To Build as Well as Destroy

This book provides the most detailed analysis yet of the failure of U.S. nation-building in the Vietnam War. In doing so, it demolishes the “better war” school of writing on the topic, which argues that the U.S. was successful in building a legitimate and viable non-Communist state in South Vietnam in the latter years of the war. Drawing on fresh archival collections and previously unseen oral histories with dozens of U.S. nation-builders, the book demonstrates that the U.S. never came close to achieving victory. The book’s narrative stretches from the offices in Washington in which policy was designed down into the villages in which it was implemented, providing the most comprehensive analysis yet of the largest and best-resourced nation-building program in U.S. history. Only by understanding and facing the reasons for this failure can we avoid repeating the tragic mistake of the Vietnam War again in the future

Active learners in numeracy: implementing guided play for early numeracy learning

Reception teachers frequently report a tension between the development of children’s academic knowledge and skills and that of the prime areas of learning (communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and physical development). This is particularly pertinent when considering support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are often adversely affected by environmental factors. Play-based pedagogies, such as guided play, have the potential to address this tension; however, further practical guidance is needed on implementation. This action research project sought to develop a research-informed approach to implementing guided play in the teaching of early number concepts, which, simultaneously, addressed the prime areas of learning with a focus on physical development. A toolkit of activities and resources was developed and delivered in five schools, for 150 children. Naturalistic observation data was gathered from teachers from each school. Key observations are shared that explore how children’s number sense develops through multisensory and socially interactive approaches. An evaluation of the practical limitations of the project offers insights that may support other teacher-researchers

To Build as Well as Destroy

This book provides the most detailed analysis yet of the failure of U.S. nation-building in the Vietnam War. In doing so, it demolishes the “better war” school of writing on the topic, which argues that the U.S. was successful in building a legitimate and viable non-Communist state in South Vietnam in the latter years of the war. Drawing on fresh archival collections and previously unseen oral histories with dozens of U.S. nation-builders, the book demonstrates that the U.S. never came close to achieving victory. The book’s narrative stretches from the offices in Washington in which policy was designed down into the villages in which it was implemented, providing the most comprehensive analysis yet of the largest and best-resourced nation-building program in U.S. history. Only by understanding and facing the reasons for this failure can we avoid repeating the tragic mistake of the Vietnam War again in the future

Sediment dispersal and redistributive processes in axial and transverse deep-time source-to-sink systems of marine rift basins: Dampier Sub-basin, Northwest Shelf, Australia

Morphological scaling relationships between source‐to‐sink segments have been widely explored in modern settings, however, deep‐time systems remain difficult to assess due to limited preservation of drainage basins and difficulty in quantifying complex processes that impact sediment dispersals. Integration of core, well‐logs and 3‐D seismic data across the Dampier Sub‐basin, Northwest Shelf of Australia, enables a complete deep‐time source‐to‐sink study from the footwall (Rankin Platform) catchment to the hanging wall (Kendrew Trough) depositional systems in a Jurassic late syn‐rift succession. Hydrological analysis identifies 24 drainage basins on the J50.0 (Tithonian) erosional surface, which are delimited into six drainage domains confined by NNE‐SSW trending grabens and their horsts, with drainage domain areas ranging between 29 and 156 km2. Drainage outlets of these drainage domains are well preserved along the Rankin Fault System scarp, with cross‐sectional areas ranging from 0.08 to 0.31 km2. Corresponding to the six drainage domains, sedimentological and geomorphological analysis identifies six transverse submarine fan complexes developing in the Kendrew Trough, ranging in areas from 43 to 193 km2. Seismic geomorphological analysis reveals over 90‐km‐long, slightly sinuous axial turbidity channels, developing in the lower topography of the Kendrew Trough which erodes toe parts of transverse submarine fan complexes. Positive scaling relationships exist between drainage outlet spacing and drainage basin length, and drainage outlet cross‐sectional area and drainage basin area, which indicates the geometry of drainage outlets can provide important constraints on source area dimensions in deep‐time source‐to‐sink studies. The broadly negative bias of fan area to drainage basin area ratios indicates net sediment losses in submarine fan complexes caused by axial turbidity current erosion. Source‐to‐sink sediment balance studies must be done with full evaluating of adjacent source‐to‐sink systems to delineate fans and their associated up‐dip drainages, to achieve an accurate tectonic and sedimentologic picture of deep‐time basins.publishedVersio

Progressive tilting of salt-bearing continental margins controls thin-skinned deformation

As a primary driving force, margin tilting is crucial for gravity-driven thin-skinned salt tectonics. We investigated how instant versus progressive margin tilting mechanisms influence salt tectonics using an analogue modeling setup where tilting rate could be controlled. Instant tilting resulted in initially high deformation rates, triggering widely distributed upslope extension and downslope contraction. Later, both the extensional and contractional domains migrated upslope as early extensional structures were successively deactivated, while deformation rates decreased exponentially. In contrast, progressive tilting led to downslope migration of the extensional domain by sequentially formed, long-lived normal faults. Contraction localized on a few, long-lived thrusts before migrating upslope. We attribute the distinct structural evolution of thin-skinned deformation, especially in the extensional domain, in the two tilting scenarios mainly to mechanical coupling between the brittle overburden and underlying viscous material. The coupling effect in turn is largely controlled by the deformation rate. By demonstrating the spatiotemporal variations of structural style and kinematic evolution associated with instant versus progressive tilting, we suggest that such variation is identifiable in nature and therefore can provide a new way to analyze margin tilting histories.publishedVersio

Saigon in the Sixties

History and International Relation

All Counterinsurgency is Local: Counterinsurgency and Rebel Legitimacy

History and International Relation

Taking US foreign policy for the middle class seriously

History and International Relation

Rural government advisers in South Vietnam and the U.S. war effort, 1962–1973

History and International Relation