African Linguistics in Central and Eastern Europe, and in the Nordic Countries

Non peer reviewe

Big Data Downlink Enablers for Next Generation Tactical U.S. Army Applications

Small satellites do not necessarily lack the capability to collect large quantities of relevant data. The real limitation in fielding large constellations of small satellites is the inability to efficiently downlink large quantities of collected data. Ground station assets and high-throughput communications subsystems that close the radio frequency (RF) link for large numbers of point-to-point “tight-beam” links are not yet available to support LEO constellations of small satellites. This paper summarizes emerging solutions to meet the demand for high data rate downlinks to support the ‘big data’ volumes enabled by large constellations of small satellites. These solutions utilize software-defined radio (SDR) platforms employing multi-band S-, X-, and Ka-band transceivers capable of closing SATCOM links in excess of 300 Mbps to small, tactically-placed ground stations. Key enabling technologies discussed include: three degree-of-freedom (3DOF) steering of small high-gain apertures; existing and in-development X- and Ka-band RF frontends with greater than 500 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth; baseband processors with greater than 500 MHz of modulation bandwidth; and baseband processors capable of streaming significant quantities of data to and from external high-density storage subsystems. This paper will then address applications to the operational relevance of the next generation of tactical U.S. Army small satellites and the viability of creating point-to-point, high bandwidth, ‘over-the-horizon’ communication links for remote users

African Linguistics in Asia and Australia

Asian and Australian institutions with a research focus on African languages are of fairly recent vintage. Japan has a strong academic infrastructure devoted to African linguistics, based in several universities and research centres. China looks back more than 50 years of interest in teaching Swahili and other major African languages, recently broadening the scope to encompass other issues of linguistic interest. In South Korea, teaching Swahili was also the precursor of more general African linguistics, allowing for regional specializations of researchers. In Australia, academic interest emerges with the increasing presence of experts on African languages and linguistics in the country