Religions, Poverty Reduction and Global Development Institutions

Religious traditions have always played a central role in supporting those experiencing poverty, through service delivery as well as the provision of spiritual resources that provide mechanisms for resilience at both the individual and community level. However, the fact that religions can be seen to support social structures and practices that contribute towards inequality and conflict, also underscores a role for religious traditions in creating conditions of poverty. While the Western-led modern global development institutions that have emerged since the Second World War have tended to be secular in nature, over the past decade or so there has been an apparent ‘turn to religion’ by these global development institutions, as well as in academic development studies. This reflects the realization that modernization and secularization do not necessarily go together, and that religious values and faith actors are important determinants in the drive to reduce poverty, as well as in structures and practices that underpin it. This paper traces three phases of engagement between religions and global development institutions. In phase one, the ‘pre-secular’ or the ‘integrated phase’ seen during the colonial era, religion and poverty reduction were intimately entwined, with the contemporary global development project being a legacy of this. The second phase is the ‘secular’ or the ‘fragmented’ phase, and relates to the era of the global development industry, which is founded on the normative secularist position that modernization will and indeed should lead to secularization. The third phase is characterized by the ‘turn to religion’ from the early 2000s. Drawing the three phases together and reflecting on the nature of the dynamics within the third phase, the ‘turn to religion’, this paper is underpinned by two main questions. First, what does this mean for the apparent processes of secularization? Is this evidence that they are being reversed and that we are witnessing the emergence of the ‘desecularization of development’ or of a ‘post-secular development praxis’? Second, to what extent are FBOs working in development to be defined as neo-liberalism’s ‘little platoons’—shaped by and instrumentalized to the service of secular neo-liberal social, political and economic systems, or do we need to develop a more sophisticated account that can contribute towards better policy and practice around poverty reduction

Programmable Logic Controllers: Programming Methods and Applications

Programmable Logic Controllers provides the student with a general working knowledge of the various PLC brands and models. Programming concepts applicable to virtually all controllers are discussed, and practical programming problems are presented throughout the text. A basic understanding of AC/DC circuits, electronic devices (including thyristors), basic logic gates, flip-flops, Boolean algebra, and college algebra and trigonometry is a prerequisite. The PLC simulation CD that accompanies the text provides hands-on programming experience.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/engtech_books/1002/thumbnail.jp

Echocardiographic Study of the Paradoxical Arterial Pulse in Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease

SUMMARY In nine subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulsus paradoxus, M-mode echocardiograms showed inspiratory augmentation of right ventricular dimensions and inspiratory decrease of left ventricular diastolic dimensions. In five subjects in whom the echocardiographic transistor was in the subxiphoid position, mean right ventricular dimensions increased during inspiration from 1.4 4 0.20 to 2.96 ± 0.38 cm (p < 0.01). With inspiration, mean left ventricular diastolic dimensions decreased from 4.8 + 0.61 to 3.7 ± 0.63 cm (p < 0.01) in these five subjects. Two-dimensional echocardiograms, performed in three subjects, confirmed inspiratory augmentation of right ventricular cross-sectional area. Similar changes were produced in two normal volunteers by artificial obstruction to breathing. Left ventricular ejection time measurements demonstrated an inspiratory decline in left ventricular stroke volume. Inspiratory filling of the right ventricle is not hampered, but rather is exaggerated in patients with COPD and pulsus paradoxus, and left ventricular stroke volume is reduced during inspiration. Exaggerated variations in intrathoracic pressure alone did not explain pulsus paradoxus. Increased right ventricular filling and stroke volume during inspiration probably play a part. IN 1698 Floyer described inspiratory disappearance of the arterial pulse during attacks of bronchial asthma.' Severe degrees of chronic obstructive airway disease are also known to be associated with weakening of the arterial pulse during inspiration (paradoxical pulse, or pulsus paradoxus).2 However, studies of the mechanism of pulsus paradoxus are recent. Echocardiographic investigations of patients with pulsus paradoxus and cardiac tamponade36 have suggested inspiratory diminution of left ventricular filling, but inspiratory augmentation of right ventricular filling during pulsus paradoxus with cardiac tamponade. The echocardiogram has also been evaluated in the setting of paradoxical pulse with pulmonary embolism.6 We previously described echocardiograms of two patients with chronic obstructive airway disease and pulsus paradoxus.5 These two patients also showed inspiratory augmentation of right ventricular dimension and inspiratory diminution of left ventricular dimension. In this paper we report an investigation of pulsus paradoxus in a larger group of patients and explore the mechanism of this phenomenon in obstructive airway disease. For this study, pulsus paradoxus was defined as an inspiratory decrease of systolic blood pressure of 10 mm Hg or more

Aircraft Decompression with Installed Cockpit Security Door

A zero-dimensional model of cockpit and cabin decompression with cockpit security door is presented. The hinged panels in the security door were modeled to account for the pressure-equalization dynamics in the case of cockpit decompression. A comprehensive isentropic and isothermal theoretical analysis is presented with many closed-form and asymptotic solutions. New analytical estimates for the total decompression time and the pressure half-time were derived. The simulations for typical corporate and large-transport-category airplanes with different cabin geometries, discharge coefficients, rupture cross-sectional areas, pressure altitudes, and cabin altitudes have been obtained. The case in which the cockpit depressurizes first and its effect on the cabin decompression and on the security door integrity has been extensively studied. The recently required cockpit doors may be hazardous for flight crew in the case cockpit depressurizes first and other venting and blowout panels malfunction or are too slow to respond. The resulting pressure differential between the cockpit and the cabin can create instantaneous forces in excess of 80 kN on the cockpit security door. In addition, this puts the crew in danger due to explosive decompression on the time scale of 100 ms and increases the possibility of the security door being blown out of the frame

Controle químico de arroz-vermelho na cultura do arroz irrigado Red rice chemical control in irrigated rice

A ocorrência de arroz-vermelho (Oryza spp.) em áreas de arroz irrigado reduz a produtividade de grãos da lavoura e a qualidade do produto colhido. Em vista disso, desenvolveu-se um experimento com o objetivo de comparar duas ferramentas para controle do arroz-vermelho: uma usando o Sistema Clearfield e outra utilizando doses elevadas de clomazone em sementes tratadas com protetor para supressão de arroz-vermelho. Os tratamentos constituíram-se de uma testemunha, sem aplicação de herbicida, três referentes à aplicação da mistura formulada (75 g i.a. ha L-1 de imazethapyr + 25 g i.a. ha L-1 de imazapic) e outros três referentes à aplicação do herbicida clomazone. O tratamento mais eficiente no controle de arroz-vermelho foi a aplicação da mistura formulada de imazethapyr + imazapic em pré-emergência, seguido da mesma dose em pós-emergência. Este tratamento proporcionou 100% de controle de arroz-vermelho, além de não prejudicar o estande inicial de plantas e proporcionar alto rendimento de grãos do arroz irrigado.<br>Red rice (Oryza spp.) reduces rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain yield and quality. A field study was conducted to compare two red rice control tools, the first using the Clearfield&trade; system and the second using high rates of clomazone and rice seeds treated with safener to suppress red rice emergence. The treatments included: check control without herbicide application, three treatments for the formulated herbicide mixture (imazethapyr 75 g i.a. L-1 + imazapic 25 g i.a. L-1) under the Clearfield system, and three clomazone treatments (clomazone 500 g i.a. L-1). The most efficient treatment for red rice control was the formulated mixture of imazethapyr + imazapic (0.7 L ha-1 PRE followed by 0.7 L ha-1 POST). This treatment promoted 100% red rice control, without affecting plant stand and promoting high grain yield