Rethinking militarism in post-apartheid South Africa

This paper argues that contemporary South Africa is marked by a co-existence of both old and new forms of militarism. It tries to move beyond the statist conception of militarism in much of the scholarly literature in order to examine social relations more broadly, and the appropriation of the means and instruments of violence by non-state groups. The paper argues that a shallow and uneven process of state demilitarisation was underway in South Africa from 1990 in the form of reductions in military expenditure, weapons holdings, force levels, demobilisation, employment in arms production and base closures. However, this has had contradictory consequences. The failure to provide for the effective social integration of ex-combatants throughout the Southern African region, as well as ineffective disarmament in post-conflict peace building, has provided an impetus to a 'privatised militarism'. This is evident in three related processes: new forms of violence, the commoditisation of security, through the growth of private security firms and, most importantly, the proliferation of small arms. It is argued that small arms are highly racialised and linked to a militarised conception of citizenship. This feeds into a militarist nationalism, which claims a powerful army as an indicator of state power, which helps to explain a process of re-militarisation - evident in the R60 billion re-armament programme and increasing reliance on the military as an instrument of foreign policy since 1998. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for a regional approach to security as a further corrective to a narrow, statist focus on the South African National Defence Force

The effect of carburetor refurbishing on emissions, performance, and fuel economy in a classic pickup tested using real-world tests

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 28).This project investigated how refurbishing the carburetor of a 1952 Chevrolet Pickup would affect emissions, performance, and fuel economy. The test used were real-world tests that anyone, with or without access to a laboratory, can perform. The design of the real-world tests is important for ascertaining good results. Thought should go into how to perform the tests safely while still eliminating as many variables as possible. The emissions at idle improved by reducing the carbon monoxide percentage from 4-6% to 2- 3%. The hydrocarbon levels were reduced from 800-1000 ppm to 500-600 ppm. The results of the emissions test were unclear at cruise. The performance data showed that the vehicle had a slower acceleration after the refurbishing. The time to go from stopped to 100 feet in first gear was 5.46 s before refurbishing, and 6.48 s after refurbishing. It is possible that the vehicle was running lean at wide-open throttle after refurbishing. The fuel economy improved with the refurbished carburetor. The initial fuel economy was 10.7 mpg and the final fuel economy was 15.2 mpg. Once the results from the tests are collected, they need to be scrutinized to see if they are plausible using empirical data. Even with extreme care it is difficult to get precise measurements using real-world tests. The emissions data at cruise was not consistent with idle and could not be used. The fuel economy tests and emissions tests at idle show that the engine was running less fuel rich after refurbishing.by Jacklyn Holmes.S.B

Gateway to College: Lessons from Implementing a Rigorous Academic Program for At-Risk Young People

Despite efforts to improve the high school graduation rate in the United States, an estimated 7,200 students drop out of high school every day -- a staggering 1.3 million every year. Further, a recent report by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University projects that by 2020, nearly 65 percent of U.S. jobs will require at least some college education, out of reach for those who are unable to earn a high school diploma. Much more comprehensive alternative education programs are needed that put dropouts and students at risk of dropping out on a path to earn high school diplomas while also providing them with the academic skills and support necessary to be successful in their postsecondary pursuits

The sidereal semi-diurnal variation observed at high zenith angles at Mawson, 1968-1984, and the polarity of the solar main field

High zenith-angle North/South telescopes viewing equatorially and at midlatitudes through 40 MWE of atmosphere have been operating at Mawson since early 1968. It is evident that a sidereal semi-diurnal component of galactic origin has been observed, over and above a possible spurious component proposed by Nagashima, arising from a bi-directional component of the solar anisotropy. Although a very pronounced reduction in the semi-diurnal galactic response followed the reversal of polarity of the solar main field during 1969 to 1971, so far the observations indicate that there has been no recurrence of a larger galactic response following the reversal of polarity around 1981. The possible role of the latitudional extent lambda omicron of the wavy neutral sheet is discussed

Isotropic intensity waves and features of their occurrence

Waves of daily average cosmic ray intensity, dependent on interplanetary magnetic fields (IMF) polarity, have been observed in 1982 (Jacklyn and Pomerantz, 1983) and again in 1983 and 1984. These waves at first appeared to be due to the North-South anisotropy. Further investigation revealed that the waves comprise two components, a large isotropic and a smaller anisotropic component. The anisotropic part is attributed to the North-South anisotropy and is in phase with the larger isotropic component in the Southern Hemisphere. Unlike the North-South anisotropy which is a permanent feature of cosmic ray modulation, the isotropic phenomenon appears to be episodic in character. When present, it is clearly dependent on IMF polarity but does not correlate well with IMF field strength. It is conjectured that the phenomenon might indicate some difference between the intensity regimes above and below the neutral sheet

Patient-centered endodontic outcomes: a narrative review.

IntroductionRoot canal treatment (RCT) success criteria inform us of the path to bony healing and of prognostic factors, but tell little about how the patient perceives, feels, or values RCT. Patients choose, undergo, and pay for RCT, they live with the result, and inform their community. The purpose of this narrative review was to appraise patient-centered outcomes of initial non-surgical RCT and nonsurgical retreatment, in adults.Materials and methodsPatient-centered RCT outcome themes were identified in the extant literature: quality of life, satisfaction, anxiety, fear, pain, tooth survival and cost. Narrative review was applied because the disparate themes and data were unsuited to systematic review or meta-analysis.ResultsApplication of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) demonstrated that disease of pulpal origin affects quality of life with moderate severity, primarily through physical pain and psychological discomfort, and that RCT results in broad improvement of quality of life. Satisfaction with RCT is extremely high, but cost is the primary reason for dissatisfaction. Anxiety and fear affect RCT patients, profoundly influencing their behaviors, including treatment avoidance, and their pain experience. Fear of pain is "fair" to "very much" prior to RCT. Pain is widely feared, disliked, and remembered; however, disease of pulpal origin generally produces moderate, but not severe pain. RCT causes a dramatic decrease in pain prevalence and severity over the week following treatment. Survival rates of teeth after RCT are very high; complication rates are low. Cost is a barrier to RCT, but initial costs, lifetime costs, cost effectiveness, cost utility, and cost benefit all compare extremely well to the alternatives involving replacement using implants or fixed prostheses.ConclusionDentists must strive to reduce anxiety, fear, experienced and remembered pain, and to accurately inform and educate their patients with respect to technical, practical and psychosocial aspects of RCT

Australian Cosmic Ray Modulation Research

Australian research into variations of the cosmic ray flux arriving at the Earth has played a pivotal role for more than 50 years. The work has been largely led by the groups from the University of Tasmania and the Australian Antarctic Division and has involved the operation of neutron monitors and muon telescopes from many sites. In this paper the achievements of the Australian researchers are reviewed and future experiments are described. Particular highlights include: the determination of cosmic ray modulation parameters; the development of modelling techniques of Ground Level Enhancements; the confirmation of the Tail-In and Loss-Cone Sidereal anisotropies; the Space Ship Earth collaboration; and the Solar Cycle latitude survey.Comment: 47 pages, 37 figures, LaTeX, invited review, in press PASA 18(1). HTML version available at http://www.atnf.csiro.au/pasa/18_1/duldig/paper

Differences in locomotor gross motor development level among grade 1 ballet dancers, students with and without co-curricula

Purpose: The study is a survey form ex post facto and the purpose of this study was to identify the level of locomotor skills among grade one ballet dancers, students with co-curriculum and students without co-curriculum. Methodology: A total of 90 students of the boy and girl who are around Klang and Seremban area have participated in this study. Gross Motor Development Tests (TGMD-2) by Ulrich (2000) was conducted to determine the level of locomotor skills of level one primary school students. Statistical analysis Kruskal – Wallis test was used to analyse the mean score between the group of level one primary school students. Result: The results showed a group of ballet dancers grade 1 had the highest mean (M=3.13, SD=1.008), compared with a group of students with co-curricular activities M=2.000, SD=0.000) and a group of students without co-curricular activities (M=2.000, SD=0.000). However, significance differences in the scores also showed significant differences among the three groups with the estimated value of significance is 0.000. Findings and discussion: Studies show locomotor skills development of primary school students are still not developing well according to their chronological age