Increased Religiosity Among Women in Muslim Majority Countries

It has hitherto been assumed, at least by western development practitioners, that women's rights are best attained through secularist liberal interpretations of equality, of the sort reflected in conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Yet what does increasing use of the veil and greater religious observances across the Islamic world signify in this context? Does it reflect a rejection of these standards? And if understanding this move to greater religiosity requires a different paradigm of rights then how does this 'Islamic' paradigm sit with the 'western' one? This report argues that it is no longer possible to explain either women's various dress codes, nor their wider interest in understanding Islam, in terms of patriarchal norms and values because a large number of educated women are choosing to veil, immerse themselves in religious study and find other ways to be 'a true Muslim'. The social, political and economic contexts within which women live in muslim majority countries (MMCs) are in a constant process of change. Their increased literacy, access to information and communication technologies, as well as to wage-earning work, and their appropriation of religious knowledge from previously closed, male-dominated circles means that Muslim women are constructing their own modernity. This symbolises a break from many traditional practices as well as from Western conceptions of progress and equality. The issues paper argues that it is important for development policy makers and practitioners to take an interest in this upsurge in religiosity because it raises questions that are relevant to three key areas of their work: women's rights and gender equality; women as political actors (including in Islamist parties); and women's involvement in civil society (including religious movements). The annotated bibliography is written for those who want a more in-depth understanding of the issues introduced in the main paper; it nuances the debates around particular topics and includes more country examples. The key findings of the main report and the annotated bibliography are below. On gender equality: * The secularist approach to gender equality does exist within MMCs. However, it does not necessarily have wide appeal in MMCs; it is often seen as a foreign imposition; * Women throughout the Islamic world want social justice for themselves and others; the majority fervently believe that Islam can deliver this; * It is often difficult for women to unite as a political lobby for women's rights in MMCs; due to major divisions between a) those that believe that patriarchal and cultural interpretations of Islamic texts must be revisited and reinterpreted, and b) those that believe that these interpretations imply women are different not inferior so religious texts are not in need of reinterpretation. * The greatly increased propensity of women to veil today is a new phenomenon; its significance must be understood in terms of their Muslim identity but also their aspirations as modern women who want to work and travel safely, and be treated with respect not approbation. On Islamist parties: * Islamist parties are evolving their democratic credentials and their positions on women. They have moved from a 'purdah' position to one that supports women as economic and political actors. But they are dragging their feet on women's personal and family rights - the power base of the religious establishment; * Islamist parties are out for votes; women are a critical constituency; evolving policies in line with what the majority of ordinary women feel comfortable with (Muslim identity plus social justice) makes electoral sense. Having entered the democratic process Islamist parties have an incentive to come over as politically and socially 'moderate', not as hard liners; * For donors: understanding the internal dynamics of Islamist parties is important as they may form future governments. Understanding their stand on gender issues is also critical. Donors can give non-interfering support (e.g. supporting opportunities for Islamist and non-Islamist women to build alliances; funding projects that interpret religious texts in ways that uphold women's rights; supporting women's struggles to become elected political representatives). On religious civil society: * Millions of women in MMCs now attend religious study circles. This is a new experience for most women - in previous generations women had very little access to religious training; * Study circles need to be seen first and foremost as a piety movement; their adherents' main purpose is to get beyond formulaic manifestations of Islam and let religion guide their everyday actions and thoughts; but it is important to note that they do not encourage women to critique patriarchal readings of the texts; * There is little evidence to suggest study circles are politicised - although they may provide a link to Islamist parties in the longer term; * Religious instruction through study circles can be enormously empowering for women in a personal and familial sense rather than a political one. They give women an alternative means of gaining respect and authority within their households and immediate communities - an empowerment route most have not had before

Summary of LET Requirements/Testing

The performance of the Michigan State SEETF during its inaugural runs is evaluated. Beam profiles and other diagnostics are presented, and prospects for future development and testing are evaluated

Bringing Single-Event Effects Down to Earth

In the 47 years since single-event effects were first observed in spacecraft electronics, radiation experts have developed an effective methodology supported by a nationwide infrastructure. A highly skilled workforce of radiation engineers has developed test facilities and methods, modeling and simulation techniques, and mitigation and design strategies to ensure space missions meet their performance and reliability requirements even in the harsh radiation environments of space. Now, increasing performance demands of space missions, the continued disruptive evolution of microcircuit technologies and growth and changes of the space industry have combined with an aging infrastructure are placing increasing strain on the radiation effects community, and the community is responding

Radiation Testing Electronics with Heavy Ions-The Best Way to Hit a Target Moving Ever Exponentially Faster

In 1972, when engineers at Hughes Aircraft Corporation discovered that errors in their satellite avionics were being caused by cosmic rays (so-called single-event effects, or SEE), Moore's Law was only 7 years old. Now, more than 45 years on, the scaling that drove Moore's Law for its first 35 years has reached its limits. However, electronics technology continues to evolve exponentially and SEE remain a formidable issue for use of electronics in space. SEE occur when a single ionizing particle passes through a sensitive volume in an active semiconductor device and generates sufficient charge to cause anomalous behavior or failure in the device. Because SEE can occur at any time during the mission, the emphasis of SEE risk management methodologies is ensuring that all SEE modes in a device under test are detected by the test. Because a particle's probability of causing an SEE generally increases as the particle becomes more ionizing, heavy-ion beams have been and remain the preferred tools for elucidating SEE vulnerabilities. In this talk we briefly discuss space radiation environments and SEE mechanisms, describe SEE test methodologies and discuss current and future challenges for use of heavy-ion beams for SEE testing in an era when the continued validity of Moore's law depends on innovation rather than CMOS scaling

What Can We Learn From Proton Recoils about Heavy-Ion SEE Sensitivity?

The fact that protons cause single-event effects (SEE) in most devices through production of light-ion recoils has led to attempts to bound heavy-ion SEE susceptibility through use of proton data. Although this may be a viable strategy for some devices and technologies, the data must be analyzed carefully and conservatively to avoid over-optimistic estimates of SEE performance. We examine the constraints that proton test data can impose on heavy-ion SEE susceptibility

Evaluation of Enhanced Low Dose Rate Sensitivity in Discrete Bipolar Junction Transistors

We evaluate the low dose rate sensitivity in several families of discrete bipolar transistors across device parameter, quality assurance level, and irradiation bias configuration. The 2N2222 showed the most significant low dose rate sensitivity, with low dose rate enhancement factor of 3.91 after 100 krad(Si). The 2N2907 also showed critical degradation levels. The devices irradiated at 10 mrad(Si)/s exceeded specifications after 40 and 50 krad(Si) for the 2N2222 and 2N2907 devices, respectively

Sun-Earth Connections: How the Sun Knocks Out My Cell Phone from 150 Million Kilometers Away

Large solar particle events (SPE) threaten many elements of critical infrastructure. A 2013 study by Lloyds of London and Atmospheric and Environmental Research recently found that if a worst-case solar event like the 1859 Carrington Event struck our planet now, it could result on $0.6-$2.36 trillion in damages to the economy. In March 2014, researchers Y. D. Liu et al. revealed that just such an event had narrowly missed Earth in July 2012. The event was observed by the STEREO A spacecraft. In this presentation, we examine how the sun can pack such a punch from 150 million km away, the threats such solar particle events pose, their mechanisms and the efforts NASA and other space agencies are carrying out to understand and mitigate such risks

Turkish Cypriots in London: Economy, Society, Culture and Change.

This is a study of Turkish Cypriot settlers in London and it arises from fieldwork carried out in London and in northern Turkish Cyprus. Most Turkish Cypriot migrants to Britain have been resident here for around 20 years; many of their children were born in this country and there is every indication that they are making Britain their permanent home. The Turkish Cypriot population here must therefore be seen as a settled ethnic minority, and not as temporary migrant workers. Unlike studies of the race relations type which tend to focus on the various problems minority populations experience in Britain - for ex-ample, in the sphere of education, in obtaining housing and securing jobs - this study focusses on the economic, social and cultural organization of Turkish Cypriots here and the changes which are occurring and have occurred in these spheres. As the majority migrated for economic reasons, the work context receives initial consideration. It is suggested that economic interests are important determinants affecting decisions made in other areas of social life. In subsequent chapters, family roles and relationships are discussed, and the role and status of Turkish Cypriot women in Britain are examined. Ritual and celebratory occasions are given extensive consideration and, finally, Turkish Cypriot relations with other minority populations - especially Greek Cypriots - are described and analysed. In each case, the focus is London, but continual reference is made to the form taken by these activities and institutions in Cyprus. It is suggested throughout that Turkish Cypriots are not just passively fitting in to a dominant and discriminatory majority society, but that they are very positively maintaining; reorganising and even abandoning aspects of their traditional culture where it is practically convenient or economically advantageous to do so. The continuing adherence to certain norms which appear to have no particular relevance in the Lon-don context also has to be explained. In particular, the ritualisation of kinship ties and the maintenance of ethnic identity must, it is suggested, be understood in terms of a concept of 'alternative ideologies'. Since this is the first anthropological study to focus on Turkish Cypriot settlers in London, it is hoped that it will also provide a basis for future research

Measurement of the formation of complexes in tyrosine kinase-mediated signal transduction

The use of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) provides a full thermodynamic characterization of an interaction in one experiment. The determination of the affinity is an important value; however, the additional layer of information provided by the change in enthalpy and entropy can help in understanding the biology. This is demonstrated with respect to tyrosine kinase-mediated signal transduction