Rule of Law For Whom? Strengthening Rule of Law as a Solution to Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This article suggests that programs designed to strengthen the rule of law in general are unlikely to be effective against the widespread problem of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I argue that while weak rule of law perpetuates sexual violence, only rule of law programs designed specifically with respect to the needs, risks, and cultural norms pertaining to Congolese women can help curb this problem. The article begins with a brief history of conflict in the Great Lakes region of Africa to provide context for a discussion of the scope of sexual violence in the eastern provinces of the DR Congo. It then introduces the notion of rule of law before evaluating the ways in which weak rule of law in the eastern DR Congo contributes to the problem of sexual violence. Finally, the article makes four arguments to support the central claim that strengthening the rule of law will be effective against sexual violence only if specifically tailored in the ways noted above

Too Rough a Justice: The Ethiopia-Eritrea Claims Commission and Civil Liability for Claims for Rape under International Law

The developments in international law prohibiting rape during armed conflict have grown at a rapid pace in recent decades. Whereas rape had long been considered an inevitable by-product of armed conflict, evolution in international humanitarian law (IHL) has relegated this conception mostly to the past. The work of international criminal tribunals has been at the forefront of this change, developing the specific elements of the international crime of rape, and helping to change the perception of rape in international law violations of IHL, however also give rise to civil liability Despite the advances with respect to rape made in the international criminal law context, non-criminal adjudication of claims for rape has been rare. Recently the Ethiopia-Eritrea Claims Commission completed eight years of work, making numerous damage awards for civil claims based on violations of IlIL that occurred during the war between those two states. Among the claims that it heard were several claims for rape, brought by both parties Thus, the completed work of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Claims Commission represents an important opportunity to examine civil adjudication of claims for rape under IHL. This Article asks whether the work of the Commission has helped to extend the protections afforded by IHL, and whether its treatment of the claims for rape is in line with the progress made within IHL regarding the conceptualization of rape. It locates and analyzes the work of the Commission within the broader changes that have occurred within IHL with respect to rape, outlines the work of the Commission, and analyzes its substantive and procedural decisions. This Article argues that, while the Commission contributed certain substantive and procedural advances to IHL, it may have simultaneously created certain gaps in the IHL regime and hindered the conceptualization of rape within IHL

Deterministic Time-Space Tradeoffs for k-SUM

Given a set of numbers, the $k$-SUM problem asks for a subset of $k$ numbers that sums to zero. When the numbers are integers, the time and space complexity of $k$-SUM is generally studied in the word-RAM model; when the numbers are reals, the complexity is studied in the real-RAM model, and space is measured by the number of reals held in memory at any point. We present a time and space efficient deterministic self-reduction for the $k$-SUM problem which holds for both models, and has many interesting consequences. To illustrate: * $3$-SUM is in deterministic time $O(n^2 \lg\lg(n)/\lg(n))$ and space $O\left(\sqrt{\frac{n \lg(n)}{\lg\lg(n)}}\right)$. In general, any polylogarithmic-time improvement over quadratic time for $3$-SUM can be converted into an algorithm with an identical time improvement but low space complexity as well. * $3$-SUM is in deterministic time $O(n^2)$ and space $O(\sqrt n)$, derandomizing an algorithm of Wang. * A popular conjecture states that 3-SUM requires $n^{2-o(1)}$ time on the word-RAM. We show that the 3-SUM Conjecture is in fact equivalent to the (seemingly weaker) conjecture that every $O(n^{.51})$-space algorithm for $3$-SUM requires at least $n^{2-o(1)}$ time on the word-RAM. * For $k \ge 4$, $k$-SUM is in deterministic $O(n^{k - 2 + 2/k})$ time and $O(\sqrt{n})$ space

Visitor Attitudes Toward and Support for Invasive Species Management at Cumberland Island National Seashore

Abstract Controlling invasive species has become a management priority on public lands across America. Although managers recognize the need for policies that minimize the impact of non-indigenous organisms, the extent to which the public supports these policies remains largely unknown. This study used an on-site intercept survey of visitors to Cumberland Island National Seashore, GA, (N = 1,166) to assess public attitudes toward invasive species. Based on responses, visitors were grouped into two main attitude categories: absolute ecocentric individuals (who believed all living things had a right to coexist) and adaptive ecocentric individuals (who acknowledged that some degree of control may be necessary to restore ecosystem integrity). Despite conflicting perspectives, members of both groups agreed that adaptive on-site management was the most acceptable and least controversial method of invasive species control. Future studies could build on this approach to identify stakeholder characteristics that help to predict invasive species management preferences

Visitors’ Climate Change Beliefs & Perceptions of Climate-Sensitive Resources at Great Sand Dunes National Park

Abstract Ecological consequences associated with climate change are becoming increasingly noticeable in nature-based recreation areas. Research is therefore needed to better understand nature-based recreationists’ perceptions of, attitudes towards, and behavioral responses to climate change and resource impacts in parks. This study explored strategies for assessing and responding to visitor perceptions of climate change at Great Sand Dunes National Park (GRSA), Colorado. In the summer of 2011, researchers intercepted visitors at GRSD and invited them to complete an online questionnaire. Visitors reported strong beliefs that global climate change was currently happening, but less certainty regarding the belief that human activities are influencing climate. Studies such as this may provide information for interpreters and park staff regarding climate change, and increase visitors’ understanding of climate change. Future research could expand upon this exploratory study in an effort to inform resource management decisions and develop targeted climate change visitor education programs

First Direct Double-Beta Decay Q-value Measurement of 82Se in Support of Understanding the Nature of the Neutrino

In anticipation of results from current and future double-beta decay studies, we report a measurement resulting in a 82Se double-beta decay Q-value of 2997.9(3) keV, an order of magnitude more precise than the currently accepted value. We also present preliminary results of a calculation of the 82Se neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix element that corrects in part for the small size of the shell model single-particle space. The results of this work are important for designing next generation double-beta decay experiments and for the theoretical interpretations of their observations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter