The Absurd Injunction to Not Belong and the Bidūn in Kuwait

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 726-732
Author(s):  
Claire Beaugrand
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Male Voice ◽  
Central System ◽  
Additional Remark ◽  
Special Mention ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Mobile Phone Camera

In a tweet posted on 29 March 2018, a bidūn activist—who was later jailed from July 2019 to January 2020 for peacefully protesting against the inhumane conditions under which the bidūn are living—shared a video. The brief video zooms in closely on an ID card, recognizable as one of those issued to the bidūn, or long-term residents of Kuwait who are in contention with the state regarding their legal status. More precisely, the mobile phone camera focuses on the back of the ID card, on one line with a special mention added by the Central System (al-jihāz al-markazī), the administration in charge of bidūn affairs. Other magnetic strip cards hide the personal data written above and below it. A male voice can be heard saying that he will read this additional remark, but before even doing so he bursts into laughter. The faceless voice goes on to read out the label in an unrestrained laugh: “ladayh qarīb … ladayh qarīna … dālla ʿalā al-jinsiyya al-ʿIrāqiyya” (he has a relative … who has presumptive evidence … suggesting an Iraqi nationality). The video shakes as the result of a contagious laugh that grows in intensity. In the Kuwaiti dialect, the voice continues commenting: “Uqsim bil-Allāh, gaʿadt sāʿa ufakkir shinū maʿanāt hal-ḥatchī” (I swear by God, it took me an hour to figure out the meaning of this nonsense), before reading the sentence again, stopping and guffawing, and asking if he should “repeat it a third time,” expressing amazement at its absurdity. The tweet, addressed to the head of the Central System (mentioned in the hashtag #faḍīḥat Sāliḥ al-Faḍāla, or #scandal Salih al-Fadala), reads: In lam tastaḥī fa-'ktub mā shaʾt (Don't bother, write what you want).

Influence of the ICCPR in the Middle East

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Başak Çali
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
East Region ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
State Responses

This chapter surveys the legal influence of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on the domestic laws of States in the Middle East region. It analyses ratification, reservation, and reporting practices, the domestic legal status of the ICCPR, and State responses to the Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations. The chapter argues that the ICCPR’s legal influence in the region is structurally hampered due to its lack of authoritative legal status and the dominance of defensive domestic legalism. A significant gap remains between the HRC’s vision of civil and political rights protection grounded in the entrenchment of liberal, democratic, and multicultural laws and the region’s authoritarian or majoritarian political structures that foreground security and treat non-majority identities as threats. The influence of the ICCPR on domestic laws in the Middle East remains a long-term battle, whereby small gains under limited legal opportunity structures remain the overarching norm.

Periprosthetic Leakage in Tracheoesophageal Prosthesis: Proposal of a Standardized Therapeutic Algorithm

2021 ◽  
pp. 019459982098334
Author(s):  
Claudio Parrilla ◽  
Ylenia Longobardi ◽  
Jacopo Galli ◽  
Mario Rigante ◽  
Gaetano Paludetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Laryngectomy ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Voice Prosthesis ◽  
Management Algorithm ◽  
Therapeutic Algorithm ◽  
Periprosthetic Leakage ◽  
Tracheoesophageal Puncture ◽  
The University ◽  
The Voice

Objective Periprosthetic leakage represents the most demanding long-term complication in the voice prosthesis rehabilitation. The aim of this article is to discuss the various causes of periprosthetic leakage and to propose a systematic management algorithm. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Otolaryngology clinic of the University Polyclinic A. Gemelli–IRCCS Foundation. Methods The study included 115 patients with voice prosthesis who were treated from December 2014 to December 2019. All patients who experienced periprosthetic leakage were treated with the same step-by-step therapeutic approach until it was successful. Incidence, management, and success rate of every attempt are analyzed and discussed. Results Periprosthetic leakage was reported 330 times by 82 patients in 1374 clinic accesses. Radiotherapy, timing of tracheoesophageal puncture, and type of total laryngectomy (primary or salvage) did not influence the incidence of periprosthetic leakage. Salvage total laryngectomy increases the risk of more clinically relevant leakages. Conclusion By using a systematic algorithm with a step-by-step standardized approach, periprosthetic leakage management could become a less treacherous issue.

scholarly journals Thresholding Scheme Based on Boundary Pixels of Stripes for Visible Light Communication With Mobile-Phone Camera

IEEE Access ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 53053-53061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenshan Zhang ◽  
Tiantian Zhang ◽  
Ji Zhou ◽  
Yueming Lu ◽  
Yaojun Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Visible Light ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Visible Light Communication ◽  
Mobile Phone Camera

Long-term effects of 900 MHz radiofrequency radiation emitted from mobile phone on testicular tissue and epididymal semen quality

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muzaffer Tas ◽  
Suleyman Dasdag ◽  
Mehmet Zulkuf Akdag ◽  
Umut Cirit ◽  
Korkut Yegin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Testicular Tissue ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Radiofrequency Radiation

scholarly journals Primary CNS tumors in adults and environmental factors: an update

2020 ◽  
pp. 176-181
Author(s):  
S.G. Berntsson ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Brain Tumor ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cns Tumors ◽  
Acoustic Neurinoma ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Mobile Phone Use ◽  
Increased Risk

The incidence of adult primary brain tumors is increasing in some European countries. High-dose ionizing irradiation, rare genetic syndromes, and genetic predisposition in 5 % of families are a few established environmental risk factors for brain tumor. Mobile phone use that causes near brain exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic waves and thus creates risks of CNS tumors has been the focus of many studies. Nine meta-analyses were available on this subject. The Interphone multi-center case-control study is the largest one to date; it included 2.708 glioma and 2.409 meningioma cases and matched controls in 13 countries. Studies exploring metals (cadmium, lead), pesticides, outdoor pollution, virus, and risk of glioma created by exposure to them were reviewed. Interphone study did not show increased risk of glioma or meningioma in mobile-phone users. One recent meta-analysis in 2017 found that prolonged exposure i.e.,> 10 years of all phone types was associated with increased risk of ipsilateral CNS tumor locations. In another meta-analysis, long-term use of mobile-phones was found to be a risk factor for low-grade glioma. In case of all durations regarding mobile phone use and both sides of the head, the results of pooling data were more discordant. A large prospective study in 2014 showed that long term use vs never use increased risks of acoustic neurinoma (10+ years: RR = 2.46, 95 % CI = 1.07–5.64, P = 0.03), but not of glioma or meningioma. Studies of other risk factors showed no/weak/contradictory association with brain tumor risk. In the absence of robust and consistent evidence, a causal relation between radiofrequency exposure and CNS tumors was not found. Large prospective studies of this kind regarding a disease with low incidence require a high number of participants and a long follow-up period.

scholarly journals Long-term results of tonsillectomy in professional opera singers: a pilot study

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 815
Author(s):  
Pedro Clarós ◽  
Aleksandra Sobolewska ◽  
María Del Carmen Pujol ◽  
Astrid Clarós-Pujol ◽  
Andrés Clarós
Keyword(s):  
Survey Study ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Recurrent Tonsillitis ◽  
Voice Performance ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Opera Singers ◽  
The Voice

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term influence of tonsillectomy on the quality of life and voice performance of opera singers. Survey study which was reviewing the long-term effects of tonsillectomy.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> Retrospective review of patients’ records and surveys in which patients have answered the questions about the influence of tonsillectomy on their voice. A total group of 30 singers was included in the study. They answered the questions about the indications for surgery, symptoms, and changes in their voice after surgery. The study group consisted of 19 women and 11 men. Mean age was 18.53 years old at the moment of surgery. The group included eleven sopranos, six mezzos, two contraltos, four tenors, five baritones, and one bass singer.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> A most common indication for tonsillectomy in opera singers was recurrent tonsillitis and was present in over 83% of cases. After surgery, the voice performance was better in 60% of cases, breathing improved in 50% of cases, voice emission was higher in 53% of cases. Over 80% of singers would recommend that surgery to another opera singer.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Singers evaluated long-term influence of tonsillectomy as positive. Over 80% admitted improved effect on emission and the function of voice.</p>

scholarly journals Assessment of caffeine intake with food by Polish females and males

2021 ◽  
pp. 273-280
Author(s):  
Ewa Malczyk ◽  
Joanna Wyka ◽  
Agata Malczyk ◽  
Katarzyna Larma
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Portion Size ◽  
Caffeine Intake ◽  
Psychoactive Substance ◽  
Safety Level ◽  
The World ◽  
Safe Dose

Background. Caffeine is the most widespread psychoactive substance in the world. With long-term consumption of caffeinated beverages, there is a high probability of overtaking on caffeine. Objective. The aim of the study was to estimate the consumption of caffeine in the daily caffeine intake of Polish consumers, determine the caffeinated products in the intake of this substance. Materials and methods. The survey was completed by 433 respondents living in Poland. The research tool was the electronic questionnaire, which consisted of: a) questions about personal data and measurement anthropometric and the level of physical activity and smoking; b) questions regarding the portion size and frequency of consumption of coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, energy drinks and colacarbonated beverages. Results. The main sources of caffeine in the respondents' diet include: coffee (Me 43.64 mg/d) and tea (Me 37.60 mg/d). Approximately 20% of respondents exceeded the threshold of daily caffeine intake (safety level for children and adolescents up to 3 mg/kg b.w, for adults up to 5.7 mg/kg b.w), considered safe. Conclusions. Respondents who have crossed the safe dose of caffeine intake, should limit the consumption of products being its main source (coffee).

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