The Politics of Indigenous Participation Through “Free Prior Informed Consent”: Reflections from the Bolivian Case

This article explores the challenges of ethnic-based participation and its potential for creating inclusive and effective forms of decision-making for marginalized social groups. Empirically, it examines a recent attempt to establish more participative forms of resource and development governance for indigenous communities in Bolivia through Free Prior and Informed Consent/Consultation (FPIC). Rooted in international human rights law, FPIC aims at achieving more effective bottom-up participation by establishing an obligation to consult – or obtain the consent of – indigenous peoples before large development projects and legal reforms that would affect them can proceed. Interest in FPIC initiatives has been growing for reasons that range from efforts to build more equitable management of natural resources to attempts to introduce more effective local-scale practices of participation and active citizenship. We argue that the idea of prior consultation and FPIC itself are not neutral instruments; they will not automatically lead to better or more democratic governance and a more equal society. The way in which FPIC is currently being implemented and framed in Bolivia is in tension with broader ideas of representation and legitimacy, inclusiveness, and management of public and common goods because there is no real clarity as to who is entitled to participation, why they do, and whether they are doing so as a corrective to exclusion, a promotion of citizenship, or as a mechanism for redistribution. As we show here, FPIC implementation can have unintended consequences and consultation can sometimes embed existing social, cultural, and economic tensions. The paper offers some broader reflections on participatory governance and collective rights especially in relation to the tensions between inclusive participation and exclusive rights or – put differently – the challenges for building cultures of participation and inclusion in complex and ethnic diverse democracies

Deviant and Over-Compliance: The Domestic Politics of Child Labor in Bolivia and Argentina

This article explores the reception of human rights norms on child labor in Bolivia and Argentina, countries where governments and civil societies express support for human rights. However, national responses after ratification of International Labor Organization’s conventions diverge significantly. In Bolivia, domestic interpretations of human rights have prevailed over attachment to ILO conventions (“deviant compliance”), while in Argentina national policies exceed ILO recommendations (“over-compliance”). We use the evidence presented here to call for a more nuanced understanding of what compliance with human rights principles is understood to mean and to stress the importance of domestic interpretations of international norms

Dynamical control of electron spin coherence in a quantum dot

We investigate the performance of dynamical decoupling methods at suppressing electron spin decoherence from a low-temperature nuclear spin reservoir in a quantum dot. The controlled dynamics is studied through exact numerical simulation, with emphasis on realistic pulse delays and long-time limit. Our results show that optimal performance for this system is attained by a periodic protocol exploiting concatenated design, with control rates substantially slower than expected from the upper spectral cutoff of the bath. For a known initial electron spin state, coherence can saturate at long times, signaling the creation of a stable ``spin-locked'' decoherence-free subspace. Analytical insight on saturation is obtained for a simple echo protocol, in good agreement with numerical results.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures with 3 of them in colo

Suppression of electron spin decoherence in a quantum dot

The dominant source of decoherence for an electron spin in a quantum dot is the hyperfine interaction with the surrounding bath of nuclear spins. The decoherence process may be slowed down by subjecting the electron spin to suitable sequences of external control pulses. We investigate the performance of a variety of dynamical decoupling protocols using exact numerical simulation. Emphasis is given to realistic pulse delays and the long-time limit, beyond the domain where available analytical approaches are guaranteed to work. Our results show that both deterministic and randomized protocols are capable to significantly prolong the electron coherence time, even when using control pulse separations substantially larger than what expected from the {\em upper cutoff} frequency of the coupling spectrum between the electron and the nuclear spins. In a realistic parameter range, the {\em total width} of such a coupling spectrum appears to be the physically relevant frequency scale affecting the overall quality of the decoupling.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Invited talk at the XXXVII Winter Colloquium on the Physics of Quantum Electronics, Snowbird, Jan 2007. Submitted to J. Mod. Op

Majorana modes in time-reversal invariant s-wave topological superconductors

We present a time-reversal invariant s-wave superconductor supporting Majorana edge modes. The multi-band character of the model together with spin-orbit coupling are key to realizing such a topological superconductor. We characterize the topological phase diagram by using a partial Chern number sum, and show that the latter is physically related to the parity of the fermion number of the time-reversal invariant modes. By taking the self-consistency constraint on the s-wave pairing gap into account, we also establish the possibility of a direct topological superconductor-to-topological insulator quantum phase transition.Comment: published versio

Antiplatelet drugs for secondary prevention in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Antiplatelet drugs may prevent recurrent ischemic events after ischemic stroke but their relative effectiveness and harms still need to be clarified. Within this network meta-analysis we aimed to summarize the current evidence for using antiplatelet drugs for secondary stroke prevention. METHODS We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL up to September 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing antiplatelet drugs for secondary stroke prevention were included. We did pairwise meta-analyses and network meta-analyses using random-effects models. Primary outcomes were all strokes (ischemic or hemorrhagic) and all-cause mortality. RESULTS The review included 57 RCTs, 50 (n = 165,533 participants) provided data for the meta-analyses. Compared to placebo/no treatment, moderate to high-confidence evidence indicated that cilostazol, clopidogrel, dipyridamole + aspirin, ticagrelor, ticlopidine, and aspirin ≤ 150 mg/day significantly reduced the risk of all strokes (odds ratios, ORs and absolute risk difference, ARD): cilostazol 0.51 (95 % confidence interval, CI, 0.37 to 0.71; 3.6 % fewer), clopidogrel 0.63 (95 % CI, 0.49 to 0.79; 2.7 % fewer), dipyridamole + aspirin 0.65 (95 % CI, 0.55 to 0.78; 2.5 % fewer), ticagrelor 0.68 (95 % CI, 0.50 to 0.93; 2.3 % fewer), ticlopidine 0.74 (95 % CI 0.59 to 0.93; 1.9 % fewer), aspirin ≤ 150 mg/day 0.79 (95 % CI, 0.66 to 0.95; 1.5 % fewer). Aspirin > 150 mg/day and the combinations clopidogrel/aspirin, ticagrelor/aspirin, also decrease all strokes but increase the risk of hemorrhagic events. Only aspirin > 150 mg/day significantly reduced all-cause mortality (OR 0.86, 95 % CI 0.76 to 0.97; ARD 0.9 %, 95 %CI 1.5-0.2 % fewer, moderate confidence). Compared to aspirin ≤ 150 mg/day, clopidogrel significantly reduced the risk of all strokes, cardiovascular events, and intracranial hemorrhage outcomes. Cilostazol also appeared to provide advantages but data are limited to the Asian population. CONCLUSIONS Considering the benefits and harms ratio, cilostazol, clopidogrel, dipyridamole + aspirin, ticagrelor, ticlopidine, and aspirin ≤ 150 mg/day appear to be the best choices as antiplatelet drugs for secondary prevention of patients with ischemic stroke or TIA. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION PROSPERO CRD42020159896

Diversifying the ‘HSI bubble’: Black and Asian women faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

This qualitative case study explored the experiences of seven Black and Asian women faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The unique experience of each woman is shared in this paper. Three themes highlight the interconnectedness of participant experiences. The first theme indicated that these Black and Asian women faculty operated in unsupportive microclimates within their HSIs. Secondly, participants communicated a need for representation within the ‘HSI bubble.’ Finally, our participants felt as though their HSIs needed to exercise greater intentionality in terms of truly serving their student populations. Amongst the implications of this research is a better understanding of the experiences of a minority group (i.e., Black and Asian women faculty) within higher education. These experiences can inform administrators on how to move beyond recruitment of Black and Asian women faculty to foster a supportive microclimate so as to retain these women and enable their success

Long-time electron spin storage via dynamical suppression of hyperfine-induced decoherence in a quantum dot

The coherence time of an electron spin decohered by the nuclear spin environment in a quantum dot can be substantially increased by subjecting the electron to suitable dynamical decoupling sequences. We analyze the performance of high-level decoupling protocols by using a combination of analytical and exact numerical methods, and by paying special attention to the regimes of large inter-pulse delays and long-time dynamics, which are outside the reach of standard average Hamiltonian theory descriptions. We demonstrate that dynamical decoupling can remain efficient far beyond its formal domain of applicability, and find that a protocol exploiting concatenated design provides best performance for this system in the relevant parameter range. In situations where the initial electron state is known, protocols able to completely freeze decoherence at long times are constructed and characterized. The impact of system and control non-idealities is also assessed, including the effect of intra-bath dipolar interaction, magnetic field bias and bath polarization, as well as systematic pulse imperfections. While small bias field and small bath polarization degrade the decoupling fidelity, enhanced performance and temporal modulation result from strong applied fields and high polarizations. Overall, we find that if the relative errors of the control parameters do not exceed 5%, decoupling protocols can still prolong the coherence time by up to two orders of magnitude.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Dynamical Control of Electron Spin Coherence In a Quantum Dot: A Theoretical Study

We investigate the performance of dynamical decoupling methods at suppressing electron spin decoherence from a low-temperature nuclear spin reservoir in a quantum dot. The controlled dynamics is studied through exact numerical simulation, with emphasis on realistic pulse delays and the long-time limit. Our results show that optimal performance for this system is attained by a periodic protocol exploiting concatenated design, with control rates substantially slower than expected from the upper spectral cutoff of the bath. For a known initial electron spin state, coherence can saturate at long times, signaling the creation of a stable “spin-locked” decoherence-free subspace. Analytical insight into saturation is obtained for a simple echo protocol, in good agreement with numerical results

Forum theatre for reconciliation: a drama-based approach to conflict transformation applied to socio-environmental struggles in Bolivia

This paper examines how participatory theatre methods can be used to foster reconciliation and conduct research in communities affected by socio-environmental conflicts. We design and pilot a distinctive drama-based approach to conflict transformation that we call Forum Theatre for Reconciliation (FTR). The method furthers embodied intersubjective understanding as well as a critical analysis of structural causes of conflict. We discuss this approach applied to low-intensity communal conflicts linked to extreme wildfires in Bolivia, where fires exacerbate tensions between different communities and result in (sometimes) violent confrontation and polarising discourse. We identify three key innovations of this peacebuilding approach: rehumanising the Self and Other, co-creating complex and inclusive narratives of conflict, and devising collective response across different perspectives and experiences