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Get More Value For Money: The Benefits Of Multiyear Funding, Fabienne Moust, James De La Vingne

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In the experience of the government of the Netherlands, multiyear funding plans increase the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian mine action programs for donors, operators and national authorities.

Quality Management Systems In Mine Action Programs, Pascal Simon, Stefan De Coninck

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The United Nations Mine Action Service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in the process of implementing a new quality management system (QMS) for mine action in DRC. The QMS was implemented in July 2013 and its progress continues to be carefully monitored each quarter.

Survivors’ Assistance In Conflict: Challenges From Eastern Drc, Douglas Felix Kilama

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Because of the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), providing aid and rehabilitation assistance to survivors of mine-related injuries is difficult. Beyond essential rehabilitation services, the United Nations Mine Action Service's victim assistance efforts in DRC aim to provide economic skills to promote self-reliance and enable survivors to provide for their families.

Machine-Integrated Magnetic Collector Design And Testing, Erik De Brun, Stephan Ahnert

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining led a test program to evaluate a machine-integrated magnetic collection system. Promising results suggest it could speed up manual follow-up activities and provide valuable data during technical survey operations.

A Discrimination Method For Landmines And Metal Fragments Using Metal Detectors, Alex M. Kaneko, Edwardo Fukushima, Gen Endo

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

While discrimination methods for distinguishing between real mines and metal fragments would greatly increase the efficiency of demining operations, no practical solution has been implemented yet. A potentially efficient method for the discrimination of metallic targets using metal detectors uses a high-precision robotic manipulator to scan the minefield. Further field research is needed, however, before this method can deploy for operational use.

Daniela Jiménez Alcázar, Megan Hinton

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Before working in humanitarian demining, Daniela Jiménez Alcázar was involved in demarcation and boundary maintenance between Ecuador and its neighbors, Peru and Colombia.

Anama’S Ahmad Manafov, Dane Sosniecki

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ahmad Manafov repeatedly uses the word proud to describe his time with the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA).

U.S. And Vietnam Sign Memorandum Of Understanding, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 16 December 2013, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to locate and clear remaining Vietnam War-era unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination in Vietnam.

Issue 18.1 Endnotes, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 18.1 Endnotes

Typhoon Haiyan Leaves Ordnance Contamination In Its Wake, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 8 November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, a category 5 super typhoon, landed in the Philippines causing widespread destruction.

The U.K. Completes Destruction Of Stockpiled Cluster Munitions, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 19 December 2013, the U.K. announced that it destroyed its last cluster munition, a Multiple Launch Rocket System M26 basic tactical rocket, at a weapons demilitarization facility in Casalborino, Italy. In doing so, it became the 17th States Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) to complete its Article 3 obligations on stockpile destruction.

Mercer University Professor Provides Prostheses In Vietnam, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

According to the U.S. Department of State, innumerous explosive remanants of war and landmines remain hidden in nearly every region of Vietnam.

Politics Of Health: The 2013 Integration Policy’S Effect On Immigrant Access To Care, Amy Chang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In September of 2013, King Mohammed VI announced a regularization campaign, implementing a new policy of integration with respect to undocumented immigrants in the country. Deviating from former official discourse, the new measure allowed in principle for—among provision of residence cards and lifted criminalization of undocumented immigrants—greater immigrant access to healthcare services. The purpose of the following research was to assess whether the effects of this new provision are being positively felt on the ground in ensuring inclusivity of health services.Individual interviews on personal experiences with the Moroccan healthcare system were held with members of various immigrant sub-populations: refugees, asylum …

School Kitchen Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The school kitchen garden is an innovative curricular program based on school children planting a garden and then learning to cook with the foods they grow. The program teaches students many life skills, along with teaching them about nutrition, the environment, sustainability, and almost every school subject. Researchers have studied various aspects of school kitchen gardens, but few have focused on kitchen gardens’ influence on students’ nutritional habits, environmental knowledge, and sustainability practices in particular, like this study does. The popularity of the kitchen garden program in Australia is mostly due to the celebrity chef Stephanie Alexander, who started a …

Population, Progeny And Power: Analyzing Population Growth, Family Planning And The Factors That Contribute To High Child Bearing Rates In Kizanda Village, Tanzania, Jade Enright

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The population growth rate is reaching an astounding level in Tanzania and Eastern Africa. It is applying increasing pressure on things like social services, land availability, job opportunities, conservation and localized resources. This study looks at the perceptions of both men and women surrounding social and environmental factors contributing to the high population growth rate. It looks more specifically at factors including childbearing, birth control methods and their effectiveness, and how the birth rate correlates with changing quality of life. This study was conducted in Kizanda Village in the West Usambara Mountains of Northern Tanzania, a region following the trend …

Obama Suka Nasi Goreng! American Foreign Policy And Cultural Affinity With Indonesia, Mario Feola

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This essay will first focus on the historical legacy of United States foreign policy towards Indonesia, arguing that security exigencies and military-to-military linkages have historically driven the US-Indonesian relationship. I will also briefly explain the current diplomatic consensus of how best to “broaden” the US-Indonesia bilateral relationship. The second section will explain roadblocks towards strengthening the relationship, including strategic, economic and cultural barriers to cultural affinity. The third and final section will use public opinion polling data and collected primary source information in order to make recommendations about how to implement future US-led cultural programs in Indonesia.

Give And Take: The Struggle Of Being A Part Of The System You Want To Change- Childline: Solving And Perpetuating Child Vulnerability In Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, Angela Soley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Children are the most vulnerable population in India; they are at risk of human trafficking on the street, corporeal punishment at school, domestic violence at home, and the list continues. There are 12.7 million child laborers in India, the rate of child marriage is 47%, and 69% of children suffer from physical abuse (India.gov, 2011)(Tahir and Hussain, 2012, p.664)(Hello CHILDLINE, 2013, p.7). Unfortunately, much of this abuse is accepted by India’s culture: hitting children is a standard form of punishment, child marriage is a norm in rural villages, and child labor is a necessity for impoverished families. One organization attempting …

Challenges To Women In Political Leadership In Samoa, Kiki Martire

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Samoan women hold an integral and valued place within their families and communities. Despite this, Samoa continues to report some of the lowest representation of women in political office in the world. The newly instated Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing 10% of Parliamentary seats for women will bolster female political involvement in the upcoming 2016 elections. An investigation into the challenges that face women entering political leadership roles at the village and Parliamentary level will bring awareness to the struggles encountered by women and contribute to dismantling the barriers which stand against them. Fourteen female politicians and experts in the field were …

Identidades Sociales En Situación De Pobreza: La Construcción De Identidad Y Comunidad En La Villa 31, Sam Gips

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The villas of Buenos Aires began to form in the 1940’s as immigrants poured into the city from Argentina’s interior and from neighboring countries like Paraguay and Bolivia. These villas formed in precarious conditions without adequate government assistance, which has led to difficulties with public services such as running water and electricity. Estimates say that over 300,000 of the 3 million residents in Buenos Aires live in villas today. Unlike most villas located in the southern outskirts of the city, Villa 31, which was the first villa in the city, is a community of 30,000 residents located in the center …

“We’Ve Lost Sight Of The Blue And White, And We Need To Find It Again.” Youth, Divergence Of Memory, And Political Polarization In Post- Conflict Nicaragua, Cameron Kesinger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this essay, I analyze the results from 20 interviews I completed in Managua, Matagalpa, and San Ramon, selecting 8 to delve into in depth. I conducted the interviews in pairs, asking parents about their memories of the Nicaraguan Contra war in the 1980s and then asking their children about the histories their parents shared with them and their personal views of Nicaragua. Through these interviews, I sought to understand in a Nicaraguan context the presence of historical memory, the politicization of historical memory, the diversity of youth activism, and the way that youth view reconciliation within their countries. My …

Peacemaking Embodied: Dance As A Connecting Thread Weaving Senegalese Ethnicities, Rachel Ulrich

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Senegal remains one of the more peaceful, stable countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with little to no ethnic conflict or racial tension. Numerous social factors are credited with promoting this peace, ranging from political decisions to friendly jokes between different ethnic groups. Some artists claim that dance promotes positive relations between ethnicities; however, little to no academic literature reflects this social dynamic. Thus I have used formal interviews, informal interviews, observation, and participant observation to explore if Senegalese dance serves to promote peace between ethnic groups and, if so, why it has the power to serve this purpose. Through connecting the …

“Nous Souffrons” Examining The Problems Facing Urban Refugees In Yaoundé, Cameroon, Morgan Walbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the product of a study that examines the experiences of urban refugees in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Refugees around the world, often victims of unthinkable human rights abuses, are forced to rely fully on the hospitality and protection of the international community. This unique relationship between a refugee and his/her host state can present serious challenges to both parties. This research examined the resources available to refugees in Yaoundé, evaluated their effectiveness, and explored possibilities for improving the experience of these urban refugees. I utilized eighteen structured interviews with refugees and four follow-­‐up in depth interviews with three refugees …

Cultivating Rice In Import Dependent Cameroon: A Case Study Of The Successes And Challenges Facing Rice Farmers In Santchou, Cameroon, Kim Horwitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cameroon is qualified as an import dependent country, meaning it relies on imported food to feed its population. Specifically, Cameroon imports over 80% of its rice consumption, spending 145 billion French CFA on rice imports yearly. But, Cameroon has sufficient untapped arable land and a large enough agriculturally centered population to produce adequate rice quantities to meet demand without relying on imports. This paper examines the challenges facing rice farmers in Cameroon in the context of import dependence and why local farmers cannot currently produce enough rice to meet local demand, focusing on the experience of the rice farming community …

Ua51/1 Collections & Connections, Jennifer Wilson

Collections & Connections

Collections & Connections is a bi-annual publication of the Western Kentucky University Libraries featuring the Libraries' events with a view of reaching out to the Libraries supporters in the community. This issue highlights the Kentucky Book Fest, Brian Coutss ALA award winner, Faraway Flix inaugural year.

Bridges Between Worlds | Chairperson's Summary | April 2014, Ap Mine Ban Convention

Global CWD Repository

Bridges between Worlds was a global conference sponsored by the European Union that addressed fundamental questions about the place of landmine victim assistance in other domains, such as the worlds of disability, heath care, education, employment, development, poverty reduction and human rights.

The Bridges between Worlds Chairperson’s Summary highlights that those who care deeply about the fulfilment of the Convention’s promise to landmine victims and survivors have much in common with those concerned with the wellbeing and the rights of women, girls, boys and men injured and living with disabilities regardless of the cause.

Safety, Security, And Socio-Economic Wellbeing In Somaliland, Laura Hammond

Global CWD Repository

This report provides the findings of an extensive research exercise carried out in 12 communities in Somaliland in March 2013. The research aimed to determine:

1. Whether there had been an improvement or deterioration in people’s perceived levels of safety and security in their communities since DDG had first engaged with them, and if so, what was the evidence of improvement/deterioration.

2. Whether there had been an improvement or deterioration in people’s socio-economic wellbeing since DDG had first engaged with them, and if so, the evidence for either, and the reasons people associated with it.

3. Whether the trends identified …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Limits To Literacy: The Perceived Relationship Between Functional Literacy And Political Empowerment Amongst The Forest-Dwelling Van Gujjars, Nicola Soekoe

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The failure of countrywide basic literacy campaigns to enhance social mobility has led to the promotion and development of localized, comprehensive functional literacy campaigns. These campaigns are particularly applicable to marginalized groups; as they aim to empower communities by providing them with the necessary skills to navigate their socioeconomic and political environments. This qualitative study examines the long-term impact of one such functional literacy campaign on the semi-nomadic pastoral Van Gujjar community. I use the Assets, Opportunity Structure, and Degrees of Empowerment (DOE) method to investigate community members’ perceptions of the level of political empowerment that followed their participation in …

The Vicious Circle Of Data Gaps, Lack Of Prioritization And Low Capacity: A Study On Post-Conflict Education In Sierra Leone, Meixi Guo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is meant to present the findings and analysis of a one-month independent study project on the topic of post-conflict education in Sierra Leone. By using databases and institutional reports, the study examines the issue of data availability of Sierra Leone’s education sector and the data collection process. Through analysis of documents and interviews with experts, the study identified the importance of education reconstruction and the role of ministry of education. In the case of Sierra Leone, low capacity of ministry of education was shown as well the lack of prioritization from the government and international community. By analyzing …

The Economics Of Suicide: An Empirical Study, Andrea J. Bergeron

Honors Projects in Economics

This study uses economic theory to investigate the impact of socioeconomic factors on the

suicide rate in the United States. Using a utility maximization framework based on

Hamermesh and Soss’ 1974 model, a panel data set from 2000-2010 is constructed for the 50

states and District of Columbia. This research adds to the literature in the field by focusing on

the more recent past and providing additional variables consistent with today’s challenges.

The results from the multiple regression analysis can be used to advocate policies that may

reduce the suicide rate in the future.