THE DEFENCE SPENDING–EXTERNAL DEBT NEXUS IN ETHIOPIA

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of defence spending and income on the evolution of Ethiopia’s external debt over the period 1970–2005. Using the bounds test approach to cointegration and Granger causality tests, we find a long run and a causal relationship between external debt, defence spending and income. Defence spending had a positive and a significant impact on the stock of external debt while income had a negative and a statistically significant impact on external debt. Our findings suggest that an increase in defence spending contributes to the accumulation of Ethiopia’s external debt, while an increase in economic growth helps Ethiopia to reduce its external debt.     

The right place at the right time,or the right person in the right place?

South Africa's military has, since the First World War, been an oft-used and effective tool in the conduct of South African foreign policy, but this role has not always translated into power for Defence Department principals in its formulation. South African Defence Ministers for most of the country's history have played a minor role in the making of foreign policy; despite a change in this dynamic between approximately 1975–1990, the post-apartheid era has once again seen a diminishment of Defence's power in this arena. This article examines why Defence Ministers have generally been such weak players, with an eye toward disaggregating whether this was a product of interpersonal relationships with Cabinet and – most importantly – the Head of State, or whether this influence (or lack thereof) was more a function of South Africa's international standing. While determining who has influence on this process is difficult given the primacy of the national leader in making foreign policy and a lack of insider accounts by participants in the process, this article relies upon several interviews with participants and knowledgeable observers that help illuminate the process and Defence's role in it.     

固体推进剂黏弹性本构模型及其有限元应用研究

基于时温等效原理和WLF方程建立推进剂黏弹性泊松比主曲线方程,进而建立考虑时间温度相关泊松比的推进剂本构模型。基于增量有限元方法,采用完全显式积分算法推导增量形式的黏弹性本构方程。根据MSC. Marc用户子程序编程规则,确定本构模型对应的一致切线刚度矩阵从而实现本构模型的有限元应用。先后通过固化降温以及点火增压工况,分别采用黏弹性泊松比以及弹性泊松比对药柱结构进行应力应变力学响应分析,并对比不同类型泊松比对应力应变场的影响。研究方法和结果可为发动机药柱的精细结构完整性分析提供参考。     

一种新的保持分形特征的分形变形方法

针对IFS吸引子变形过程中间出现的分形特征退化的问题,提出基于局部吸引子的近似凸包及旋转匹配的特征对应方法.IFS吸引子的局部吸引子可由独立的IFS生成,IFS中每个压缩仿射映射存在不动点,构造所有不动点的凸包,即得到局部近似凸包;证明了局部近似凸包间的相似对应等价于局部吸引子间的相似对应,并提出了通过旋转匹配的特征对应方法实现局部近似凸包的配对,最后计算所有配对下相似度最高的一组局部近似凸包匹配,确定局部吸引子间的特征对应,即IFS特征对应.对两个IFS进行线性插值可实现保持分形特征的分形变形.     

利用舰船内部磁场的反演建模方法

积分方程法被广泛应用于舰船磁场反演建模当中,但模型要求有足够多的测量点用于获取舰船在特定深度的磁场。针对积分方程法利用近场磁场建模时精度较差的问题,提出一种增加约束方程的改进措施,并分别开展了薄钢板模型和三维舰船模型磁场数值仿真。采用有限元方法对舰船内部测量点进行初始化选择,基于舰船内部磁场测量值构建了反演模型,采用奇异值分解法求解磁源参数并预测船外空间磁场,舰船外部空间磁场预测结果的均方根误差小于12%。舰船舱段模型磁场推算实验表明,由舱段内部磁场预测外部磁场的均方根误差约为13%,证明了所提出方法的有效性,可以改善传统反演模型的不稳定和精度不足的问题,研究结果可为舰船闭环消磁的算法设计提供思路。