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Amendments To The Imas Land Release Series, Helen Gray

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) review board formally endorsed amendments to the Land Release IMAS in April 2013 that clarify and standardize the language and practices in the series.

Scalable Technical Survey For Improved Land-Release Rates, Håvard Bach

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) tailors technical survey (TS) to allow for more efficient use of mine action assets and improved land-release rates. Many organizations consider TS an isolated activity and fail to streamline and effectively implement TS as a tool to reduce unnecessary, time-consuming and costly deployment of mine action resources.

Effects Of Mixed Teams On Land Release, Arianna Calza Bini, Nyske Janssen, Abigail Jones

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Gender and Mine Action Programme (GMAP) investigated the impact of mixed gender teams on land release. Based on the opinion of the respondents, as well as gender baseline assessments conducted by GMAP, the organization found that in most cases mixed teams in the land release process are primarily associated with the employment of women and its effect on the teams. Some mine action managers indicated that mixed teams actually enable better access to information while only a few respondents indicated that more accurate and inclusive information will allow mine action organizations to prioritize tasks where the impact is highest. …

The Journal Of Erw And Mine Action Issue 18.1 (2014), Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Focus on land release issues

Feature: Best Practices of Residual Clearance

Special Report: Declining Donor Funding and Strategies to Attract New Donors

Managing Residual Clearance: Learning From Europe’S Past, Samuel Paunila

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Lessons learned from residual clearance in post-1945 Europe may apply to long-term clearance efforts after more recent conflicts.

Lessons From Lebanon: Rubble Removal And Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Erik Lauritzen

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The insight and knowledge gained from rubble removal and explosive ordnance disposal in the Nahr el-Bared Camp, which was destroyed during heavy fighting in Lebanon in 2007, could greatly benefit future reconstruction efforts in war-damaged urban areas.

Conventional Munitions Disposal Capacity Development In South Sudan, Fran O'Grady

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The United Nations Mine Action Service is training members of South Sudan’s National Police Service in order to develop a self-sustainable nationwide capacity for conventional munitions disposal in the country.

Environmentally Responsible Saa Disposal, Ian Biddle

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The need to dispose of small arms ammunition (SAA) for short-term stability and security concerns has traditionally outweighed the long-term need for environmentally responsible disposal. The author suggests the international community should change its procedures concerning SAA disposal and promote more environmentally friendly disposal methods.

Applying Ngo Resource-Mobilization Strategies To The Mine Action Community, Dane Sosniecki, Suzanne Fiederlein

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Due to funding concerns, the mine action sector is shifting its approach to resource mobilization and allocation. Emerging funding trends suggest that it would be advantageous for mine action centers and nongovernmental organizations to increase sustainability by seeking financial and technical support from a variety of sources.

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.

Understanding The Use Of Prodders In Mine Detection, Andy Smith

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Can prodding reliably detect mines? Though it may seem obvious to many in humanitarian mine action (HMA) that prodding alone cannot safely and reliably detect mines, recent accidents show that some expatriate newcomers to HMA do not know the risks involved in prodding or that prodding to a depth of 30 cm (12 in) is impossible.

Meeting Pm/Wra’S New Director Col. (Ret.) Stanley L. Brown, Alexandra Berkowitz

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Continuing the funding for conventional weapons destruction programs remains a primary objective for Stan Brown, the new director of the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA). This interview introduces the director, provides a snapshot of his past experience and shares his hopes for the future of humanitarian demining.

Looking To Quit? Recruiting Community College Students Into An Online Smoking Cessation Study, Michael R. Dunn

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

The Web-Assisted Tobacco Intervention (WATI), a research team from the University of Rochester, has been recruiting research subjects from community college campuses since 2012. Recruitment has proved to be difficult for the team and has slowed the progress of the research project. WATI is seeking to recruit community college students into a smoking cessation study. The WATI team relies upon the help of champions (representatives) at the participating community colleges to facilitate local recruitment efforts. This capstone project seeks to discover effective and ineffective recruitment methods which have been used by the champions at the participating community colleges.

Refugee Self-Reliance In Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda, Erik Svedberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

One of the key tenets of Ugandan refugee policy is the Self-Reliance Strategy (SRS), a policy that expects refugees to economically support themselves by utilizing a given plot of land to develop a livelihood based on subsistence agriculture. Although many have hailed this policy as being progressive and beneficial for the refugees, others have pointed out the flaws and deficiencies in the policy and in its implementation. The research utilizes a case-study of Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Western Uganda to assess the implementation and impacts of the SRS in Uganda. Semi-structured interviews with refugees, settlement officials, aid workers, and academics …

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 …

Feasibility Study Of Consolidating Public Safety Answering Points In Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village And Richmond Heights, Ohio, Daila Shimek

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

This study found that – based on certain configurations of communities and cost considerations – it is economically viable to consolidate public safety answering points (PSAPs) in Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village and Richmond Heights, Ohio. When comparing 2012 staffing and noncapital costs to estimated staffing and noncapital costs for a consolidated PSAP, the consolidated PSAP would provide an estimated collective reduction in staffing and noncapital costs of ranging from $775,400 to $1.19 million. When comparing 2012 staffing and noncapital costs to estimated staffing and noncapital costs for a consolidated PSAP – plus costs for additional staff to …

Women’S Municipal Leadership In Massachusetts: Snapshot Of Cape Cod, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The center tracks the status of women at all levels of government in New England. It also provides dynamic web resources to inform and support the public leadership of women of color.

Los Angeles County's Criminal Street Gangs: Does Violence Roll Downhill?, Jasmin B. Randle

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are more than 33,000 gangs in the United States, cited as being responsible for nearly 48% of the violent crime in the country. Using information drawn from gang-related court cases, this study examines the nature of inter- and intra-gang violence occurring between January 1, 2002-December 31, 2011. An innovative application of network analysis will be used to hone in on rivalries, the existence of possible hierarchy, and the relational and structural characteristics of Blood and Crip gangs in Los Angeles County. Results show that …

Ohio Housing Needs Assessment, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Holly Holtzen, Bryan Grady, Matthew Record

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.