Examines racial politics in Brazil by analyzing the city of Salvador da Bahia's cultural policies over time and their relationship to national ideology and racial identity in Brazil more generally. It argues that the re-Africanization of Salvador's Carnival and its historical center, the Pelourinho, although initially products of the mobilization of Afro-Bahians themselves, have become institutionalized and ironically serve today as testaments to Brazil's diversity, tolerance, and integration.
On the deaths of feminists Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcellin, and Anne Marie Coriolan. Topics include their research on Haitian women, the use of micro-credit in Haiti and women's economic conditions, and Haitian women's participation in the political process.
The recurrence of violence in Haiti since February 1986 has generated strong demands for reforms to the security and justice system, in the broader context and process of democratic construction. Important transformations have been implemented, but certain factors have hampered change. Challenges include an institutional culture that resists certain changes, weak links between the police and justice, inadequate support from international actors, and a deeply constraining economic context.
The Haiti earthquake prompted offers to send aid and assistance in various forms from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private foundations. The need for manpower on the ground to orchestrate the relief effort brought together military forces from the world over, to include the United States, which stood up Joint Task Force-Haiti (JTF-H). The combined effort of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and JTF-H in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Haiti following the earthquake demonstrates the importance of developing strong relationships, both institutional and personal, with partner nation armies.
Brazil's tourist-jammed cities are some of the most violent on the planet. A considerable number of the country's 43,000 annual murders occur on the streets of Sao Paulo, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro. And Brazilian cities are not alone in what might be called a bad neighborhood. The fact is that most major Latin American and Caribbean cities are today plagued by an epidemic of violence. With more than 20 murders per 100,000 people, the regional homicide rate is roughly three times the global average. Many of the larger urban centers -- from Caracas and Ciudad Juarez to Kingston and Port-of-Spain -- register the highest rates of lethal violence in the world.
Discusses the status of women in Haiti in terms of accessing basic needs and services and education. States that women's invisibility was overshadowed by global media's coverage of the 2010 earthquake, wherein people were exposed to extreme poverty and gender inequity. It adds that Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV) is one of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that helped women victims from the prosecution of assailants.
In an era of increasing worldwide violence against tourists, safety, security, and risk abatement are becoming principal components in travelers' decision-making processes. This work examines the issue of perceived risk and safety and what impact these perceptions have on shopping behavior. The research takes place in Jamaica, a country with a reputation for aggressive vendors. Findings indicate that those visitors who traveled with others spent more time shopping and purchased more. Additionally, it was found that first time visitors express higher levels of discomfort with their surroundings than did repeat visitors, thus inhibiting purchase behavior. Finally, it was found that levels of perceived risk and security did have an impact on a traveler's intention to return to Jamaica.
Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) have led to most of the growth and wealth gains in developed economies, but developing countries such as those in the Caribbean with a dearth of technological expertise and development continue to lag behind. This commentary discusses inequalities related to the use (or unavailability) of STI from the perspective of Jamaica. The main focus of the paper is on education and Information and Communications Technology. It also looks briefly at health, employment and security.
