The return of the military coup to West Africa: the African Union response

Abstract: The following research report seeks to investigate the recent occurrence of military coup d’états in the geographical sub-region of West Africa. Military coups staged in both Mauritania (August 2008) and Guinea (December 2008) represent an alarming spike in the incidence of illegal political takeovers and raise questions as to what form of response is required in order to limit, or completely eradicate, the scourge of unconstitutional changes of government (UCG) from the continent. This report suggests that the African Union (AU), in its commitment to the ideals of political legality and legitimate governance, is capable of addressing UCG in Africa through its inherent ability to induce long-term normative reformations regarding democracy and constitutionality

Revealing Patient-Reported Experiences in Healthcare from Social Media using the DAPMAV Framework

Understanding patient experience in healthcare is increasingly important and desired by medical professionals in a patient-centred care approach. Healthcare discourse on social media presents an opportunity to gain a unique perspective on patient-reported experiences, complementing traditional survey data. These social media reports often appear as first-hand accounts of patients' journeys through the healthcare system, whose details extend beyond the confines of structured surveys and at a far larger scale than focus groups. However, in contrast with the vast presence of patient-experience data on social media and the potential benefits the data offers, it attracts comparatively little research attention due to the technical proficiency required for text analysis. In this paper, we introduce the Design-Acquire-Process-Model-Analyse-Visualise (DAPMAV) framework to equip non-technical domain experts with a structured approach that will enable them to capture patient-reported experiences from social media data. We apply this framework in a case study on prostate cancer data from /r/ProstateCancer, demonstrate the framework's value in capturing specific aspects of patient concern (such as sexual dysfunction), provide an overview of the discourse, and show narrative and emotional progression through these stories. We anticipate this framework to apply to a wide variety of areas in healthcare, including capturing and differentiating experiences across minority groups, geographic boundaries, and types of illnesses

The New Diminished Responsibility Plea in Operation- Some Initial Findings

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by on their website..An empirical study of the workings of the new diminished responsibility plea

Local information transfer as a spatiotemporal filter for complex systems

We present a measure of local information transfer, derived from an existing averaged information-theoretical measure, namely transfer entropy. Local transfer entropy is used to produce profiles of the information transfer into each spatiotemporal point in a complex system. These spatiotemporal profiles are useful not only as an analytical tool, but also allow explicit investigation of different parameter settings and forms of the transfer entropy metric itself. As an example, local transfer entropy is applied to cellular automata, where it is demonstrated to be a novel method of filtering for coherent structure. More importantly, local transfer entropy provides the first quantitative evidence for the long-held conjecture that the emergent traveling coherent structures known as particles (both gliders and domain walls, which have analogues in many physical processes) are the dominant information transfer agents in cellular automata.Comment: 12 page

Ice-rich (periglacial) vs icy (glacial) depressions in the Argyre region, Mars: a proposed cold-climate dichotomy of landforms

On Mars, so-called “scalloped depressions” are widely observed in Utopia Planitia (UP) and Malea Planum (MP). Typically, they are rimless, metres- to decametres-deep, incised sharply, tiered inwardly, polygonised and sometimes pitted. The depressions seemingly incise terrain that is icy and possibly thermokarstic, i.e. produced by the thermal destabilisation of the icy terrain. Agewise, the depressions are thought to be relatively youthful, originating in the Late Amazonian Epoch.Here, we report the presence of similar depressions in the Argyre region (AR) (30–60° S; 290–355° E). More importantly, we separate and differentiate these landforms into two groups: (ice-rich) periglacial depressions (Type-1); and, (icy) glacial depressions (Type-2a-c). This differentiation is presented to the Mars community for the first time.Based on a suite of morphological and geological characteristics synonymous with ice-complexes in the Lena Peninsula (eastern Russia) and the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands (Northwest Territories, Canada), we propose that the Type-1 depressions are ice-rich periglacial basins that have undergone volatile depletion largely by sublimation and as the result of thermal destabilisation. In keeping with the terms and associated definitions derived of terrestrial periglacial-geomorphology, ice-rich refers to permanently frozen-ground in which ice lenses or segregation ice (collectively referenced as excess ice) have formed.We suggest that the depressions are the product of a multi-step, cold-climate geochronology:(1) Atmospheric precipitation and surface accumulation of an icy mantle during recent high obliquities.(2) Regional or local triple-point conditions and thaw/evaporation of the mantle, either by exogenic forcing, i.e. obliquity-driven rises of aerial and sub-aerial temperatures, or endogenic forcing, i.e. along Argyre impact-related basement structures.(3) Meltwater migration into the regolith, at least to the full depth of the depressions.(4) Freeze-thaw cycling and the formation of excess ice.(5) Sublimation of the excess ice and depression formation as high obliquity dissipates and near-surface ice becomes unstable.The Type-2 depressions exhibit characteristics suggestive of (supra-glacial) dead-ice basins and snow/ice suncups observed in high-alpine landscapes on Earth, e.g. the Swiss Alps and the Himalayas. Like the Type-1 depressions, the Type-2 depressions could be the work of sublimation; however, the latter differ from the former in that they seem to develop within a glacial-like icy mantle that blankets the surface rather than within an ice-rich and periglacially-revised regolith at/near the surface.Interestingly, the Type-2 depressions overlie the Type-1 depressions at some locations. If the periglacial/glacial morphological and stratigraphical dichotomy of depressions is valid, then this points to recent glaciation at some locations within the AR being precursed by at least one episode of periglaciation. This also suggests that periglaciation has a deeper history in the region than has been thought hitherto. Moreover, if the hypothesised differences amongst the Argyre-based depressions are mirrored in Utopia Planitia and Malea Planum, then perhaps this periglacial-glacial dichotomy and its associated geochronology are as relevant to understanding late period landscape-evolution in these two regions as it is in the AR

Ages for the Middle Stone Age of Southern Africa: Implications for Human behavior and Dispersal

The expansion of modern human populations in Africa 80,000 to 60,000 years ago and their initial exodus out of Africa have been tentatively linked to two phases of technological and behavioral innovation within the Middle Stone Age of southern Africa - the Still Bay and Howieson's Poort industries - that are associated with early evidence for symbols and personal ornaments. Establishing the correct sequence of events, however, has been hampered by inadequate chronologies. We report ages for nine sites from varied climatic and ecological zones across southern Africa that show that both industries were short-lived (5000 years or less), separated by about 7000 years, and coeval with genetic estimates of population expansion and exit times. Comparison with climatic records shows that these bursts of innovative behavior cannot be explained by environmental factors alone

New ages from Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, provide increased resolution on late/terminal Pleistocene human behavioural variability

Abstract: Boomplaas Cave, South Africa, contains a rich archaeological record, with evidence of human occupation from approximately 66,000 years ago until the protohistoric period. Notwithstanding a long history of research at the site, its existing chronology can benefit from revision. Many of the site’s members are currently delimited by only a single conventional radiocarbon date and some of the existing dates were measured on materials now known to be unsuitable for radiocarbon dating. Here we present the results of an ongoing effort to redate key late/terminal Pleistocene sequences in southern Africa. This paper presents a Bayesian-modelled radiocarbon chronology for the late/terminal Pleistocene horizons at Boomplaas. Our model incorporates previously published radiocarbon dates as well as new accelerator mass spectrometry ages. We also present archaeological evidence to examine in greater detail than was previously possible the nature of occupation patterning across the late/terminal Pleistocene and to assess technological change across two of the site’s Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) members. The new dates and archaeological data confirm that the site was occupied in a series of low intensity events in the early LGM and immediately thereafter. The site was occupied intensively in the terminal Pleistocene in line with major changes in palaeoenvironments and sea-level fluctuations. The lithic data show the use of variable technological strategies in contexts of shifting mobility and site occupation patterns. Our discussion informs upon huntergatherer behavioural variability that did not, and should not be expected to, reflect the strategies adopted and adapted by a handful of well-known arid-zone hunter-gatherers in the twentieth-century Kalahari