Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2008

2008

Discipline
Institution
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 61 - 90 of 217

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Surveys To Achieve Quality Of Life For Landmine Survivors, Reykhan Muminova Jul 2008

Surveys To Achieve Quality Of Life For Landmine Survivors, Reykhan Muminova

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Minefields along Tajikistan's borders with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as centrally concentrated civil-war minefields continue to kill and injure Tajik citizens. Through victim-assistance projects, the Tajikistan Mine Action Centre hopes that all landmine survivors can be physically rehabilitated and socially and economically reintegrated into their communities.


Azerbaijan’S Landmine Victims: Realities And Challenges, Colin Bent, Hafiz Safikhanov Jul 2008

Azerbaijan’S Landmine Victims: Realities And Challenges, Colin Bent, Hafiz Safikhanov

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines (AzCBL) is a nongovernmental, apolitical, nonprofit organization that was founded in June 1998 in order to work toward a mine-free Azerbaijan. The authors describe how AzCBL and partner organizations are working to improve programs such as social welfare, career assistance, rights awareness, health care and psychological support for mine victims.


Project Documents Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities, Julie Miller Jul 2008

Project Documents Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities, Julie Miller

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article describes the beginning of the International Disability Rights Monitor and its advocacy for persons with disabilities. The author pays special attention to the passing of human rights laws for the disabled and future monitoring efforts to ensure that parties adhere to those laws.


Developing Medical Capacity In Lao Pdr, Barbara Lewis, Sarah Bruinooge Jul 2008

Developing Medical Capacity In Lao Pdr, Barbara Lewis, Sarah Bruinooge

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Prior to 1996, Laotian victims of unexploded ordnance were left with few options for medical treatment. Since that time, however, the inadequacy of the healthcare system to handle such situations has been addressed and improvements made possible through the efforts of the World Victims Assistance Program. Though UXO accidents will continue to occur in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic well into the future, the impact of programs implemented by World Education and numerous other nongovernmental organizations and government entities has contributed to a significant increase in the number of survivors who have received effective treatment.


Expanding Economic Opportunities In Lebanon, Toufic Rizkallah Jul 2008

Expanding Economic Opportunities In Lebanon, Toufic Rizkallah

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Following years of devastation from war, the infrastructure of the district of Jizzine in southern Lebanon was in shambles and the residents left without employment and dependent on agricultural products from outside the region. In February 2002, in an effort to re-establish self-sufficiency in the district, the World Rehabilitation Fund with support from the United States Agency for International Development and the Leahy War Victims Fund, formed The Development Cooperative in Jizzine (Co-op). By providing technical and material assistance to war/landmine victims, the Co-op has proven to be increasingly capable of addressing multiple socioeconomic needs of landmine survivors and other …


Empowering Iraqis: Rehabilitation Training In Bosnia, Nikola Prvulov, Julie Miller Jul 2008

Empowering Iraqis: Rehabilitation Training In Bosnia, Nikola Prvulov, Julie Miller

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article discusses the role that aid workers from Bosnia have had in training Iraqi medical personnel to treat war injuries. It stresses the role that nongovernmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations have had in supporting these efforts and how countries affected by unexploded ordnance and landmines have tried to share their experience with other countries in need of training and assistance.


Azerbaijan Mine Victim Association: The Story So Far, Nick Nwolisa Jul 2008

Azerbaijan Mine Victim Association: The Story So Far, Nick Nwolisa

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to years of conflict, Azerbaijan has become yet another territory contaminated with dangerous landmines and unexploded ordnance; however, the Azerbaijan Mine Victim Association, a nongovernmental organization which started in the Terter region of Azerbaijan, has been working hard to help assist mine victims. Their organization, a product of the International Eurasia Press Fund, has received international recognition by organizations such as the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and is continuing to provide mine-risk education and support for survivors and their families.


Local Ngos And Firms In Mine Action, Eric Filippino, Ted Paterson Jul 2008

Local Ngos And Firms In Mine Action, Eric Filippino, Ted Paterson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As more local nongovernmental organizations develop, establishing a distinction between local NGOs and commercial companies has become a growing concern for potential donors. The differences between NGOs and firms can be difficult to determine at times.


Adnan Al Aboudi And The Landmine Survivors Network Of Jordan, Cisr Journal Jul 2008

Adnan Al Aboudi And The Landmine Survivors Network Of Jordan, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Since a life-altering car accident left him permanently disabled in 1989, Adnan Al Aboudi has dedicated his life and career to victim assistance in mine action. Al Aboudi, along with his organization, Landmine Survivors Network–Jordan, has developed a unique humanistic approach to mine action. They focus on psychological as well as physical recovery for disabled victims of explosive remnants of war. Through his hard work and perseverance, Al Aboudi has raised national and international awareness of the importance of victim assistance in mine action.


Engaging Armed Non-State Actors In A Landmine Ban: A Review Of Geneva Call’S Action, 2000–2007, Pascal Bongard Jul 2008

Engaging Armed Non-State Actors In A Landmine Ban: A Review Of Geneva Call’S Action, 2000–2007, Pascal Bongard

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Geneva Call has been engaging armed non-state actors in a landmine ban since 2000. The Swiss-based nongovernmental organization was created in response to the realization that the landmine problem could only be comprehensively addressed if NSAs, who are the primary users of such weapons today, were included in the solution. To facilitate the process, Geneva Call has developed an innovative mechanism—the Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action—that enables NSAs, who cannot accede to the Ottawa Convention, to undertake to respect its norms.


Scrap-Metal Risk Intervention: Technology Supporting Munitions-Risk Education, Allan R. Vosburgh Jul 2008

Scrap-Metal Risk Intervention: Technology Supporting Munitions-Risk Education, Allan R. Vosburgh

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With scrap-metal collecting and do-it-yourself demining on the rise in many countries, Allan Vosburgh of the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation has suggested a new type of “MRE”: munitions-risk education. If this idea works, munitions-risk education could not only prevent serious injuries but also may potentially help in the fight against unexploded ordnance.


Geneva Diary: Report From The Gichd, Ian Mansfield Jul 2008

Geneva Diary: Report From The Gichd, Ian Mansfield

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining provides operational assistance to mine-action programs and operators, creates and disseminates knowledge, works to improve quality management and standards and provides support to instruments of international law.


Total Quality Management In Mine Action, Daniel Eriksson Jul 2008

Total Quality Management In Mine Action, Daniel Eriksson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Here the author relays the relationship between information management and quality management and how the latter depends on the efficiency of the former. With increasingly better tools for mine-action programs in the field of information management, such as the new versions of the Information Management System for Mine Action, the author discusses how mine action will move into a new age of information technology that will allow for better proficiency in the field.


Burma (Myanmar), Country Profile Jul 2008

Burma (Myanmar), Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Burma gained its independence from British colonial rule in 1948. Shortly afterward, the country plunged into civil war among various political groups while also facing an insurgency in the state of Karen. Over 50 years later, a military junta now controls the government and an insurgency remains in Karen. This near-constant state of conflict has resulted in the widespread use of landmines in both developed and underdeveloped parts of the country. The instability of the government and insecurity in many rural areas have made survivor assistance difficult and inconsistent


Cambodia, Country Profile Jul 2008

Cambodia, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Plagued by nearly three decades of war, Cambodia remains one of the countries most afflicted by landmines and explosive remnants of war despite its recent decline in mine/ERW victims. There are nearly 14 million people living in Cambodia, and it is estimated that there are 43,316 survivors of landmines/unexploded ordnance who require assistance.


India, Country Profile Jul 2008

India, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

An estimated 30 to 50 million people in India suffer from a disability. This number translates to about 3 to 5 percent of the 1.13 billion inhabitants. The country is plagued by a variety of issues, including overpopulation, poverty, internal conflict,and contamination by landmines as well as other explosive remnants of war.


Colombia, Country Profile Jul 2008

Colombia, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As a country plagued with landmines, Colombia has faced a number of challenges relating to victim assistance. To remedy this situation, various government programs have been developed, but their effectiveness has frequently been compromised. Thanks to a number of private organizations, strides are being made to improve victim assistance.


Lao Pdr, Country Profile Jul 2008

Lao Pdr, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is the world’s most heavily unexploded ordnance-contaminated nation, deeply affecting the country’s people. During the Second Indochina War (also known as the Vietnam–American War), the United States carried out more than half a million bombing missions over Lao PDR, during which over two million tons (1.8 million metric tonnes) of ordnance were dropped. Up to 30 percent of this ordnance failed to explode,leaving behind a serious UXO contamination that still kills and maims innocent men, women and children in one of the poorest nations in the world.


Pakistan, Country Profile Jul 2008

Pakistan, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Pakistan is not a signatory of the Ottawa Convention but is a member of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. Funding for mine action is difficult in Pakistan because the Mine Ban Convention was not ratified; consequently, prospective donors are less likely to invest in Pakistan’s landmine removal and victim-assistance endeavors. The lack of financial support as well as support from the government has made mine action—and specifically victim assistance—very difficult. The government’s stance is that landmines are important for the country’s security, especially along the borders of Afghanistan and India where disputes over land continue.


Somalia, Country Profile Jul 2008

Somalia, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In 1960, Britain and Italy ended their colonial rule in Somaliland. British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland combined, creating the new state of Somalia. In 1969, however, the young nation was overthrown by Mohamed Siad Barre, who set up the authoritarian and socialist state of Somalia, bringing much-needed stability to the nation, despite his known corruption. 1991 marked the ousting of this authoritarian rule and began 15 years of anarchy and chaos as a variety of groups struggled for control of the nation or claimed regions of it as their own. At this point Somaliland broke away from Somalia as a …


Lebanon, Country Profile Jul 2008

Lebanon, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Years of conflict and foreign occupation have left Lebanon riddled with landmines and unexploded ordnance. Contamination from explosive remnants of war increased dramatically as a result of the introduction and use of cluster munitions in the July–August 2006 conflict with Israel. According to the Landmine Monitor’s 2007 report on Lebanon, the use of cluster munitions resulted in the contamination of approximately 500,000 undetonated, unexploded munitions and 15,300 other varieties of UXO. In addition to the increased cluster-bomb contamination, Lebanon remains contaminated with anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines from the Lebanese War (1975–1990).


Vietnam, Country Profile Jul 2008

Vietnam, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Vietnam, a country of more than 85 million people, has one of the world’s highest rates of disabled citizens—greater than 6 percent of the entire population. That figure is partially attributable to contamination by landmines and unexploded ordnance, which encroaches on more than 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 square miles) and up to one-fifth of the country’s land surface. As a result, the Landmine Monitor Report has estimated that there are currently some 66,380 survivors of mines and explosive remnants of war in Vietnam—4,000 of whom received survivor services in 2006.


Occupied Palestinian Territories, Country Profile Jul 2008

Occupied Palestinian Territories, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A half-century of conflict has contributed to the current unstable situation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, split between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-controlled West Bank. Both explosive ordnance and unexploded ordnance remain from the civil struggle between Hamas and Fatah political factions, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier this year, Israeli forces imposed dominion over the Gaza Strip, plunging the region into a humanitarian crisis. On 23 January 2008, a series of Hamas-detonated landmine explosions along the border wall in Rafah, Gaza Strip, opened passage for tens of thousands of Palestinians to escape into Egypt. No signs …


The Halo Trust And Hstamids, Chris Boshoff, Roger Cresci Jul 2008

The Halo Trust And Hstamids, Chris Boshoff, Roger Cresci

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A technology that employs multiple mine-detection techniques could improve demining around the world. Six months of using this product on-site have shown exciting results. Benefits of using this demining tool include increased effectiveness, speed and safety. This device was initially manufactured and used for military purposes only. The process of making it available to non-military organizations was difficult but successful.


Improved Landmine Discrimination With An Off-The-Shelf Metal Detector, Marc Freese, Edwardo Fukushima, Shigeo Hirose Jul 2008

Improved Landmine Discrimination With An Off-The-Shelf Metal Detector, Marc Freese, Edwardo Fukushima, Shigeo Hirose

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While a lot of improvement has been achieved with metal detectors in detection depth and ground rejection, little effort has been directed toward better discrimination capabilities; high false-positive rates not only increase clearance time, they tend to lower deminer vigilance, causing accidents. The authors have modeled a statically operating, off-the-shelf metal detector by generating volumetric sensitivity profiles. They present in-laboratory measurements and results of experiments on a test demining site in Cambodia. This article aims at giving deminers a more informed view of metallic targets, allowing them to take differentiated actions during target identification and removal.


Vocational Training And Wheelchairs, Huoy Socheat, Chin Yok Jul 2008

Vocational Training And Wheelchairs, Huoy Socheat, Chin Yok

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article talks about two associations that work together to improve the lives of mine survivors and other persons with disabilities in Cambodia by providing skills training, counseling and wheelchairs.


Testing The Effectiveness And Survivability Of The Mini Minewolf, Thomas Sponfeldner Jul 2008

Testing The Effectiveness And Survivability Of The Mini Minewolf, Thomas Sponfeldner

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The following test results illustrate the Mini MineWolf’s viability in the field. First, Mini MineWolf’s ability to neutralize simulated anti-personnel mines was tested in three different soil types and at varying depths. The machine was then subjected to live anti-tank blasts by the German Army and the Canadian Centre for Mine Action Technologies.


New Uxo Detector With Metal-Discrimination Option, Jürgen Braunstein, Armin Merz, Markus Sautter, Gerhard Vallon Jul 2008

New Uxo Detector With Metal-Discrimination Option, Jürgen Braunstein, Armin Merz, Markus Sautter, Gerhard Vallon

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

A forerunner in the field of metal detection, Vallon GmbH has recently developed the VMXC1—an unexploded-ordnance detector specifically designed to determine the presence of submunitions. The detector’ innovative metal-discrimination option allows for fewer false alarms during UXO clearance. Field results of the new detector are discussed below.


Iraq Mine And Uxo Clearance Organization, Cisr Journal Jul 2008

Iraq Mine And Uxo Clearance Organization, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

For Iraq, being plagued by landmines is only one of the many problems that it is currently facing. The country also suffers from sectarian violence, internal instability and economic hardship. As the government transforms its mine-action policy, one organization, the Iraq Mine and UXO [Unexploded Ordnance] Clearance Organization, has proven itself to be a powerful force in addressing the urgent needs of the Iraqi community. Though it faces challenges itself, IMCO shows great promise for rebuilding Iraq and stands as a model for future Iraqi nongovernmental organizations.


Medical Support To Demining In Sudan, Russell Wyper Jul 2008

Medical Support To Demining In Sudan, Russell Wyper

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

With an area of more than one million square miles (2,589,988 square kilometers), Sudan is the largest country on the African continent and has been at the center of decades of conflict since it gained its independence in 1959. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in January 2005 brought to end a vicious civil war and marked the beginning of an era of relative peace. This article outlines the health challenges involved in mine action in Sudan and highlights the actions taken by the United Nations Mine Action Office in Sudan to address issues of medical support to humanitarian-demining operations in …