Group | Jotup

Kosovo government must take most of the blame for the latest violence, but any long-term solution will require a constructive response from Serbia as well

Retrieved on:

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Violence, Defender, Quint, KFOR, Foreign Affairs, EULEX, Population, Frustration, Group, Drug, EU

Despite decades of western stabilisation efforts, the region remains mired in multiple inter-linked conflicts that are manipulated and exploited by local politicians.

Key Points:

Despite decades of western stabilisation efforts, the region remains mired in multiple inter-linked conflicts that are manipulated and exploited by local politicians.
But this is only the latest in a set of worrying developments in relations between Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo and between Kosovo and Serbia.
The mass resignation was a protest triggered by attempts to force ethnic Serb drivers to adopt official Kosovo number plates.

The west’s response

It noted that the elections “do not offer a long-term political solution” for the four municipalities.
Throughout the following four weeks, western diplomats sought to avert further escalation – but to little avail.
The statement condemned “Kosovo’s decision to force access to municipal buildings in northern Kosovo despite our call for restraint”.

Entrenched divisions

Once an autonomous province within the Serbian republic of the former socialist federation of Yugoslavia, its status is far from resolved.
The conflict between Serbs and Albanians goes back for decades and builds on selective memories of a supposedly centuries-old confrontation between different ethnic groups.
While recognised today by some 100 countries around the world, it remains opposed by Serbia, China and Russia.
In addition, Kosovo is not recognised by five EU member states, four of which are Nato members.

Kenya's political elites switch parties with every election – how this fuels violence

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

This isn’t surprising in Kenya where political elites switch parties and coalitions with every election.

Key Points:

This isn’t surprising in Kenya where political elites switch parties and coalitions with every election.
Gilbert Khadiagala, a political scientist who has researched the fluidity of Kenya’s political coalitions, explains the impact of this.

What is the background of Kenya’s fluid political landscape?

The onset of the multiparty era in the early 1990s brought a new phase of complex political coalitions and alliances.
They were competing against the previously dominant political party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU).
In 30 years of competitive politics, coalitions were expected to gradually stabilise into coherent political parties with national reach and resonance.
Germany’s coalition governments are largely based on well-established political parties, not conglomerations concocted before elections as in Kenya.
The winner-takes-all political systems of countries like Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone face a related problem: they have very small independent private sectors.

What are the main weaknesses of fluid political coalitions?

The National Rainbow Alliance (NARC), led by Mwai Kibaki, was a grouping of the leading ethnic groups ranged against Moi’s chosen successor, Kenyatta.
But it ended in civil conflict in 2007-2008 after Kibaki marginalised key allies largely on ethnic and regional lines.
Subsequent political alliances have reproduced the conditions for anxiety and chaos after every election.
Despite the 2010 constitution giving more power to Kenya’s 47 counties, political elites remain fixated on winning presidential elections to gain power at the centre.

What are the strengths of these loose coalitions?

The loose coalitions enable leaders who neither share policies nor vision to temporarily accommodate each other.
The fluid coalitions are, therefore, essential in such political landscapes until national cohesion and coherence are achieved.
When the search for presidential power ceases to be politically relevant and salient, Kenya’s politics will be normalised.

What adjustments should be made?

When those interests are highlighted – instead of ethnic and regional affiliations – political parties with national outreach could emerge.
The puzzle for Kenya is how to transform ethnic diversities and identities into the foundations for predictable and organised politics.

'Please do not assume the worst of us': students know AI is here to stay and want unis to teach them how to use it

Retrieved on:

Monday, May 15, 2023

In getting to grips with how AI will change education and society, we’ve heard mainly from educators, university management and other experts.

Key Points:

In getting to grips with how AI will change education and society, we’ve heard mainly from educators, university management and other experts.
This includes a survey of more than 450 students in Hong Kong and pilot focus group panels with 13 Australian students.

AI makes knowledge easier to access

They mentioned how it made it easier to learn difficult topics in a conversational way.
to grab quick definitions, explain concepts to me, and assist in discussions when the conversation goes quiet or people are confused.

Students are aware of the risks

That’s why I am not relying on it for assignments, instead it is very helpful for my daily learning.
Another student added, “I think students really need to understand that AI is not always correct”.
In the survey of more than 450 students across Hong Kong universities, 80% said they understood its limitations and potential inaccuracies.

AI is key to their future careers

Students talked about how AI could remove less desirable parts of work, to focus on more important thinking.
busywork can be done for us, and will be done for us in our future careers.
busywork can be done for us, and will be done for us in our future careers.
Students said they wanted their teachers to teach them “how to best use AI tools and make AI tools a common part of education, just like PowerPoint and Excel”.

Concerns about equity and ethics

all students should have the same resources as one another, being of a lower income should not be a reason why other students can do their assessments more efficiently.
all students should have the same resources as one another, being of a lower income should not be a reason why other students can do their assessments more efficiently.

Where to from here?

But this technology is now our present and the future, we need our teachers to prepare us for it.
But this technology is now our present and the future, we need our teachers to prepare us for it.
This is urgent work as the pace of AI development accelerates and has wide-ranging impacts across society perhaps beyond its developers’ understanding.

Home support work in NZ is already insecure and underpaid – automation may only make it worse

Retrieved on:

Monday, May 15, 2023

Research has shown New Zealanders prefer to retain independence for as long as possible with the help of home-based care.

Key Points:

Research has shown New Zealanders prefer to retain independence for as long as possible with the help of home-based care.
Yet home support workers (HSWs) – those who assist older people, as well as people with disabilities and long-term conditions – have been underpaid and underappreciated for decades.
The rationale is that these empower care workers, create efficiencies for cost-conscious government agencies, and offer autonomy for clients.
It’s been claimed automation in the homecare sector will lower overhead costs and allow for staff pay to increase.

Trust and communication

For example, one participant described how sudden changes to her roster made through the app disrupt the client trust she has established over time.
And then the next day suddenly your roster has changed and that person now is not on your roster.
These are huge breakdowns in communication.
These are huge breakdowns in communication.
Health and safety: communication inequality exposes HSWs and their clients to undue risks, made even greater in the context of COVID-19.

Incorporating workers’ voices

According to the HSWs we interviewed, there is little recognition by their employers of the highly skilled work they do.
Their valuable knowledge of the mechanics of providing care in the community has not been incorporated into the design of the care apps.
To ensure the new technology contributes to a sustainable workforce and to high-quality care in future, significant improvements to home care in general must be made.

Protecting the vulnerable

Worker and client voices should be actively incorporated in both the design and evaluation of the technology.
Ultimately, failure to ensure the sustainability of this vital workforce would be a collective failure to care for our most vulnerable people.

Media freedom and democracy: Africans in four countries weigh up thorny questions about state control

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

The programme, The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have plagued swaths of the country.

Key Points:

The programme, The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have plagued swaths of the country.
Notably, it included interviews with so-called bandits, who described their violent actions and laid out their grievances.
In 2021, I joined a team of researchers from Afrobarometer on a project to understand how citizens think about media freedom.
But this group swung behind the need for censorship when it came to hate speech and false information.

Thorny questions

Thorny questions about media freedoms and democracy face other African countries too.
On the one hand, empowering governments to limit media might undermine fragile democracies by allowing incumbents to squelch investigative reporting and opposition voices.
These questions are important in light of recent declines in support for media freedom across Africa, even as attacks on those freedoms by governments increase.

Limiting freedoms to protect democracy?

We also analysed data from nationally representative surveys Afrobarometer conducted in the four counties in 2019 and 2020.
We delved deeper by providing different types of potentially problematic media content and measuring support for government censorship of each one.
In other words, supporting democracy again meant supporting media’s rights to share content that might upset those in power.

Justifying censorship for democratic ends

What then explains why people who were most supportive of democracy were also most supportive of certain kinds of censorship?
We posit that Africans in the countries we studied actually found limiting certain content as necessary for defending democracy.
Sixty per cent of our phone survey respondents told us that media spread too much hate speech.
It is easy to see how many committed democrats might see censorship as a necessary step.

Complicated paths forward

Most who supported democracy erred on the side of supporting media’s right to produce content without serious limits.
If we are not careful about this, the steady erosion of media freedoms will continue and will end up in a bad place.

How British imperial history shaped Charles III's coronation ceremony

Retrieved on:

Friday, May 5, 2023

This gave her authority even over those areas of India which were not formally subject to British rule.

Key Points:

This gave her authority even over those areas of India which were not formally subject to British rule.
To give this change of title a formal announcement in India, the British authorities staged what became the first of three durbars – ceremonial events held in the British Raj to formally proclaim the imperial title.
The first coronation of a British monarch since 1953 comes at a time of reckoning for the monarchy, the royal family and the Commonwealth.
George’s coronation in Westminster Abbey invested him with all his imperial titles, so what would be the impact of being “crowned” in India?

Coronation and the commonwealth

The 1931 Statute of Westminster formalised the evolution of some former colonies into self-governing dominions within a British commonwealth.
The coronation oath, a legal requirement dating back to the Coronation Oath Act of 1688, has been amended on various occasions, taking account of former colonies which have become republics.

Elements of empire

Even the medieval roots of the coronation have elements of empire built into them.
One item of the crown jewels is a stark reminder of empire – but it will notably be missing from the coronation ceremony.
The controversy about the Koh-i-Noor will doubtless continue, but won’t intrude on this coronation ceremony.

A new-look guest list

The biggest move away from imperial tradition has been in the compilation of the guest list.
Charles III has departed from precedent by issuing invitations to monarchs from Europe and the Middle East, regardless of whether or not they had ties to the British empire.
Some other heads of state are also attending, though the US will be represented by the first lady, Jill Biden, rather than the president.

Health Canada should be transparent about how it's monitoring drug safety

Retrieved on:

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Regulatory bodies like Health Canada are intended to ensure that approved drugs go through a rigorous multi-stage process.

Key Points:

Regulatory bodies like Health Canada are intended to ensure that approved drugs go through a rigorous multi-stage process.
Once new drugs are approved for marketing in Canada, Health Canada continues to monitor them.

Clinical trials

Potential new drugs are assessed in clinical trials before they can be authorized for sale in Canada.
In addition, clinical trials often leave out children, the elderly, women, minority groups, people with disabilities and multiple other groups.
Usually only 3,000 to 5,000 people are exposed to an experimental drug in clinical trials.

Drug safety programs

That’s why when regulatory agencies like Health Canada approve a drug, they require the drug company to monitor post-market safety.
These programs go by various names; in Canada and Europe they are Risk Management Plans (RMP) and in the United States they are Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REM).
Under these plans companies may have to conduct additional safety studies, set up registries to identify patients who are taking the drug, develop educational materials for health care professionals and/or patients, restrict access to the drug and commit to undertaking a number of other measures.

Access to drug monitoring information

In the U.S., people can turn to a Food and Drug Administration website that lists all the drugs with REMS.
Click on a hyperlink and it takes you to a summary of the RMP for the drug in question.
Two of Health Canada’s stated goals in implementing a system of RMPs are to “support Canadians’ timely access to safe, efficacious and high quality drugs and support ongoing evaluation of information that could have an impact on the benefit-risk profile of health products.” But without access to current information on specific drugs, Canadians cannot assess those risks for themselves, nor can they evaluate the monitoring program.
But Health Canada does not need to wait until then to make this information available to Canadians.

Prom price index shows cost of celebration is getting relatively cheaper – even at a time of high inflation

Retrieved on:

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Bureau, Fourth, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Overalls, Dance, BBC Proms, Beer, Eating, Clothing, Shoe, Flower, Thanksgiving, News, Time, Group, Video game, Nightclub, Online shopping, Tourism

Past estimates and surveys put the average cost anywhere from US$600 to $1,000 or more.

Key Points:

Past estimates and surveys put the average cost anywhere from US$600 to $1,000 or more.
As an economist, I became curious about the cost of proms back in 2014, when my daughter attended the dance.

A centuries-old tradition

Traditions surrounding prom are changing, with newer twists like going without a date or wearing nontraditional clothes.
Given the high price of buying dresses, renting tuxedos and even the tickets themselves, articles are full of ideas on how to save money.
Fundamentally, when the prom’s price goes down, more teens can afford to go, and it becomes a more inclusive shared experience.

The prom price index

The consumer price index includes many things teens typically spend money on for the prom.
I created a prom price index from 10 of the consumer price index’s components, including dresses, suits, shoes, photographers and haircuts.
The consumer price index does not specifically cover common prom purchases like limousine rentals, corsages, boutonnières and bouquets but does track “car rentals” and “indoor flowers,” which are pretty close categories that I included in my index.

Prom is getting relatively cheaper

Averaging these 10 categories shows that the cost of prom isn’t keeping up with overall inflation – good news for today’s teens.
My prom price index climbed about 11% in March 2023 – the latest data available – from two years earlier, which is around the time when inflation began to surge.
Even the cost of one of the most expensive items needed for the prom, women’s dresses, has dropped 12%.

A new monarch who is a divorcee would once have scandalised. But Charles' accession shows how much has changed

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

King Charles III is the first British monarch who has previously had a civil marriage and a civil divorce.

Key Points:

King Charles III is the first British monarch who has previously had a civil marriage and a civil divorce.
In 1981, Charles, then the Prince of Wales, married Lady Diana Spencer in a fairytale wedding watched by 750 million people worldwide.
However, the royal couple separated in 1992 and they were divorced in 1996.
Read more:
King Charles, defender of faith: what the monarchy's long relationship with religion may look like under the new sovereign

Royal divorces

King George IV was almost successful in divorcing his wife Queen Caroline in 1820.
While Charles was in a similar position to his great-uncle in his marriage to Camilla, they lived in different worlds.
Queen Elizabeth called 1992 the “annus horribilis” (horrible year) for the royal family.
Read more:
Australia has a new head of state: what will Charles be like as king?

Royal civil marriage

There was controversy at the time whether a member of the royal family could legally marry in a civil ceremony.
The British government released a statement declaring Charles could legally enter into a civil marriage.
The civil marriage of Charles and Camilla symbolised the changing values of society.

A modern monarchy

But Charles embodies the modern character of monarchy and the liberal values of wider society.
Read more:
Beheaded and exiled: the two previous King Charleses bookended the abolition of the monarchy
Yet Charles is also pushing for a modern monarchy.
The monarchy faces a tension between modernity and tradition.

The law often shields police officers from accountability -- and reinforces policing that harms Black people, homeless people and the mentally ill

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

But civil suits are by now a familiar tool of grieving families on a familiar quest.

Key Points:

But civil suits are by now a familiar tool of grieving families on a familiar quest.
In mid-April 2023, Minneapolis settled two civil lawsuits against the city’s police department, for nearly $9 million.
Why are Black people so often ignored when it comes to complaints about their interaction with police?

Automatic credibility

One reason for this is that, throughout American society, Black people are viewed as criminals.
This stereotype encourages more police encounters, which in New York City, for example, has led to Black people’s being twice as likely to be stopped by the police.
This might also explain why Black people, who are 12.5% of the national population, represent 33% of people arrested for nonfatal violent crimes.
Taken together, these things set up a hierarchy of credibility that shields police from accountability.

Shields against accountability

According to UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz, legal protections like qualified immunity protect police officers from repercussions that stem from abuse.
Qualified immunity is a 1967 Supreme Court doctrine that protects police and other government official from frivolous lawsuits.
The law shields police from accountability by requiring that complaints include evidence to show that police conduct was unlawful and that the officer knowingly violated the law that was deemed illegal in a previous case.

The issue is not Black and white

And what my research demonstrates is that the disproportionate killing of Black people by police happens for two reasons: 1) Black people live in racially segregated communities that are heavily policed.
2) Black people are viewed as perpetual criminals.
This perspective has allowed me to understand how other groups are also affected by police violence in ways similar to Black Americans.
Systematic police abuse of Black people and routine misconduct against homeless people and those with serious mental illness make encounters with police officers dangerous and potentially deadly.