Community-based assessment of human rights in a complex humanitarian emergency: the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma and Cyclone Nargis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2, 2008, killing over 138,000 and affecting at least 2.4 million people. The Burmese military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), initially blocked international aid to storm victims, forcing community-based organizations such as the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma (EAT) to fill the void, helping with cyclone relief and long-term reconstruction. Recognizing the need for independent monitoring of the human rights situation in cyclone-affected areas, particularly given censorship over storm relief coverage, EAT initiated such documentation efforts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A human rights investigation was conducted to document selected human rights abuses that had initially been reported to volunteers providing relief services in cyclone affected areas. Using participatory research methods and qualitative, semi-structured interviews, EAT volunteers collected 103 testimonies from August 2008 to June 2009; 42 from relief workers and 61 from storm survivors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One year after the storm, basic necessities such as food, potable water, and shelter remained insufficient for many, a situation exacerbated by lack of support to help rebuild livelihoods and worsening household debt. This precluded many survivors from being able to access healthcare services, which were inadequate even before Cyclone Nargis. Aid efforts continued to be met with government restrictions and harassment, and relief workers continued to face threats and fear of arrest. Abuses, including land confiscation and misappropriation of aid, were reported during reconstruction, and tight government control over communication and information exchange continued.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Basic needs of many cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy Delta remained unmet over a year following Cyclone Nargis. Official impediments to delivery of aid to storm survivors continued, including human rights abrogations experienced by civilians during reconstruction efforts. Such issues remain unaddressed in official assessments conducted in partnership with the SPDC. Private, community-based relief organizations like EAT are well positioned and able to independently assess human rights conditions in response to complex humanitarian emergencies such as Cyclone Nargis; efforts of this nature must be encouraged, particularly in settings where human rights abuses have been documented and censorship is widespread.</p

Problem-based learning - is it right for Sri Lanka?

Employers in the ICT sector in Sri Lanka are concerned about the soft skills of the graduates they employ. The training sector is aware of their concerns but find it challenging to nurture the appropriate skills and attitudes in students used to traditional, teacher-centred learning environments. Elsewhere in the world, problem-based learning has provided a solution for similar scenarios. However the learning environment in the Sri Lankan university sector challenges some of the basic assumptions generally made in implementing PBL i.e. that there will be free and open dialogue between students, that student teams will recognise each other as equal peers, that facilities to accommodate small group work can be made available. This paper describes a partially successful venture to introduce PBL to the public university system in Sri Lanka and identifies modifications that need to be made to the model in future implementations

Implementing problem-based learning in software engineering in a Sri Lankan University

The study aims to identify the parameters of an optimal learning environment to promote the development of graduate attributes and higher order learning skills in the context of a professional preparation course for Information Technology graduates at a public university in Sri Lanka. It employs a design-based learning approach with iterations of the design being undertaken over a four year period. The underlying pedagogy for the design was problem-based learning. As students were unused to being challenged to apply their knowledge to the resolution of problems, a primary focus of the design was on scaffolding the learning experience. Significant use was made of eLearning tools available through the Moodle content management system for this purpose. In addition to this, course lectures were supplemented with tutorial sessions which provided lecturers with an opportunity to work through a series of skills building activities with the students. A key initiative was to enhance student exposure to industry through the use of videos, chat and discussion forums as well as through face-to-face meetings. As many students in the public university system come from the rural hinterland of Sri Lanka their experience of the industry they aspire to join is often minimal. One consequence of this is a lack of awareness of the importance of soft skills or graduate attributes to industry employers and a consequent lack of motivation to participate in learning activities directed toward building such skills. The study also identified a fundamental need to address the issues of general and cognitive academic language proficiency in English – the language of instruction. While a range of tools and approaches were used successfully to help students develop teamwork, communication, independent learning and problem-solving skills, it became clear that it was not realistic to target development of such skills within a single subject and without addressing the issue of English language proficiency first. As the approach to study was a departure from largely didactic teaching-learning styles to which students had previously been exposed, opportunities for them to reflect on their learning were essential. These were built into the course in the form of assessable assignments. The study concludes by recommending a whole-ofcurriculum approach in the form of a framework for a further and more extensive trial of the approach

Political Economy of Southeast Asian Borderlands: Migration, Environment, and Developing Country Firms

Borderland zones in Southeast Asia have become sites of increased economic investment for developing country firms, intra-regional and transnational corporations. As a result of deregulation, these investment opportunities have led to the exploitation of natural and human resources in an unsustainable and unjust way. This article argues that the flows of people and natural resources across borders are connected intimately and that this has been facilitated politically by the acceptance of the porosity of territorial boundaries by all governments in the region and the imperative to export environmentally degrading development projects into neighbouring countries where political mobilisation on environmental issues is much less effective. Conveyed through a series of cases studies (on resource extraction, dam and reservoir construction, and working conditions in apparel companies), this article explores how developing country companies comply with the codes of conduct on corporate responsibility on human rights, labour standards and environmental sustainability) within the context of the governance of the global supply chain