Illicit Trading Research Articles

The Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects in Tanzania: An Investigative Report

Investigators are an important apparatus in tackling highly organized crimes committed in a state of high confidentiality. In Africa, surveillance techniques are commonly used to expose many crimes including serious offences against individuals or a society. However, ethnographic objects and other cultural remains have received less investigative attention, and as the result they have been illegally exported out of the continent for economic benefits. Ethnographic objects refer to objects made, modified or used by humans that collectively represent cultural references and they are protected by law, rules, or customs. Cultural remains refer to tangible movable objects made, shaped, painted, sculptured, inscribed, and produced or modified by human agency. In Tanzania, like in many other African countries, relics and ethnographic objects have been plundered and illegally traded in underground economy across the world. People engaged in trading of ethnographic objects use souvenir markets as decoys and shipping passage to send goods abroad. This article presents the results from a recent investigation conducted at one of the souvenir markets in Mwenge, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where cultural relics and ethnographic objects from Tanzania and other African countries have been brought together and shipped abroad for commercial interests. A joint team of undercover intelligence agents and key informants participated in a confidential work to investigate the process by which ethnographic objects are collected, marketed and distributed to local and foreign markets. Mwenge is one of the largest and most popular souvenir centers with large and unique artefacts shops operating as tourism attractions. During this investigation, which spanned six months, our team identified 530 ethnographic objects which were on the market, ready to be sold and exported, despite their legal status under Tanzanian law, according to which their sale and export are unlawful. This study revealed that people who are engaged in the illicit trading activities of relics and ethnographic objects are knowledgeable, use legitimate business license, collection- and export permits to conceal their illicit trade of ethnographic objects. Furthermore, they are aware of the poor monitoring institutions and the illiteracy among security officials at ports of exits. This article discloses some of the techniques used to conceal the trafficking of cultural objects in Tanzania and proposes suitable measures to counter the problem.

Countering the illicit trading of cultural goods: Recent trends, emerging issues, and LEA responses in Turkey

Countering the illicit trading of cultural goods: Recent trends, emerging issues, and LEA responses in Turkey

Social network analysis of illicit organ trading networks: The Medicus case

Social network analysis of illicit organ trading networks: The Medicus case

Illicit Trade of Prescription Medications Through X (Formerly Twitter) in Japan: Cross-Sectional Study.

Nonmedical use of prescription drugs can cause overdose; this represents a serious public health crisis globally. In this digital era, social networking services serve as viable platforms for illegal acquisition of excessive amounts of medications, including prescription medications. In Japan, such illegal drug transactions have been conducted through popular flea market applications, social media, and auction websites, with most of the trades being over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Recently, an emerging unique black market, where individuals trade prescription medications-predominantly nervous system drugs-using a specific keyword ("Okusuri Mogu Mogu"), has emerged on X (formerly Twitter). Hence, these dynamic methods of illicit trading should routinely be monitored to encourage the appropriate use of medications. This study aimed to specify the characteristics of medications traded on X using the search term "Okusuri Mogu Mogu" and analyze individual behaviors associated with X posts, including the types of medications traded and hashtag usage. We conducted a cross-sectional study with publicly available posts on X between September 18 and October 1, 2022. Posts that included the term "Okusuri Mogu Mogu" during this period were scrutinized. Posts were categorized on the basis of their contents: buying, selling, self-administration, heads-up, and others. Among posts categorized as buying, selling, and self-administration, medication names were systematically enumerated and categorized using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification. Additionally, hashtags in all the analyzed posts were counted and classified into 6 categories: medication name, mental disorder, self-harm, buying and selling, community formation, and others. Out of 961 identified posts, 549 were included for analysis. Of these posts, 119 (21.7%) referenced self-administration, and 237 (43.2%; buying: n=67, 12.2%; selling: n=170, 31.0%) referenced transactions. Among these 237 posts, 1041 medication names were mentioned, exhibiting a >5-fold increase from the study in March 2021. Categorization based on the ATC classification predominantly revealed nervous system drugs, representing 82.1% (n=855) of the mentioned medications, consistent with the previous survey. Of note, the diversity of medications has expanded to include medications that have not been approved by the Japanese government. Interestingly, OTC medications were frequently mentioned in self-administration posts (odds ratio 23.6, 95% CI 6.93-80.15). Analysis of hashtags (n=866) revealed efforts to foster community connections among users. This study highlighted the escalating complexity of trading of illegal prescription medication facilitated by X posts. Regulatory measures to enhance public awareness should be considered to prevent illegal transactions, which may ultimately lead to misuse or abuse such as overdose. Along with such pharmacovigilance measures, social approaches that could direct individuals to appropriate medical or psychiatric resources would also be beneficial as our hashtag analysis shed light on the formation of a cohesive or closed community among users.

Illicit trafficking of cultural objects: the case of Cyprus

Rampant unregulated excavation, at a time when archaeological practice was still unknown, opened the way to massive exportation of cultural objects from Cyprus, in parallel with other countries under the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. As ‘antiquarianism’ was concomitant with the beginnings of tourism, places with a rich cultural heritage became popular destinations or stopovers for the steamships. Collecting ‘antikas’ and ‘exploring’ was a pastime of the affluent, and the objects themselves were tokens of prestige, as, by tradition, they continued to be until the very recent past. The demand, not only by private individuals but also by newly established institutions, in the absence of what may now be termed ‘due diligence’, sustained availability. This dispersal forced the Cypriot Ottoman authorities to pass rudimentary legislation: its non-enforcement, however, allowed the trading of antiquities to continue unabated. During British Rule, while some regulations were in place, concerns of a different kind continued to allow the export and sale of antiquities. Bi-communal strife in the early 1960s, shortly after Independence, created sources of illicitly excavated objects which again, found their way into collections within the island or abroad. A second wave of Cypriot cultural heritage destruction followed the invasion of the island by Turkish troops in 1974: a large part of the island in the north was left unprotected and victim to both well-trained and untrained looters. Given this background, Cyprus is faced with a herculean task in remedying the situation. Despite a series of strict antiquities laws and the application of a number of preventive measures, the battle against illicit trading remains, and the past continues to haunt the present.

Fighting Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Goods—The ENIGMA Project

Cultural heritage is a testimony of past human activity, and, as such, cultural objects exhibit great variety in their nature, size, and complexity, from small artefacts and museum items to cultural landscapes, and from historic buildings and ancient monuments to city centers and archaeological sites. Cultural heritage around the globe suffers from wars, natural disasters, and human negligence. More specifically, cultural goods and artefacts are put at risk through several anthropogenic actions: Anthropogenic threats take various dimensions, ranging from theft from museums, private collections, and religious buildings, smuggling of and illicit trade in cultural goods, the irremediable looting and demolition of archaeological sites by clandestine excavators, or simply neglect of heritage sites. Illicit trading has expanded dramatically recently, especially in areas affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters, either aiming at destroying collective memory and dismembering people’s identity or mostly motivated by the pursuit of profit. Moreover, the illicit trafficking of cultural goods contributes to the funding of terrorism, organized crime, and money laundering. The mission of ENIGMA, a EUR 4 million EU funded project, is to achieve excellence in the protection of cultural goods and artefacts from man-made threats by contributing to their identification, traceability, and provenance research, as well as by safeguarding and monitoring endangered heritage sites. ENIGMA objectives are designed to help the involved stakeholders better respond to this complex and multi-dimensional problem and leverage active collaboration by fostering and enabling interlinking of databases, and evidence-based deployment of preventative measures.

Agency and Structure in Militarized Conservation and Armed Mobilization: Evidence from Eastern DRC's Kahuzi‐Biega National Park

ABSTRACTOngoing debates in conservation studies stress the dire consequences of ‘fortress’ and ‘militarized’ conservation at violent frontiers. Presenting evidence from Kahuzi‐Biega National Park in war‐torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this article shows how the park has become a focal point for armed insurgent groups in the region. Although fortress conservation has contributed to one major incident of violent resistance in recent years, it plays only a marginal role in defining the structures shaping the actions of armed groups. These structures — some of which are reproduced and (occasionally) reshaped by armed groups — include the legacies of poverty and insecurity, the geographical features of the park and the presence of illicit trading networks. This perspective emerges only when we zoom out from the park to place it within the context of the history and broader political economy of the DRC. On the one hand, these dynamics severely constrain the agency of conservation organizations, leaving militarized conservation as the only feasible form of enforcement. This approach at times generates violent outcomes for certain groups of people and produces a resource‐rich, isolated terrain which provides a staging ground for broader conflicts to play out. On the other hand, militarized conservation could provide basic law and order at the forest's edge. Ultimately, therefore, militarized conservation plays an ambivalent role vis‐à‐vis security and stability.

A Case Study of Academic Facilitation of the Global Illicit Trade in Cultural Objects: Mary Slusser in Nepal

AbstractIn this article, we consider the role that academics play in the global illicit trade in cultural objects. Academics connect sources to buyers and influence market values by publishing looted and stolen cultural objects (passive facilitation) and by collaborating with market players, including by collecting artifacts themselves (active facilitation). Their actions shape market desire, changing what is targeted for looting, theft, and illicit trading across borders. However, this crucial facilitative role often goes unnoticed or unaddressed in scholarship on collecting, white collar crime, and the illicit market in cultural objects. This article explores the importance of academic facilitation through a case study of the career of Mary Slusser, a renowned American scholar of Nepali art and art history.

Perceptions of Corruption and Informality Among Businesspeople

Abstract This research assesses perception of corruption in business-to-business and business-to-government interactions by using empirical evidence from Serbia. Based on the survey data, it captures the perceptions of corruption of business owners and managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and examines their attitudes towards informal, licit, or illicit, business practices. The typology of SMEs according to their opinion on corruption- and institutional-related obstacles resulted in three different clusters, based on several variables. Moreover, empirical findings show that business is not much hindered by regulations but with a common lack of trust in institutions, crime, and perceived corruption. SMEs are perceived as particularly affected by a negative corrupt environment where large companies are seen as the source of corruption. The findings allow for the creation of lawful and incorruptible business policies, as well as ideas on preventing the common practice of illicit trading with job positions in the public sector.

From the Editors

The editors are pleased to present this issue to our readers. It contains timely information on endangered cultural heritage sites including the latest facts about the use of antiquities to finance terrorism in Syria, a comprehensive architectural study of one of the forgotten churches of southern Syria, a methodical examination of modern graffiti at the splendid site of Jerash in Jordan, and a fascinating Forum section on the Late Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East.Presenting new evidence on the continuing destruction, looting, and illicit trading in Syrian antiquities, authors Isber Sabrine, Ristam Abdo, and Neil Brodie extensively document the involvement of Da’esh in these destructive practices. Through interviews with those who have personal knowledge of the pillaging of significant archaeological sites, the authors were able to obtain images of looted objects and, also, Da’esh administrative documents. They were also able to report, in this article, looting at some previously unknown archaeological sites. Providing abundant details about an issue that has received worldwide attention, this article includes very important, heretofore unpublished, information.Rama Al Rabady and Shatha Abu-Khafajah’s case study of the Lubbēn Large Church in southern Syria examines the place of this structure as an aula ecclesiae that represents a transition from secular to sacred church architecture following the earliest Christian house churches. They discuss the aspects of the architecture of the Lubbēn Large Church that add to the representation of divinity in the church in the context of historical, regional, and local conditions. The article also offers many comparisons with other southern Syrian churches in this region called Trachonitis in the New Testament. Lubbēn’s church was built during the height of Byzantine occupation in the region. Referencing the unusual flat roof of the apse, the study concludes that aulae ecclesiae like this one introduced the innovation of “divine light” in Christian churches.In “They Were Here,” Mairna Hussein Mustafa, Ramzi Mahmoud Al-Rousan, and Fadi Abedallah Bala’awi examine modern graffiti exhibited at the ancient city of Jerash for patterns and themes. Using a unique sampling technique, they examine these colorful but jarring scribbles on the ancient features of the city in order to gain insight into graffiti types and the motives of those who created them. Analyses like this one are important for conservation specialists because they address a very common problem at heritage sites. Looking at graffiti from the standpoint of its perpetrators leads the authors to a number of cogent recommendations on how to prevent this form of vandalism in the future.We are particularly enthusiastic about this issue’s Forum section featuring a debate on a significant topic in Near Eastern archaeology—the Late Bronze Age collapse. Noted expert on this topic Eric Cline starts off the dialogue by examining the work he has done on this subject over many years of study and publication, and he reaches some new conclusions. Guy Middleton revisits the archaeological evidence for the collapse while Raphael Greenberg raises and addresses the question of what collapsed in 1177. Norman Yoffee’s contribution problematizes the use of the term “collapse” in the historical context under discussion, and Aren Maeir shines a light on the question of what happened to Late Bronze Age cultures from a “Philistine” vantage point. Louise Hitchcock takes on the multiple meanings of the term “collapse”—to all of which Cline provides a rejoinder at the end of the Forum.Scholars from four different countries contribute to this issue’s Book Reviews section. Atilla Batmaz reviews Wine Jars and Jar Makers of Cyprus: The Ethnoarchaeology of Pitharia, by Gloria London; Marzia Cavriani reviews Byblos in the Late Bronze Age: Interactions between the Levantine and Egyptian Worlds, by Marwan Kilani; Marta Lorenzon reviews The City Gate in Ancient Israel and Her Neighbors: The Form, Function, and Symbolism of the Civic Forum in the Southern Levant, by Daniel A. Frese; and John Peter Oleson reviews Under the Mediterranean I: Studies in Maritime Archaeology, edited by Stella Demesticha and Lucy Blue.

Smugglers, Pirates, and Patriots: Free Trade in the Age of Revolution

In the early republic, a potent mix of commercial aspirations and ideological naivete characterized US diplomatic relations with South America. Tyson Reeder's book explores how North American visions of inevitable republicanism and free trade across the Western Hemisphere came to naught in Brazil. Surveying the give-and-take of state and merchant power emanating from North America, Brazil, Portugal, and Britain between 1760 and 1830, Reeder argues that experiences with international trade in the early republic disproved US revolutionary assumptions about the incompatibility of monarchy and commercial freedom.The monograph is divided into four parts. Part 1 establishes the context of trading and state relationships between the British and Portuguese empires in the eighteenth century's latter half. Portugal, Madeira, and Brazil bought North American grain, North Americans consumed Madeira wine, and Brazilian gold powered credit relationships with the British Atlantic and the slave trade from Angola. Unlike the British, who enforced illicit trading prohibitions in the North American colonies (a flash point for eventual revolutionary turmoil), the Portuguese never took a hard line on smuggling and mercantilism within their empire. Portuguese subjects in Brazil rarely perceived unlicensed trade as incompatible with fealty to the monarchy.Part 2 examines how the shifting political terrain of British imperial crisis and the American War of Independence altered trading priorities and commercial relationships. Independence from Britain meant that North Americans no longer enjoyed the trading privileges resulting from long-term British naval protection of the Portuguese. Portuguese bans on direct trade with the nascent United States deepened North American convictions that empires and monarchies could not be trusted trading partners.In part 3, Reeder explores how the hopes of US free traders for open trade with an independent Brazil aligned with neither that colony's late eighteenth-century fate nor US lawmakers' early nineteenth-century commercial policies. Early republic luminaries like Thomas Jefferson thought revolution, independence, and free trade inevitable for Brazil. Meanwhile, the Portuguese feared the US republican example in Brazilian uprisings like the 1789–90 Minas conspiracy. Nevertheless, the Portuguese court's movement to Brazil further liberalized Brazilian trade. As Reeder argues, the United States, not trade liberalization, was the problem for Portugal. Compounding the challenges for US merchants, the 1807 Embargo Act forbade the export of US products until foreign powers ceased interfering with US neutral trade. To North American merchants, this disastrous act “seemed to betray liberal ideologies to garner respect from European powers—a betrayal magnified as the Portuguese monarchy liberalized imperial commerce” (p. 134).Reeder examines the deeper dimensions of this disenchantment in part 4's discussion of the nineteenth century's first decades. Initially, North American observers prefigured rebels against Portuguese control in 1817 Pernambuco as latter-day versions of the 1776 patriots in Boston. North American seafarers accepted privateering commissions from José Gervasio Artigas, caudillo of the disputed Banda Oriental of present-day Uruguay and Brazil, to raid Portuguese and Spanish shipping in the pursuit of the region's independence. To maintain future trading opportunities and good standing in the community of nations, US politicians passed the 1817 Neutrality Act, which denied privateers safe harbor in US ports. Ultimately, Brazil's 1822 transition to an imperial monarchy engendered US prejudices about how Brazil's suspect racial composition made republicanism impossible and new conceptualizations of Brazil as a slaveholding paradise.Reeder offers a compelling investigation of trade mentalities and ideological projection. As Brazil delayed independence and then formed into an independent monarchy that liberalized trade, this unique course of decolonization “exposed the fragility of North Americans' commitment to hemispheric republicanism and its tepid attachment to free trade” (p. 237). Reeder's comparative commercial psychoanalysis illuminates deep connections between Brazil and the early United States that scholars have often overlooked. His research is deeply grounded in archival material from Brazil, Portugal, the United States, and Britain. At times, the book can be a bit repetitive and reductionist in its restatement of the paradoxical relationship between imperialism and free trade. Its single-minded focus on the Luso-Atlantic world also left me wondering about where else US beliefs in republican commercial liberalism were being put to the test. This lack of wider context notwithstanding, the book adds a wonderful case study to works such as Caitlin Fitz's Our Sister Republics: The United States in an Age of American Revolutions (2016), on the ideological aspirations of US political thought toward Spanish American independence movements, and Eliga Gould's Among the Powers of the Earth: The American Revolution and the Making of a New World Empire (2012), on the US struggle for legitimacy in the nineteenth-century community of nations. It will be an important book for historians of Atlantic commerce and early US–Latin American relations.

Perspectives of illicit marijuana growers and traders on commercial legalisation of marijuana in South Africa: considerations for policy formulation

BackgroundOver the years, there has been a clarion call for legalising marijuana cultivation and trading for commercial purposes in South Africa. Proponents of the call argue that the criminalisation of commercial marijuana cultivation and trading has failed to halt illicit marijuana cultivation and trading. However, the views of those who economically benefit from the illicit marijuana trade on its legalisation remain empirically unsolicited.ObjectiveThis study aimed to solicit the views of illegal marijuana growers and traders from two selected communities in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa regarding the commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading to inform policy on the debate.MethodsIn-depth key informant interview approach was used to interview 18 purposively sampled participants that were selected through the snowball sampling technique. The data were analysed using the thematic content analysis approach.ResultsParticipants had both positive and negative perceptions of the possible legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading. On the positive side, participants indicated freedom from police, the opportunity to grow marijuana on a larger scale, capital acquisition for commercial marijuana cultivation and trading, and regulation of marijuana prices through unionisation as some of the benefits they would derive from the commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading. On the negative side, loss of their source of livelihood, fall in the price of marijuana and perceived increase in school drop-out rates were the concerns raised.ConclusionWhile participants relished improvement in their economic fortunes upon commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading, they were also apprehensive about this policy due to the perceived consequences it may have on their livelihoods and communities. We, therefore, recommend that future discussions of the commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading in South Africa should be done in consultation with illicit marijuana growers and traders to ensure that their interests are safeguarded by such a policy.

Contextual influences of illicit adolescent marijuana cultivation and trading in the Inqguza Hill local municipality of South Africa: implications for public health policy

BackgroundAlthough commercial cultivation and trading of marijuana, commonly known as cannabis or dagga in the South African context, remains an illicit practice, adolescents actively engage in it. However, contextual influences that sustain adolescent involvement in illicit marijuana-related activties remain empirically unascertained.ObjectiveThis study sought to ascertain the various contextual influences of adolescent illicit marijuana cultivation and trading in two communities in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality (IHLM) of South Africa, using the tenets of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM).MethodsThe study utilised focus group discussions approach to interview thirty-three purposefully sampled participants who were recruited through the snowball sampling technique. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the interviews, while thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data.ResultsWe found that illicit adolescent marijuana cultivation and trading was influenced by eleven contextual factors that are grouped under four levels of socio-ecological influence. These include intrapersonal influences (knowledge and skills in marijuana cultivation and courage), interpersonal influences (peer and family influences), communal level influences (economic reasons, early childhood exposure to marijuana activities, protection of family lands, the topography of the area and soil fertility) and policy-related influences (lack of communal bylaws on marijuana activities and laxity in law enforcement).ConclusionIt is recommended that substance abuse prevention policies and programmes focus on discouraging children from engaging in illicit marijuana activities in IHLM across the four tenets of SEM and curtailing adolescent involvement in marijuana cultivation and trading. There is also the need to incorporate the law enforcement approach into demand reduction strategies of the National Drug Master Plan (NDMP), which employs only an educative approach in its current form. Working agreements between municipal authorities, law enforcement agents and social service professionals also need to be strengthened to push demand reduction strategies for marijuana in communities to protect the rights of children as enshrined in the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005.

Public Provocation to Commit a Terrorist Offence: Balancing between the Liberties and the Security

Modern terrorism is global and decentralized like cyberspace. While the Darknet is mostly used by terrorists for fundraising campaigns and illicit trading, publicly accessible social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook or YouTube are abused for terrorist propaganda. Combating terrorism remains one of the top priorities of the European union (hereinafter as “the EU”). The approach towards the online content possibly connected to terrorist propaganda has become stricter.This paper focuses on the development of the EU legislation on the offence related to terrorist activities: the public provocation to commit a terrorist offence, as well as on the obligations of hosting service providers. It also analyses the impact of the Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA. The article observes a changing attitude on private monitoring of online information in the development of the EU legislation. It analyses changes in the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online. These changes signify a shift in the perception of the necessary level of freedom to receive and impart information through the internet.

Multiplex networks reveal geographic constraints on illicit wildlife trafficking

Illicit wildlife trafficking poses a threat to the conservation of species and ecosystems, and represents a fundamental source of biodiversity loss, alongside climate change and large-scale land degradation. Despite the seriousness of this issue, little is known about various socio-cultural demand sources underlying trafficking networks, for example the forthright consumption of endangered species on different cultural contexts. Our study illustrates how wildlife trafficking represents a wicked problem at the intersection of criminal enforcement, cultural heritage and environmental systems management. As with similar network-based crimes, institutions are frequently ineffective at curbing wildlife trafficking, partly due to the lack of information detailing activities within illicit trading networks. To address this shortcoming, we leverage official government records documenting the illegal trade of reptiles in Colombia. As such, our study contributes to the understanding of how and why wildlife trafficking persists across robust trafficking networks, which are conduits for a broader range of black-market goods. Leveraging geo-spatial data, we construct a multiplex representation of wildlife trafficking networks, which facilitates identifying network properties that are signatures of strategic trafficker behavior. In particular, our results indicate that traffickers’ actions are constrained by spatial and market customs, a result which is apparent only within an integrated multiplex representation. Characteristic levels of sub-network coupling further indicate that traffickers strategically leverage knowledge of the entire system. We argue that this multiplex representation is essential for prioritizing crime enforcement strategies aimed at disrupting robust trade networks, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and resources allocation of institutions charged with curbing illicit trafficking. We develop a generalizable model of multiplex criminal trade networks suitable for communicating with policy makers and practitioners, thereby facilitating rapid translation into public policy and environmental conservation efforts.

Cryptocurrency Adoption in Malaysia: Does Age, Income and Education Level Matter?

Dated back in 2008, the first blockchain-powered cryptocurrency-Bitcoin was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto. Over the years, the types of cryptocurrencies available in the market amounted to more than 2,000. With the disruptive potential to revolutionize the traditional financial services, cryptocurrencies become a topic of interest among scholars, global regulators, investors, business operators, information technology enthusiasts and consumers. Nevertheless, the negative activities associated with cryptocurrencies such as money laundering and illicit trading, have resulted in the legality of cryptocurrencies remain controversial in the global context.As the worldwide regulators expressed different stance towards cryptocurrency acceptance and adoption, this study sought to gauge the individual’s behavioral intention to use cryptocurrency. Recognizing the dearth of study in Asian countries, especially the developing country, this study addresses the literature gap by focusing the case of Malaysian individuals. Specifically, this study investigated the effects of age, education level and income level differences in an individual’s behavioral intention to use cryptocurrency.The sample is made up of 176 Malaysian individuals who are equipped with cryptocurrency knowledge. The empirical data were gathered using online survey questionnaire via Google form. Subsequently, the data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to understand the demographics effect on the intention to adopt cryptocurrency.Finally, the results revealed that the role of age, education and income level are not significant in influencing an individual’s behavior towards cryptocurrency adoption.

Combating Malaysia's Involvement in Worldwide Organ Trafficking by Tapping into the Potential of Bioprinting

Objective - Organ shortages have caused many Malaysian people to travel to India or China to purchase organs illegally and to have those organs transplanted into their body, thus contributing to the worldwide problem of organ trafficking. Bioprinting presents the potential to develop human organs in the future. The objective of this study is to explore, through empirical research, the potential of bioprinting as a means of addressing Malaysia’s organ shortages, thereby discouraging Malaysians from obtaining illicitly acquired organs abroad. Methodology/Technique – This is a qualitative study involving primary data including binding international agreements, soft law (non-binding documents issued by international organizations) and Malaysian legislation dealing with organ trafficking. These legal documents are interpreted through a textual analysis. A content analysis was also conducted on the secondary resources consisting of journals, book chapters, conference and working papers, newspaper reports, and other internet materials. Findings - The results of the study show that between 2014 and 2018, Malaysia experienced significant organ shortages, particularly shortages of kidneys. They also suffered from a lack of transplant specialists and medical teams as well as overburdened government hospitals. The Organ and Tissue Transplantation Bill, a new law replacing the Human Tissues Act of 1974, aims to ban organ trading and regulate organ donations. Malaysian research universities have embraced bioprinting through the production of blood vessels and skin, and the Malaysian government has introduced grants and technology transfers that are hoped to accelerate bioprinting. This has the potential to curb Malaysian involvement in worldwide organ trafficking. Novelty – This study is novel as it proposes bioprinting as a technological solution to illicit organ trading and transplantation within the Malaysian context, which has not been previously suggested. Type of Paper: Review. JEL Classification: K10, K14, K49. Keywords: 2000 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; Bioprinting; Guiding Principles on Human Cell; Transplantation Bill; Organ Trafficking.

Non-cancer pain clinic in three English prisons: understanding prisoner needs and prescribing practice in relation to chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP).

Prisoner access to opiate-based analgesics and gabapentinoids is a concern to prisons through illicit trading. The purpose of this paper is to describe patient needs following introduction of nine pilot chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) clinics for chronic pain in three prisons (two male and one female) in the South of England. The study evaluated the effectiveness of this model and assessed the wider practical implementation issues. Clinical notes were reviewed for 63 consultations, anonymised and recorded for secondary analysis. Alongside CNCP, high levels of substance misuse, physical and mental health histories were noted, especially for female patients. Amitriptyline, pregabalin, gabapentin were the main frontline analgesics prescribed prior to assessment. A total of 41 per cent of patients did not change their medication following the consultation; 25 per cent had their medication increased or reintroduced (greater for women prisoners); with one-third (33 per cent) of patients reducing the prescription of strong opioids and gabapentinoids. Significant differences were noted between male and female patients. Prisoners were amenable to changes in medication to facilitate access to work and other therapeutic interventions. The prescribing of analgesics has largely been couched in terms of disruption to the prison regime through illicit trading. This study highlights the need to place CNCP within wider contexts of substance misuse, physical and emotional health. There is an opportunity to develop a rehabilitative rather than palliative approach to pain management. Gender specific approaches for female patients should be considered. Few studies of CNCP have been conducted within a prison environment.

Effect of restricting the legal supply of prescription opioids on buying through online illicit marketplaces: interrupted time series analysis

ObjectiveTo examine the effect on the trade in opioids through online illicit markets (“cryptomarkets”) of the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s ruling in 2014 to reschedule hydrocodone combination products.DesignInterrupted time series...

EIAs, power and political ecology: Situating resource struggles and the techno-politics of small-scale mining

Academics across disciplines are increasingly employing political ecology lenses to unpack conflicts related to resource extraction. Yet, an area that remains under-researched and under-theorised is how environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are embedded in politics and imagined as sites of power relations. Drawing on long-term fieldwork in Zimbabwe engaging small-scale gold miners, EIA consultants and government officials, this article examines the changing social significance of EIAs during and after a nationwide police operation that was framed by authorities as targeting non-compliance with environmental policy, illegal mining and illicit trading. Among other articulations of dissent, small-scale miners associations protested that EIA enforcement rhetoric served unjustly as a rationale for halting livelihoods and extracting rent from miners in times of economic difficulty. The article challenges EIA narratives that focus narrowly on risk management or governance failure, exploring technocratic obfuscations and how enforcement rhetoric was perceived in relation to criminalisation and coercion, expert environmental consultancy cultures and adapted legacies of colonial practice in contemporary dynamics of rule. Heavy-handed policing under the banner of enforcing order impinged on livelihoods and had counterproductive effects in addressing environmental problems, while complying with expensive EIA report-producing requirements was far beyond the means of most small-scale miners. The article rethinks how technical EIA rhetoric becomes entangled in spaces of contentious politics, the perils of looking only at particular scales of relations to the exclusion of others, and what it means to re-engage Donald Moore’s notion of “shifting alignments and contingent constellations of power.” Suggesting future directions in political ecology theorising in relation to extractive sectors, it calls for careful attention to the situated politics of EIAs – situated in time and space, amid varying relations of power – and how multiple hegemonic practices are conceptualised and challenged.