Restorative Justice and Political Forgiveness: A Comparative Study of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

This research project involves a comparative, cross-national study of truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) in countries around the world that have used these extra-judicial institutions to pursue justice and promote national reconciliation during periods of democratic transition or following a civil conflict marked by intense violence and severe human rights abuses. An important objective of truth and reconciliation commissions involves instituting measures to address serious human rights abuses that have occurred as a result of discrimination, ethnocentrism and racism. In recent years, rather than solely utilizing traditional methods of conflict resolution and criminal prosecution, transitional governments have established truth and reconciliation commissions as part of efforts to foster psychological, social and political healing.

The primary objective of this research project is to determine why there has been a proliferation of truth and reconciliation commissions around the world in recent decades, and assess whether the perceived effectiveness of these commissions is real and substantial. In this work, using a multi-method approach that involves quantitative and qualitative analysis, I consider the institutional design and structural composition of truth and reconciliation commissions, as well as the roles that these commissions play in the democratic transformation of nations with a history of civil conflict and human rights violations.

In addition to a focus on institutional design of truth and reconciliation commissions, I use a group identity framework that is grounded in social identity theory to examine the historical background and sociopolitical context in which truth commissions have been adopted in countries around the world. This group identity framework serves as an invaluable lens through which questions related to truth and reconciliation commissions and other transitional justice mechanisms can be explored. I also present a unique theoretical framework, the reconciliatory democratization paradigm, that is especially useful for examining the complex interactions between the various political elements that directly affect the processes of democratic consolidation and reconciliation in countries in which truth and reconciliation commissions have been established. Finally, I tackle the question of whether successor regimes that institute truth and reconciliation commissions can effectively address the human rights violations that occurred in the past, and prevent the recurrence of these abuses.

A reconciliation of empirical and mechanistic models of the air-sea gas transfer velocity

Models of the air-sea transfer velocity of gases may be either empirical or mechanistic. Extrapolations of empirical models to an unmeasured gas or to another water temperature can be erroneous if the basis of that extrapolation is flawed. This issue is readily demonstrated for the most well-known empirical gas transfer velocity models where the influence of bubble-mediated transfer, which can vary between gases, is not explicitly accounted for. Mechanistic models are hindered by an incomplete knowledge of the mechanisms of air-sea gas transfer. We describe a hybrid model that incorporates a simple mechanistic view—strictly enforcing a distinction between direct and bubble-mediated transfer—but also uses parameterizations based on data from eddy flux measurements of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) to calibrate the model together with dual tracer results to evaluate the model. This model underpins simple algorithms that can be easily applied within schemes to calculate local, regional, or global air-sea fluxes of gases.

A reconciliation of empirical and mechanistic models of the air-sea gas transfer velocity

Models of the air-sea transfer velocity of gases may be either empirical or mechanistic. Extrapolations of empirical models to an unmeasured gas or to another water temperature can be erroneous if the basis of that extrapolation is flawed. This issue is readily demonstrated for the most well-known empirical gas transfer velocity models where the influence of bubble-mediated transfer, which can vary between gases, is not explicitly accounted for. Mechanistic models are hindered by an incomplete knowledge of the mechanisms of air-sea gas transfer. We describe a hybrid model that incorporates a simple mechanistic view—strictly enforcing a distinction between direct and bubble-mediated transfer—but also uses parameterizations based on data from eddy flux measurements of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) to calibrate the model together with dual tracer results to evaluate the model. This model underpins simple algorithms that can be easily applied within schemes to calculate local, regional, or global air-sea fluxes of gases.

Small Steps or Giant Leaps? Defining Reconciliation in the Transition from Conflict in Northern Ireland

The context of Northern Ireland in the transition of conflict has produced a range of efforts to bring about reconciliation. However, definitions and understandings of the nature of reconciliation differ. This paper draws together how reconciliation has been defined in theory in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, examines some models of practice in the light of that theory and illustrates the process of reconciliation through general initiatives in Northern Ireland and specific projects seeking to reconcile at community level. It is concluded that, while political and public processes can set a context and space for engagement to take place, reconciliation is fundamentally about personal encounter and relationship, which have to take place in a range of settings and at all levels of a society that has experienced conflict.

Medication reconciliation at patient admission: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To measure length of hospital stay (LHS) in patients receiving medication reconciliation. Secondary characteristics included analysis of number of preadmission medications, medications prescribed at admission, number of discrepancies, and pharmacists interventions done and accepted by the attending physician. Methods: A 6 month, randomized, controlled trial conducted at a public teaching hospital in southern Brazil. Patients admitted to general wards were randomized to receive usual care or medication reconciliation, performed within the first 72 hours of hospital admission. Results: The randomization process assigned 68 patients to UC and 65 to MR. LHS was 10±15 days in usual care and 9±16 days in medication reconciliation (p=0.620). The total number of discrepancies was 327 in the medication reconciliation group, comprising 52.6% of unintentional discrepancies. Physicians accepted approximately 75.0% of the interventions. Conclusion: These results highlight weakness at patient transition care levels in a public teaching hospital. LHS, the primary outcome, should be further investigated in larger studies. Medication reconciliation was well accepted by physicians and it is a useful tool to find and correct discrepancies, minimizing the risk of adverse drug events and improving patient safety.

Social security and railroad retirement enactments in the 97th Congress within jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means : Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act and Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 /

At head of title: 97th Congress, 1st session. Committee print. WMCP: 97-15.

Família e trabalho: difícil conciliação para mães trabalhadoras de baixa renda

Este artigo é produto da pesquisa Articulação Trabalho e Família: Famílias Urbanas de Baixa Renda e Políticas de Apoio às Trabalhadoras, que teve por objetivo analisar a administração das dificuldades e dos conflitos que surgem na vida cotidiana de mulheres que trabalham fora de casa e têm responsabilidades familiares. Apresenta dados quantitativos e qualitativos: os primeiros foram extraídos da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostragem de Domicílios, de 2002, e os segundos, da realização de quatro grupos focais, com mulheres de 20 a 45 anos, de famílias de baixa renda, com filhos de até 14 anos. A análise foi realizada de forma integrada, estruturada em torno das seguintes questões: o conceito de trabalho doméstico; a divisão sexual do trabalho doméstico; o uso do tempo em afazeres domésticos; a conciliação do trabalho com a família e políticas sociais que contribuem para essa conciliação.

Reconciliação pró-ativa em empreendimentos mineiros

The common practice of reconciliation is based on definition of the mine call factor (MCF) and its application to resource or grade control estimates. The MCF expresses the difference, a ratio or percentage, between the predicted grade and the grade reported by the plant. Therefore, its application allows to correct future estimates. This practice is named reactive reconciliation. However the use of generic factors that are applied across differing time scales and material types often disguises the causes of the error responsible for the discrepancy. The root causes of any given variance can only be identified by analyzing the information behind any variance and, then, making changes to methodologies and processes. This practice is named prognostication, or proactive reconciliation, an iterative process resulting in constant recalibration of the inputs and the calculations. The prognostication allows personnel to adjust processes so that results align within acceptable tolerance ranges, and not only to correct model estimates. This study analyses the reconciliation practices performed at a gold mine in Brazil and suggests a new sampling protocol, based on prognostication concepts.

Peacebuilding in East Timor

This essay analyses some of the political, economic and social challenges of East Timer's transition to independence. It scrutinizes the ethical dimensions of building peace in a territory devastated by the combined effect of Indonesia's colonial occupation and the violent militia attacks of September 1999. The most difficult task ahead does not lie in the physical rebuilding of the territory-gargantuan as it may be-but in the more intricate and long-term rehabilitation of a traumatized society. The latter involves competing Timorese factions as well as a range of international actors, including the United Nations Transitional Authority, foreign governments, business institutions and various multilateral and bilateral donors. each having their own organizational leitmotifs and policy priorities. If not managed carefully, the reconstruction process could further exacerbate existing societal tensions and complicate the starch for peace and reconciliation. The essay identifies a number of crucial components necessary to counter such risks, including the need to promote popular participation in the rebuilding process. Without the legitimacy created by strong community involvement and grassroots participation in decision making, the task of national reconstruction may well become overwhelmed by conflict.

Some new killing trick: Welfare reform and drug markets in a U.S. urban ghetto

Ethnographic data collected over a 5-year period is analyzed to determine how the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) has affected the lives of young male drug dealers from AIDS-afflicted families residing in Detroit. The data analysis indicated that the participants perceived drug dealing as the only viable employment opportunity for meeting the quotidian & health care needs of their families. The findings also revealed that the participants were highly aware of local political processes & the necessities of caring for relatives living with AIDS. Additional attention is dedicated to exploring the state of MI's rationale for ending the General Assistance Program, the sociocultural foundations of the PRWORA, various stipulations of the PRWORA, & how the PRWORA has augmented the legal vulnerability of welfare recipients. It is concluded that the PRWORA will force many welfare recipients to engage in illicit activities & will generally decrease recipients' health. 59 References. J. W. Parker

In the aftermath of welfare 'reform'

The impact of the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is making itself felt across the US. Welfare roles are down dramatically, and public officials hail a new day of personal responsibility, but the popular press and ethnographic accounts increasingly challenge that interpretation, pointing to staggering human costs among those who are standing in the ideological crossfire.

Public Intellectuals, Book Culture and Civil Society

Introduction: the rise and rise of the public intellectual My starting point is the remarkable rise to prominence of public intellectuals – and talk about public intellectuals – over the last decade in Australia. Since 1997, especially, this has occurred around Indigenous questions with the result that issues such as the stolen generations, genocide, the apology and reconciliation have also gained new prominence. This is undeniably a good thing. New ways of thinking about history and the nation and new kinds of public ethical discourse have been put into circulation. History as battleground is preferable to the great Australian silence. And yet – my starting point is also the ambivalent effects and meanings of these recent developments, not least the way that the debates have centred so much around the figure of the 'public intellectual', the way that certain kinds of intellectuals and intellectual discourse have come to dominate the mainstream representation of the issues.

Conciliação entre formação esportiva e formação escolar : um estudo das seleções brasileiras masculinas de basquetebol de base

A pesquisa se caracteriza pela abordagem plurimetodológica do tipo qualitativa/quantitativa, e tem como objetivo investigar de que maneira se constroem as estratégias de conciliação entre a formação esportiva e escolar em atletas de elite que servem às seleções brasileiras masculinas de basquetebol Sub 17 e Sub 19. O estudo se organizou em três capítulos. Do tipo “estado do conhecimento”, o primeiro capítulo tem por objetivo mapear as produções acadêmicas que tratam da conciliação entre formação escolar e formação esportiva. Utiliza como fonte a base de dados Scielo para busca nacional e o Portal Periódicos Capes para busca internacional. Foram encontrados 17 artigos distribuídos em 13 periódicos. Os dados foram classificados/analisados por meio de indicadores bibliométricos, como distribuição anual, distribuição por revista, relação autoral e origem demográfica. Para análise também foram levados em consideração uma tese de doutorado, três dissertações de mestrado e três trabalhos apresentados em congresso, além de um número especial de periódico, não localizado nas bases escolhidas. Mostra que a preocupação com o tema surge na Europa e nos Estados Unidos, na década de 70, e que, no Brasil, essa questão passa a ser abordada nos anos 2000. Demonstra tentativas de conciliação entre as formações realizadas em países da Europa, Estados Unidos e Brasil, além da importância da família e do pertencimento de classes sociais na possibilidade de priorização a uma das formações envolvidas. O segundo capítulo, de natureza quali-quantitativa, investiga as estratégias utilizadas pelos atletas convocados em 2013 para as seleções brasileiras de basquetebol masculinas de base Sub 17 e Sub 19 anos, quanto às possíveis conciliações entre formação esportiva e escolar. Busca, ainda, compreender a influência das convocações para as seleções nacionais nos índices de escolaridade desses atletas de elite, como abandono, atraso e repetência escolar. A pesquisa mostra que esse grupo de atletas de elite apresenta médias de repetência, abandono e atraso escolar maiores que as médias nacionais. O terceiro capítulo analisa o entendimento desse grupo de jovens atletas em relação à formação escolar ou, ainda, se um possível desinteresse do grupo pelo modelo atual de escola se daria apenas pelo fato de serem esportistas de elite. Para isso, recorre às possibilidades de investigação oriundas da segunda metade do questionário utilizado como instrumento para adotar uma metodologia de livre associação de palavras direcionadas a partir de quatro palavras indutoras (estruturas semânticas), a saber: “treinar”, “estudar”, “ir a escola” e “competir”. Essa associação livre é usualmente utilizada como suporte teórico/metodológico em pesquisas que investigam representação social (ACOSTA, 2005). Ao dar visibilidade a essas questões nota-se que a posição desses atletas, em relação à escola, não difere das encontradas em outras pesquisas que tratam de jovens inseridos no ensino médio. A falta de significado do que se aprende na escola em relação ao que eles desejam desenvolver como atividade laboral, faz com que a escola seja entendida como monótona, mas, ao mesmo tempo, necessária, caso seus projetos de formação esportiva não aconteçam.

Elastically restrained Bernoulli-Euler beams applied to rotary machinery modelling

Facing the lateral vibration problem of a machine rotor as a beam on elastic supports in bending, the authors deal with the free vibration of elastically restrained Bernoulli-Euler beams carrying a finite number of concentrated elements along their length. Based on Rayleigh's quotient, an iterative strategy is developed to find the approximated torsional stiffness coefficients, which allows the reconciliation between the theoretical model results and the experimental ones, obtained through impact tests. The mentioned algorithm treats the vibration of continuous beams under a determined set of boundary and continuity conditions, including different torsional stiffness coefficients and the effect of attached concentrated masses and rotational inertias, not only in the energetic terms of the Rayleigh's quotient but also on the mode shapes, considering the shape functions defined in branches. Several loading cases are examined and examples are given to illustrate the validity of the model and accuracy of the obtained natural frequencies.