Globalisation and health inequalities: can a human rights paradigm create space for civil society action?

While neoliberal globalisation is associated with increasing inequalities, global integration has simultaneously strengthened the dissemination of human rights discourse across the world. This paper explores the seeming contradiction that globalisation is conceived as disempowering nations states' ability to act in their population's interests, yet implementation of human rights obligations requires effective states to deliver socio-economic entitlements, such as health. Central to the actions required of the state to build a health system based on a human rights approach is the notion of accountability. Two case studies are used to explore the constraints on states meeting their human rights obligations regarding health, the first drawing on data from interviews with parliamentarians responsible for health in East and Southern Africa, and the second reflecting on the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. The case studies illustrate the importance of a human rights paradigm in strengthening parliamentary oversight over the executive in ways that prioritise pro-poor protections and in increasing leverage for resources for the health sector within parliamentary processes. Further, a rights framework creates the space for civil society action to engage with the legislature to hold public officials accountable and confirms the importance of rights as enabling civil society mobilization, reinforcing community agency to advance health rights for poor communities. In this context, critical assessment of state incapacity to meet claims to health rights raises questions as to the diffusion of accountability rife under modern international aid systems. Such diffusion of accountability opens the door to 'cunning' states to deflect rights claims of their populations. We argue that human rights, as both a normative framework for legal challenges and as a means to create room for active civil society engagement provide a means to contest both the real and the purported constraints imposed by globalisation.Web of Scienc

Leveraging a Non-Profit-Public Partnership to Meet the Needs of Austin’s Urban Forest

The urban forest and natural areas of Lady Bird Lake receive over 4 million visitors each year and represent the heart of Austin’s downtown park system. Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) relies on a non-profit-public partnership with The Trail Foundation (TTF) to address the management demands of the ~200 acres of forested parkland surrounding the lake. This partnership provides a mechanism for prioritizing and funding the urban forestry needs of the area

Dean Melanie Leslie’s Office Hours

Join Dean Leslie for office hours. Her invited guests will include Professor Andrea Schneider, Director of the Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution, and two visiting scholars, Nargis Baran and Dmytro Vovk, both of whom come to Cardozo after fleeing the violence of wars in their home countries.https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/event-invitations-2023/1034/thumbnail.jp

Where does galactic dust come from?

Here we investigate the origin of the dust mass (Mdust) observed in the Milky Way (MW) and of dust scaling relations found in a sample of local galaxies from the DGS and KINGFISH surveys. To this aim, we model dust production from Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars and supernovae (SNe) in simulated galaxies forming along the assembly of a Milky Way-like halo in a well resolved cosmic volume of 4cMpc using the GAMESH pipeline. We explore the impact of different sets of metallicity and mass-dependent AGB and SN dust yields on the predicted Mdust. Our results show that models accounting for grain destruction by the SN reverse shock predict a total dust mass in the MW that is a factor of ~4 lower than observed, and can not reproduce the observed galaxy-scale relations between dust and stellar masses, and dust-to-gas ratios and metallicity, with a smaller discrepancy in galaxies with low metallicity (12 + log(O/H) < 7.5) and low stellar masses (Mstar < 10^7 Msun). In agreement with previous studies, we suggest that competing processes in the interstellar medium must be at play to explain the observed trends. Our result reinforces this conclusion by showing that it holds independently of the adopted AGB and SN dust yields.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted version for publication in MNRA

The dust mass in z > 6 normal star forming galaxies

We interpret recent ALMA observations of z > 6 normal star forming galaxies by means of a semi-numerical method, which couples the output of a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation with a chemical evolution model which accounts for the contribution to dust enrichment from supernovae, asymptotic giant branch stars and grain growth in the interstellar medium. We find that while stellar sources dominate the dust mass of small galaxies, the higher level of metal enrichment experienced by galaxies with Mstar > 10^9 Msun allows efficient grain growth, which provides the dominant contribution to the dust mass. Even assuming maximally efficient supernova dust production, the observed dust mass of the z = 7.5 galaxy A1689-zD1 requires very efficient grain growth. This, in turn, implies that in this galaxy the average density of the cold and dense gas, where grain growth occurs, is comparable to that inferred from observations of QSO host galaxies at similar redshifts. Although plausible, the upper limits on the dust continuum emission of galaxies at 6.5 < z < 7.5 show that these conditions must not apply to the bulk of the high redshift galaxy populationComment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication as a Letter to MNRA

Bending Strength and Stiffness of Caribbean Pine from Trinidad and Tobago

Small samples of Caribbean pine wood grown in Trinidad were measured for specific gravity, modulus of elasticity, and modulus of rupture in bending. Core and outer wood and samples from along the length of the tree were studied. Mechanical properties and specific gravity varied along and across the trees. Linear relationships between specific gravity and mechanical properties were better for the outer wood than for the core wood. Core wood was weaker than outer wood. The bolts varied in properties along the tree, with a maximum in the second 2-m bolt

Reflections on Including Disability in Social Protection Programmes

This article presents reflections on including disability in social protection and, specifically, in social assistance programmes. The main considerations for including disability in such programmes are: (a) the factors associated with disability that create vulnerabilities for people with disabilities and their household (e.g. social exclusion, the need for care and extra costs); (b) the nature of disability targeting within social protection and social assistance programmes; and (c) the measurement of disability – a complex but key factor in ensuring accurate targeting and monitoring of impact. This article describes these considerations in relation to experiences in three African countries – Uganda, Zambia and South Africa – and concludes with recommendations on recognition of disability as a vulnerability factor, and how targeting and measurement can and should be addressed for inclusion of disability in social assistance programmes