The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) and the Control of Indigenous Culture: A Critical Comment on Power and Indigenous Rights

The Preamble of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) recognizes the connection between indigenous peoples and intangible cultural heritage. The convention indicates that part of its mission is to protect the intangible cultural heritage of indigenous peoples against the processes of globalization and social transformation. The convention, however, has been critiqued for the manner in which it attempts to manage intangible cultural heritage, with critics charging that the convention fosters a power structure that favors states and thereby threatens to marginalize indigenous peoples from control over their own cultures. Such criticism raises a question as to what changes should be made to rectify the power inequalities of the CSICH to aid indigenous peoples. This Article responds to this question, and follows the convention’s critiques by using the theories of Michel Foucault to evaluate the power structure created by the CSICH and identify what types of changes to the convention would benefit indigenous peoples

Monograph of the Family Mordellidae (Coleoptera) of North America, North of Mexico.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/56307/1/MP062.pd

Transnational Support and Legal Education Reform in Developing Countries: Findings and Lessons from Burma/Myanmar

Myanmar\u27s current transition involves a concerted international effort to promote the rule of law. Legal education is integral to promoting the rule of law, and so calls for development aid that works to improve a country\u27s legal education system. The nature of development aid, however, calls for some analysis of its efficacy. This paper contributes to this call by taking as a case study the state of transnational aid efforts to improve legal education in Burma/Myanmar, and finds issues that threaten the efficacy of international aid efforts to reform legal education in developing countries. The analysis concludes with recommendations to mitigate such issues

The Independent Lawyers’ Association of Myanmar (ILAM): Challenges Facing the Legal Transplant of International Expectations for a Bar Association into a Local Context

The Independent Lawyers'Association ofMyanmar (ILAM) is an attempt to create an independent national bar association within Myanmar. ILAM is a product of efforts by international entities such as the International Bar Association (IBA) and domestic lawyers throughout Myanmar to form a nation-wide bar association that follows international ideas regarding a legal profession independent of state control. The introduction of such ideas deviates from Myanmar's history, which placed lawyers under the control of the state and made the legal system an instrument of authoritarian rule. The growth of ILAM is a testament to legal reform currently taking place in Myanmar, but it is also a mirror to the challenges of transplanting international notions of an independent legal profession into a formerly closed developing country emerging into a larger global community. The experiences of ILAM offer insights regarding theories of legal transplants, particularly for Gunther Tuebner's notion of a legal irritant. The analysis uses ILAM as a case study to draw out implications regarding the nuances of legal transplant theory and generate lessons for similar efforts elsewhere to promote international ideas in local contexts

Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) after pregnancy and childbirth

Background and aims: Unmet need of contraception is a global challenge. The need of additional visits to initiate contraception is found to be a barrier for postpartum and postabortion contraceptive care. The IUDs and the implant are called long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). The LARC-method can be used for years without having to remember a contraceptive during sexual intercourse or, in case of hormonal contraception, every day, week or month. The overall aim of this thesis was to add knowledge to the field of long-acting reversible contraception after pregnancy in Sweden in our effort to improve the quality of contraceptive care after pregnancy and childbirth. Methods and main results: Study 1 was a retrospective cohort study including 11,066 women. Data was extracted from medical records regarding attendance to the postpartum visit and choice of contraception, breastfeeding, and abortion during 12-24 months after delivery. The primary outcome was the proportion of induced abortions during follow-up, with the outcome measure of abortion being a surrogate for unintended pregnancy. Among attendees to the follow up 2.1 % had an abortion compared to 3.6 % among nonattendants. A decision to use LARC was associated with a lower risk of abortion (OR 0.74; 95% CI 0.60-0.91; p = .005), as was exclusive breastfeeding (p < .001). Smoking and having had an earlier abortion were associated with a higher risk of abortion during the follow-up. Study II and III were open-label, prospective, randomised, controlled, multicenter studies. In study II, 101 women were either allocated to early placement (52/101) of a hormonal IUD within 48 hours after vaginal delivery or to standard placement (49/101) at 6-8 weeks postpartum. Follow-up was one year after IUD placement. Inclusion was prematurely stopped after an interim analysis due to high expulsion rate in the early placement group, and instead of 600 women only 101 were included. In the early placement group 23/52 (44.2 %) of devices were expelled within a year and 10 women had the hormonal device replaced. In the standard placement group there were no expulsions. The IUD continuation rate for the early group was 37/52 (71.2%), compared to 41/49 (83.7%, p = .13) for the standard placement group at study closure. In study III, 240 women seeking medical abortion up to 63 days´ gestation were randomised to either IUD placement within 48 hours (120/240) after completed abortion or to IUD placement at 2-4 weeks (120/240) after abortion. Follow-up was one year after abortion. The primary outcome was IUD use at 6 months postabortion. In the early placement group (intervention), 91/111 (82%) women used IUD at 6 months compared to 87/112 (77.7%) in the later placement (control) group (p= .51) Pain scores at IUD placement (measured by the visual analogue scale) were lower in the intervention group (p= .002). Women in the intervention group preferred the allocated time significantly more often compared to the control group (p= .03). There was no difference regarding expulsion. In study II and III there were no differences regarding safety profile between groups. Study IV was a qualitative study where 20 women who had undergone elective caesarean section (CS) were interviewed within 6 weeks of CS, to enable deeper understanding of women´s preferences and needs regarding contraceptive services at the time of pregnancy. Ten of the interviewees had chosen IUD placement during the latest CS. Three themes were identified; Receptivity to contraceptive counseling during pregnancy; Communication and decision-making of postpartum contraception during pregnancy and Needs to navigate in the Maternal Health Care System to receive contraceptive services before and after caesarean section. Women were generally positive to contraceptive counseling from about 25 gestational weeks and expressed positive attitudes about the concept of antenatal counseling. Feeling involved and informed was important, but few women had been involved in antenatal counseling. Women who had chosen IUD placement during CS were usually satisfied with the decision. Some interviewees expressed a need to navigate in the contraceptive services by themselves. The communication and coordinating units that should integrate around the woman have not sufficiently adapted to new evidence, needs and conditions. Conclusions: The choice of LARC postpartum is associated with lower risk for unintended pregnancy compared to the choice of other contraceptives or no choice at all. Attendance to the postpartum visit is a prerequisite to initiate LARC when provision of early/immediate LARC initiation postpartum is not part of the established contraceptive health care. Placement of a hormonal IUD within 48 hours after vaginal delivery seems safe, accepted by patients but associated with much higher expulsion rates compared to placement 6- 12 weeks postpartum. Early placement of an IUD within 48 hours after completed medical abortion does not lead to higher continuation rates at one year after abortion compared to standard placement 2-4 weeks after abortion when devices are provided free of charge. Early placement seems safe, preferred by patients, and associated with lower pain scores compared to standard IUD placement postabortion. Antenatal counseling for contraceptive method to use postpartum seems acceptable to women from around 25 gestational weeks. To have the opportunity to discuss contraception antenatally and enable placement during planned CS is generally considered valuable

Shadows of Saturn’s ring moons in the dusty E-ring

Abstract. Moons orbiting within Saturn’s diffuse E-Ring cause cylindrical shadows to appear inside the ring at high phase angles when the moons obscure sunlight from areas behind them. These shadows can be observed in multiple images taken on the Cassini-Huygens mission at high phase angles when the ring material is scattering sunlight and dust in the area obstructed by the moon does not scatter sunlight creating a shadow. On this preliminary analysis we focus on the shadows of Enceladus and Tethys and show that this method is viable for inferring local ring properties. Information about the size distribution and light scattering properties of the E-Ring particles can theoretically be inferred from measurements. A preliminary analysis is presented with the goal of investigating whether enough data is present and can meaningful results be produced. A Python program was developed to analyze and extract data from the Cassini-Huygens mission images. This Program is used to analyze shadows in images of the moons Enceladus and Tethys taken with different filters and wavelengths at high phase angles

Trust in Wildland Fire and Fuel Management Decisions

Public land managers are stewards of public lands and of the relationship between the public and these lands. Maintaining one aspect of this relationship, trust in the agency, can be challenging. Lack of trust can influence public response to management decisions, including about wildland fire use. By considering the factors that influence trust, managers can be more effective in accomplishing fire stewardship objectives