Climate Change, Disasters & Displacement

This lecture examines trends in natural disasters, the effects of climate change, and their impact on human rights, including economic costs, the displacement/migration of people, and the likelihood that the poor and marginalized are most likely to be affected by natural disasters and climate change

Building Hospitable Communities

Receiving communities play a critical role in determining whether refugees and other migrants will become full participating members of their host societies or whether they will remain on the margins. This paper reviews global trends which impact the receptivity of communities to refugees and migrants, including the growing public debate on migration, increasingly restrictive governmental policies, xenophobia and racism, public confusion, and increasing questions of citizenship and identity. This is followed by an examination of the roles played by national and local governments, the media, and civil society in creating communities which welcome newcomers, affirm diversity, and encourage full participation of all who live there.Les communautés d’accueil jouent un rôle crucial qui décide si les réfugiés et autres migrants deviennent des membres à part entière de leurs sociétés hôtes ou s’ils restent marginalisés. Cet article passe en revue les tendances globales qui influent sur le degré de réceptivité des communautés vis-à-vis des réfugiés et des migrants, y compris les débats publics croissants sur l’immigration, les politiques gouvernementales de plus en plus restrictives, la xénophobie et le racisme, la confusion du grand public et le questionnement grandissant sur la question de citoyenneté et d’identité. Suit ensuite un examen des rôles que jouent les gouvernements, tant au niveau national que local, les médias et la société civile pour que soient bâties des communautés qui soient accueillantes envers les nouveaux venus, qui célèbrent la diversité et encouragent la pleine participation de tous ceux qui y vivent

The Court of Burgundy : A Musically Fluent Society

The court of Burgundy supported music in the daily life for reasons spanning from religious practice to showing off the wealth of the duke. The importance of hearing different styles of music was emphasized through the patrons of the court of Burgundy. The culture of Burgundy supported music and made it available to most people. This was possible because their land provided safe travel amongst it and they were well off politically and economically. The practice and performance of music were supported in the daily routine through the church and organizations that patrons sponsored. It must first be understood that the court of Burgundy is not a specific place. Through the progression of dukes of Burgundy, it gained land from northeastern France to the Netherlands to Holland. The court of Burgundy was a group of different lands being united. The unity in land, politics, and economics is why the court of Burgundy was able to be musically fluent. This paper was started by gaining that understanding and then proceeding to dive in depth into their society and composers of Burgundy. Books on Renaissance music, multiple textbooks for the Renaissance and Baroque, and specific scholarly journals support the composition of this paper. Music is such a crucial part of being a culturally fluent society. The court of Burgundy exemplifies this well through their unique situation, integration of music in society, and prolific composers

US Leadership and the International Refugee Regime

This article examines the role of the United States in the international refugee regime. It argues that the United States generally leads in assistance and protection of refugees and displaced persons when three conditions are present: a strong link to US foreign policy; clear and highly visible humanitarian needs and important domestic constituencies in support of action; and strong congressional support. The United States manifests its leadership through its financial contributions, as the largest donor to the array of international organizations with responsibilities in this area; resettlement of the refugees; and the use of the convening power of the US government. Nevertheless, there are reasons to be cautious about US leadership. While it is unlikely that the United States will soon lose its status as principal donor and principal strategist on tackling displacement, its ability to generate new resettlement offers is less clear, as is its ability to increase its own resettlement levels. The asylum system still has significant gaps, making it difficult for the United States to lead by example.Cet article examine le rôle que jouent les États-Unis (É.-U.) vis-à-vis du régime international des réfugiés. Il défend l’idée que les États-Unis jouent généralement un rôle de leader actif en matière d’assistance et de protection apportées aux réfugiés et aux personnes déplacées quand trois conditions sont remplies: l’existence d’un lien solide avec la politique étrangère des É.-U., un solide soutien du Congrès, et la coexistence de besoins humanitaires manifestes et particulièrement visibles et d’importantes parties prenantes nationales pour soutenir leur action. En tant que principal donateur des organismes internationaux responsables dans ce domaine, les É.-U. expriment leur leadership par leurs contributions financières, mais aussi en réinstallant les réfugiés et en faisant appel au pouvoir de mobilisation de leur gouvernement. Il existe néanmoins des raisons d’être vigilant vis-à-vis de leur leadership. Même s’il est peu probable qu’ils perdent dans un avenir proche leur statut de principal donateur et leur place parmi les principaux stratèges de la problématique des déplacements, leur capacité à offrir de nouveaux sites de réinstallation est moins évidente que celle de développer leurs propres sites. Le régime d’asile comporte encore d’importantes lacunes, qui rendent difficiles pour les É.-U. de diriger par l’exemple

The Consequences of Chaos

The Syrian displacement crisis raises fundamental questions about the relationship between action to resolve conflicts and humanitarian aid to assist the victims and demonstrates the limits of humanitarian response, even on a massive scale, to resolve political crises. The increasingly protracted nature of the crisis also raises the need for the international community to think beyond just relief assistance and adopt developmental policies to help refugees become productive members of their host communities. The Consequences of Chaos looks beyond the ever-increasing numbers of Syria's uprooted population to consider the long-term economic, political, and social implications of this massive movement of people

Platnium-Catalyzed 1,2-Diboration of Cis-Substituted 1,3-Dienes: A Route to Enantioenriched Bifunctional Allylboration Reagents

Thesis advisor: James P. MorkenThis dissertation describes the first enantioselective 1,2-diboration of cis-substituted 1,3-dienes. In the presence of a platinum catalyst and TADDOL-derived phosphonite ligands, both 4,4-disubstituted and mono-cis-substituted 1,3-dienes undergo regioselective 1,2-diboration to afford the corresponding 1,2-diols upon oxidation in up to 98:2 er and high yield. By achieving enantioselective 1,2-diboration of 1,3-dienes, a new synthetic route to α-chiral (Z)-allylboronate reagents has been developed. In the presence of an aldehyde, these allyl bis(boronate) esters undergo highly diastereoselective allylboration reaction to afford enantioenriched 1,5-homoallylic alcohols bearing all-carbon quaternary centers or syn-propionate motifs. In the presence of 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds, the (Z)-allylboronates undergo a double allylation reaction to afford cyclohexanols with four contiguous stereocenters in good yield and moderate to excellent diastereoselectivity. The tandem diboration/double allylation has been applied to the total synthesis of pumilaside B aglyon, and the partial synthesis 1β-hydroxy arbusculin A and bromophycolide F.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Chemistry

A biophysical model of prokaryotic diversity in geothermal hot springs

Recent field investigations of photosynthetic bacteria living in geothermal hot spring environments have revealed surprisingly complex ecosystems, with an unexpected level of genetic diversity. One case of particular interest involves the distribution along hot spring thermal gradients of genetically distinct bacterial strains that differ in their preferred temperatures for reproduction and photosynthesis. In such systems, a single variable, temperature, defines the relevant environmental variation. In spite of this, each region along the thermal gradient exhibits multiple strains of photosynthetic bacteria adapted to several distinct thermal optima, rather than the expected single thermal strain adapted to the local environmental temperature. Here we analyze microbiology data from several ecological studies to show that the thermal distribution field data exhibit several universal features independent of location and specific bacterial strain. These include the distribution of optimal temperatures of different thermal strains and the functional dependence of the net population density on temperature. Further, we present a simple population dynamics model of these systems that is highly constrained by biophysical data and by physical features of the environment. This model can explain in detail the observed diversity of different strains of the photosynthetic bacteria. It also reproduces the observed thermal population distributions, as well as certain features of population dynamics observed in laboratory studies of the same organisms

Women’s responses to changes in U.S. preventive task force’s mammography screening guidelines: results of focus groups with ethnically diverse women

Background: The 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) changed mammography guidelines to recommend routine biennial screening starting at age 50. This study describes women’s awareness of, attitudes toward, and intention to comply with these new guidelines. Methods: Women ages 40–50 years old were recruited from the Boston area to participate in focus groups (k = 8; n = 77). Groups were segmented by race/ethnicity (Caucasian = 39%; African American = 35%; Latina = 26%), audio-taped, and transcribed. Thematic content analysis was used. Results: Participants were largely unaware of the revised guidelines and suspicious that it was a cost-savings measure by insurers and/or providers. Most did not intend to comply with the change, viewing screening as obligatory. Few felt prepared to participate in shared decision-making or advocate for their preferences with respect to screening. Conclusions: Communication about the rationale for mammography guideline changes has left many women unconvinced about potential disadvantages or limitations of screening. Since further guideline changes are likely to occur with advances in technology and science, it is important to help women become informed consumers of health information and active participants in shared decision-making with providers. Additional research is needed to determine the impact of the USPSTF change on women’s screening behaviors and on breast cancer outcomes