Doing research in conflict settings: gender mainstreaming and ethics

Since 2017, Saferworld, International Alert and Conciliation Resources have worked together in the Peace Research Partnership (PRP), a three-year programme funded with UK aid from the UK government. The PRP conducts research in conflict-affected regions on inclusive economic development, peace processes and institutions, and on identifying how gender dynamics can drive conflict or peace.1 ‘Gender mainstreaming’ – or the infusion of gender analysis into all aspects of research – continues to be a central component of the programme. This report outlines lessons from six case studies and workshop discussions with representatives of consortium research teams, which took place in London in November 2018

Performing gender in the ‘theatre of war’: embodying the invasion, counterinsurgency and exit strategy in Afghanistan

This thesis offers a critical feminist reading of the war in Afghanistan, from invasion, through the practice of counterinsurgency, to the training of the Afghan National Army as a central part of NATO’s exit strategy. Empirically it focuses on the discourses, policies and practices of the US and Norwegian militaries in Afghanistan. It draws on a range of material including military doctrine and policy, parliamentary discussions, public policy documents, interviews, political statements and soldiers’ memoirs. Deploying the theoretical framework of performative gender with an emphasis on embodiment, it shows how particular gendered bodies are called into being and how the distinct practices of war in Afghanistan produce and rely on a series of multiple, fluid and, at times, contradictory performances of masculinity and femininity. It demonstrates how gendered performances should not be considered superfluous, but rather integral to the practices of war. It illustrates this, first, by examining the production of the (in) visible ‘body in the burqa’ alongside the ‘protective masculinity’ of Western politicians in the legitimation of the invasion; second, through the ‘soldier-­‐scholars’, ‘warriors’ and the Female Engagement Teams (FETs) in practices of ‘population­‐centric’ counterinsurgency, examining the ways in which counterinsurgency is a gendered and embodied practice; and third, through the remaking of the fledgling Afghan National Army (ANA) recruits in the NATO exit strategy. The thesis furthers feminist studies on gender and war in International Relations by emphasising the multiplicity of gendered bodies and performances by problematizing singular notions of masculinity and femininity. It contributes to existing literature that reads the war in Afghanistan as a neocolonial and biopolitical practice, enhancing these readings by paying attention to the gendering of bodies and their performances, thereby expanding critical investigations into late modern ways of war and counterinsurgency

[Review] Linda Åhäll and Thomas Gregory, ed. (2015) Emotions, politics and war

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Knowledge and practices of antibiotic prescription in Arkhangelsk, Russia. A cross-sectional survey among dentists and dental students

Aim: Considering the possible risk of continuing the negative trend of the development of resistant bacteria, and the association of high resistance to high use of antibiotics, therefore it is important to map the general knowledge among all healthcare professionals, including dentists, about antibiotic use practices. The aim of the study was, therefore, to reveal the knowledge among dentists, specialists and dental students regarding usage and prescription of antibiotics in Arkhangelsk, Russia. Material and methods: A questionnaire was distributed to dentists and last year dental student in the Arkhangelsk region in the span of one month in April of 2017. It was comprised of a total of 50 scoreable questions regarding knowledge and prescription of antibiotics in dentistry. Demographical questions were also collected. The scoreable questions were given values of one for correct answers and zero for incorrect. Mean scores were calculated as percentages and categorized as good (>80%), intermediate (60–80%), or poor (<60%). Results: 169 Participants fully filled out the questionnaire and were eligible to be analysed. The response rate was estimated to be around 22 percent. More than half of the participants were female (65.1%), and about half were in the age group 20 to 24 years of age (53.8%). The usage of Amoxicillin with Clavulanic acid was reported most frequently among the participants with over half checking it off (55.6%). Overall average knowledge was intermediate at 71.1%, with clinical signs having the poorest knowledge at 64.8% and the highest being non-clinical factors at 78.0%. Specialists working in the private sector had significantly better knowledge. Gender and work experience were not shown as statistically significant. Conclusion: The knowledge was shown to be intermediate, and generally consistent among groups and factors. Some outlier questions were answered mostly wrong or mostly correct, but the general consensus of the intermediate knowledge indicates that there is a need for more concentrated education and guidelines promoting restriction and correct usage of antibiotics

L'enseignement des constructions passives et impersonnelles avec 'se' en espagnol langue étrangère. Combien de distinctions faut-il?

This article suggests a new approach to the teaching of the two grammatical constructions the pasiva refleja and the “se” impersonal in the classrooms of Spanish as a second language at university level. Concretely, it is argued that both constructions should be treated as a passive construction, based on an LFG-analysis of them that focuses on contrastive linguistics. A contrastive approach is recommended also for the instruction of Spanish as a second language, where meta-linguistic contemplation as well as linguistic competence is emphasized. Specifically, the use of a linguistic corpus in the classroom is an integral part of the instruction. The use of a corpus stimulates the student’s curiosity; it exposes him/her to authentic linguistic material, and promotes independent, inductive reasoning.Este artículo sugiere un enfoque nuevo a la enseñanza de las dos estructuras gramaticales la pasiva refleja y el “se” impersonal para las clases universitarias de E/LE. Concretamente, se argumenta que las dos se deberían tratar como construcciones pasivas, basada en un análisis léxico-funcional de ellas que enfoca la lingüística contrastiva. Incluso para la instrucción de E/LE, se recomienda una aproximación contrastiva en la que se enfocan tanto la reflexión metalingüística como la competencia del estudiante en el L2. Específicamente, el uso de córpora lingüísticos en la clase forma una parte integral de la instrucción. El uso de un corpus estimula la curiosidad del estudiante, le expone a material de lengua auténtica, y promulga la reflexión inductiva independiente.Cet article propose une approche nouvelle de l’enseignement de deux constructions grammaticales en espagnol, le “pasiva refleja” et le “se” impersonnel en espagnol langue étrangère, au niveau universitaire. Plus spécifiquement, nous faisons l’argument qu’il faut traiter ces constructions comme une construction passive, sur la base d’une analyse LFG inspirée de la linguistique contrastive. Ensuite, nous proposons une approche contrastive de l’enseignement de l’espagnol langue seconde (L2), dans laquelle sont mises en avant la réflexion métalinguistique et la compétence linguistique. Spécifiquement, l’emploi d’un corpus linguistique dans l’enseignement fait partie intégrante de l’enseignement. L’utilisation des corpus stimule la curiosité des apprenants, les expose à des textes authentiques, et promeut le raisonnement inductif et indépendant

Cyclic Simple Shear Behavior of Fine Grained Soils

Consolidated, constant volume (CCV), cyclic laboratory shear tests were performed on marine clay soils. The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) direct simple shear device, modified for cyclic loading (square wave) capabilities, was used for these tests. Two clays were investigated; a natural undisturbed Gulf of Mexico clay and a reconstituted Pacific Illite. The cyclic shear tests were performed with two way loading (complete stress reversal). Models are presented to predict the pore pressure behavior during a cyclic test, or to predict the strain or pore pressure behavior of tests with varying cyclic shear stress levels. A unique relationship between shear strain and pore pressure for the tests in this investigation is presented

Kortbuen – hvordan låt det?

In this article, I seek to describe my experiences with using the old concave short bow when playing Hardanger fiddle. I find that the old bow type challenges me in other ways than the modern type. The article first gives a historical view on the transition from the old to the new type of bow, and further I have some reflections on the style change in the Hardanger fiddle music, with emphasis on localities I know well: Hardanger, Tysnes, Suldal and Bjerkreim. I then try to put into words my experiences while playing with the short bow. A conclusion is that using the short bow gives me new ideas of how to interpret parts of my repertoire. It also gives a plausible explanation of the style I hear in certain archive recordings.

Comparison and Modeling of Sand Behavior Under Cyclic Direct Simple Shear And Cyclic Triaxial Testing

Constant volume cyclic shear (DSS) tests were performed on Brusselian sand using the new NGI simple shear apparatus and a special control system for cyclic strain controlled testing. Test results are compared with those from cyclic triaxial (TXS) tests. The tests investigated the degradation of the cyclic shear modulus for different relative densities (from 60% to 90%), different consolidation pressures (from 5OkPa to 200kPa) and different shear strain amplitudes (from 0.1% to 9%). The comparison of the soil specimen behavior in the two different test types shows that soil degradation is mainly function of (1) the dilative or contractive behavior of the soil and of (2) the extreme state reached during the previous cycles. The test results show that there exists an unique relationship between the secant shear modulus of a given cycle and the energy dissipated during that cycle. A model is presented that predicts the hysteresis loops induced on a dilative soil during a cyclic strain controlled direct simple shear test

Planters evne til å høre

De siste årene har det blitt gjennomført flere forsøk som påviser at planter påvirkes av lyd. I denne studien ble det sådd erteblomstfrø, hvorav halvparten (testgruppen) ble utsatt for kontinuerlig lyd fra en rennende bekk i 30 dager. Den andre halvparten (kontrollgruppen) ble ikke eksponert for lyden. Formålet var å undersøke hvorvidt røttene vokste i retning av lyden av rennende vann, samt om lyden påvirket lengden på røttene. De empiriske dataene fra undersøkelsen påviser ikke en entydig effekt på plantenes rotvekst. Hovedårsaken er sannsynligvis for lite tallgrunnlag i undersøkelsen, noe som gjør det vanskelig å oppnå en lav p-verdi. Selv om undersøkelsen ikke konkluderer med at planter kan «høre» gir den likevel mulighet til å observere visse trender som det er hensiktsmessig å undersøke nærmere. Derfor gjennomføres forsøket en gang til med flere frø, men resultatene foreligger ikke i tide til å sendes inn til Spiss i februar

Multiword expressions in an LFG grammar for Norwegian

This chapter describes the analysis of multiword expressions in NorGram, an LFG grammar of Norwegian. All multiword expressions need to be accounted for in the lexicon, but in different ways depending on the flexibility of the expression. Each multiword expression is provided with a lexical entry that has a special predicate name incorporating the lexical items that the multiword consists of and that specifies the argument structure of the predicate. In this way, analyses are provided for a wide range of multiword types, including fixed expressions, phrasal verbs, verbal idioms, and others.publishedVersio