The conduct of war and the notion of victory: a theory and definition of victory

Clausewitz described military victory as a condition where the enemy‘s ability to enter battle, resist or resume hostilities is destroyed. The concept summarises the paradigm of success that preceded Clausewitz and survived through much of the 20th century. Despite increasingly paradoxical outcomes in the last century and the current one, military planners, strategists and statesmen sought answers for failures in different places, only a few questioned the validity of the notion of victory that Clausewitz had so veritably summarised. The fundamental question that begs an answer is ‗what is victory?‘ The rapid transformation in society and international culture has brought with it changes in geo-political and geo-economic relationships as well as warfare. While the traditional linkages between war and politics remain, the mechanisms driving these have altered. In less than absolute wars, it is the wider bargain and the stakes in that bargain that make the ‗enemy do our will‘ and not purely an inability to enter battle, resist or resume hostilities. The new complexities surrounding war and diplomacy necessitate an organising theory to make better sense of policy and action. This research provides one such theory. War is ultimately a violent clash of societies and its character a reflection of opposing cultures, history and experiences. An external dimension to strategy is thus always at work even if not fully recognised; as is often the case. Such un-factored influences create a sort of volatility in victory and defeat adding new challenges while offering opportunities at the same time. Similarly, diplomacy, which invariably precedes and succeeds coercive or compelling use of violence, too is fettered by such external influences. A bivariate approach that triangulates desired ends with the opposing notions of success and perception of defeat is argued. The theory presented encapsulates traditional precepts, adds new ones and simplifies the complexities that have come to surround victory in contemporary times. Offered here are some valuable ingredient to flavour any strategic recipe, not just war and conflict. The eternal challenge of calibrating means and ends needed more systematic awareness of functional and dominant domains of victory which is arguably possible through application of simple principles. The theory potentially allows for a more focused, proportionate, efficient and productive use of power. It is hoped that strategists and analysts alike, would find here new concepts and tools for use in praxis, perspective planning and retrospective analyses

Nucleon and nuclear structure functions with non-perturbative and higher order perturbative QCD effects

We have studied the nucleon structure functions $F_{iN}^{EM} (x,Q^2);~i=1,2$, by including contributions due to the higher order perturbative QCD effect up to NNLO and the non-perturbative effects due to the kinematical and dynamical higher twist (HT) effects. The numerical results for $F_{iN}^{EM}(x,Q^2)$ are obtained using Martin, Motylinski, Harland-Lang, Thorne (MMHT) 2014 NLO and NNLO nucleon parton distribution functions (PDFs). The dynamical HT correction has been included following the renormalon approach as well as the phenomenological approach and the kinematical HT effect is incorporated using the works of Schienbein et al. These nucleon structure functions have been used as an input to calculate the nuclear structure functions $F_{iA}^{EM} (x,Q^2)$. In a nucleus, the nuclear corrections arise because of the Fermi motion, binding energy, nucleon correlations, mesonic contribution, shadowing and antishadowing effects. These nuclear corrections are taken into account in the numerical calculations to obtain the nuclear structure functions $F_{iA}^{EM} (x,Q^2)$, for the various nuclear targets like $^{12}C$, $^{27}Al$, $^{56}Fe$, $^{64}Cu$, $^{118}Sn$, $^{197}Au$ and $^{208}Pb$ which are of experimental interest. The effect of isoscalarity correction for nonisoscalar nuclear targets has also been studied. The results for the $F_{iA}^{EM} (x,Q^2)$ are compared with nCTEQ nuclear PDFs parameterization as well as with the experimental results from JLab, SLAC and NMC in the kinematic region of $0.1 \le x \le 0.8$ for several nuclei.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1705.0990

Electromagnetic and Weak Nuclear Structure Functions F1,2(x,Q2)F_{1,2}(x,Q^2) in the Intermediate Region of Q2Q^2

We have studied nuclear structure functions $F_{1A}(x,Q^2)$ and $F_{2A}(x,Q^2)$ for electromagnetic and weak processes in the region of $1 GeV^2 < Q^2 <8 GeV^2$. The nuclear medium effects arising due to Fermi motion, binding energy, nucleon correlations, mesonic contributions and shadowing effects are taken into account using a many body field theoretical approach. The calculations are performed in a local density approximation using a relativistic nucleon spectral function. The results are compared with the available experimental data. Implications of nuclear medium effects on the validity of Callan-Gross relation are also discussed.Comment: Published in Journal of the Physical Society of Japan (NuInt-2015

Study on Blast Pressure Resistance of Foamed Concrete Material

Great demand exist for more efficient design to protect personals and critical components against explosion or blast wave, generated both accidentally and deliberately, in various blast scenarios in both civilian and military activities. Concrete is a common material used in protective design of structures. Recently, the demands on producing the lighter concrete material have become interest in concrete research. Foamed concrete is a possible alternative of lightweight concrete for producing intermediate strength capabilities with excellent thermal insulation, freeze-thaw resistance, high-impact resistance and good shock absorption. This paper explores the role and development of Blast Pressure Resistant Materials (BPRM&rsquo;s) on foamed concrete. The explosive tests were conducted to determine the blast mitigating properties. The results show that when the foamed concrete density is increases the blast energy absorption capability will be decreases due to reduce of cavity volume. This is suggested that cavity plays an important role to dissipate and absorb the shock energy of the blast

Finite Element Simulation on Crack Analysis of a Thick-Tube

Most engineering failure began with cracks. Crack may caused by material defect, discontinuities in geometry or damage in service. Thus, Fracture Mechanics is introduced as a method for predicting failure of a surface containing a crack. This project is focusing on pre-existing crack with assumption that no microscopic defects are presents. Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) is used to evaluate the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) of the specimen. Further analysis is done by incorporating Elastic Plastic Fracture Mechanics (EPFM) to understand the crack growth over period of time. In this study, the important parameters in fracture mechanics such as Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), Crack Mouth Opening Displacement (CMOD), J Integral and stable crack growth are been investigated. A complex loading simulation of NKS-3 specimen is done using finite element modeling. The NKS-3 is a thick-tube used in Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) which has a circumferential flaw on its inner surface. The cylinder is loaded with axial tensile load and internal pressure combined with thermal shock. A 2-Dimensional Axysimmetric-4 nodes element with focused mesh at the crack tip is employed in the simulation. Several analyses have been done using hardening data at different temperature. A comparison of solution is made for simulation with and without thermal load history. Further analysis showed that the stable crack growth is estimated to be around 3.0mm

Youth of West Cameroon are at high risk of developing IDD due to low dietary iodine and high dietary thiocyanate.

Objectives: Hypothyroidism in utero leading to mental retardation is highly prevalent and recurrent in developing countries where iodine deficiency and thiocyanate overload are combined. So, to explore and identify human population's risks for developing iodine deficiency disorders and their endemicity in Western Cameroon, with the aim to prevent this deficiency and to fight again it, urinary iodine and thiocyanate levels were determined. Methods: The district of Bamougoum in Western Cameroon was selected for closer study due to its geographic location predisposing for iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). A comprehensive sampling strategy included 24-h urine samples collected over three days from 120 school-aged children. Urinary iodine and thiocyanate levels were measured by colorimetric methods. Results: Twenty one percent of boys between the ages 3 and 19 were classified as iodine deficient. The prevalence of thiocyanate overload in the same population was found to be 20%. Conclusion: Presence of endemic iodine deficiency and excessive thiocyanate in the population indicates that the region is at risk of iodine deficiency disorder. A multifactorial approach that includes improvement of diet, increasing iodine and minimizing goitrogen substances intake, soil and crop improvement and an iodine supplementation program may help alleviate IDD in the affected area studied. African Health Sciences Vol. 8 (4) 2008: pp. 227-23