisoning from lead gunshot: still a threat to wild waterbirds in Britain

Lead is a highly toxic metal known to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in waterbirds and terrestrial birds worldwide. The risk to birds of poisoning from lead has resulted in the introduction of legislation in many countries, such as UK restrictions on the use of lead in angling weights and lead gunshot. In this study, we examined data on current and historical trends in lead poisoning in British waterbirds and related these to the introduction of legislation restricting the use of lead. Our results indicate that lead poisoning has continued to affect a wide range of British waterbirds long after legal restrictions were introduced. Elevated levels of lead (i.e. > 20.0 mu g/dL) were found in the blood of 34 % (n = 285) of waterbirds tested at four sites in Britain during the 2010/2011 winter and accounted for the deaths of at least 10.6 % (n = 2,365) of waterbirds recovered across Britain between 1971 and 2010 and 8.1 % (n = 1,051) between 2000 and 2010, with lead gunshot being the most likely source of poisoning. The proportion of birds dying from lead poisoning in England did not vary significantly after the introduction of legislation, accounting for 13.7 % of non-infectious causes of death between 1971 and 1987 (n = 204), 20.8 % (n = 360) between 1988 and 1999 and 11.8 % (n = 423) between 2000 and 2010, despite a significant change in lead-related mortality in mute swans found during the same time period, 25 % (n = 12) between 1971 and 1987, 4.6 % (n = 65) between 1988 and 1999 and 2 % (n = 100) between 2000 and 2010. Existing legislation needs review and extension to ensure the delivery of international commitments and a broad-scale transition to the use of non-toxic shot and angling materials in all environments.

The Arabidopsis RNA-binding protein FCA requires a lysine-specific demethylase 1 homolog to downregulate FLC.

A repressor of the transition to flowering in Arabidopsis is the MADS box protein FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). FCA, an RNA-binding protein, and FY, a homolog of the yeast RNA 3' processing factor Pfs2p, downregulate FLC expression and therefore promote flowering. FCA/FY physically interact and alter polyadenylation/3' processing to negatively autoregulate FCA. Here, we show that FCA requires FLOWERING LOCUS D (FLD), a homolog of the human lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) for FLC downregulation. FCA also partially depends on DICER-LIKE 3, involved in chromatin silencing. fca mutations increased levels of unspliced sense FLC transcript, altered processing of antisense FLC transcripts, and increased H3K4 dimethylation in the central region of FLC. These data support a close association of FCA and FLD in mediating H3K4 demethylation and thus transcriptional silencing of FLC and reveal roles for antisense RNA processing and DCL3 function in this regulation.

An analysis of the talent management challenges in a post-communist country: the case of Poland

There is a dearth of empirical studies on talent management (TM) in the emerging markets, and in particular a lack of research on TM in the countries of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Our empirical study in 58 organisations in Poland, a major economy in the CEE region, is one of the first studies to examine TM in this context. Our study highlights the particular nature of the TM challenges facing organisations in Poland and shows that there is little evidence to suggest that Polish practice is converging with Western models. Our paper suggests that TM is likely to challenge many traditional management practices and attitudes which continue to dominate Polish culture in the period of transition to a market economy.

Determining the response of African biota to climate change: using the past to model the future

Prediction of biotic responses to future climate change in tropical Africa tends to be based on two modelling approaches: bioclimatic species envelope models and dynamic vegetation models. Another complementary but underused approach is to examine biotic responses to similar climatic changes in the past as evidenced in fossil and historical records. This paper reviews these records and highlights the information that they provide in terms of understanding the local- and regional-scale responses of African vegetation to future climate change. A key point that emerges is that a move to warmer and wetter conditions in the past resulted in a large increase in biomass and a range distribution of woody plants up to 400–500 km north of its present location, the so-called greening of the Sahara. By contrast, a transition to warmer and drier conditions resulted in a reduction in woody vegetation in many regions and an increase in grass/savanna-dominated landscapes. The rapid rate of climate warming coming into the current interglacial resulted in a dramatic increase in community turnover, but there is little evidence for widespread extinctions. However, huge variation in biotic response in both space and time is apparent with, in some cases, totally different responses to the same climatic driver. This highlights the importance of local features such as soils, topography and also internal biotic factors in determining responses and resilience of the African biota to climate change, information that is difficult to obtain from modelling but is abundant in palaeoecological records.