Burkina Faso reforms are unlikely to stem violence

Significance Following a relative slackening of activity, 480 civilians were killed between May and August alone, bringing the total number of Burkinabe deaths since the first attacks in 2015 to more than 1,500. Insecurity seems to be disturbing wider social relations as well, with frequent community protests, deadly vigilante actions and clashes between artisanal miners and mine security forces. Impacts The army’s questionable human rights record may hinder efforts to improve relations with local communities. Organised labour may seek to capitalise on government failures to press its own demands. Failure to reduce armed conflict in the border regions may encourage more violence in the country’s centre as well.

Impact of human resource management on health workers during pandemics COVID-19: systematic review

The HR crisis has affected the health system, but there is little research into how this HR disruption affects medical workers. Understanding the impact on the health of medical personnel is essential; the COVID-19 outbreak is still sweeping the world. With the empirical literature, we have succeeded in summarizing the impact of the HR crisis on the health of medical personnel. Exploratory systematic reviews have identified qualitative, theory-based empirical evidence against practitioners. We have searched a database of relevant HR crises and health issues. Then we analyzed it in depth with a phenomenological approach. A total of 40 peer-reviewed publications were reviewed, referring to the HR crisis and its impact on the health of medical personnel. Finally, this study confirms that the human resource crisis is transmitted to medical personnel through several models: (1) a decrease in the quality of health services; (2) the impact of inadequate service measures; and (3) increasing demands for health services from patients; (4) A wave of community protests for treatment; (5) service and budget inefficiency.

Rodríguez, Luis J.

Luis J. Rodríguez is a Chicano memoirist, novelist, poet, children’s author, and activist. Born in 1954 in Mexico, his family migrated to the United States when he was young. As a youth, he spent many years immersed in the street gangs of Los Angeles while concurrently partaking in community protests and mobilizations that became known as the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It took Rodríguez several years to extract himself from a life of crime and addiction to drugs, though all the while he was writing, painting, and being inspired by revolutionary figures. His first book of poetry was published in 1989, but it was his memoir of gang life, Always Running—La Vida Loca: Gang Days in LA, released in 1993 in the aftermath of the LA riots, that garnered him mainstream literary attention. Always Running and its sequel, It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions and Healing, eighteen years later, can be labeled testimonio for detailing a Latina/o “lived” experience and fighting social injustices. In many ways Rodríguez can be deemed a “classic” Chicana/o author: he addresses the experience of migration and writes in both English and Spanish; he explores themes of prejudice and identity for Mexican Americans in the United States; and he considers the role of heteropatriarchal aspects of Mexican culture in defining his relationships (with women and children). His steadfast dedication to Native American/indigenous spirituality is a more recent focus in his life and writings, situating him among a long list of Chicana/os who have embarked on the “Red Road,” that is, life as indigenous-identified subjects. But what most arguably sets Rodríguez apart from fellow Chicana/o writers is his allegiance—throughout all his works in all genres—to proletarian politics and concerns for the working classes. His critiques of deindustrialization and its subsequent effects, particularly poverty, are reflected, for example, in his depictions of the Bethlehem Steel Mill of LA, where Rodríguez worked.

Piloting a Legal Perspective on Community Protests and the Pursuit of Safe(r) Cities in South Africa

This article considers the right to protest and pilots an initial legal response to the phenomenon of community protest against the global policy ideal of a safe urban space, determined in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 and 16. First, there is a discussion about the global desire for safe(r) cities and the threats to such safety. Second, the causes and effects of community protest and the politics of urban space are considered. Third, there is a discussion of the City of Cape Town’s safety profile and the occurrence of community protests as an illustration of the conceptual frameworks in parts one and two. The authors conclude with some observations on the notion of safe cities and communities as embodied in SDGs 11 and 16, and reflect in brief on a future research agenda from the perspective of law.

Rethinking the School Closure Research: School Closure as Spatial Injustice

Recent mass closings of schools have rocked cities across the United States. Though these urban closures—and widespread community protests—have made headlines, rural schools have also long experienced and opposed the closure of their schools. A large body of research examines these urban and rural closures from a variety of perspectives, including their economic motivations and policy implications. This review reexamines this literature, looking across context to show how school closure can produce spatial injustice. Advocates argue that closures further academic opportunity, efficiency, and equality. But our analysis shows that closures are unevenly distributed, disproportionately affecting places where poor communities and communities of color live, and they can bring negative effects, harming students and adults and reducing their access to an important educational and community institution. We conclude with recommendations for research and practice.

Decolonising and re-theorising the meaning of democracy: A South African perspective

Historically and today, social movements have often been at the forefront of envisioning the content of democracy. Although democracy itself is a contested concept, in general, definitions and measures of democracy are often drawn from the canon and experiences of the global North. Contributing to the growing decolonisation movement in the social sciences, this article examines understandings of democracy in the context of post-apartheid South Africa. It considers how ordinary people conceptualise democracy through an examination of its understanding in isiZulu, one of South Africa’s most dominant vernacular languages, and through analysing how democracy is understood and practised at the grassroots, by citizens mobilised in community protests. It is argued that popular understandings and expectations of democracy are rooted in traditions of popular organisation that emerged in the struggle against apartheid, and in the experiences of many citizens of the post-1994 state. Crucially, the article draws attention to the tensions between grassroots understandings and visions of democracy and that which has been articulated by the governing African National Congress (ANC). By rooting the analysis of democracy within local histories, practices and contexts, the article provides lessons for democratic theorists by illuminating how citizens and popular organisations articulate the current crisis of democracy and its possible alternatives, promoting a re-imagination of normative democratic thought based on ideas of democracy from below.

Mutación del espacio económico a partir de la actividad turística: el caso de los barrios El Poblenou y Sants en Barcelona (2005-2016)

La investigación describe la evolución de Barcelona como destino turístico, presenta los impactos turísticos y examina los agentes urbanos que participan en el desarrollo territorial en el periodo 2005-2016. Como caso de estudio se analiza la actividad turística en el espacio productivo de dos barrios con tradición industrial: El Poblenou y Sants. La hipótesis de trabajo es que ha habido desconcentración de la oferta turística de la ciudad que ha llevado a tensiones y a una movilización social en barrios con poca tradición turística. La metodología se basa en datos estadísticos y en entrevistas. This research aims to describe Barcelona's evolution as a tourist destination, analyse the impact of tourism on certain neighbourhoods and examine the sectors -administrative, social and economic- involved in urban development during the period 2005-2016. Used as case studies are two ex-industrial neighbourhoods: Poblenou and Sants. The working hypothesis: a decentralisation of tourism in Barcelona has led to social tension and community protests in neighbourhoods with little prior experience of tourism. The methodology is based on statistical data and in-depth interviews.