Nonlinear free vibration analysis of levy plates using weak-form variational principle in polynomial displacement functions

This paper evaluates nonlinear free vibrations of Levy plates using Weak-Form variational principle in algebraic polynomial displacement functions. The energy functional of the plate problem was formulated using Weak-Form variational technique on the integral function of the Von Karman thin plate differential equations. The displacement functions were developed based on static deflection configurations of orthogonal beam network. The process of repeated direct integration on compatibility equation was used to determine the algebraic expressions for stress function. The amplitude of deflection which directly influences the geometric nonlinearity of the plate was determined using integration process on energy functional based on static equilibrium equations. The modal combination method was used to develop the stiffness and mass matrices respectively from the expressions of energy functional based on dynamic equilibrium equations. The numerical values of amplitudes of deflection at various aspect ratios were computed. Also, the first four nonlinear natural frequencies at various aspect ratios were numerically computed. The validation of the present study’s results using the results from previous work found in literature shows satisfactory convergence, with an absolute mean error of 0.186 %. Conclusively, the application of Weak-Form variational principle in polynomial displacement functions provides satisfactory approximation to nonlinear dynamic analysis of Levy plates

Sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict societies: International agendas and African contexts

This book brings together a unique blend of researchers, civil society and community activists all working on different aspects of conflict sexual violence on the African continent. The contributions included here offer a detailed reading of the social and political climate within which some patterns of sexual violence unfold, and the increased policy and institutional responses shaping post-conflict environments. The chapters are organized around three main themes: the continuities between conflict sexual violence and post-conflict insecurity; the troubling category of "victim" and its representation in post-conflict settings; and the international contexts – such as international programming, aid and justice interventions – that shape how conflict sexual violence is addressed. The authors come to the topic from various academic disciplines - anthropology, gender studies, law, and psychology - and from different non-academic contexts, including civil society organizations in affected regions, and policy and activist organizations in the Global North. Collectively the chapters in this volume offer complex and detailed analysis of some of the debates and dynamics shaping contemporary understandings of conflict sexual violence, highlighting, in turn, new insights and emerging topics on which further research and advocacy is needed

Accountability in transnational relations: how distinctive is it?

In recent years, an increasing number of scholars have used the concept of 'accountability' to describe and assess relationships among actors who are primarily based in different state jurisdictions, or involving actors transcending state jurisdictions. Is there something inherently distinctive about accountability in transnational spaces as compared to the more familiar instances of accountability observed in domestic contexts? This paper examines the distinctiveness of transnational accountability in relation to: (1) its general meaning and specific forms; (2) its aims and importance; (3) its empirical existence and the relative frequency of its forms; (4) its causes; and (5) its effects. The paper cautiously concludes that on most of these dimensions the similarities outweigh the differences and that it would be unfruitful for research on transnational accountability to develop separately from that on domestic accountability