Tagged / culture and society

International Day of the Disappeared 2013

BU research

Dr Melanie Klinkner studies the use of forensic science for investigation and prosecution of atrocities such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Here she talks about the International Day of the Disappeared.

Today serves as a reminder of the number of people around the world who are missing as a result of armed conflicts. We remember the families who face a daily struggle to understand what has happened to their loved one.

Dr Melanie KlinknerEnforced disappearances have been and continue to be used by oppressive regimes in an attempt to dispose of political opponents secretly and to instil fear in the population. Article 2 of the Convention for the Protection for all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2006) defines disappearances as ‘the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with authorisation, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law’.

The Red Cross work tirelessly to reunite families where possible and organisations such as the International Commission on Missing Person support identification of bodies.

In the aftermath of conflict and gross human rights violations, there is an overwhelming need of the families is to know the truth about the fate of their loved ones and, where the worst has happened, to receive their human remains as an absolute proof of death and to facilitate burial and commemoration rituals.

This need is mirrored in international human rights and international humanitarian law development, which has advanced the recognition of victim rights of national or international crimes and human rights abuses. The Basic Principles encompass the need for victims and their families to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones and demands that the bodies of those disappeared are recovered, identified and buried.

Melanie works alongside Ian Hanson and Paul Cheetham in the School of Applied Sciences, who have developed standard operating procedures for forensic investigation of mass graves. These have been used internationally in judicial and humanitarian contexts, bringing those responsible for atrocity crimes to justice and providing much needed answers to families.

Read more about the Red Cross

Dr Melanie Klinkner’s profile

International Commission on Missing Persons

Developing software to improve quality of life for disabled people

Bournemouth University (BU) is proud to be a part of an exciting project, aimed at improving the quality of life for people with physical and learning disabilities.

The SHIVA Project (Sculpture for Health-care: Interaction and Virtual Art in 3D) brings together computer science groups, including the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) at BU, and medical organisations working with disabled people.

Professor Alexander Pasko is leading BU’s contribution to the SHIVA project: “The main idea behind SHIVA is to give people with disabilities the opportunity to do something in the area of 3D as a way of enhancing their creativity and expressing themselves.”

The project team are currently identifying the requirements of the medical organisations, in order to develop exercises to support a range of different patient needs. These exercises will also offer a wider range of activities for patients, which can increase the chances of a successful rehabilitation.

NCCA staff at BU are developing the 3D modelling software, which can be driven by gestures, as well as hosting the HyperFun project, which is a programming and language software tool, used to create, visualise, and fabricate volumetric 3D models.

One example case the project team are working on is to help improve physical activity in patients who have suffered a stroke.

“We are also working with children who are born disabled,” explained Professor Pasko, “helping them with simple tasks that engage and activate the right side of the brain.”

The final stages of the SHIVA Project will be to raise awareness of the exercises within the medical profession, so they can be applied in the education or rehabilitation process.

The project aims to be completed by February 2014, when an exhibition will be held to display the work of the disabled participants. This will be made possible through the use of 3D printers currently available at BU.

The other organisations involved in the project are the University of Lille in France, the HOPALE Foundation from France and the Victoria School from Poole. For further information and updates visit the project website.

The SHIVA project is part-funded thanks to the action of the European Union and with a contribution of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Research Themes – Culture and Society meeting

BU research

Prof Barry Richards, Media School, is convening a meeting of interested people to explore whether there is sufficient common ground for a meaningful Culture and Society theme to be defined.

If you are interested in attending please could you let Barry know by email (brichards@bournemouth.ac.uk) which of the times below would be most convenient (or register interest if neither time is possible for you). Dr Rosie Read, Health and Social Care, has drafted a possible prospectus for such a theme, as a starting point for discussion, which is available via the Research Themes section of the Blog (you can access it here).

The options for the meeting are:
9.30 Friday 24th June
1.00 Monday 27th June