Book Review

HOW COURTS GOVERN AMERICA. By The Honorable Richard Neely. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1981. Pp. xvii, 226. $15.00

Conversation with an Interpreter: Considerations for Cross-Language, Cross-Cultural Peacebuilding Research

The ongoing processes of peacebuilding involve dialogue (Lederach 1997) and co-discovery (Freire 1970), which can sometimes be facilitated through academy-initiated research. Qualitative research provides opportunities to move from a positivist approach to a more equal, participatory, interactive exploration that benefits all participants, including the researcher in a “co-production of knowledge” (Karnieli-Miller, Strier, and Pessach 2009 p. 279). Cross-cultural, cross-language research (where researchers and participants do not share the same language), with all its riches, brings particular challenges for all involved. Beyond the issues of power and perceived power in any kind of research (Sprague 2005), in cross-cultural and cross-language research, already complex interactions are both facilitated/navigated and multiplied with the addition of an interpreter (Wallin and Ahlstrom 2006) who becomes the conduit for all interactions. This article focuses on the experiences of a cross-language interpreter involved in a participatory action study in peacebuilding in her home country of Ukraine. Her insights on the role of the interpreter, and considerations for future studies are shared through a conversation with the primary/initial inquirer at the end of this qualitative mixed-method project

High power operation of an X-band gyrotwistron

We report the first experimental verification of a gyrotwistron amplifier. The device utilized a single 9.858 GHz, TE011 cavity, a heavily attenuated drift tube, and a long tapered output waveguide section. With a 440 kV, 200-245 A, 1 μs electron beam and a sharply tapered axial magnetic field, peak powers above 21 MW were achieved with a gain near 24 dB. Performance was limited by competition from a fundamental TE11 mode. A multimode code was developed to analyze this system, and simulations were in good agreement with the experiment

Mr. Ban-Tear Down The U.N\u27s Wall of Immunity/Impunity (before A National Court Does)!!

Immunity has been proven to be not only a living anachronism, but one which often leads to impunity for the worst kinds of rights violations

International Organization Reform Or Impunity? Immunity Is The Problem

\u27No one can read the significant Supreme Court cases on sovereign immunity... without concluding that the field is a mass of confusion; and if he ventures beyond that to attempt some reconciliation of the courts of appeals decisions, he will find confusion compounded. \u2

Stigma and mental health: The curious case of COVID-19

Introduction: This article considers the impact of COVID-19 on stigma and mental health across the life spectrum and the ways that people access services. Purpose: To explore the ways that a pandemic (COVID-19) has changed/shifted the relationship between mental illness or mental ill health and stigma across the life spectrum and call to re-focus resources on sustainable healthy societies, building cultures of peace. Methodology: A literature search was employed, combined with informal interviews and observation. Results and Discussion: On the one hand, the pandemic has opened public discussion of mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression, reducing some of the stigma attached as the experience is more common amongst people who have not previously declared mental health challenges. On the other hand, people previously experiencing mental ill health have mostly had that health challenge exacerbated by the pandemic. With fewer resources available, and changes in service delivery to largely on-line resources, the reduction in stigma has not meant better mental health care and services, but rather further marginalized some of the population. Cultures of peace are inclusive and provide space for full growth of all citizens, in contrast to reactive approaches now more readily applied. Mental health services are a basic right for all people and should be considered as such in all planned health strategies. Limitations: The article focuses on literature review, anecdotal and observation and is focused over a short term, in North America.  It is a preliminary study. Strengths: As a preliminary study, the article highlights an emergent and present dilemma. It also highlights the need for a much more holistic, global approach to mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan. Conclusion: While there are calls for national strategies for mental health services and services for people with dementia, in particular, there is still a need to take a more holistic approach to mental health as part of a whole health strategy to support human dignity and inclusion across the lifespa

The European Union: Where Is It Now?

In four decades, western Europe has, by the force of economics, not blood and iron, united along economic, social and political venues. The western European marketplaces emerging from the devastation of World War II began to integrate with the concomitant benefit of a standard of economic well-being theretofore unknown. The unifying theme underlying the cooperation of the nations of western Europe in the European Economic Community has been that economic union quite necessarily leads to political union and both work in unison to preserve peace. This is the first of two articles on the European Union. The purpose of this article is to help educate the reader generally about the historical development and the law of the European Union, including its sources of law and its institutions