41 research outputs found
Neither Arbitrary nor Artificial:Chiefs and the Making of the Namibia-Zambia Borderland
No full textIn the late 1990s a separatist movement emerged in Namibia's northeastern Caprivi Region. In the aftermath of an armed uprising in 1999 speculation emerged regarding a possible link between the Caprivi secessionists and Lozi separatists across the border in Zambia's Western Province. The Lozi heritage certainly has continuing relevance for Caprivi's population. Through language, kinship relations and economic exchange it serves as an integrative factor of everyday life in the Namibia/Zambia borderland. But the Caprivi secessionists had no intentions of re‐creating a united Lozi kingdom. The present‐day positions of authority by the “traditional” leaders of the Fwe (the support base of the secessionists) and other groups in Caprivi were, in fact, created by the territorial separation and system of indirect rule imposed by the German colonial authorities. Thus, the colonial border served vested interests in Caprivi from the outset. Rather than reverting to an imagined pre‐colonial past, the secessionists’ territorial claim emerged from a more recent legacy of pre‐independence state formation: The apartheid regime's attempt to create a Caprivi Bantustan. As in the case of the colonial boundary, this legacy caused new political realities and vested interests to emerge on the ground in Caprivi. Today, informal cross‐border business ventures in the Namibia/Zambia borderland are flourishing. The border is once again at the center of vested interests of those who live in its proximity. To call this border “arbitrary” or “artificial” therefore ignores the fact that in nearly 12 decades it has very much become part of the socioeconomic and political landscape of Caprivi
Firth Ballad
No full textThe miner's song. Down among'st the coals: What I overheard my poor old mother sa
The impact of illness and the impact of school closure on social contact patterns.
No full textBACKGROUND: Mathematical models, based on data describing normal patterns of social mixing, are used to understand epidemics in order to predict patterns of disease spread and plan interventions and responses. However, individuals who are ill show behavioural changes that affect their social mixing patterns and predictive models should take into account these changes if they are to be effective. OBJECTIVES: To describe and quantify the changes in (1) social contact behaviour experienced by individuals when they are ill with pandemic H1N1 influenza (swine flu) and (2) mixing patterns of school children that take place as a result of swine flu-related school closures. METHODS: For the first part of the study, a self-completed questionnaire-based study was carried out in the autumn/winter of 2009-10. The study population was individuals who had been diagnosed with swine flu and who received a swine flu antiviral prescription from an antiviral distribution centre (ADC). It consisted of an initial survey to be filled in when participants were symptomatic with swine flu and a follow-up survey to be filled in when they had recovered. Each part of the questionnaire had two sections: patient details and a contact diary. The second part of the study was adapted to quantify the difference in mixing patterns of pupils between the school term and the half-term holiday as school closures did not occur during the study period. Eight schools participated and questionnaire packs were distributed to them, containing two surveys: one to be filled in during the school term and one during the spring half-term holiday. RESULTS: For the patient study, approximately 3800 surveys were distributed by 31 ADCs. Overall, 317 responses to the initial survey were received and 179 participants returned the follow-up survey. For all types of a contact, except contacts made at home, there were highly significant differences in contact behaviour (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.001). Individuals made substantially fewer contacts when they were ill than when they were well. Analysis showed that returning to work was the most significant predictor of increased numbers of contacts. Also, the greater the change in the number of symptoms reported, the greater the change in the number of contacts. For the school study, approximately 1100 questionnaire packs were distributed and 134 responses were received, with 119 paired contact diaries. Pupils reported on average 18.51 contacts each day during term time and 9.24 during the half-term holiday - a reduction of over 50% and a highly significant change (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from this study suggests that ill individuals make substantial changes to their social contact patterns. These changes are strongly linked to absence from work and the severity of the reported illness. Epidemiological modellers should therefore consider the implications of illness-related behavioural changes on model predictions. Future studies to measure the extent of behavioural change in a broader cross-section of infected cases could be valuable, along with more detailed studies of the social contact patterns of school children, focusing on differences between school terms and school holidays
Landscape-painter as landscape-gardener : the case of Alfred Parsons R.A.
No full textIn 2 vols.Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN016830 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
The geology of New Hampshire A report comprising the results of explorations ordered by the legislature
No full textThe Red Queen and the Hard Reds: Productivity Growth in American Wheat, 1800-1940
No full textThe standard treatment of U.S. agriculture asserts that, before the 1930s, productivity growth was almost exclusively the result of mechanization rather than biological innovations. This paper shows that, to the contrary, U.S. wheat production witnessed a biological revolution during the 19th and early 20th centuries with wholesale changes in the varieties grown and cultural practices employed. Without these changes, vast expanses of the wheat belt could not have sustained commercial production and yields everywhere would have plummeted due to the increasing severity of insects, diseases, and weeds. Our revised estimates of Parker and Klein's productivity calculations indicate that biological innovations account for roughly one-half of labor productivity growth between 1839 and 1909.
The Development of British civil affairs and its employment in the British sector of allied military operations during the Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944
No full textCivil Affairs and its more robust sibling, Military Government, were military
organisations designed to ensure that basic civil order and welfare were
maintained in those allied and enemy states encountered on operations during
the Second World War. In so doing, they enabled formation commanders to
focus on defeating enemy forces without being distracted by possible civilian
problems. Using the battle of Normandy as a case study, this research assesses
the utility of Civil Affairs in supporting military needs during operations. This
contrasts with previous studies that concentrate on aspects of social and
diplomatic history.
If the need for Civil Affairs was generally axiomatic, there was much debate as to
the extent and method of delivery required. Civil Affairs quickly recognised that
in dealing with direct problems such as “disorganisation, disease and unrest” it
was necessary for seemingly indirect aspects of civilian life to be maintained.
Various forms of bureaucratic friction resulted and several Civil Affairs
approaches were used, before the model for the North West Europe campaign
was agreed. Nevertheless, the organisation employed in Normandy was
arguably the most extensive and best prepared of the war. However, it also had
to deal with many different civilian problems and in trying military
circumstances. Consequently, the battle is fertile ground for the examination of
the extent and nature of the organisation’s operational utility.
Using primary and secondary sources, this paper argues that Civil Affairs was
militarily both useful and necessary. Furthermore, it was able to provide wider
diplomatic and political benefits as well as serving core military needs. The
research concludes by acknowledging that whilst mistakes were made, the
various improvements made to Civil Affairs in preparation for, together with the
lessons learnt during, Normandy stood the organisation in good stead for the
significantly larger problems encountered later in the war
From colonial outpost to popular tourism destination: an historical geography of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Region 1829-2005
No full textWhile much of inland rural and regional Australia in the early 21st Century is struggling to survive through a tough restructuring period and significant population decline with its associated impacts on local services, many coastal locations are experiencing unprecedented development including non-urban population growth and coastal subdivision. There is an urgent need for a more holistic approach to future development in coastal communities around Australia that recognises the contribution of past land uses and the implementation of sustainable policies and practices that link the environment, people and the economy. Many of these coastal locations share a similar post contact history of a constant effort to create and maintain sustainable communities. Most have experienced several different dominant land uses since European occupation as various political and ideological forces have promoted new ideas and technologies to exploit the available natural resources. Remnants of these past activities, including pre European land use, still remain and have now become an important component of the cultural heritage and tourist product in these coastal regions.
The Leeuwin-Naturaliste Region occupies the extreme south western corner of Western Australia approximately 250km south of the city of Perth and is one location that shares this experience. The region is presently one of the fastest growing areas in Western Australia outside of the metropolitan area. Between 1991 and 2001 the population of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Region increased by 65% to 31, 911 (ABS 2001). Although the region has been experiencing unprecedented growth since the late 1980s, it had previously comprised mostly small rural communities struggling to maintain their populations and economic viability. The Leeuwin-Naturaliste Region has been 'discovered' no less than seven times since European occupation in 1830. It has been 'invaded' by a series of different people from both the public and private sectors who have initiated diverse land uses for different objectives. Each new land use activity was initiated from outside the region as people reappraised the environment with little consideration of the knowledge of the local environment obtained through past land use activities. These new land uses were usually politically or demand driven and related to the broader development of the state rather than the long term viability of the local region. Whilst the phenomenal development associated with tourism constitutes the most recent land use activity, tourism was preceded by Early European agricultural Settlement from the 1830s; the timber Industry from the 1850s; the Group Settlements and establishment of a dairy industry from the 1920s; the alternative lifestylers from the 1960s and the viticultural industry from the 1970s.
This thesis will explore both the historical and contemporary processes which have played a significant part in shaping the region's cultural landscapes and underpin the current development issues it is experiencing. It is argued that much of the land use history of this region has been framed by a consistent frontier ethos and that it is only relatively recently the concept of sustainable development has begun to be implemented even though ironically its principles were effectively guiding land use practices for centuries before European settlement. This thesis concludes that for the most recent land use activity of tourism to achieve the long term sustainability that has eluded so many past land uses, development must facilitate multiple land use management and encourage the continued incorporation of past land use activities to maintain the region's cultural, social and economic diversity rather than tourism overpowering them to become the dominant activity. At the same time, of course, these multiple land uses must themselves be managed by contemporary and evolving principles of sustainable development. All stakeholders both within and outside the region need to adopt a more holistic sustainable approach to managing the region's resources learning from both past land use attempts and the principles of Indigenous cosmology including the importance of the interconnectedness of people, environment and economy. If this is achieved then it is more likely that both current and future generations will have a high quality of life with long term economic security that also ensures the long term maintenance of their socio-cultural and environmental resources
