WRITTEN BY Doris Buddenberg
Every society and culture has the stimulants and intoxicants it deserves, needs and tolerates. Since hallowed antiquity, alcohol has been THE intoxicant for the western culture. Alcohol is so much part of the culture that few can imagine life without it. Aside from stating this fact, can the link between drugs and culture be developed further? Some examples might help to clarify the concepts and categories that would allow a closer look at the interdependence between drugs and culture.
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WRITTEN BY By Dr. Margot I. Witvliet
Human Rights and Corruption
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was established in 1948. It is one of the most impressive historical documents to date because it was agreed upon by nearly all countries around the world and it does not pertain to the norms of one nation. The UDHR states that all people have the right to security. Corruption is a destabilizing factor that violates a person’s human right to security. In both high-income and low-income parts of the world rampant corruption in society is a problem and it is a violation of human rights. It compromises not only a country’s economic system, but also its health care system.
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WRITTEN BY By Renato Accorinti and Federico Alagna
The impact of the mafia on our societies is complex and multidimensional: it affects our politics, our economy, our culture, our development and our opportunities. In other terms, it affects our society as a whole.
The reason is that the mafia is something more than mere organised crime. Sociologist Umberto Santino has identified the characteristics of the mafia stricto sensu as “crime, accumulation, power, cultural code, consent.”
(1)Additionally, the definition itself of the mafia-type association in the Italian criminal code stresses the condition of intimidation, subjugation and “omertà” (conspiracy of silence) that must exist in order for a mafia-type association to be considered such.
(2)
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WRITTEN BY By Franca Roiatti
What is the value of a forest? And that of a river? The answer depends on whom you ask: indigenous people who depend on the forest and consider trees and water streams to be sacred surely have a totally different idea than the manager of a timber company.
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WRITTEN BY By Peter H. Bishop
Illicit trafficking in precious metals
(1)is an integral part of a growing international trend, of which the continued existence depends on organised crime, corruption and developmental inequalities. The problem of illicit trafficking in precious metals entails organised criminal groups exploiting loopholes in national and international legislation as well as gaps in the trade monitoring procedures.
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WRITTEN BY By Valentina Baiamonte and Elise Vermeersch
Amongst environmental crimes, trafficking and illegal dumping of waste has become a significant source of revenue, attracting growing interest of unscrupulous brokers as well as criminal networks. This crime poses not only a serious threat to the environment and human health, but has also become one of the causes for social and economic instability.
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WRITTEN BY By Veronika Bajt
Developments in a number of countries worldwide show that the power of racist ideas remains strong, even forging movements and political parties that can result in deadly consequences. Various daily manifestations of racist hate speech and discrimination are a reminder of the persisting importance of this phenomenon as a social and political issue in the contemporary global environment, for racism remains a vibrant influence on current social and political movements, even on state policies.
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WRITTEN BY By Robert Muggah and Carlos Vilalta
Destabilizing factors in urban settings
The most visible manifestations of urban violence encompass physical and psychological harm against persons – from homicide to other forms of victimization. For more than a century social scientists have also studied the ways in which violence reconfigures social and spatial relations and triggers cycles of insecurity and fear that span generations.
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