Generationing development

The articles in this special issue present a persuasive case for accounts of development to recognise the integral and fundamental roles played by age and generation. While the past two decades have witnessed a burgeoning of literature demonstrating that children and youth are impacted by development, and that they can and do participate in development, the literature has tended to portray young people as a special group whose perspectives should not be forgotten. By contrast, the articles collected here make the case that age and generation, as relational constructs, cannot be ignored. Appropriating the term ‘generationing’, the editors argue that a variety of types of age relations profoundly structure the ways in which societies are transformed through development – both immanent processes of neoliberal modernisation and the interventions of development agencies that both respond and contribute to these. Drawing on the seven empirical articles, I attempt to draw some of the ideas together into a narrative that further argues the case for ‘generationing’ but also identifies gaps, questions and implications for further research

Ultrahigh Temperature Materials for Hypersonic Systems Readiness

NPS NRP Project PosterThe proposed study aims to support the Hypersonics RDT&E efforts at the Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) by developing and validating materials that have potential to withstand the high temperatures encountered by systems used in hypersonic flight. Multilayered architectures that combine the high melting temperatures and oxidation resistance of ultrahigh temperature ceramics (UHTC) (top) and graphitic composites (bottom) are proposed along with the technical assessment of their performance. The approach to fabricate the UHTC will employ a low power atmospheric microwave plasma system operating under atmospheric conditions to generate a combination of borides and carbides known for their thermal and/or oxidation resistance. The UHTC particulates generated will be integrated into a layered structure containing a graphitic base. The composite samples produced will be analyzed by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy to determine crystalline structure, microstructural features, and composition. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimeter analyses will be employed to study the oxidation resistance of the new composites up to 1400 degrees C. The ablation resistance will be tested by exposing the materials to temperatures of about 2000 degrees C achieved by an oxyacetylene flame and evaluating its effects. Some of the research questions that this research will answer include: Could we generate strategic and operational alternatives/formulations to the materials currently employed for hypersonic applications? What variables in the plasma system will provide the ideal conditions (power, flow rates, precursor composition) to generate the targeted compositions? What are the properties of the new materials? How do the novel materials compare to current benchmarks? Deliverables include technical report, student thesis or publications produced in the frame of this research.Strategic Systems Programs (SSP)ASN(RDA) - Research, Development, and AcquisitionThis research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Ultrahigh Temperature Materials for Hypersonic Systems Readiness

NPS NRP Technical ReportThe proposed study aims to support the Hypersonics RDT&E efforts at the Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) by developing and validating materials that have potential to withstand the high temperatures encountered by systems used in hypersonic flight. Multilayered architectures that combine the high melting temperatures and oxidation resistance of ultrahigh temperature ceramics (UHTC) (top) and graphitic composites (bottom) are proposed along with the technical assessment of their performance. The approach to fabricate the UHTC will employ a low power atmospheric microwave plasma system operating under atmospheric conditions to generate a combination of borides and carbides known for their thermal and/or oxidation resistance. The UHTC particulates generated will be integrated into a layered structure containing a graphitic base. The composite samples produced will be analyzed by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy to determine crystalline structure, microstructural features, and composition. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimeter analyses will be employed to study the oxidation resistance of the new composites up to 1400 degrees C. The ablation resistance will be tested by exposing the materials to temperatures of about 2000 degrees C achieved by an oxyacetylene flame and evaluating its effects. Some of the research questions that this research will answer include: Could we generate strategic and operational alternatives/formulations to the materials currently employed for hypersonic applications? What variables in the plasma system will provide the ideal conditions (power, flow rates, precursor composition) to generate the targeted compositions? What are the properties of the new materials? How do the novel materials compare to current benchmarks? Deliverables include technical report, student thesis or publications produced in the frame of this research.Strategic Systems Programs (SSP)ASN(RDA) - Research, Development, and AcquisitionThis research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Ultrahigh Temperature Materials for Hypersonic Systems Readiness

NPS NRP Executive SummaryThe proposed study aims to support the Hypersonics RDT&E efforts at the Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) by developing and validating materials that have potential to withstand the high temperatures encountered by systems used in hypersonic flight. Multilayered architectures that combine the high melting temperatures and oxidation resistance of ultrahigh temperature ceramics (UHTC) (top) and graphitic composites (bottom) are proposed along with the technical assessment of their performance. The approach to fabricate the UHTC will employ a low power atmospheric microwave plasma system operating under atmospheric conditions to generate a combination of borides and carbides known for their thermal and/or oxidation resistance. The UHTC particulates generated will be integrated into a layered structure containing a graphitic base. The composite samples produced will be analyzed by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy to determine crystalline structure, microstructural features, and composition. Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimeter analyses will be employed to study the oxidation resistance of the new composites up to 1400 degrees C. The ablation resistance will be tested by exposing the materials to temperatures of about 2000 degrees C achieved by an oxyacetylene flame and evaluating its effects. Some of the research questions that this research will answer include: Could we generate strategic and operational alternatives/formulations to the materials currently employed for hypersonic applications? What variables in the plasma system will provide the ideal conditions (power, flow rates, precursor composition) to generate the targeted compositions? What are the properties of the new materials? How do the novel materials compare to current benchmarks? Deliverables include technical report, student thesis or publications produced in the frame of this research.Strategic Systems Programs (SSP)ASN(RDA) - Research, Development, and AcquisitionThis research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Facility for fast neutron irradiation tests of electronics at the ISIS spallation neutron source

The VESUVIO beam line at the ISIS spallation neutron source was set up for neutron irradiation tests in the neutron energy range above 10 MeV. The neutron flux and energy spectrum were shown, in benchmark activation measurements, to provide a neutron spectrum similar to the ambient one at sea level, but with an enhancement in intensity of a factor of 107. Such conditions are suitable for accelerated testing of electronic components, as was demonstrated here by measurements of soft error rates in recent technology field programable gate arrays

Childhood and the politics of scale: Descaling children's geographies?

This is the post-print version of the final published paper that is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2008 SAGE Publications.The past decade has witnessed a resurgence of interest in the geographies of children's lives, and particularly in engaging the voices and activities of young people in geographical research. Much of this growing body of scholarship is characterized by a very parochial locus of interest — the neighbourhood, playground, shopping mall or journey to school. In this paper I explore some of the roots of children's geographies' preoccupation with the micro-scale and argue that it limits the relevance of research, both politically and to other areas of geography. In order to widen the scope of children's geographies, some scholars have engaged with developments in the theorization of scale. I present these arguments but also point to their limitations. As an alternative, I propose that the notion of a flat ontology might help overcome some difficulties around scalar thinking, and provide a useful means of conceptualizing sociospatiality in material and non-hierarchical terms. Bringing together flat ontology and work in children's geographies on embodied subjectivity, I argue that it is important to examine the nature and limits of children's spaces of perception and action. While these spaces are not simply `local', they seldom afford children opportunities to comment on, or intervene in, the events, processes and decisions that shape their own lives. The implications for the substance and method of children's geographies and for geographical work on scale are considered

Liquid-liquid phase transition in Stillinger-Weber silicon

It was recently demonstrated that the Stillinger-Weber silicon undergoes a liquid-liquid first-order phase transition deep into the supercooled region (Sastry and Angell, Nature Materials 2, 739 (2003)). Here we study the effects of perturbations on this phase transition. We show that the order of the liquid-liquid transition changes with negative pressure. We also find that the liquid-liquid transition disappears when the three-body term of the potential is strengthened by as little as 5 %. This implies that the details of the potential could affect strongly the nature and even the existence of the liquid-liquid phase.Comment: 13 page

Auditory imagery in congenital amusia

Congenital amusia is a neurogenetic disorder affecting various aspects of music and speech processing. Although perception and auditory imagery in the general population may share mechanisms, it is not known whether previously documented perceptual impairments in amusia are coupled with difficulties in imaging auditory objects. We employed the Bucknell Auditory Imagery Scale (BAIS) to assess participants’ self-perceived voluntary imagery and a short earworm questionnaire to gauge their subjective experience of involuntary musical imagery. A total of 32 participants with amusia and 34 matched controls, recruited based on their performance on the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA), filled out the questionnaires in their own time. The earworm scores of amusic participants were not statistically significantly different from those of controls. By contrast, their scores on vividness and control of auditory imagery were significantly lower relative to controls. Overall, results suggest that the presence of amusia may not have an adverse effect on generating involuntary musical imagery—at the level of self-report—but still significantly reduces the individual’s self-rated voluntary imagery of musical, vocal, and environmental sounds. We discuss the findings in the light of previous research on explicit musical judgments and implicit engagement with music, while also touching on some statistical power considerations

Management of Devastating Ocular Trauma--Experience of Maxillofacial Surgeons Deployed to a Forward Field Hospital

Combat-related eye injuries continue to increase in frequency and are generally secondary to Improvised Explosive Devices. Many ocular injuries are potentially preventable by the wearing of ballistic eye protection. The management of penetrating eye trauma is normally outside the routine practice of maxillofacial surgeons in the UK. The aim of this paper is to describe the surgical techniques used in the modern management of devastating ocular trauma including selected case examples managed by British military maxillofacial surgeons deployed to Afghanistan