The security challenges in conflict prone countries.

Conflicts; economic growth; Civil war; post-conflict societies; Violence; Prevention;

The Cost of Failing States and the Limits to Sovereignty

In this paper, we estimate the costs of state failure, both for the failing state itself and for its neighbours. In our analysis, the cost of failure arises from two distinct sources: organized violence due to the incapacity of the state to ensure its own citizens' security and low quality of regulation and public goods due to poor governance. To estimate the cost of failure, we proceed in two steps. First we estimate the annual loss of growth induced by state failure. Then we cumulate this loss over time, taking into account the chances that each year a failing state will exit this status. Our growth estimations suggest that a failing state at peace loses 2.6 percentage points of growth per year, while violence induces a further loss of 1.6 percentage points of growth per year. ...responsibility, conflict, poverty

Paradise Lost: The Costs of State Failure in the Pacific

Globally, state failure is hugely costly. We estimate the total cost of failing states at around US$276 billion per year. In this paper we apply our global framework and methodology to analyse the cost of failing states in the Pacific Ocean. Globally, failing states inflict very large costs on their neighbours and this both justifies and requires regional intervention in decision processes that would normally be the sovereign domain of nation states. Our analysis suggests that islands do not have neighbours in this economic sense. In this respect the Pacific region is distinctive, because its countries are islands, the neighbourhood spillovers that normally generate these costs do not apply. Due to the lack of spillovers we estimate the cost of state failure at US$36 billion. However, our results also indicate that failing states themselves suffer ...Pacific islands, governance, costs, growth, civil war

What explains aid project success in post-conflict situations ?

This paper investigates the effectiveness of post-conflict aid at the project level and aims to identify post-conflict situations as a window of opportunity for project success. The Independent Evaluation Group dataset provides extensive information on the characteristics of World Bank projects including an independent rating of their success, supervision and evaluationquality. The paper estimates the probability of success of aid projects depending on the characteristics of the intervention and looks for possible special patterns in post civil war situations. The results suggest that the probability of success of World Bank projects increases as peace lasts. Supervision appears to be a crucial determinant of the success of projects, especially during the first years of peace. Although the results of the sector-level analysis need to be taken with caution, the authors find that projects in the transport sector and in the urban development sector appear more successful in post-conflict environments. On the contrary, education projects seem less successful and therefore need to be highly supervised. Projects in the private sector should wait as they face a higher probability of failure in the first years of peace.Post Conflict Reconstruction,Post Conflict Reintegration,Social Conflict and Violence,Peace&Peacekeeping,Housing&Human Habitats

Previous pregnancies among young women having an abortion in England and Wales

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to use national statistics on abortions carried out in England and Wales to more precisely estimate the proportion of young women aged under 20 obtaining an abortion who have had one or more previous pregnancies. Methods: Secondary analysis of abortion data from the Office of National Statistic and the Department of Health by parity for women under 20, ordinarily residing in England and Wales, from 1992 - 2013. Results: Over the last 20 years, the proportion of teenagers in England and Wales having an abortion as a result of a subsequent pregnancy increased by 33% (from 0.172 in 1992 to 0.229 in 2013). The majority of this increase occurred prior to 2004 and the proportion now appears to have stabilised. In 2013, 22.9% of the young women aged under 20 who underwent an abortion had had at least one previous pregnancy (either a birth or an abortion). Only a minority (less than 5% of teenagers who obtained an abortion) had had more than one previous pregnancy. Conclusions: The findings show that nearly one in four teenagers presenting for an abortion have already been in contact with health services for a previous birth or abortion. Greater policy emphasis must be placed on the accurate identification of the proportion of teenage pregnancies that occur as a result of a subsequent pregnancy and developing more effective 'secondary prevention' interventions to help first-time pregnant and parenting teenagers

A training guide and reference handbook for elementary school library secretaries in the Iowa City Community School District

The purpose of this project was to create a document that can be used as both a training guide and reference handbook containing of the some basic philosophical and practical information needed for library secretaries in the Iowa City Community School District to perform their jobs as effectively and efficiently as possible. This training guide and reference handbook is presented in two parts. Part 1: Principles of Librarianship, and Part 2: Destiny Basics. Library policies and procedures that are supported by professional organizations and publications have integrity. The goal of Part 1: Principles of Librarianship is to provide ICCSD library secretaries with an understanding of the professional beliefs upon which a number of frequently-questioned library policies and procedures are based. As per the literature reviewed for this project, attention to organizational values during the orientation process is likely to lead to increased commitment to the organization. Specifically, an increased understanding of the beliefs behind library policies and procedures will increase the likelihood that ICCSD library secretaries will be supportive of and in compliance with the policies and procedures that have been put in place. With the widely varied job qualifications and responsibilities expected of library secretaries in the Iowa City Community School District, assuming such a position has the potential to quickly become overwhelming. The purpose of Part 2: Destiny Basics is to provide the newly-hired library secretaries in the Iowa City Community School District with easy-to-follow instructions, both in written and visual forms, for the majority of tasks that are essential during the first month of a new school year

Central Dynamics of Multi-mass Rotating Star Clusters

We investigate the evolutionary nexus between the morphology and internal kinematics of the central regions of collisional, rotating, multi-mass stellar systems, with special attention to the spatial characterisation of the process of mass segregation. We report results from idealized, purely $N$-body simulations that show multi-mass, rotating, and spherical systems rapidly form an oblate, spheroidal massive core, unlike single-mass rotating or multi-mass non-rotating configurations with otherwise identical initial properties, indicating that this evolution is a result of the interplay between the presence of a mass spectrum and angular momentum. This feature appears to be long-lasting, preserving itself for several relaxation times. The degree of flattening experienced by the systems is directly proportional to the initial degree of internal rotation. In addition, this morphological effect has a clear characterisation in terms of orbital architecture, as it lowers the inclination of the orbits of massive stars. We offer an idealised dynamical interpretation that could explain the mechanism underpinning this effect and we highlight possible useful implications, from kinematic hysteresis to spatial distribution of dark remnants in dense stellar systems.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Technology for the Future: In-Space Technology Experiments Program, part 2

The purpose of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) In-Space Technology Experiments Program In-STEP 1988 Workshop was to identify and prioritize technologies that are critical for future national space programs and require validation in the space environment, and review current NASA (In-Reach) and industry/ university (Out-Reach) experiments. A prioritized list of the critical technology needs was developed for the following eight disciplines: structures; environmental effects; power systems and thermal management; fluid management and propulsion systems; automation and robotics; sensors and information systems; in-space systems; and humans in space. This is part two of two parts and contains the critical technology presentations for the eight theme elements and a summary listing of critical space technology needs for each theme

Technology for the Future: In-Space Technology Experiments Program, part 1

The purpose of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) In-Space Technology Experiment Program (In-STEP) 1988 Workshop was to identify and prioritize technologies that are critical for future national space programs and require validation in the space environment, and review current NASA (In-Reach) and industry/university (Out-Reach) experiments. A prioritized list of the critical technology needs was developed for the following eight disciplines: structures; environmental effects; power systems and thermal management; fluid management and propulsion systems; automation and robotics; sensors and information systems; in-space systems; and humans in space. This is part one of two parts and is the executive summary and experiment description. The executive summary portion contains keynote addresses, strategic planning information, and the critical technology needs summaries for each theme. The experiment description portion contains brief overviews of the objectives, technology needs and backgrounds, descriptions, and development schedules for current industry, university, and NASA space flight technology experiments