The emergence of global power politics: imperialism, modernity, and American expansion 1870-1914

While the discourse of great power politics is an intellectual commonplace of International Relations theory, its roots in nineteenth-century conceptions of imperialism have rarely been the subject of any sustained historical analysis. Rather, the prevailing literature on great power competition relies on transhistorical theoretical claims about the permanence of geopolitical rivalry under anarchy, in conjunction with a common imaginary of early modern Europe as the birthplace of modern international politics. In contrast, this thesis locates the origins of a specifically modern condition of global power politics in the strategic and ideological conflicts which drove the New Imperialism, c.1870-1914. With a particular focus on the evolution of the American Empire, it traces the international, societal, and geopolitical transformations which made possible the flourishing of imperial ambitions for world power in the century after the first Industrial Revolution (1780-1815). On this basis, the thesis makes three overarching contributions to the study of International Relations. First, to the debate over the origins of modern international politics, it contributes a sociohistorical account of the novel conceptions of grand strategy, empire, and geopolitics associated with the nineteenth-century transition to modernity. Moving beyond the so-called ‘Westphalian narrative’ of international modernity, it locates the production of a distinctively modern conception of national-imperial expansionism and civilizational hierarchy in the lived unevenness of industrialization and colonialism. Second, to the literature in historical sociology and international security, it contributes an intersocietal approach which challenges the conventional ‘states-under-anarchy’ framework and links power-political competition to the unevenly experienced constraints of global social structures. In so doing, it explains how the international pattern of the industrial revolution — the uneven and combined development of an empire-centered world economy and international order — interacted with emergent ideologies of social progress to shape and legitimize imperial projects of political order building. More generally, the thesis recovers the nineteenth century experience of a globalized struggle among empires as a critical counterpoint to apolitical accounts of globalization

Geoculture and unevenness: occidentalism in the history of uneven and combined development

Recent works on ‘uneven and combined development’ (UCD) have focused on its contributions to the study of political economy and geopolitics, but they have yet to systematically address the cultural dimension of social change — the socially shared ideas by which people understand and act upon the world. The present article addresses this lacuna by applying the premises of UCD to the nineteenth-century emergence of Occidentalism: the idea of ‘the West’ as the dominant site of culture, civilisation and modernity. Against the problems of methodological internalism and Eurocentrism, I argue that the categories of unevenness and combined development provide critical entry points for an examination of the international construction of ‘Western’ identities and discourses during the late-nineteenth century imperial era. Specifically, I advance a theory of geocultural feedback which locates the constituting terms of those identities and discourses in a specific conjuncture of global unevenness: how the experience of ‘relative backwardness’ in late-industrialising societies translated into self-consciously ‘Westernising’ projects of catch-up development which destabilised prevailing conceptions of white European supremacy. In both the British and American empires, this historical dynamic produced a distinct pattern of cultural transformation: a reactive discourse of civilisational closure centred on the defence of ‘the West.’

A national survey of rice (Oryza sativa L.) Grain quality in Sierra Leone II: Evaluation of physical grain quality

Rice is a very important item of food and commerce in Sierra Leone and so information on the quality of available rice grains can serve as a useful indicator for the technical status and level of competitiveness in the local rice industry. During this study an objective evaluation was conducted to measure and characterize the quality of rice grains available in the local markets of Sierra Leone. A total of 315 randomly selected rice samples from 45 markets selected from the four major cities of Sierra Leone (Makeni, Bo, Kenema and Freetown, representing urban communities from the northern, southern, eastern and western parts of the country, respectively) were evaluated. Quality evaluation involved measurement of moisture content, number of paddy (unmilled rice kernels) in 1 kg of milled rice and other quality factors normally used for the grading of milled rice. Rice samples were then graded based on criteria adapted from the Philippines Rice Grading Standards for milled rice grains. The results showed that the quality of all grain samples evaluated was generally poor, with 63.2% of the samples failing to meet the criteria set for Grade III rice quality (meaning that the quality level was worse than grade III). Quality measures obtained for imported samples appeared to be superior to that obtained for the local samples in terms of higher proportions of superior grades (grade II or better). Comparison of measures of grading factors revealed that among the four cities considered in this study, grains from Kenema were of the lowest quality. Further examination of grade limiting factors revealed that the most critical factors responsible for poor quality outcomes in grain sample were (i) the number of paddy in 1kg of milled rice and (ii) the moisture content of grains. The study provided quantitative measures of the quality status of rice grains available in Sierra Leone, as well as a means of identifying the major binding constraints to rice grain quality, in terms of the grade limiting factors. It is speculated that the low quality of rice grains observed in this study could be the result of avoidable quality defects that may be linked to an undeveloped national system for rice milling and handling.Keywords: Rice grading, grain quality attributes, physical characteristics, Sierra Leon

Consolidating democracy, building civil society : the South African Council of Churches in post-apartheid South Africa and its policy of critical solidarity with the state

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) played an extremely crucial role during the struggle against apartheid. The role of the SACC was first and foremost to provide a voice for the voiceless. It managed, among other tasks, to actively fill the void left by movements banned by the illegitimate apartheid government. As a result of its fight against the inequalities that existed in South Africa, its work adopted a political character. In the aftermath of post-apartheid South Africa, the SACC was left with the task of redefining its role within South African society and civil society, specifically. The euphoric sentiment in the mid-1990s was in part reflected in the SACC. However, the conclusion reached by the Council in 1995 was that it would also play a role of 'critical solidarity' which essentially meant that it would not shy away from attacking the government when the need arose. Since 1994, the South African government has implemented a number of policies that do not appear to be in the immediate interest of the majority of South African citizens atld have brought church and state into conflict. This thesis attempts to tackle three issues which are pertinent to the South African situation and which shed light on state-civil society interactions. These issues are HIV I Aids, the question of odious debt and the Zimbabwe crisis. By using both primary and secondary sources, the SACC's responses to government's handling of these matters will be compared with the responses of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference in order to determine their relationships with government. The conclusion of this investigation is that the SACC has in fact managed to maintain a position of critical solidarity. It has been faced with numerous challenges with regard to maintaining the fragile boundary of alliance with government on the one hand, and becoming anti-government on the other. However, by forming alliances with other civil society actors as well as fostering a relationship with government in order to facilitate mediation this dissertation argues that the SACC has become an essential member of South Africa's vibrant civil society

Effect of In-Plane Voiding on the Fracture Behavior of Laser Sintered Polyamide

The primary contributors to poor mechanical properties in polyamide materials used during Selective Laser Sintering® are qualified. Methods to quantify the decreased mechanical properties, including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of fracture surfaces, are compared against each other and against mechanical properties of components fabricated using multiple process parameters. Of primary interest are Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and Elongation at Break (EOB) of tensile specimens fabricated under conditions that produce varying degrees of ductile and brittle fracture.Mechanical Engineerin

Thermal Environment and Microhabitat of Ornate Box Turtle Hibernacula

Box turtle populations are under significant threat from historic and current alterations of land-use where remaining populations often occur in remnant patches of suitable habitat surrounded by a heterogeneous mixture of anthropogenically altered, unsuitable habitat. Ornate box turtles Terrapene ornata are a prairie-dependent species, are considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and are Endangered or Threatened within many US states. Since their range exists largely in northern latitudes, aspects of hibernacula are particularly important for winter survival. How box turtles select hibernacula within prairies is likely of great importance to better understand which microhabitats are selected for and to identify areas of suitable habitat for management purposes. Using radio telemetry in conjunction with temperature dataloggers (iButtons), we examined the phenology and thermal characteristics of box turtle hibernation, and quantified microhabitat selection of their hibernacula in remnant prairie patches. We monitored hibernation initiation/termination phenology and turtle carapace temperatures, and quantified vegetative and soil microhabitat variables of hibernacula for seven turtles in 2014/2015 and 18 turtles in 2015/2016. Box turtles initiated (descended into hibernacula) and terminated (ascended out of hibernacula) at similar time periods across two years. Although the ambient thermal environment consistently experienced temperatures below freezing, turtle hibernacula offered a buffer against those temperatures and thus the temperature of turtle carapaces never fell below freezing. Turtles selected microhabitat hibernacula with higher percentages of sand, leaf litter and bare ground, and lower percentages of clay, silt, shrubs and herbaceous ground cover. Our study suggests the phenology of box turtle hibernation may be similar across years and that hibernacula selection is driven by above- and belowground characteristics that ultimately lead to a more stable and warmer thermal environment

Home ranges of Ornate Box Turtles in remnant prairies in north-central Illinois

Habitat loss has been a primary driver of biodiversity declines throughout the United States. Native prairie ecosystems represent some of the most significant losses in land cover, and subsequently, prairie-dependent species are some of the most imperiled. Therefore, understanding the ecology of species remaining in remnant portions of these ecosystems is important to help manage their populations. Using radio-telemetry, we examined minimum convex polygon (MCP) and 95% kernel density (KD) home ranges of 20 (5 females, 15 males) Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) inhabiting two remnant prairies in north-central Illinois across two years and six seasons. Results showed that MCP and 95% KD home range estimates were comparable but smaller than other published studies, differed between years, across seasons, and among individual turtles within sites. These results provide valuable data to quantify the ecology of this threatened species in a remnant prairie habitat

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN JAVELIN THROWING TECHNIQUE AND UPPER EXTREMITY KINETICS

Javelin throwing requires great release speeds, necessitating javelin throwers to generate high forces. Their techniques exert significant musculoskeletal stress, which may cause injuries. The purpose of this study was to determine the associations between javelin throwing technique and upper extremity kinetics. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were reduced from video of javelin throwers competing in the USATF Championships. Correlations between elbow and shoulder kinetics and technique variables were calculated. High forces and torques were associated with the orientation of the javelin, shoulder horizontal adduction, and elbow flexion during the throw. These variables may be modified to reduce injury risk, however, they are also related to improved performance

ELECTROMYOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF HAMSTRING RESISTANCE TRAINING EXERCISES

This study evaluated the EMG activity of the hamstring and quadriceps muscle groups during resistance training exercises commonly used for training the hamstrings. Subjects included 34 collegiate athletes. Hamstring and quadriceps MVIC and 6 repetition maximum loads were determined. Data were collected 72 hours later, during the performance of 6 randomly ordered exercises, including back squats, seated leg curls, stiff leg dead lifts, single leg dead lifts, good mornings, and “Russian curls.” Data were analyzed using RMS values normalized to MVIC. A one way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that significant differences existed between several exercises. Additionally, the ratio of hamstring to quadriceps co-activation was significantly different between all exercises