Friday, August 30, 2013

Saudi Arabia outlaws domestic violence - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Saudi Arabia outlaws domestic violence - Middle East - Al Jazeera English: "The "Protection from Abuse" law, approved by the cabinet on Monday, is aimed at protecting people from "all forms of abuse" and offering them shelter as well as "social, psychological, and medical aid," according to its text.

The law, approved during a cabinet meeting on August 26, came several months after a local charity launched a nationwide campaign to combat violence against women.

Saudi Arabia has often faced international criticism for lacking laws that protect women and domestic workers against abuse.

Under the 17-article bill, those found guilty of committing psychological or physical abuse could face prison sentences of up to one year and up to $13,300 in fines.

Women are the main victims of domestic violence with "98 percent of physical violence committed by men against women," it said."

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

Bellon, M.R. 2001. Participatory Research Methods for Technology Evaluation: A Manual for Scientists Working with Farmers. Mexico, D.F.: CIMMYT

Abstract: This manual presents methods that enable agricultural scientist and farmers to
evaluate technologies/practices jointly. The methods are specifically designed for
participatory research on germplasm and soil fertility technologies, and they are illustrated
with actual examples from three research projects. The manual begins by reviewing
conceptual issues that are important in participatory research and presents information to
assist researchers in selecting research sites and fieldwork participants. Next, the manual
describes the rationale and associated methods for each major activity in farmer participatory
research: diagnosing farmers’ conditions, evaluating current and new technologies/practices,
and assessing their impact. Goals, procedures, advantages, and limitations of each method are
outlined. The manual also presents detailed information on analyzing data gathered through
participatory methods, discusses differences between gathering data through participatory
methods and more traditional structured farm surveys, and offers examples, based on field
experience, of the choices and strategies involved in applying these methods.

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Stupid is not the same thing as slow: All the words teachers use to describe student failure. - Slate Magazine

Stupid is not the same thing as slow: All the words teachers use to describe student failure. - Slate Magazine: "I know a teacher—a great one, actually—who, in private, refers to his students as “bricks.” As in, “dumb as a brick.”
You almost never hear that level of candor among teachers, and not just because every parent’s got a lawyer on retainer. Teachers avoid words like stupid because they know how badly labels can sting, and how long the bruises linger. School shapes you, and no teacher wants to leave scars.
On the other hand, you don’t educate kids by sparing their feelings and reciting politically correct mantras. You do it by confronting their challenges head-on, and showing them how to overcome them.
So when talking to failing students, teachers can’t be too blunt or too circumspect. They’re caught between a rock and a euphemism for a rock.
So how do teachers frame failure for their students? What words do they use?"

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'A coward, a traitor, and a murderer': Fort Hood gunman sentenced to death - U.S. News

'A coward, a traitor, and a murderer': Fort Hood gunman sentenced to death - U.S. News: "A court-martial jury of 13 retired military officers deliberated for just under two hours before they unanimously agreed on the maximum penalty of lethal injection. The sentence also included dismissing Hasan from the Army and stripping him of his military pay.
 Hasan, 42, will now be flown to the maximum security U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and placed on death row while awaiting automatic appeals that could take years."

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

BBC News - How second-hand clothes kill business for Malawi’s tailors

BBC News - How second-hand clothes kill business for Malawi’s tailors: "Textile makers threatened
A spokesman for Malawi's Ministry of Industry and Trade, Wiskes Nkombezi, admits the second-hand clothes industry is "a double-edged sword".

"A lot of the people in Malawi are poor and for them these are cheaper clothes that they can afford.""

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BBC News - The low cost technology saving premature babies' lives

BBC News - The low cost technology saving premature babies' lives: "Engineers at GE's technology centre are stripping down lifesaving, high tech medical devices of all their frills to understand how to create products that are affordable.

This project is now widely quoted as an example of "reverse innovation".

This is where large global companies design products in developing markets like India and then take the successful creation back to international markets to sell.

After success in the domestic market, GE now sells the warmer in more than 80 countries."

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BBC News - Gay Pakistan: Where sex is available and relationships are difficult

BBC News - Gay Pakistan: Where sex is available and relationships are difficult: "Pakistan is not the kind of place that most people would associate with gay liberation. But some say the country is a great place to be gay - even describing the port city of Karachi as "a gay man's paradise".

Underground parties, group sex at shrines and "marriages of convenience" to members of the opposite sex are just some of the surprises that gay Pakistan has to offer. Under its veneer of strict social conformity, the country is bustling with same-sex activity."

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BBC News - Syria chemical attack undeniable, says John Kerry

BBC News - Syria chemical attack undeniable, says John Kerry:

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Thursday, August 22, 2013

BBC News - Can 'powdered rain' make drought a thing of the past?

BBC News - Can 'powdered rain' make drought a thing of the past?: ""Solid Rain" is a powder that's capable of absorbing enormous amounts of water and releasing it slowly over a year so that plants can survive and thrive in the middle of a drought.

A litre of water can be absorbed in as little as 10 grams of the material, which is a type of absorbent polymer originally pioneered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Back in the 1970s, USDA developed a super-absorbent product made from a type of starch nicknamed the "super slurper".

The most widely used, commercial application of this technology has been in disposable nappies, or diapers as they are quaintly termed in the US.

But a Mexican chemical engineer called Sergio Jesus Rico Velasco saw more in the product than dry bottoms.

He developed and patented a different version of the formula that could be mixed in with soil to hold water that could then slowly feed plants."

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BBC News - Can we restore the world’s coral reefs?

BBC News - Can we restore the world’s coral reefs?: "Advances in science could offer hope for the world's besieged coral reefs. Gavin Haines investigates.

Whether we are blowing them up with dynamite, dropping anchors on them or warming up the oceans they live in, mankind is leading a sustained attack on the world's coral reefs.

A recent report revealed that coral coverage on the Great Barrier Reef has declined by as much as 50% in the last three decades, while reefs in the Caribbean have seen reported losses of 80%.

However, experts claim advances in science could enable them to not only restore these beleaguered ecosystems, but also improve their resilience to disease."

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BBC News - Swiss policies segregating asylum seekers draw outrage

BBC News - Swiss policies segregating asylum seekers draw outrage: "Mr Golta says the Oprah Winfrey story is "very embarrassing" for Zurich and Switzerland.

"But I think we have to keep in mind that those stories do not only happen to celebrities in luxury shops."

"It's more the untold stories of everyday discrimination that we have to think about. And those stories are the real challenge for the cohesion of our society and our country.""

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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Open Book of Social Innovation - Nesta

The Open Book of Social Innovation - Nesta:
This book is about the many ways in which people are creating new and more effective answers to the biggest challenges of our times: how to cut our carbon footprint; how to keep people healthy; and how to end poverty.
It describes the methods and tools for innovation being used across the world and across different sectors – the public and private sectors, civil society and the household – in the overlapping fields of the social economy, social entrepreneurship and social enterprise. It draws on inputs from hundreds of organisations to document the many methods currently being used around the world.
Published
March 2010
Author
Robin Murray, Julie Caulier-Grice, Geoff Mulgan
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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Doing Good While Doing Time | Ensia

Doing Good While Doing Time | Ensia:

A partnership between The Evergreen State College and the Washington State Department of Corrections, the SPP offers inmates “the chance to get engaged in something positive and learn about science,” says Trivett. In addition to saving tax dollars and resources through programs such as recycling and organic gardening, the project contributes to prisoners’ well-being by giving them something worthwhile to do and a sense of accomplishment that can’t be measured. “There is a high degree of investment, a level of job satisfaction that is rare to see outside of prison, let alone inside,” she says.

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