THE 3rd PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT SESSION

Frustrated by decades of authoritarian rule, political repression, economic mismanagement, poverty, soaring unemployment and other related injustices, the youth in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya rose up against the state, while Algeria and Morocco narrowly escaped the events of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’. This quest for political reform is an indication of a great collective shift that has the potential to reverberate throughout the African continent. However, to what extent can the youth succeed in bringing about the much-desired transition to democracy? This article focuses on the North African youth uprising and the quest for political reform in Africa. It examines the core issues of the youth uprising and the challenges to the attainment of political reform. A youth uprising can lead to genuine political reform if the major challenges in building new democratic forms of governance which can address economic disparity, protection of human rights, justice and security, can be overcome.     

SECURITY AND FORCED MIGRATION CONCERNS IN SOUTH AFRICA

“As we close this century, there is for the first time realistic hope of a more just future. A Century stained with the sufferings of ceaseless war and atrocity is as much marked by our incomplete efforts to secure the foundations of an international society, one in which all peoples are equal and equally protected from abuse. The last decade has seen the application of dormant humanitarian principles and laws in various fora. The ICC offers us the opportunity to build on these disjointed enforcement efforts. A properly functioning permanent court will be humanity's best chance yet to move out of its self-destructive cycle. Justice is a vindication, a historical right and a deterrent.”     

US warfare in Somalia and the trade-off between casualty-aversion and civilian protection

This article examines the ways in which the two normative concerns of casualty-aversion and civilian protection influenced US military strategy in the particular context of the asymmetric conflict in Somalia in the early 1990s. The article critically evaluates US military operations through the prism of international humanitarian law and examines whether American forces started prioritizing casualty-aversion over the safeguarding of Somali civilians. Finally, by drawing on emerging moral guidelines (such as Michael Walzer's idea of ‘due care’), the article examines whether lower numbers of Somali civilian deaths could have been achieved if marginal increases to the risks faced by US soldiers had been accepted.     

Lost through non-translation: bringing Clausewitz's writings on ‘new wars’ back in

While Carl von Clausewitz has generally been respected as one of the most profound philosophers of war, his expertise has been regarded as somewhat limited if not even irrelevant to the so-called ‘new wars’ of the post-Cold War world. Many scholars in international relations have claimed that ‘new wars’ are essentially ‘post-Clausewitzian’ and ‘post-trinitarian’ in nature, meaning that they are no longer fathomable through a Clausewitzian framework. However Clausewitz's earlier writings were nearly exclusively dedicated to guerrilla warfare, or what he called ‘small wars’. These writings have been largely overlooked by many analysts of contemporary conflicts. By drawing on his rare and untranslated writings, the article uncovers a critical part of Clausewitz's expertise in asymmetric warfare and shows that, far from being irrelevant in an age where interstate warfare is increasingly being replaced by conflicts between states and semi-/non-state actors, Clausewitz's philosophical writings actually shed new light into the particular interactive dynamics generated during wars waged under conditions of asymmetry.     

基于模糊Petri网的航材供应链冲突诊断建模与分析

结合航材供应链特点,建立航材供应链冲突诊断指标体系,并将节点问协作指标引入体系之中。通过模糊产生式规则,建立航材供应链冲突诊断模型,进行诊断推理,找出引起冲突的关键因素,并提出航材供应链冲突的防范对策。     

有限群的极大子群的正规指数

有限群的结构与其子群性质间的关系问题是群论的一个重要研究方向,通过群的极大子群、正规子群、半正规子群、极大子群的正规指数等去研究群的可解性,超可解性、幂零性等,已有一系列结果.应用极小反例方法,利用有限群极大子群的正规指数,得到了一个有限群是π-可解群的充分条件,2个有限群是π-可解群的充分必要条件.     

基于粗糙集理论的加权排序法及其应用

针对粗糙集理论在有限个方案的多目标决策问题应用中存在的缺陷,提出了一种新的加权排序法,该方法既吸取了粗糙集约简属性的优点,又考虑到了各属性间的相对重要性,使得决策过程更符合实际情况.最后给出了该种排序法在武器装备系统论证中的应用,取得了较好的效果.     

A generalization of the weighted set covering problem

We study a generalization of the weighted set covering problem where every element needs to be covered multiple times. When no set contains more than two elements, we can solve the problem in polynomial time by solving a corresponding weighted perfect b‐matching problem. In general, we may use a polynomial‐time greedy heuristic similar to the one for the classical weighted set covering problem studied by D.S. Johnson [Approximation algorithms for combinatorial problems, J Comput Syst Sci 9 (1974), 256–278], L. Lovasz [On the ratio of optimal integral and fractional covers, Discrete Math 13 (1975), 383–390], and V. Chvatal [A greedy heuristic for the set‐covering problem, Math Oper Res 4(3) (1979), 233–235] to get an approximate solution for the problem. We find a worst‐case bound for the heuristic similar to that for the classical problem. In addition, we introduce a general type of probability distribution for the population of the problem instances and prove that the greedy heuristic is asymptotically optimal for instances drawn from such a distribution. We also conduct computational studies to compare solutions resulting from running the heuristic and from running the commercial integer programming solver CPLEX on problem instances drawn from a more specific type of distribution. The results clearly exemplify benefits of using the greedy heuristic when problem instances are large. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2005     

基于物理模型的行星轮系特征提取与评估方法

特征提取与评估是损伤检测和故障预测的基础。针对2K-H行星轮系缺齿损伤,建立了行星轮系的损伤模型,通过分析模型的仿真信号,提出了基于主频边带、小波变换和经验模式分解的多种损伤特征,并采用双样本一致性检验方法对所提取损伤特征的分类能力进行了评估,采用含噪声的仿真信号和试验数据对损伤特征进行了验证。验证结果表明,所提取的损伤特征均具有较强的分类能力,其中主频边带特征的分类性能最优。