The African warlord revisited

To date, warlordism in Africa has been viewed solely negatively. This has come about, in part, because of the analytical lenses that have been used. Typically, warlordism has been examined at the state level; and behavioural traits, rather than definitionally necessary components, have been the focus. In effect, ‘warlord’ has been confused with other violent actors. I suggest here a reconceptualisation ‘from below’, which takes into account variation in types of warlordism, and which allows for both positive and negative effects of warlordism on society and the state.     

CORRUPTION,PERCEPTION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Bribery undermines human development and a transition to stable democratic rule. It props up illegitimate regimes as corporations bid for contracts by bribing, in a seeming race to the bottom. The world's wealthy are slowly waking up to this and criminalising this scandalous practice of bribing foreign public officials. However, such measures, if enforced, need to be combined with domestic anti-corruption strategies in the South. If this opportunity is missed, the risk of investing private capital in marginalised economies perceived to be highly corrupt is further upped, making investment-driven economic growth possibly even less unattainable.     

THE AU MISSION IN BURUNDI

Abstract

Even though the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, MPLA) managed to take firm control of the state as the war ended in 2002, this article contends that its hegemony is not absolute. At the fringes of the state administration, emerging regional elites have established associations that seek to provide a remedy against the centralised system, which essentially deprives regions of political influence and sufficient economic resources. As in many other countries on the African continent, political identities that were legally enforced and institutionally reproduced in colonial times have hardly been transcended in the post-colonial period. Even if the associations' influence today does not yet reach further than bringing some insecurity to an otherwise secure polity dominated by the MPLA, the associations could play a role in reinforcing strong regional solidarity and give political expression to feelings of exclusion. Such sentiments could in turn lead to an increase of exclusivity ideas about citizenship, or even xenophobic violence. Much will depend on the strategies of the MPLA, and to what extent it will accommodate these emergent forces in the post-war era, not the least through the current sub-national state reforms.     

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ON THE ROAD TO NUCLEAR ZERO

The disappointingly slow pace of progress on efforts to prevent proliferation, reduce nuclear weapons, and eliminate nuclear risks has many causes. The factor that might be easiest for individuals in the arms control and nonproliferation community to change stems from their own ambivalence about major questions that must be addressed on the road to reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world to zero. This essay explores how ambivalence about four key issues—strategic stability, alliance relations, institution-building, and nuclear energy—often leads community members to take positions that play well at home and within their like-minded group but raise unintended impediments to achieving their own long-term goals. The author suggests alternative ways to handle these questions to improve the prospects for domestic and international agreement on practical measures that would eliminate, not perpetuate, nuclear risks.     

POLITICAL SURVIVAL AND NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION

Nuclear Logics: Contrasting Paths in East Asia and the Middle East, by Etel Solingen. Princeton University Press, 2007. 404 pages, $26.95.     

比例最小偏度单形UKF的RBF神经网络算法

为提高RBF神经网络的建模性能,提出一种基于改进无迹Kalman滤波(UKF)的RBF神经网络训练算法。在该算法中,首先将比例最小偏度单形Sigma点采样策略引入UT,以有效改进UKF,提升其计算效率,然后利用改进的UKF优化估计RBF神经网络的最优参数。仿真结果表明,改进的UKF比EKF具有更高的RBF神经网络模型训练精度,与传统UKF的模型精度大体相当,但速度更快,计算效率更高。     

基于特征相似度的同步发电机绝缘故障诊断

以同步发电机为分析对象,利用粗糙集可有效地处理和分析不精确的信息和知识的优点,从历史信息和决策中进行了特征量选取以及属性约简.对于无法处理的属性约简,采用条件限制得到能够有效反映属性的重要程度特征量,并以此计算特征量权重系数,消除主观因素的影响.在此基础上,针对励磁绕组绝缘故障,选择与设备健康状态直接相关特征作为判断对象,与同机组历史数据进行相似度分析,计算得到了其故障因子.设计出快速判断相关状态的算法,给出了判定准则并进行了编程实现.实验验证表明:该诊断算法能够对设备故障进行有效判定.     

深 V 型船艉扰流板减阻模型试验及数值分析

为深入研究深 V 型船艉扰流板减阻机理,首先进行了深 V 型船艉扰流板系列减阻模型试验研究,获得了模型阻力减少4％左右的艉扰流板设计方案,该方案扰流板深度与艉板宽度之比为0．0094;其次,采用RANS 方程以及计及航态影响的数值计算方法,逐段分析了船体微段阻力变化规律。结果表明：扰流板减阻的主要原因在于其改善了船体航态,从而减少了压差阻力。     

全长和埋入式组合抗滑桩在挖断村滑坡中的应用

重庆市奉节县挖断村滑坡规模巨大,滑坡体长180~250m,滑坡体厚15~35m,剩余下滑力达5 337 kN/m,采用了前排全长后排埋入式的新型组合抗滑支挡技术,大大节省了工程投资。介绍了这种新型组合抗滑结构的设计方法,重点介绍了桩的长度计算、各桩承担滑坡推力计算、治理后的监测数据。工程竣工2年的监测数据表明滑坡变形趋于稳定,说明采用全长和埋入式组合抗滑桩治理该滑坡是有效的。     

Development programs for one‐shot systems using multiple‐state design reliability models

Design reliability at the beginning of a product development program is typically low, and development costs can account for a large proportion of total product cost. We consider how to conduct development programs (series of tests and redesigns) for one‐shot systems (which are destroyed at first use or during testing). In rough terms, our aim is to both achieve high final design reliability and spend as little of a fixed budget as possible on development. We employ multiple‐state reliability models. Dynamic programming is used to identify a best test‐and‐redesign strategy and is shown to be presently computationally feasible for at least 5‐state models. Our analysis is flexible enough to allow for the accelerated stress testing needed in the case of ultra‐high reliability requirements, where testing otherwise provides little information on design reliability change. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004