A Spreading Danger: Time for a New Policy towards Chechnya. CEPS Policy Briefs No. 68, 1 April 2005

The ongoing conflict in and around Chechnya is helping to feed the wider international jihadi movement, and is endangering the West as well as Russia. The next “soft target” of North Caucasian terrorism could be a Western one. Mutual recriminations over the conflict have badly damaged relations between Russia and the West. While most of the blame for this lies with Russian policies, the Western approach to the issue has often been unhelpful and irresponsible. Denunciations of Russian behaviour have not been matched by a real understanding of the Chechen conflict or a real commitment to help. In their own interest, Western countries need urgently to address the crisis in the North Caucasus. This requires them to recognize the seriousness of the threat, to open a real dialogue on cooperation with Russia rather than simply making criticisms, and to make a serious economic contribution to the region

Fast quantification of THCA using microwave-accelerated derivatization and GC-MS/MS analysis

A rapid and sensitive determination of cannabinoids in urine is important in many fields, from workplace drug testing over toxicology to the fight against doping. The detection of cannabis abuse is normally based on the quantification of the most important metabolite 11-nor-∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carbolxylic acid (THCA) in urine. In most fields THCA needs to be present at a concentration of exceeding 15 ng/mL before a positive result can be reported. In this paper a fast confirmation method is described to quantify THCA in 1 mL of urine. This method combines a 4 min GC-QqQ-MS method with a fast sample preparation procedure using microwave assisted derivatisation in order to complete the quantification of THCA in urine in 30 min. The method is selective, linear over the range 5 – 100 ng/mL and shows excellent precision and trueness and hence, the estimated measurement uncertainty at the threshold level is small. The method also complies with applicable criteria for mass spectrometry and chromatography. Therefore the method can be used for rapid screening and confirmatory purposes

Plasmonic light trapping leads to responsivity increase in colloidal quantum dot photodetectors

We report broadband responsivity enhancement in PbS colloidal quantum dot (CQDs) photoconductive photodetectors due to absorption increase offered by a plasmonic scattering layer of Ag metal nanoparticles. Responsivity enhancements are observed in the near infrared with a maximum 2.4-fold increase near the absorption band edge of 1 lm for 400 nm thick devices. Additionally, we study the effect of the mode structure on the efficiency of light trapping provided by random nanoparticle scattering in CQD films and provide insights for plasmonic scattering enhancement in CQD thin films.This research has been partially supported by Fundacio´ Privada Cellex Barcelona. We also acknowledge support from European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research under contract PIRG06-GA-2009-256355

A conceptual framework for circular design

Design has been recognised in the literature as a catalyst to move away from the traditional model of take-make-dispose to achieve a more restorative, regenerative and circular economy. As such, for a circular economy to thrive, products need to be designed for closed loops, as well as be adapted to generate revenues. This should not only be at the point of purchase, but also during use, and be supported by low-cost return chains and reprocessing structures, as well as effective policy and regulation. To date, most academic and grey literature on the circular economy has focused primarily on the development of new business models, with some of the latter studies addressing design strategies for a circular economy, specifically in the area of resource cycles and design for product life extension. However, these studies primarily consider a limited spectrum of the technical and biological cycles where materials are recovered and restored and nutrients (e.g., materials, energy, water) are regenerated. This provides little guidance or clarity for designers wishing to design for new circular business models in practice. As such, this paper aims to address this gap by systematically analysing previous literature on Design for Sustainability (DfX) (e.g., design for resource conservation, design for slowing resource loops and whole systems design) and links these approaches to the current literature on circular business models. A conceptual framework is developed for circular economy design strategies. From this conceptual framework, recommendations are made to enable designers to fully consider the holistic implications for design within a circular economy

The new sovereigntism: what it means for human rights law in the UK

Brexit relates to a new sovereigntism that has alarming implications for the rule of law, argues Fiona de Londras (University of Birmingham). Although the European Convention on Human Rights is not an EU law - and therefore unaffected by leaving - there are striking parallels between pro-Brexit and anti-ECHR arguments. The prisoner voting saga is one area where Westminster has decided ..

Constitutionalizing Fetal Rights: A Salutary Tale from Ireland

In 1983, Ireland became the first country in the world to constitutionalize fetal rights. The 8th Amendment to the Constitution, passed by a referendum of the People, resulted in constitutional protection for “the right to life of the unborn,” which was deemed “equal” to the right to life of the “mother.” Since then, enshrining fetal rights in constitutions and in legislation has emerged as a key part of anti-abortion campaigning. This Article traces the constitutionalization of fetal rights in Ireland and its implications for law, politics, and women. In so doing, it provides a salutary tale of such an approach. More than thirty years after the 8th Amendment, it has become clear that Ireland now has an abortion law regime that is essentially “unliveable.” Not only that, but it has a body of jurisprudence so deeply determined by a constitutionalized fetal-rights orientation that law, politics, and medical practice are deeply impacted and strikingly constrained. This is notwithstanding the clear hardship women in Ireland experience as a result of constitutionalized fetal rights and the resultant almost-total prohibition on accessing abortion in Ireland. This Article argues that, wherever one stands on the question of whether legal abortion ought to be broadly available in a particular jurisdiction, constitutionalizing fetal rights leaves no meaningful space for judgment at either political or personal levels. Furthermore, constitutionalizing fetal rights can have unforeseen implications across jurisprudence and medical practice, creating a situation in which there is essentially no space for more liberal interpretations that respect women’s reproductive autonomy. While this may be desirable from an ideological perspective for those who hold a firm anti-abortion position, it is distinctively problematic for women and for politics

Repeal the 8th amendment to allow abortion in Ireland – this constitutional experiment has failed

On 25 May, the Republic of Ireland votes in a referendum to decide whether to repeal the 8th amendment of its constitution, which effectively outlaws abortion. Fiona de Londras explains how the 8th amendment works, and what the proposed legal changes are

Neither Herald nor Fanfare: the Limited Impact of the ECHR Act 2003 on Rights Infrastructure in Ireland

With neither herald nor fanfare, the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 entered into force on 31 December 2003 and so, after decades of discussion, the European Convention on Human Rights had become transposed into Irish law and capable of use—through the prism of the Act—in domestic litigation. It is well known that the Act has had nothing close to the impact of its close cousin the Human Rights Act 1998 in the United Kingdom. Nor has it attracted the vitriol and political attention directed to that Act. Rather it has slid quietly and somewhat unspectacularly onto the statute books and into the legal system. More than ten years after it came into force it is opportune to ask what, if any, impact the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 has actually had in Ireland