The Politics of Neglect: the Egyptian State in Cairo, 1974-98

This thesis examines state-society relations in Egypt, and the logic of durable authoritarianism since 1952. It does so through an examination of the Egyptian state’s neglectful rule, from the 1970s through the 1990s, of its capital Cairo. In particular, the thesis focuses on state inaction vis-à-vis Cairo’s informal housing sector: those neighbourhoods established on land not officially sanctioned for urbanization. The central research question of the thesis is to explain why the Egyptian state has been unable to intervene effectively in these informal neighbourhoods—despite their stigmatization in Egyptian public discourse as threats to the nation’s social, moral and political health; the authoritarian state’s considerable unilateral power; and the availability of western assistance for development interventions. The short answer to the question, is that the very factors which sustain the authoritarian political order constrain the Egyptian state’s ability to intervene in its capital. Neglectful rule is a consequence of the autocratic post-1952 dispensation of power. That this neglect is not simply the result of structural resource constraints, is demonstrated through the examination of donor-funded urban-development projects—aimed at fostering an administratively competent Egyptian state able to intervene in its capital—none of which were successful or sustainable. The failure of these reform initiatives, which could have allowed Egyptian state agencies to upgrade informal Cairo and re-orient its growth, can be plausibly explained in terms of the challenges they posed to the logic of autocratic rule. Thus the reproduction of the informal city is, in part, a consequence of the post-1952 dispensation

Ultraviolet Radiation from Evolved Stellar Populations: II. The Ultraviolet Upturn Phenomenon in Elliptical Galaxies

We present an analysis of the far-ultraviolet upturn phenomenon (UVX) observed in elliptical galaxies and spiral galaxy bulges. Our premise is that the UV radiation from these systems emanates primarily from extreme horizontal branch (EHB) stars and their progeny. We re-derive the broad-band UV colors $1500-V$ and $2500-V$ for globular clusters and elliptical galaxies from the available satellite data and investigate color-color and color-line strength correlations. We also provide the ingredients necessary for constructing models with arbitrary HB morphologies.Comment: uuencoded compressed postscript file, 60pp. (revisions on pp. 7,8,22,33,37 & 57

Analysis of iodide and iodate in soil and water

Halide anions such as iodide have important roles in biological and environmental sciences. Environmental iodine is useful in oceanography and atmospheric studies as well as studies of soils and mineral deposits. The fission product, Iodine-129, is a major concern to the Department of Energy because it is a radiation hazard to the public. Consequently, there is great potential value in examining patterns of iodine migration and sorption near weapons test sites and nuclear waste facilities. Traditional iodide analyses, such as by ion chromatography or ion selective electrode, are generally limited to ppm concentrations. Electrochemical methods are very sensitive but vulnerable to organic fouling and interference by other ionic species. The goal of this project was to develop a sensitive iodide and iodate assay to apply to the analysis of environmental water and soil samples. Two different approaches based on GC/MS were developed and tested; The first approach is based on adsorption of the iodide in an aqueous sample by anion exchange resin. The resin is then analyzed by pyrolysis-GC/MS. Pyrolysis of the resin yields methyl iodide, a favored reaction product. During pyrolysis the methyl iodide (MeI) is produced in proportion to its abundance in the sample and can be analyzed by GC/MS. Standard concentration iodide solutions are used to produce a calibration curve. The iodide concentrations of environmental samples are quantified by correlation to the calibration curve. Two strong base anion exchange resins were studied. The first, AG1-X8, consists of poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride). A pyridine based polymer, poly(divinylbenzene-co-1-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium chloride), was the other resin studied. The two quaternary amine based resins were used to derive calibration curves and to analyze samples. Acceptable calibration curves were generated with AG-1 and the poly-pyridinium chloride resin over the iodide concentration range, 5 nanomolar to 500 nanomolar. However, the I- analyses by pyrolysis-GC/MS of environmental samples (e.g. Lake Mead water samples) proved to be unacceptable in both accuracy and precision; Efforts were redirected to the determination of iodide and iodate in environmental samples by the second assay method. Iodide in a 50.0 mL aqueous sample is derivatized to methyl iodide by reaction with dimethylsulfate in a 60 mL septum (crimp) sealed reaction vessel. After the reaction is finished a 500 muL gas sample of the reaction vessel headspace is analyzed for MeI by GC/MS. Acceptable calibration curves were obtained for the I- concentration range, 1 nanomolar to 500 nanomolar. Total inorganic iodine (TII) is quantified by reducing the sample iodate to iodide with sodium dithionite and then applying the same analytical procedure as described above for iodide. Iodate is then determined by the difference between TII and iodide. Measurements of iodide and iodate were made on Las Vegas tap water and Lake Mead water samples. In addition, the soluble iodide and iodate concentrations in salt rich soil samples from the Virgin River area (Black Butte Series) were determined

Genetics In Relation to Forest Management

INTEREST in genetics and forest genetics has soared to unprecedented heights in recent years. Forest genetics is not just a hot topic for conversation and debate-it is a going research field-well-financed and country-wide in scope

A guide for performing system safety analysis

A general guide is presented for performing system safety analyses of hardware, software, operations and human elements of an aerospace program. The guide describes a progression of activities that can be effectively applied to identify hazards to personnel and equipment during all periods of system development. The general process of performing safety analyses is described; setting forth in a logical order the information and data requirements, the analytical steps, and the results. These analyses are the technical basis of a system safety program. Although the guidance established by this document cannot replace human experience and judgement, it does provide a methodical approach to the identification of hazards and evaluation of risks to the system