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Topic Review
¡Democracia Real YA!
¡Democracia Real YA! (DRY, Spanish for Real Democracy NOW!), also known as Plataforma Democracia Real Ya! (Real Democracy NOW Platform!), is a grassroots citizens' organization that was started in March 2011 in Spain. It sparked the political movement of May 15, 2011 (15M) whose protests gained worldwide attention. The protests been compared to the May 1968 social movement in France. ¡Democracia Real YA! is associated with approximately 200 smaller organizations. ¡Democracia Real YA! states in its manifesto that it is a broad social movement, dedicated to nonviolent protest, and that maintains no affiliation with any political party or labor union. It has not appointed any single leader and is unwilling to join any of the existing political bodies. It is, however, not an entirely apolitical movement. ¡Democracia Real YA! considers the current political and economic system incapable of listening to and representing its citizens and therefore demands changes to the current social and economic policies, which have led many people into unemployment, loss of their homes, and poverty. The organization denounces the way big businesses and banks dominate the political and economic sphere and aims to propose a series of solutions to these problems through grassroots participatory democracy and direct democracy, which is based on people's assemblies and consensus decision making. The movement drew inspiration from the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests, the Arab Spring, the 2010–11 Greek protests and the 2010–11 revolutions in Tunisia. The protest movement gained momentum on May 15 with a camping occupation in Madrid's main square, the Puerta del Sol, spreading to squares in 57 other major and smaller cities in Spain, and then to Spanish embassies all around the world. In April 2012 some of the initiators of the movement, following an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Platform held in Leganes, the movement split announcing the creation of an organizational structure and rules as a partnership, taking the same name, Asociación Democracia Real Ya, which caused the rejection of part of the rest of the members of the movement. Thus, there are currently active platform Real Democracy Now! on the one hand, and the association DRY on the other hand.
  • 668
  • 26 Oct 2022
Topic Review
‘Buildability’ in the Digital Age
Since the emergence of the concept of “buildability” in 1983, numerous studies have focused on improving project performance through buildability. Initially, the buildability discourse was based on narrow definitions and focused on aspects that could improve construction performance.
  • 363
  • 23 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Fleur de sel
As mechanized processes developed, small producers of traditional sea salt ceased to be competitive. However, when the valuable salt flower (a.k.a. fleur de sel, flower of salt) market appeared, it gave new breath to the activity of traditional salt pan production. Salt flower sensitivity and delicateness became a part of modern food habits. Its crystals present some grain differentiation and these can fulfill diversified consumer tastes. In cooking art, a regular fine flower of salt can be used to finish dishes, whereas a longer and thin grain known as ‘scale’ (a.k.a. écaille de fleur de sel in French) can be used for a more gourmet-like palate.
  • 449
  • 03 Aug 2022
Topic Review
The Reactionary Mind
The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin is a 2011 book written by political theorist Corey Robin. It argues that conservatism from the 17th century to today is based on the principle "that some are fit, and thus ought, to rule others". Robin argues that rather than being about liberty, limited government, resistance to change, or public virtue, conservatism is a "mode of counterrevolutionary practice" to preserve hierarchy and power.
  • 362
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
2001 Massacre of Plaza de Mayo
The 2001 Massacre of Plaza de Mayo was a slaughter of people at Plaza de Mayo (May Square), Buenos Aires, Argentina, and around this area that took place on December 20, 2001. Five people were murdered. The names of the fatal victims were: Carlos Almiron, Gustavo Ariel Benedetto, Diego Lamagna, Alberto Marquez and Gaston Marcelo Riva. The perpetrators tried to kill four more people (Marcelo Dorado, Martin Galli, Sergio Ruben Sanchez, and Paula Simonetti), but they did not succeed. A total of 277 injuries was reported.These crimes were committed under Fernando de la Rua’s presidential term in which Argentina was suffering one of its deepest crises and people were rioting in different cities around the nation. These incidents left a total of 39 people that were murdered across the country, among them 7 children.The trial against the 17 defendants started on February 24, 2014.
  • 517
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
2017–2018 Togolese Protests
The 2017–18 Togolese protests are a significant representation of civil unrest in Togo and against the 50 year rule of the father-son combination of Gnassingbé Eyadéma and Faure Gnassingbé. The protesters demanded that the president honour the 1992 constitution, and demanding that he step down immediately. Gnassingbé offered the protesters the option of enacting the two-term limit set in the constitution effective from 2018, thus ensuring that he could stay in power until 2030. This has been rejected by the opposition. However, on 8 May 2019 the Togolese Parliament voted unanimously to accept this amendment and imposed this non-retroactive term limit on the president's office. As the protests continued, the opposition started focusing more on protesting Gnassingbé's rule. Starting in August 2017, the opposition held protests on a near-weekly basis. The scale of the protests have been enormous, with some estimates claiming 800,000 present at one protest in a country of 6.6 million. The demonstrations are also taking place all over the country, even in the north, the traditional power base for the Gnassingbé family. The Togolese government has responded to these protests by shutting down the internet. The protesters utilised social media, with the hashtag #togodebut for publicity. The protests and police response have resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people, including two soldiers. In response to the protests, Gnassingbé offered some concessions to the opposition, but held onto power due to his crackdown on activists.
  • 375
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
2019–2020 Vaping Lung Illness Outbreak
Template:Infobox outbreak An outbreak of severe vaping-associated lung illness starting in 2019 is ongoing among users of cannabis vaping products, almost exclusively in the United States. The first cases were identified in Illinois and Wisconsin in April 2019; as of January 21, 2020, a total of 2,711 hospitalized cases, including 60 deaths have been confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Cases peaked in September 2019, and have been slowly declining since. CDC investigators identified direct exposure to chemicals present in vaping products as responsible for the outbreak. Vitamin E acetate is a very strong culprit of concern in the lung illnesses related to THC-based vaping products, but the CDC did not rule out other chemicals as possible causes. Though patients have reported using vaping products containing THC, nicotine, or both types, about 86% of patients studied by the CDC admitted THC use. The majority of those affected were young adults 18-34, which is the group with the greatest prevalence of cannabis use in the US. Nicotine-containing products are regulated in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration; THC products are illegal under federal law, but allowed and regulated by some states. Prior to the outbreak, vitamin E acetate was used in low concentrations, or lower than 20% of the formula in vape cartridges, as a thickening agent. As a result of a limited availability of cannabis in California as well as high demand, illicit sellers had used about 50% or higher of diluent thickeners in their formulas to bulk up tiny potency vape cartridges, and vitamin E acetate is a common choice because it resembles THC oil. Some jurisdictions took action to restrict the sale of products containing vitamin E acetate and other chemicals in response to the outbreak, but THC products in states where it is illegal and some nictotine-containing products are produced illegally (and sometimes obtained illegally in jurisdictions where legal, by underage consumers).
  • 400
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
6 February 1934 Crisis
The 6 February 1934 crisis was an anti-parliamentarist street demonstration in Paris organized by multiple far-right leagues that culminated in a riot on the Place de la Concorde, near the seat of the French National Assembly. The police shot and killed 15 demonstrators. It was one of the major political crises during the Third Republic (1870–1940). Frenchmen on the left feared it was an attempt to organize a fascist coup d'état. According to historian Joel Colton, "The consensus among scholars is that there was no concerted or unified design to seize power and that the leagues lacked the coherence, unity, or leadership to accomplish such an end." As a result of the actions of that day, several anti-fascist organisations were created, such as the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, in an attempt to thwart the rise of fascism in France. After World War II, several historians, among them Serge Berstein, argued that while some leagues had been indisputably pushing for a coup, François de La Rocque had, in fact, turned in a liberal direction, toward a respect for constitutional order. However, if the lack of coordination among the fascist leagues undermined the idea of a fascist conspiracy, the fascist actions on 6 February were an uncoordinated but violent attempt to overthrow the Cartel des gauches government elected in 1932. Édouard Daladier, who was president of the Council of Ministers, replaced Camille Chautemps on 27 January 1934 because of accusations of corruption (including the Stavisky Affair). Daladier, who had been a popular figure, was nonetheless forced to resign on 7 February. He was replaced by the conservative Gaston Doumergue as head of the government; this was the first time during the tenure of the Third Republic a government fell because of pressures from the street.
  • 4.0K
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Abandonment (Emotional)
Emotional abandonment is a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded. People experiencing emotional abandonment may feel at loss, cut off from a crucial source of sustenance that has been withdrawn, either suddenly, or through a process of erosion. In a classic abandonment scenario, the severance of the emotional bond is unilateral, that is, the object of one’s attachment is the one who chose to break the connection. Feeling rejected, which is a significant component of emotional abandonment, has a biological impact in that it activates the physical pain centers in the brain and can leave an emotional imprint in the brain’s warning system. Abandonment has been a staple of poetry and literature since ancient times.
  • 576
  • 30 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Absenteeism
Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism is unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implicit contract between employee and employer. It is seen as a management problem, and framed in economic or quasi-economic terms. More recent scholarship seeks to understand absenteeism as an indicator of psychological, medical, or social adjustment to work.
  • 1.6K
  • 23 Nov 2022
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