The Military Industrial Complex

This paper reviews the origin and theoretical foundation of the concept Military-Industrial Complex and explains the key issues involved in the literature on the MIC in the Cold war context. It then considers the implications for the MIC of some main post-Cold War developments, with particular emphasis on the arms industry, its structure and effects. It then assesses the degree to which the end of the Cold War may result in a fundamental change of the MIC.Arms Industry; MIC

INTEGRAL and Nuclear Astrophysics

We briefly review the fundamentals of nuclear gamma-ray line astronomy (radioactive astronomy), focusing on its role to decipher the intimate physics of supernovae, either immediatly (via $^{56}Co)$ or after a time delay (via $^{44}Ti$). All kinds of supernovae can be in principle tested through their radioactivities and their associated gamma-ray lines. Dedicated to the spectroscopy and imaging of celestial sources in the 15 keV to 10 MeV band, the ESA scientific observatory INTEGRAL will open a golden age of nuclear astrophysics in EuropeComment: Invited review, "Cosmic Evolution", meeting in honor of the 60th birthday of Jean Audouze and Jim Truran, to be published by World Scientific, 6 pages, 1 figur

The Changing Military Industrial Complex

The first reference to a military industrial complex (MIC) was made by US President Eisenhower in 1961. He then referred to something historically specific: the build-up of a large permanent military establishment and a permanent arms industry, which raised his concerns for the unwarranted influence of these societal forces. Subsequently the meaning of the MIC evolved to refer to the vested interests within the state and industry in expanding the military sector and in increasing military spending, with external threats providing the justification. During the Cold War, when the defence was strongly focused on deterrence, this produced a set of specific state-industry relationships that in turn generated a beneficial environment for the development and strengthening of the MIC. With the end of the Cold War, the conditions for a strong MIC were less favourable, at least initially, with changes in the international security environment, cuts in military spending and arms production, and ensuing privatisation, commercialisation, and internationalisation of military activities as well as of arms production. This paper discusses how the MIC has been affected by these changes and the degree to which there has been continuity of old power structures and a continuing MIC.MIC; Military industry; globalisation; security

Nuclear Gamma ray Astronomy in the perspective of the INTEGRAL satellite

We present a broad overview of the principal processes and astrophysical sites of gamma-ray line production and review the main pre-INTEGRAL satellite observations to set the stage to the next European era of gamma-ray line astronomy.Comment: 5 pages, 0 figures, in "International Nuclear Physics Conference, Paris, August 1998, to be published Elsevier Ed

Documentation des résultats de la mise en oeuvre des principes de l'efficacité de l'aide dans le secteur de la santé: Etude de cas du Mali

GRAP-PA Sant

Is Budget Support a Solution for Financing the Health Sector in Developing Countries?

L'aide au développement dans le secteur de la santé est extrêmement fragmentée, ce qui risque d’en diminuer l’efficacité (WHO 2007, Piva & Dodd 2009). L'appui budgétaire (AB) est souvent présenté comme un instrument de financement permettant d’améliorer l'efficacité de l'aide en respectant les principes énoncés dans la Déclaration de Paris. Si ceci est probablement vrai en théorie lorsque les conditions le permettent, il est très difficile d'évaluer l'impact de l’AB, vu les problèmes d’attribution que cela suppose. Des évaluations de l'AB général ont été réalisées dans plusieurs pays, mais qui n’ont pas étudié spécifiquement ses effets sur le secteur de la santé. La communication a pour objectif de faire le point des connaissances sur les effets de l'AB sur le secteur de la santé, et de discuter deux aspects qui n'ont guère fait l’objet d’études et qui pourtant sont des défis importants pour l'efficacité de l'AB dans le secteur: d'une part, les défis de gestion que l'AB pose aux ministères de la santé concernés et d'autre part, les avantages et inconvénients respectifs de l'AB général et sectoriel pour le secteur de la santé. Dans la première partie de la communication, nous présentons brièvement les résultats des principales évaluations de l'AB disponibles à ce jour, qui toutes se sont penchées sur l'AB général, mais dont certaines ont quelque peu traité du secteur de la santé (IDD and Associates 2006, Koeberle et al. 2006, Lawson et al. 2006, DfID 2008, European Court of Auditors 2008, OXFAM 2008, Beynon & Dusu 2010). Nous évoquons également une étude commissionnée par l'OMS qui a tenté de démontrer les liens entre l'AB général et les dépenses de santé (Fernandes Antunes et al. 2010). Dans la seconde partie de l'exposé, nous attirons l'attention des participants sur les implications pratiques de la gestion de l’AB pour les ministères de la santé des pays récipiendaires. Très peu a été écrit sur le sujet, mais nous nous baserons sur notre expérience d'assistante technique en appui à la gestion de l'AB au Ministère de la Santé du Mali pour dégager quelques leçons (Samaké et al. 2009). Ensuite, partant du fait qu'il n'existe une fois de plus quasiment pas de littérature sur les effets spécifiques de l'AB sectoriel en comparaison avec l'AB général, nous discutons des avantages et inconvénients perçus par les acteurs relatifs à ces deux modalités. Nous concluons en dégageant quelques leçons générales et en soulignant le fait que, bien qu'on en parle beaucoup, l'AB n'est pas encore très significatif dans le secteur de la santé comparé à la multiplication des interventions spécifiques (Ravishankar et al. 2009, Fernandes Antunes et al. 2010). Dès lors, des recherches bien ciblées sur ses effets pour le secteur de la santé sont bienvenues afin de documenter s’il s'agit ou non d'une modalité d'aide efficace qui devrait être encouragée

Lubricant sensitivity in function of paddle movement in the forced feeder of a high-speed tablet press

Context: The negative impact of magnesium stearate (MgSt) on the hardness of tablets is a well-known phenomenon, but the influence of paddle movement in the forced feeder on the lubricant effect during tablet compression is often neglected. Objective: The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of paddle speed in the forced feeder on tablet tensile strength (TS).Materials and methods: Mixtures of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and MgSt (0.5%) were blended using different methods (low & high shear). After blending, the formulations were compressed into tablets. All parameters of the tableting cycle were kept constant except the speed of the paddles in the forced feeder. Results and discussion: The blending technique affected the sensitivity of the formulation to the paddle speed. The TS of pure MCC tablets did not change in function of paddle speed, while tablets prepared by low shear mixing became softer at higher paddle speed. The TS of tablets manufactured using the high-shear mixed blend was low and did not vary in function of paddle speed, suggesting that overlubrication already occurred during the initial blending step. Furthermore, analysis of the machine parameters allowed evaluation of the influence of the paddles on the flowability, initial packing, and compactability of the powder mixtures. Conclusion: The results elucidated that during manufacturing of tablets using MgSt-containing blends care should not only be taken during the blending step prior to tableting, but also during the tableting process itself, as paddle speed can affect tablet TS, a critical quality attribute

Reduction of tablet weight variability by optimizing paddle speed in the forced feeder of a high-speed rotary tablet press

Context: Tableting is a complex process due to the large number of process parameters that can be varied. Knowledge and understanding of the influence of these parameters on the final product quality is of great importance for the industry, allowing economic efficiency and parametric release. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of paddle speeds and fill depth at different tableting speeds on the weight and weight variability of tablets. Materials and methods: Two excipients possessing different flow behavior, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate (DCP), were selected as model powders. Tablets were manufactured via a high-speed rotary tablet press using design of experiments (DoE). During each experiment also the volume of powder in the forced feeder was measured. Results and discussion: Analysis of the DoE revealed that paddle speeds are of minor importance for tablet weight but significantly affect volume of powder inside the feeder in case of powders with excellent flowability (DCP). The opposite effect of paddle speed was observed for fairly flowing powders (MCC). Tableting speed played a role in weight and weight variability, whereas changing fill depth exclusively influenced tablet weight. Conclusion: The DoE approach allowed predicting the optimum combination of process parameters leading to minimum tablet weight variability. Monte Carlo simulations allowed assessing the probability to exceed the acceptable response limits if factor settings were varied around their optimum. This multi-dimensional combination and interaction of input variables leading to response criteria with acceptable probability reflected the design space

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY NETWORKS IN MEXICO-U.S. MIGRATION

A household's decision to send migrants is based on information the household has on the expected returns and the costs of migration. Information on migration flows from both family migrant networks and community migrant networks. Direct assistance - in the form of money, housing, transportation, and food - is often provided to migrants by these networks, thus reducing the costs of migration. Using data from a national survey of rural Mexican households, we show the importance of networks in both the decision to migrate and the level of migration. We find that community and family networks are substitutes in the production of information and assistance suggesting that, once migration is well established in a community, family networks become less important. In addition, the development of strong community networks erases the role of household characteristics in migration, allowing those initially least favored to also participate in migration. Results suggest that policies designed to reduce Mexico-U.S. migration should focus on regions where migrant networks are yet weakly developed since, once strong community networks become established, reducing migration would require much higher levels of public investment.Migration, networks, Mexico, Consumer/Household Economics, Labor and Human Capital,

A Principal-Agent Theory Approach to Public Expenditure Management Systems in Developing Countries

A well-functioning public expenditure management (PEM) system is considered a critical pillar of government efficiency, on par with a low-distortion tax system and efficient tax administration. The paper discusses PEM systems in developing countries using an analytical framework based on principal-agent theory. This simple model can be applied to various PEM systems, and allows for comparisons between institutional settings. To illustrate this, we analyze the benefits derived from the use by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) of two control instruments; ex post audits and ex ante controls, and assess their value in terms of their ability to deter cheating. We derive a set of possible “control regimes” which can be used by the MoF. Although we illustrate the use of the model using developing countries, it is also relevant to developed economies.Peer reviewe