Political Influence in Multi-Choice Institutions: Cyclicity, Anonymity and Transitivity

We study political influence in institutions where members choose from among several options their levels of support to a collective goal, these individual choices determining the degree to which the goal is reached. Influence is assessed by newly defined binary relations, each of which compares any two individuals on the basis of their relative performance at a corresponding level of participation. For institutions with three levels of support (e.g., voting games in which each voter may vote "yes", "abstain", or vote "no"), we obtain three influence relations, and show that the strict component of each of them may be cyclical. The cyclicity of these relations contrasts with the transitivity of the unique influence relation of binary voting games. Weak conditions of anonymity are sufficient for each of them to be transitive. We also obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for each of them to be complete. Further, we characterize institutions for which the rankings induced by these relations, and the Banzhaf-Coleman and Shapley-Shubik power indices coincide. We argue that the extension of these relations to firms would be useful in efficiently allocating workers to different units of production. Applications to various forms of political and economic organizations are provided.Level-based influence relations, Multi-choice institutions, cyclicity, anonymity, transitivity

Health Planning in 1960s Africa: International Health Organisations and the Post-Colonial State

This article explores the programme of national health planning carried out in the 1960s in West and Central Africa by the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Health plans were intended as integral aspects of economic development planning in five newly independent countries: Gabon, Liberia, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone. We begin by showing that this episode is treated only superficially in the existing WHO historiography, then introduce some relevant critical literature on the history of development planning. Next we outline the context for health planning, noting: the opportunities which independence from colonial control offered to international development agencies; the WHO's limited capacity in Africa; and its preliminary efforts to avoid imposing Western values or partisan views of health system organisation. Our analysis of the plans themselves suggests they lacked the necessary administrative and statistical capacity properly to gauge local needs, while the absence of significant financial resources meant that they proposed little more than augmentation of existing structures. By the late 1960s optimism gave way to disappointment as it became apparent that implementation had been minimal. We describe the ensuing conflict within WHO over programme evaluation and ongoing expenditure, which exposed differences of opinion between African and American officials over approaches to international health aid. We conclude with a discussion of how the plans set in train longer processes of development planning, and, perhaps less desirably, gave bureaucratic shape to the post-colonial state

Alpha Antihydrogen Experiment

ALPHA is an experiment at CERN, whose ultimate goal is to perform a precise test of CPT symmetry with trapped antihydrogen atoms. After reviewing the motivations, we discuss our recent progress toward the initial goal of stable trapping of antihydrogen, with some emphasis on particle detection techniques.Comment: Invited talk presented at the Fifth Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Bloomington, Indiana, June 28-July 2, 201

Compression of Antiproton Clouds for Antihydrogen Trapping

Control of the radial profile of trapped antiproton clouds is critical to trapping antihydrogen. We report the first detailed measurements of the radial manipulation of antiproton clouds, including areal density compressions by factors as large as ten, by manipulating spatially overlapped electron plasmas. We show detailed measurements of the near-axis antiproton radial profile and its relation to that of the electron plasma

"We're Not Victims": Women's Use of Violence in Their Intimate Relationships

This doctoral research examines women who engage in or initiate violence in their intimate relationships. Through qualitative in-depth interviews with twenty-five women who were mandated to undergo treatment for intimate partner violence and participant observation of the support groups, I examined the reasons and justifications used by women to explain why they resort to violence as a strategy in conflict with their intimate partners. An integral part of this study was also the manner in which women reflect on, and shape their gendered identities, specifically as female perpetrators of intimate partner violence. The subsequent comprehensive analysis of the participant’s narratives, depicts their experiences of IPV, illustrates how these women view their world and how violence mediates the manner in which they construct and shape their gendered identities. The narratives also highlight the limited discourse within which female perpetrators of intimate partner violence use to frame their behaviour. This study situates itself within a body of literature that is polemical in nature and ideologically divided with respect to women’s use of violence in their intimate relationships. On the one hand, intimate partner violence is understood to be heavily gendered and asymmetrical. This paradigm argues that a patriarchal and male-dominated society and culture sustains male violence against women and when women resort to violence toward a male partner, it is either reactive or in self-defence. On the other hand, proponents of gender symmetry consider intimate partner violence to be gender neutral where women are as likely as men to perpetrate violence. Gender is not considered a significant factor and when women commit acts of violence, they use similar motivations and justifications to men. This study situates itself somewhere in between these two perspectives, i.e. that women are as likely as men to perpetrate intimate partner violence but suggest that gender is a mediating factor. The findings from this study reveal that women are capable of a significant level of violence and coercive control in their relations with their non-violent intimate partners. In contrast, self-defence or retaliation was not a causal factor in the participant’s justification for resorting to violence. The narratives of the women in this study provide an essential insight into their subjective experiences of intimate partner violence, the manner in which women construct their gendered identity as perpetrators rather than victims of IPV, and the processes that result in their use of violence and aggressive behaviour. Therefore, although intimate partner violence is a human issue, a gendered response in the form of treatment, intervention, policy and protocol is required. This study provides evidence-based and empirical research that can serve to inform gender appropriate protocols for female perpetrators of IPV

Anaemia in schoolchildren in eight countries in Africa and Asia

Objective: To report on the haemoglobin concentrations and prevalence of anaemia in schoolchildren in eight countries in Africa and Asia. Design: Blood samples were collected during surveys of the health of schoolchildren as a part of programmes to develop school-based health services. Setting: Rural schools in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Tanzania and Vietnam. Subjects: Nearly 14 000 children enrolled in basic education in three age ranges (7-11 years, 12-14 years and >/= 15 years) which reflect the new UNICEF/WHO thresholds to define anaemia. Results: Anaemia was found to be a severe public health problem (defined as >40% anaemic) in five African countries for children aged 7-11 years and in four of the same countries for children aged 12-14 years. Anaemia was not a public health problem in the children studied in the two Asian countries. More boys than girls were anaemic, and children who enrolled late in school were more likely to be anaemic than children who enrolled closer to the correct age. The implications of the four new thresholds defining anaemia for school-age children are examined. Conclusions: Anaemia is a significant problem in schoolchildren in sub-Saharan Africa. School-based health services which provide treatments for simple conditions that cause blood loss, such as worms, followed by multiple micronutrient supplements including iron, have the potential to provide relief from a large burden of anaemia

Why men hit : deconstructing men's narratives of conjugal violence and the cultural construction of masculinity in Nigeria

This thesis explores the increasing incidence of conjugal violence in Nigeria, and how the construction of masculinity is one of the challenging dynamics concerning this issue. The cultural construction of masculinity in Nigeria is a result of the complicated intermingling of historical, local, traditional and global processes that are mediated by several factors, including age, ethnicity and status. Gender relations and constructs are complex, which means male dominance and privilege cannot be assumed. Thus, domestic violence serves as a medium through which masculinity is studied. The results of this research suggests a relationship between the prevailing predominant culture and its social values, the perspectives held of masculinity, and the actions of a certain 'type' of man---the "wife batterer". The data derives from two group interviews with male participants who engage in conjugal violence, and were held in Lagos and Abuja in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The men's narratives expose their world view regarding women, marriage and family, the cultural context through which the men justify their behaviour toward their wives, as well as the cultural norms and values that these men use to construct their notions of masculinity

A novel antiproton radial diagnostic based on octupole induced ballistic loss

We report results from a novel diagnostic that probes the outer radial profile of trapped antiproton clouds. The diagnostic allows us to determine the profile by monitoring the time-history of antiproton losses that occur as an octupole field in the antiproton confinement region is increased. We show several examples of how this diagnostic helps us to understand the radial dynamics of antiprotons in normal and nested Penning-Malmberg traps. Better understanding of these dynamics may aid current attempts to trap antihydrogen atoms

Mass rape in north and south Kivu provinces from 1996-2001: understanding the reasons for ongoing sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo conflicts.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.This study investigates the factors behind the mass rape of women from 1996-2001 in North and South Kivu provinces during the 1996-2003 armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Atrocities against women have always been a significant concern in feminist agendas and discourses. In time of peace as in time of war, women remain at the center stage of male violence. The Democratic Republic of Congo conflicts are reported to have killed more people than in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur combined. Sexual violence against women in North and South Kivu, DRC is believed to be the worst in the world. Women in these two provinces were raped, forced into prostitution, mutilated, and to some extent, subjected to further inhumane acts such as shooting and the introduction of objects into their private parts. HIV and AIDS, and other sexual transmitted diseases constitute some of the extra diagnosis associated with the victims. Yet, to date, no one understands why these women continue to be raped on a daily basis. The 1996-2003 Congo conflict has witnessed the involvement of several countries such as Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Yet, none of these interventionist countries have ever condemned sexual atrocities committed against women in DRC, in general and in North and South Kivu, in particular. Despite having a democratically elected government and legitimate institutions such as courts of law and tribunals, crimes of this kind committed against women continue unabated. The policies of militarism and wars either intended for regime change or in the pursuit of the world's resources have increased the threat of armed conflicts which expose women to rape. The continuation of sexual violence in these two provinces has led to the view by many media groups and humanitarian organizations that rape is used as a weapon of war. The Constitution of the DRC prior to the conflict was biased towards women. The post conflict Constitution approved in February 2006 is theoretically accommodating of gender-based discrimination. Nationally, impunity for rape perpetrators has become a norm. Internationally, rape has long been mischaracterized and diminished by military and political leaders which lead to the belief that there is a strong undercurrent of patriarchal phenomenon involving many global institutions of power. The implication of discriminating, gender-based provisions in the constitution and the failure to implement policies that empower women has most of the time strengthened the social construction of masculinity and its idolization which are perceived as the social roots of violence against women during wartime. In many armed conflicts similar to that of the North and South Kivu, women have always been the victims. Yet, men involved in combat have often negotiated peace between themselves rather than justice for the victims. Justice for women in this part of the world remains elusive