Militarisation as diffusion: the politics of gender, space and the everyday

Drawing together the work of five feminist scholars whose research spans diverse sociopolitical contexts, this themed section questions militarisation as a fixed condition. Using feminist methodologies to explore the spatialised networks and social mechanisms through which militarisation is sustained and resisted, ‘gendering’ militarisation reveals a complex politics of diffusion at work in a range of everyday power relations. However, diffusion acts not as a unidirectional movement across a border, but as the very contingency which makes militarisation – and transformation – possible. Through connecting the empirical and theoretical work on militarisation with feminist geographies, the authors in this collection highlight the influence of military thinking and institutions, not as static structures, but instead as productive sites

Impacts of experimental flooding on microbial communities and methane fluxes in an urban meadow, baton rouge, louisiana

© 2019 King and Henry. The impacts of extended flooding on microbial communities and their activities in natural and agricultural wetlands have been well-documented, but there is little basis for predicting the responses of urban soil microbial communities to infrequent, short-term flooding. To assess these responses, surface soil samples (0–1 cm) and intact soil cores (10 cm depth) were collected from an urban meadow in Baton Rouge, LA subsequent to an unprecedented flood during August 2016. During the flood, a topographically low region of the meadow (LM) was inundated for at least several days, while an elevated area (upper meadow or UM) was not flooded. Microbial community composition and diversity at each site were assessed for soils collected from cores at various depths over the upper 10 cm before and after 3 days of experimental flooding ex situ. Cores from LM and UM were also used to assess methane fluxes before and after the experimental flooding. The results indicated that methane fluxes differed between LM and UM sites, and that they were affected by flooding. LM cores emitted methane prior to flooding, and rates increased substantially post-flooding; UM cores consumed methane to levels below ambient atmospheric concentrations prior to flooding, but emitted methane post-flooding. In contrast both LM and UM microbial communities were resistant to short-term flooding, with no significant changes observed at either site, or at any depth interval from the surface to 10 cm. However, LM and UM soil communities differed significantly, with distinct distributions of Acidobacteria, Nitrospirae, and Thaumarchaeota among others. Based on responses of soil cores to experimental flooding, the differences between sites in microbial communities did not appear to be residual effects of the August, 2016 flood, but rather appeared to arise from physical, chemical, and biological variables that change along a 4-m elevation gradient. Collectively, the results suggest that the composition and diversity for some urban soils might be insensitive to short-term flooding, but that important biogeochemical processes, e.g., methane fluxes, might respond rapidly

Methodological Issues in the Assessment Market Share Effects of Airline Computer Reservations Systems

The business value of airline firm investments in computerized reservation systems (CRSs) has been documented in the businesspress,governmentlitigationandincasestudies,butjustacouplestudiesofferempiricalresults. Thisresearchextends what we know about the dynamics of airline market share creation as a result of travel agency automation. (“Market share” is commonly understood to mean the portion of total revenue passenger miles captured by an individual carrier from an origin to a destination city-pair.) At another more general level, it aims to deliver modeling and methodological insights that bear on contemporary settings in which information technology (IT) is employed in the marketing mix. In electronic commerce, for example, these include the use of point-of-sale debit systems or electronic money as ways-to-pay, web-based versus traditional corporate advertising, and participation in electronic markets for the sale of physical goods

Nitric Oxide and Cnidarian-Dinoflagellate Symbioses: Pieces of a Puzzle

The presence of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity is demonstrated in the tropical marine cnidarian Aiptasia pallida and in its symbiotic dinoflagellate algae, Symbiodinium bermudense. Enzyme activity was assayed by measuring the conversion of arginine to citrulline. Biochemical characterization of NOS from Aiptasia was characterized with respect to cellular localization, substrate and cofactor requirements, inhibitors, and kinetics. In response to acute temperature shock, anemones retracted their tentacles. Animals subjected to such stress had lower NOS activities than did controls. Treatment with NOS inhibitors caused tentacular retraction, while treatment with the NOS substrate L-arginine inhibited this response to stress, as did treatment with NO donors. These results provide a preliminary biochemical characterization of, and suggest a functional significance for, NOS activity in anthozoan-algal symbiotic assemblages

Balances y perspectivas de los procesos de concentración empresarial en el desarrollo de la economía peruana y su impacto en el sector financiero

Durante los últimos años, las concentraciones empresariales han puesto de manifiesto el cambio de la visión tradicional de la empresa a la concepción de la empresa moderna. Este tránsito ha sido resultado de las exigencias actuales de los mercados que afectados, especialmente, por los fenómenos de la globalización, reclaman la implementación de nuevas estrategias empresariales. Los resultados económicos ponen de manifiesto que los procesos de concentración más utilizados han sido las fusiones, adquisiciones y –recientemente- la constitución de grupos de empresas. De esta manera se ha hecho posible que la economía peruana muestre importantes cambios en su desarrollo, proyectándose un óptimo crecimiento en los años futuros. Dicha situación tiene importante reflejo en el sector financiero donde la presencia de los grupos económicos se ha fortalecido considerablemente, pero al mismo tiempo ha planteado importantes desafíos en la regulación; sobre todo porque es función del Estado compatibilizar el interés privado con el interés social; que tenga a la justicia como valor rector, en equilibrio dinámico con la libertad, fundamentando en ambos la construcción de una sociedad con mayores niveles de equidad

Anthropogenic influence on climate change induced drought in the American Southwest

Anthropogenic influence on climate change induced drought in the predominantly arid region of the American Southwest plays a major role in the effects it has over climate, environment, and sustainability. Topics such as fossil fuels, megadroughts, sustainability, and human roles are addressed specifically. Background and discussion sections are included as a literature review that goes over the different variables involving anthropogenic influence on climate change induced drought. Drought and climate change and natural phenomena such as monsoons are found to be linked together. However, human influences from fossil fuels and water resource usage are also a significant factor in climate change induced drought in the American Southwest. This paper demonstrates how human influence on global warming has caused an increase in drought conditions and human water usage is putting them further at risk by depleting water resources. Two paths are considered to combat water shortage issues and with one being to acquire new water resources and the other to conserve and recycle water. There may not be a single resolution to drought, but sustainable practices appear to be the best way to combat the negative effects of climate change induced drought in the American Southwest

SB44-17/18 Resolution Regarding ASUM Student-Paid Positions

This resolution passed 19Y-4N-2A on a roll call vote during the April 25, 2018 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)

The Difference in Efficiency and Pulmonary Function While Performing Cycle Ergometry on Land and in Water

The purpose of this study was to quantify the difference in net efficiency and pulmonary function while performing cycle ergometry on land in water. Thirty healthy adults (mean ± SD, age, 20 ± 2 y; stature, 165 ± 10 cm; mass, 70 ± 5 kg) participated in one day of testing consisting of both land and water conditions. Heart rate, O2 consumption, CO2 production, rated perceived exertion, and minute ventilation were measured for both conditions at rest, pedaling at no resistance, 50, and 100 W for two minutes. A repeated measures two-way ANOVA with post hoc tests was used to analyzed the data. The magnitude of physiological functions (rated perceived exertion, minute ventilation, energy expenditure, & heart rate) increased at higher resistance levels (50 and 100W) in water as compared to land. Efficiency decreased at 50 and 100W in water. Energy expenditure and minute ventilation both increase while cycling in water, resulting in a decrease of efficiency by 4.61%. This is due to the drag forces associated with fluid dynamics. This study and its results add to the understanding of water exercise and are beneficial to the rehabilitation and the general well-being and health of the population.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Shawn Henr

Research on the current state of PRS monitoring systems

This report reviews recent literature on monitoring Poverty Reduction Strategies. It discusses four challenging areas: institutional arrangements; the role of non-government organisations; implementation and intermediate output monitoring; and using results. The main findings are: • Severe capacity constraints are not sufficiently acknowledged. International agencies should be less ambitious about what can be achieved and in what time frame. • The “technical secretariats”, responsible for implementing monitoring, are of central importance. Their need for analytical skills is widely acknowledged, but expertise in data management, communication and marketing are also necessary. • Building cooperation between ministries and agencies responsible for producing data is proving difficult. Success often depends on the status, capabilities and personalities of key people, not on formal mandates and frameworks. • Unless countries have strong local monitoring systems, it is hard to see that building local PRS monitoring capacity should be an immediate priority, given the magnitude of this task. • There is often confusion about the role of civil society in government monitoring systems. It is important that all stakeholders are aware of the involvement offered and that sufficient thought is given to the capacity, information access and influence required for civil society to perform their role. • The “chains of causality” between policies and outcomes remain problematic. This leads to problems in identifying appropriate intermediate indicators. Given scarce resources, a focus on monitoring budget allocations – linked to a small set of basic provision indicators – may be a reasonable and realistic starting point. • Administrative data provide essential information, but often not of sufficient quality for PRS monitoring. It is worth exploring possibilities for combining them with other sources to generate “best estimates”. • Demand for PRS monitoring information, other than to meet donor requirements, is often very weak. Monitoring systems must include marketing and communication activities to build this demand. Keywords: PRSPs, monitoring, evaluation, participatory processes, poverty assessments, institutional reform, decentralisation, poverty indicators. The findings of the fieldwork support the hypothesis that communities exposed to the risk of civil war consciously take rational courses of action over their assets to confront the adverse effects of the war. One apparent policy implication that arises from this is that communities exposed to civil war consciously manage their assets, it is possible to pursue poverty programmes during conflict in order to support the innovative household assets management strategies as well as addressing the underlying sources of grievance and horizontal inequality. While such programmes may not be relevant to communities exposed to endogenous counterinsurgency warfare, they are appropriate to support assets management strategies adopted by households exposed to exogenous counterinsurgency warfare