"In the interests of justice?" The International Criminal Court, peace talks and the failed quest for war crimes accountability in northern Uganda

This article analyzes the first peace talks to take place against the backdrop of an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation: the Juba Talks between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda (2006–2008). Drawing on field research and original source material, it departs from well-worn peace versus justice debates and provides new empirical material to explore how the presence of the court shaped domestic political dynamics at Juba. It argues that at the level of broad rhetoric, the presence of the court created significant discord between negotiating parties. On a practical level, however, it created space for consensus, but not the type envisaged by international justice promoters. The court came to be seen by both sides as an intervention that needed to be contained and controlled. This resulted in the politically expedient Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation, which showcased a transitional justice “tool-kit,” but was based on a shared desire to evade the jurisdiction of international criminal justice. Given its practical complexity, the transitional justice agreement was ultimately rejected by Joseph Kony, who became increasingly distrustful of his own negotiating team at Juba. In findings relevant to other contexts, the article presents in-depth analyses of how domestic political dynamics around the ICC intervention produced a national transitional justice framework designed to protect both parties from war crimes accountability

Хромоколоноскопия как метод улучшения эндоскопического изображения

КОЛОНОСКОПИЯЭНДОСКОПИЯхромоскопияПОЛИПЫМЕТИЛЕНОВЫЙ СИНИ

Differentiating Diffuse Aurora

Pulsating aurora is a pervasive early morning auroral display. Perhaps because of the awkward viewing hours, it received comparatively little attention in past years and is often discussed as if it is just one phenomenon. However, pulsating aurora can be differentiated into at least three types based on the extent of their pulsation and structuring (Grono and Donovan, 2018). Amorphous pulsating aurora (APA) is characterized by extensive pulsation and a lack of persistent structuring. In contrast, patchy pulsating aurora (PPA) and patchy aurora (PA) features can persist for tens of minutes and follow ionospheric convection (Grono et al., 2017). While PPA structures pulsate over much of their area, PA is mostly non-pulsating. The most common pulsating aurora is APA, which is nearly ubiquitous during the early morning and can appear earlier than PPA and PA (Grono and Donovan, 2019b). Pulsating auroras do not occur poleward of the proton aurora, only within or equatorward of it (Grono and Donovan, 2019a). PPA and PA appear predominantly equatorward of the boundary between stably trapped protons and those scattered by tight magnetic field curvature. This suggests that the processes responsible for the patchiness of PPA and PA are constrained to the mostly dipolar inner magnetosphere. Nishimura et al. (2010) demonstrated that there can be a nearly one-to-one correspondence between plasma wave power and auroral brightness. Consequently, auroral brightness should be able to act as a proxy for wave power, and wave structuring should indicate which type of pulsating aurora a spacecraft is observing. PA should be associated with unmodulated plasma waves persisting for the length of time it takes for a spacecraft to transit the source region of a patch. The location of such wave structuring coincides with where PA occurs (Grono and Donovan, 2019c). Sunrise prevents optical observations of the aurora from continuing past dawn, making it difficult to assess how long pulsating aurora can persist for. However, these plasma wave observations indicate that the processes responsible for PA and PPA structuring may continue into the afternoon

The analysis of the field coverage by mobile robot in environment with moving obstacles

W artykule została opisana metodyka rozwiązania problemu całkowitego pokrycia nieznanej powierzchni przez autonomicznego robota mobilnego podczas jednoczesnego unikania kolizji z przeszkodami ruchomymi. Przedstawiono sformułowanie oraz dokonano szczegółowej analizy obu problemów, ze zwróceniem szczególnej uwagi na występujące ograniczenia. Zaprezentowano behawioralne podejście do sterowania robotem mobilnym wzorowane na reakcjach istot żywych, które posłużyło rozwiązaniu postawionych zadań. Opisano pokrótce zdefiniowane zachowania, a także przedstawiono wyniki symulacji dla wybranych scenariuszy kolizyjnych wraz z płynącymi z nich wnioskami.In this paper the methodology of solving the complete field coverage problem by autonomous mobile robot during simultaneous avoiding moving obstacles was described. Formulations of both problems were shown separately and their analysises were made in details. Constraints of both tasks were took into concideration particularly. The behaviour based approach to mobile robot control which imitate the living animal actions was presented. This approach was used to solve formulated problems. Defined behaviours were shortly described. Simulation results were shown for choosen collision scenarios. Conclusions were made

The mobile robots with autonomous navigation - actual state of knowledge and prospect on the next years

Opisano edukacyjny robot mobilny, wykonany do badań laboratoryjnych. Przedstawiono i omówiono najistotniejsze zagadnienia nawigacji robotów mobilnych. Opisano, w jaki sposób rozwiązać zagadnienia związane z określaniem pozycji robota w przestrzeni, zbieraniem najistotniejszych danych o otoczeniu (np. o przeszkodach) oraz podejmowaniem decyzji związanych z poruszaniem się w terenie. Zasygnalizowano także, w jaki sposób zaspokoić potrzebę dużej mocy obliczeniowej na zazwyczaj małych platformach robotów mobilnych oraz jaki rodzaj zasilania jest najkorzystniejszy z punktu widzenia robota spełniającego określone funkcje. Ponadto w referacie przedstawiono najbardziej interesujące wyniki badań opracowanego i wykonanego robota mobilnego. Podano także perspektywy dalszego rozwoju robotów mobilnych z autonomiczną nawigacją (ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem robotów do eksploracji kosmosu) na najbliższe lata.The paper, based on the educational mobile robot, which was made to the laboratory researches, describes the most important issues in mobile robots navigation. Thereby the answers valid questions was given, which are related to the mobile robot construction problems. The way of solution the space positioning problem was described. Additionally the environmental data acquisition (e.g.: about obstacles) problem and the decision making linked to the moving into the terrain was depicted. This paper contains also the answers following questions: how to achieve the high computational power on usually small mobile platforms and what is the most advantageous kind of power source from the point of view of the robot which satisfies certain functions. Furthermore, the most interesting research results of the developed mobile robot were described. The perspectives of further developement of mobile robots with autonomous navigation (with special emphasis on robots which are destinated to the outer space explorations) for the next years was depicted

Assessment of the technological variability in decorated Lapita pottery from Teouma, Vanuatu, by petrography and LA-ICP-MS: implications for Lapita social organisation

This paper examines the social implications of the results from the petrographic and chemical analysis by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry of dentate-stamped pottery sherds from the colonising-phase Lapita site of Teouma, Vanuatu, in the South Pacific (2940 to 2710 cal BP). Data from Dickinson et al.'s (2013) petrographic provenance are combined with the chemical analysis of 26 of these sherds to contextualise the provenance work and temper types identified at the Teouma site within the social context and with reference to the cultural practices of the Lapita community. Results show that the Lapita assemblage is characterised by significant variability in terms of fabric types, which is aligned with other Lapita pottery assemblages in the region. The variability of fabrics at Teouma reveals that there were no clear cultural guidelines regarding the raw materials used for Lapita pottery production. The absence of rules or at the very least the existence of rules allowing a wide range of raw materials indicates that the raw materials did not have any real significance or impact on the perception of the final product. This behaviour appears logical considering the high mobility of Lapita groups and the fact that Lapita settlers, beyond the main Solomon's chain, were the first inhabitants on a wide array of different insular environments with diverse geological origins. From a political economy perspective, the wide range of fabrics at Teouma is a sign that there was no apparent political control or imposed limitations over access to the raw materials

Enzymatic antioxidant defense in isolated rat hepatocytes exposed to cadmium

The aim of the study was the evaluation of cadmium effects on the activity of antioxidant enzymes in rat hepatocytes. The studies were conducted with isolated rat hepatocytes incubated for 1 or 2 hours in a modified (deprived of carbonates with phosphates) Williams’ E medium (MWE) in the presence of cadmium chloride (25, 50 and 200 μM). Hepatocytes incubated in the MWE medium without cadmium chloride were used as a control. The application of the modified Williams’ E medium allowed for the appearance of cadmium compounds in a soluble form that is indispensable for suitable estimation of its toxic action. There were evaluated markers of the oxidative stress such as: concentration of thiobarbiturate reactive substances (TBARS) – proportional to the level of lipid peroxidation, concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH), and the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD1 and SOD2), catalase (CAT), total glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), selenium – dependent glutathione peroxidase (SeGSHPx), glutathione transferase (GST) and glutathione reductase (GSHR). Alterations of antioxidant enzymes activity, the level of TBARS and GSH in isolated rat hepatocytes caused by cadmium in vitro, were shown to depend on the concentration and time of exposure of cells to this metal. The increased level of TBARS and GSH was observed as well as changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The activity of SOD isoenzymes and CAT was increased, whereas GSHPx and GST were decreased. These results indicate that cadmium induces oxidative stress followed by alterations in the cellular antioxidant enzyme system in isolated rat hepatocytes

The archaeology of Maliwawa: 25,000 years of occupation in the Wellington Range, Arnhem Land

The archaeology of Bald Rock 1, Bald Rock 2 and Bald Rock 3 at the sandstone outcrop of Maliwawa has established 25,000 years of Indigenous occupation in the Wellington Range, northwestern Arnhem Land. Flaked stone artefacts were found from the beginning of the sequence, with ground-edge axes, pounding and grinding technology and ochre recovered from deposits dating from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the recent contact period. Maliwawa was occupied during the LGM and other major regional environmental changes arising from post-glacial sea level rise and stabilisation along with the climatic variability of the Indonesian Australian Summer Monsoon (IASM) and El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), ~ supporting models that define Arnhem Land as a refugium. Lithic assemblages are represented by a quartz and quartzite flake abundance technological strategy, with an unusual lack of stone points observed, although other typical Arnhem Land Holocene retouched lithics are present. Raw material diversity in the late Holocene, alongside a variety of emergent pan-Arnhem Land rock art styles in the Wellington Range, supports the proposition of increasing exchange between Indigenous groups. These changes in the archaeological record signal the expansion of cultural systems throughout western Arnhem Land, documented historically and archaeologically, at the time of culture contact.Daryl Wesley, Mirani Litster, Sue O, Connor, Elle Grono, Jeff Theys, Andrew Higgins, Tristen Jones, Sally K. May and Paul Taco

A window on the World

Hosie, PJ ORCiD: 0000-0003-2585-024XThe $4 million national Loan Video Programme is an ambitious project which has been operating in outback regions of Australia for two years. The Programme was originally intended to provide videocassette copies of ABC educational broadcasts to primary‐school students studying by‘correspondence’and living outside television reception areas. An examination of the effects of the Programme on teacher and parent attitudes, viewing patterns, integration with the curriculum, and educational concerns about televisual learning in Western Australian Schools of the Air and Distance Education Centre students, are given in this paper. Copyright © 1985, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Recognition, Status Quo or Reintegration : Engagement with de facto States

De facto states and their parent states usually have very different reasons for backing engagement policies, based on their respective claims to self-determination and territorial integrity. Drawing on four case studies—Abkhazia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Northern Cyprus—this article examines how this underlying tension is negotiated. It demonstrates the need to distinguish between different forms of engagement and finds that engagement is significantly constrained by parent state insistence on territorial integrity. Yet the issue of status can sometimes be fudged, depending on the degree of patron state support for the de facto state and its commitment to independence