Parallels, prescience and the past: analogical reasoning and contemporary international politics

Analogical reasoning has held a perpetual appeal to policymakers who have often drafted in historical metaphor as a mode of informing decision-making. However, this article contends that since the beginning of the ‘War on Terror’ we have arguably seen the rise of a more potent form of analogy, namely ones that are selected because they fulfil an ideological function. Analogical reasoning as a tool of rational decision-making has increasingly become replaced by analogical reasoning as a tool of trenchant ideologically-informed policy justification. This article addresses three key areas which map out the importance of analogical reasoning to an understanding of developments in contemporary international politics: the relationship between history and politics, in intellectual and policy terms; a critical assessment of the appeal that analogical reasoning holds for policymakers; and the development of a rationale for a more effective use of history in international public policymaking

Effects of incising on treatability and leachability of CCA-C-treated eastern hemlock

Incising is used to increase exposed wood surface and improve uptake and penetration of preservative during pressure treatment of refractory species. However, incising may also cause increased leaching of preservative when the wood is placed in service. This study compared the rate of leaching from unincised eastern hemlock to that of wood that had been incised to two depths and with two density patterns. Incising greatly increased both the penetration and retention of preservative in the incised wood compared to unincised wood. Doubling the depth of the incisions further improved retention and penetration, but doubling the density of the incisions appeared to benefit primarily the uniformity of preservative penetration. Incising did not increase the percentage of copper, chromium, or arsenic that leached from the wood. This study indicates that the benefits of incising can be obtained without the risk of increased leaching

Effect of compression wood on leaching and fixation of CCA-C treated red pine

In this study, we investigated the effect of compression wood on the release rate of chromium, copper, and arsenic elements from red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and the rate of fixation of hexavalent chromium in the wood. Wood blocks from red pine, some containing compression wood and some with normal wood, were treated with a 1.0% CCA-C solution and then allowed to fix at 23 degreesC +/- 2 (74 degreesF +/- 4) for 0, 6, 24, 48, 96, 192, and 336 h. After each fixation period, sets of blocks removed from the conditioning room were subjected to 336 h of leaching. The percentage of hexavalent chromium reduced to the trivalent state was determined for solution pressed from matched sets of blocks. The blocks containing compression wood released significantly less chromium and copper elements. For chromium, the biggest effect was seen after the 192- and 336-h fixation periods. in the normal wood blocks fixed for 336 h, the average chromium release rate after 6 h of leaching was almost five times greater than that of the compression wood blocks. Copper and arsenic release was also affected by compression wood, but for these two elements, the effect diminished during the later stages of fixation. A higher percentage of hexavalent chromium was reduced to trivalent chromium in compression wood compared with that in normal wood after most fixation periods, and this difference was significant after 0, 48, 96, and 192 h

Effects of inorganic ions on leachability of wood preserving N'N-hydroxynapthalimide (NHA)

Southern yellow pine sapwood stakes and blocks were treated with the sodium salt of the calcium-precipitating compound N'N-hydroxynapthalimide (NHA) and leach tested for 2 weeks using the American Wood-Preservers' Association (AWPA) standard. Leacheates were measured for NHA using a microplate optical density ultraviolet reader, and leach rates were estimated for tap water, distilled water, and seawater. The percentage of NHA lost from blocks ranged from a low of 5.0 percent for seawater to 26.4 percent for distilled water. Clearly, higher inorganic ion concentrations in the leaching solutions resulted in less chemical leaching of NHA. To further reduce NHA leachability, additional groups of NHA-treated blocks were post-fixed with 2 percent CaCl2. With CaCl2 post-fixation prior to leaching, the percentage of leached NHA was reduced to 4.3 percent for seawater and 12.7 percent for distilled water. Additional stakes were pressure-treated with aqueous NHA concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 percent and then leached in distilled water. The percentage of release of NHA in 2 percent treated stakes was 9.1 percent in distilled water; in 0.1 percent treated stakes, 31.5 percent NHA was released. We conclude that NHA leach rates can be decreased by precipitation with inorganic ions (such as calcium) and increased concentration levels of NHA during pressure treatment