The logic of criminal territorial control : military intervention in Rio de Janeiro

The fieldwork on which this article is based received generous funding from the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education Fulbright Program.How do organized criminal groups (OCGs) respond to military interventions intended to weaken and subdue them? In many cases, such crackdowns have proven counterproductive as OCGs militarize, engage in violence, and confront state forces directly. Existing studies have pointed to several explanations: inter-criminal competition, unconditional militarized approaches, and existing criminal governance arrangements. Much of this work, however, has focused on national, regional, or even municipal level variation and explanations. This article takes a micro-comparative approach based on 18 months of ethnographic research in a group of Rio de Janeiro favelas (impoverished and informal neighborhoods) divided between three drug trafficking gangs and occupied by the Brazilian military from 2014 to 2015. It argues that an active territorial threat from a rival is the primary mechanism leading OCGs to respond violently to military intervention. It also demonstrates that geographic patterns of recruitment play an important role in where OCG rivalries turn violent during intervention.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Criminal violence in Latin America

This essay reviews the following works: Criminal Enterprises and Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean. By Enrique Desmond Arias. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Pp. ix + 301. $75.00 hardcover. ISBN: 9781107153936. Sharing This Walk: An Ethnography of Prison Life and the PCC in Brazil. By Karina Biondi. Edited and translated by John F. Collins. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. Pp. vii + 194.$24.95 paperback. ISBN: 9781469623405.   Los Zetas Inc.: Criminal Corporations, Energy, and Civil War in Mexico. By Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2017. Pp. ix + 379. $29.95 paperback. ISBN: 9781477312759.   The Killing Consensus: Police, Organized Crime, and the Regulation of Life and Death in Urban Brazil. By Graham Denyer Willis. Oakland: University of California Press, 2015. Pp. ix +192.$29.95 paperback. ISBN: 9780520285712.   The Politics of Drug Violence: Criminals, Cops, and Politicians in Colombia and Mexico. By Angélica Durán-Martínez. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. Pp. 328. $29.95, paperback. ISBN: 9780190695965.   Making Peace in Drug Wars: Crackdowns and Cartels in Latin America. By Benjamin Lessing. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Pp. vii + 326.$34.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781316648964.   En la niebla de la guerra: Los ciudadanos ante la violencia criminal organizada. By Andreas Schedler. Mexico City: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, 2015. Pp. 282. $17.99 paperback. ISBN: 9786079367480.   Mano Dura: The Politics of Gang Control in El Salvador. By Sonja Wolf. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2017. Pp. vii + 304.$29.95 paper. ISBN: 9781477311660.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Coase Theorem, or the Coasian Lens? An Application to GMO Regulation

We develop a property rights-transaction costs framework called the Coasian Lens (CL). We argue the CL captures Coase's seminal ideas (1937; 1960) more closely than the Coase Theorem. We use the CL to examine how regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may affect contract structures in the global agri-food chain.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Delayed Southern Hemisphere Climate Change Induced by Stratospheric Ozone Recovery, as Projected by the CMIP5 Models

Stratospheric ozone is expected to recover by the end of this century due to the regulation of ozone depleting substances by the Montreal Protocol. Targeted modeling studies have suggested that the climate response to ozone recovery will greatly oppose the climate response to rising greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. However, the extent of this cancellation remains unclear since only a few such studies are available. Here, we analyze a much larger set of simulations performed for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5, all of which include ozone recovery. We show that the closing of the ozone hole will cause a delay in summer-time (DJF) Southern Hemisphere climate change, between now and 2045. Specifically, we find that the position of the jet stream, the width of the subtropical dry-zones, the seasonality of surface temperatures, and sea ice concentrations all exhibit significantly reduced summer-time trends over the first half of the 21st Century as a consequence of ozone recovery. After 2045, forcing from GHG emissions begins to dominate the climate response. Finally, comparing the relative influences of future GHG emissions and historic ozone depletion, we find that the simulated DJF tropospheric circulation changes between 1965-2005 (driven primarily by ozone depletion) are larger than the projected changes in any future scenario over the entire 21st Century

Derived Comparative and Transitive Relations in Young Children With and Without Autism

The current study comprised 2 experiments to generate relational responding in typically developing children and children with autism. In Study 1, the children were exposed to a problem-solving task that involved the presentation of 2, 3, or 4 identically sized coins to test and train the arbitrary relations of more than and less than. All 8 children failed baseline tests involving 4 coins and were exposed to training of the A-B, B-C, A-B-C, and A-B-C-D relations. Seven proceeded rapidly through training and passed tests with a novel set. They then participated in Study 2. Four typically developing children and 2 with autism failed baseline B-D tests. Although the former proceeded rapidly through B-D training with 4 and 5 coins, the latter required interventions. All 7 children thereafter demonstrated B-D relations with 4 and 5 coins. These findings support relational frame theory and its use in educational interventions with developmentally delayed populations

An Analysis of the Efficacy of Climate Challenge

The temperature in our atmosphere is steadily rising; therefore, we need a method of communicating climate risk that educates and motivates people faster than the rising sea level. Our presentation analyzes the communicative effectiveness of Climate Challenge, a game created for this purpose. We will also analyze and utilize prior research of climate change games and serious games. We gathered participants for our research using convenience and snowball sampling. We conducted a pre-test survey and post-test interview, along with a screencast-recorded playthrough of Climate Challenge. After the research session we used grounded theory and inductive thematic analysis to categorize and find trends in the data. Our analysis suggests that Climate Challenge relies on text to relay its message on climate change, which falls under the category of narratological teaching. Such an approach “deals with the structures and function of narrative storylines/backgrounds” (Ouariachi, T., Olvera-Lobo, M. D., & Gutiérrez-Pérez, J., 2017). This could make an effective climate change game, but too much text can lead the player to become bored with the game before it impacts the player. This will lead into a discussion of narratological and ludological methods of teaching through games. We will discuss the results of our study and suggest ways that researchers can continue exploring the possibilities of risk communication games

Review of decision tools and trends for water and sanitation development projects

Premature failure or abandonment of water and sanitation development interventions is a common phenomenon and one which is preventing potential benefits from being fully realised. An examination of common failure mechanisms reveals that most could have been prevented by the consideration of human health, environmental, economic, social and technical criteria during the initial decision-making process. Many tools have been proposed to support identification of a ‘most sustainable option’. However, they have not been, and often cannot be, adopted by development agencies. Strategies for improved planning need to incorporate the five criteria above in a manner practical in a developing region context. This is not a simple task. The relationships between technology choice and human health need to be better understood. Development agencies must also realise that the extra cost in time and effort of such planning is a small price to pay for projects which bring sustained benefit