Soldiers contra diplomats: Britain’s role in the Zimbabwe/Rhodesia ceasefire (1979–1980) reconsidered

Abstract

This article re-examines part of the literature on Britain’s role in the December 1979 to March 1980 Zimbabwe/Rhodesia ceasefire. The ceasefire ushered in an era of peace after a protracted internal war and it was an integral part of the transition from colonial white minority rule, towards black majority independence. Scholars present Britain’s success in brokering and monitoring the Zimbabwe/Rhodesia ceasefire as the result of its judicious and accordant management of the road to peace. However, this article argues that in fact deep internal divisions plagued the British managers of the ceasefire. Internal divisions centred on authority struggles between diplomats and military actors, conflicting personalities, discordant approaches to and goals in the ceasefire, and inter-institutional rivalry between the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence. The article concludes that Britain only managed the ceasefire effectively because its military’s independence, political nous, and competence ultimately prevailed over the injudicious views and machinations of diplomats.     

9/11: WHAT DID WE KNOW AND WHEN DID WE KNOW IT?

In February 1998, Osama Bin Laden published a signed statement calling for a fatwa against the United States for its having ‘declared war against God’. As we now know, the fatwa resulted in the unprecedented attack of 9/11. The issue of whether or not 9/11 was in any way predictable culminated in the public debate between Richard Clarke, former CIA Director George Tenet and the White House. This paper examines whether there was any evidence of a structural change in the terrorism data at or after February 1998 but prior to June 2001, controlling for the possibility of other breaks in earlier periods. In doing so, we use the standard Bai–Perron procedure and our sequential importance sampling (SIS) Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for identifying an unknown number of breaks at unknown dates. We conclude that sophisticated statistical time‐series analysis would not have predicted 9/11.     

CLIENT／SERVER环境下的通用数据库开发工具POWERBUILDER

从面向对象的程序设计的角度,剖析了ＣＬＩＥＮＴ／ＳＥＲＶＥＲ环境下的通用数据库开发工具ＰＯＷＥＲＢＵＩＬＤＥＲ（ＰＢ）的特点、基本结构及其开发数据库应用系统的方法。     

网际间进程通信与客户-服务器的实现

TCP/IP协议簇是一个实际上的网际协议标准,4BSD UNIX操作系统提供了网际间通信的socket机制,以解决应用程序与TCP/IP软件的接口,客户-服务器模型已成为网际环境下的程序设计的实际标准模式。较详细分析了客户-服务器模型的原理,socket编程机制的系统调用,并给出了基于socket系统调用的客户服务器模型实现的方法。     

Terrorism,Radicalisation and Moral Panics: Media and Academic Analysis and Reporting of 2016 and 2017 ‘Terrorism’

Radicalism or radicalisation has become a serious political and academic theme in recent years and any incident involving Muslims now almost automatically acquires the cachet, as events in 2016 and 2017 have shown. However, despite vast sums and resources expended on the subject no one can define what they mean by ‘it’. This should make us pause and question what precisely it is that causes so much alarm and is it worth the resources, time and effort employed to respond to it?     

C4ISR/M&S互操作HLA仿真设施

基于仿真互操作标准组织(Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization,SISO)C4ISR/M&S互操作技术参考模型和高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,HLA),C4ISR/M&S互操作HLA仿真设施为架构仿真系统运行体系提出了面向方面框架(Aspect Oriented Framework,AOF)和应用服务平台的技术.AOF能控制C4ISR/M&S互操作所引起的仿真系统结构复杂化,应用服务平台则能丰富仿真系统的运行环境,仿真设施可作为仿真系统通用运行体系的基础组件,支持复杂互操作系统开发.     

某型鱼雷尾追式弹道设计与仿真

主要介绍了基于MATLAB/Simulink和Delphi两种途径的鱼雷尾追式弹道的设计与仿真方法.首先给出鱼雷导引系统的数学模型,然后介绍如何应用Simulink建立系统的仿真模型并进行仿真计算,并使用Delphi语言进行了仿真,最后给出相应的仿真结果和分析.Simulink的仿真方法克服了其他传统编程语言如Delphi仿真时繁杂、难度高、周期长的缺点,使动态系统的仿真变得容易、直观、迅捷.     

分布式网络化测试系统设计

以某大型复杂装备远程测试系统为例,给出了基于DCOM的分布式网络化虚拟仪器测试系统的体系结构.该网络化测试系统体系结构采用DS技术作为客户端和测试端连接的中间件,并采用C/S、B/S混合模式使系统各COM/DCOM组件通过网络实现"无缝"连接.DCOM技术的应用使得各网络测试节点成为服务的本体,可以响应不同客户的测试需求,实现了良好的数据传输、安全管理和远程仪器控制.DS技术的使用进一步简化了计算机和测试应用之间的数据交换,达到了良好的实时传输效果.     

Notes on Cataneo's Scale,Some Gunners' Daggers and a Gunners' Rule

Abstract

Cataneo's scale, published in 1571, relates the weight of shot to the internal muzzle diameter of guns ranging between 0.04–0.21 m. Plots of calculated shot density versus muzzle diameter suggest that diameters of 0.10 m and above apply to iron shot and those below apply to lead and lead/iron composite shot. Similar plots are used to compare Cataneo's scale with other contemporary scales and with scales engraved on the blades of five Italian gunners' daggers dating to around 1650. Variations and errors in the daggers' scales might suggest a symbolic rather than a practical role; nevertheless there is remarkable consistency with Cataneo's scale in the shape of the plots in spite of the considerable length of time after its publication. A simple wooden scale from the Spanish Armada ship La Trinidad Valencera also confirms to Cataneo's general pattern although there appears to be a fundamental error in its mathematical construction.     

摇摆观测误差对武器瞄准精度影响的理论分析

本文建立了舰艇摇摆观测误差转化成武器瞄准误差的过程模型。通过分析,得出了一些规律性的结论,并给出了便于工程运用的简化模型。