The monologue of the dove : reflections on life and death in an oral tradition of the Kwami People in northern Nigeria

The tale portrays the unhappy life of a dove. Constantly surrounded by enemies, hunted by human beings and animals, disappointed by friends and separated from her family, the dove despairs of her life. She ponders over her unjust fate in this world and in a monologue she begins to consider, whether it would not be better to end her own life. This tragic theme forms the climax of several episodes, in which the tension between life and death is described. The elaborate development of dramatic acts demonstrates the intertwining of guilt and innocence in human existence

Thermal insulation attaching means

An improved isolation system is provided for attaching ceramic tiles of insulating material to the surface of a structure to be protected against extreme temperatures of the nature expected to be encountered by the space shuttle orbiter. This system isolates the fragile ceramic tiles from thermally and mechanically induced vehicle structural strains. The insulating tiles are affixed to a felt isolation pad formed of closely arranged and randomly oriented fibers by means of a flexible adhesive and in turn the felt pad is affixed to the metallic vehicle structure by an additional layer of flexible adhesive

Method and device for detection of surface discontinuities or defects

Surface discontinuities of defects such as cracks and orifices are detected by applying a penetrating fluid, preferably a liquid, to a test surface so as to cause the liquid to penetrate any minute cracks or opening in the surface, removing the excess liquid from the surface, and leaving a residual in the discontinuities, cavities, or in the subsurface materials. A sheet of porous material impregnated with a sensitizing medium which will react with vapors of the residual liquid to form a visible pattern is applied to the test surface. The residual liquid trapped in the discontinuities, cavities, or subsurface material is vaporized, and, as the vapors contact the sensitizing medium on the sheet, a pattern corresponding to the discontinuity is formed on the sheet material and the penetrant completely removed from the sample

Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in Developing Countries: Evidence from Panel Data

The determinants of innovation and the role of intellectual property rights in different countries are not well understood. This paper estimates the determinants of innovation using a new panel dataset. It compares different panel estimation methods appropriate for finite size samples. Past R&D investments have a positive and significant impact on current innovation, demand-pull factors are also important in all country groups, and the structure of the economy has a negative (positive) impact in developing (industrialized) countries. Intellectual property protection is only significant for developing countries. The least-square dummy variable corrected estimator is found to be the most appropriate for small, unbalanced datasets. We discuss econometric issues and the policy implication of these results.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Language and migration : the impact of the Jukun on Chadic speaking groups in the Benue-Gongola basin

Our paper deals with the problems of migration, culture and language in the wider Benue-Gongola basin. Here are mainly concerned the West-Chadic speaking groups Kwami, Kupto, Kushi and Piya as well as the Jukun who speak a language belonging to the Benue-Congo family. We try to point out the possible reasons for their historical migrations and in particular the consequences of ethnic expansion of the Jukun in the middle Benue region. History shows that contacts of ethnic groups - being peaceful or by force - had always led to mutual influences and changes in culture and language, which finally resulted in cultural fusion of various aspects. Our study, based mainly on oral traditions as well as on linguistic comparisons, focusses especially on the history of the above mentioned Chadic groups, who are considered - according to our hypothesis - to have come in close contact with the Jukun. Subsequently the warlike expansion of the Jukun caused a strong turmoil which led to the scattering of the various ethnic units

2D radiative modelling of He I spectral lines formed in solar prominences

We present preliminary results of 2D radiative modelling of He I lines in solar prominences, using a new numerical code developed by us (Leger, Chevallier and Paletou 2007). It treats self-consistently the radiation transfer and the non-LTE statistical equilibrium of H and, in a second stage, the one of He using a detailed atomic model. Preliminary comparisons with new visible plus near-infrared observations made at high spectral resolution with THeMIS are very satisfactory.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures (to appear in the Procs. of Solar Polarization Workshop #5, eds. Berdyugina, Nagendra and Ramelli), revised +2 citations, better figure

The Benue-Gongola-Chad Basin : zone of ethnic and linguistic compression

We wish to emphasize the fact that so far our investigations have concentrated on documenting large bodies of data covering a number of linguistic units in an area which - as we hope to have demonstrated - displays a highly complex linguistic and ethnic structure. Our aim in the above remarks is essentially to throw out a challenge. In order to be able to interpret this situation in terms of the historic development of this zone of compression, further investigations are required, particularly regarding linguistic interference between Chadic and Niger-Congo languages in the south, as well as between Chadic and Nilo-Saharan languages, particularly Kanuri in the north-east and Songhay in the north-west. Ultimately, questions like the following are at stake: To what extent did the numerous Chadic languages preserve their original Hamitosemitic heritage? What is the impact of the Niger-Congo and Nilo-Saharan languages on individual Chadic languages in the respective border areas? In this context, detailed comparative studies between Chadic and Adamawa on the one hand, Chadic and Jukunoid and Chadic and Jarawan Bantu on the other hand as well as Chadic internal research, are urgently required