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Afghanistan
Selected AbstractsPAUL FURSE AND HIS PLANT COLLECTIONS AT KEWCURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE, Issue 1 2007Kit Strange Summary Paul Furse was an accomplished botanical artist and amateur botanist who, after his retirement from the Navy, spent several years searching for bulbs, travelling to remote locations in the Near East. He went to Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and collected many plants which are still in cultivation today. His pioneering expeditions and enthusiasm inspired a generation of botanists to explore these areas. [source] Mental health impact of Afghanistan and Iraq deployment: meeting the challenge of a new generation of veteransDEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 6 2009Charles R. Marmar M.D. First page of article [source] A tale of two cities: restoring water services in Kabul and MonroviaDISASTERS, Issue 4 2009Jean-François Pinera Kabul and Monrovia, the respective capitals of Afghanistan and Liberia, have recently emerged from long-lasting armed conflicts. In both cities, a large number of organisations took part in emergency water supply provision and later in the rehabilitation of water systems. Based on field research, this paper establishes a parallel between the operations carried out in the two settings, highlighting similarities and analysing the two most common strategies. The first strategy involves international financial institutions, which fund large-scale projects focusing on infrastructural rehabilitation and on the institutional development of the water utility, sometimes envisaging private-sector participation. The second strategy involves humanitarian agencies, which run community-based projects, in most cases independently of the water utilities, and targeting low-income areas. Neither of these approaches manages to combine sustainability and universal service. The paper assesses their respective strengths and weaknesses and suggests ways of improving the quality of assistance provided. [source] Using Design Effects From Previous Cluster Surveys to Guide Sample Size Calculation in Emergency SettingsDISASTERS, Issue 2 2006Reinhard Kaiser Abstract A good estimate of the design effect is critical for calculating the most efficient sample size for cluster surveys. We reviewed the design effects for seven nutrition and health outcomes from nine population-based cluster surveys conducted in emergency settings. Most of the design effects for outcomes in children, and one-half of the design effects for crude mortality, were below two. A reassessment of mortality data from Kosovo and Badghis, Afghanistan revealed that, given the same number of clusters, changing sample size had a relatively small impact on the precision of the estimate of mortality. We concluded that, in most surveys, assuming a design effect of 1.5 for acute malnutrition in children and two or less for crude mortality would produce a more efficient sample size. In addition, enhancing the sample size in cluster surveys without increasing the number of clusters may not result in substantial improvements in precision. [source] Diversity and Adaptation of Shelters in Transitional Settlements for IDPs in AfghanistanDISASTERS, Issue 4 2003Joseph Ashmore The diversity of shelters used in transitional settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Herat, Afghanistan is described. The information is based on a field survey undertaken in March 2002 and highlights the adaptation techniques, which IDPs undertake to improve any provided shelter. Potential areas for improvement are indicated; for example, the possibility for using insulated, demountable liners to prevent cold-related deaths without sacrificing shelter flexibility along with the likely need for better agency coordination of the shelter responses they provide. The wider context in which the technical recommendations would be implemented must also be considered. Such issues include agency resources, political impediments to providing the desired option, and the preference of many IDPs that the best shelter would be their home. [source] The Economics of Landmine Clearance in AfghanistanDISASTERS, Issue 1 2002Geoff Harris This paper presents an economic evaluation of landmine clearance in Afghanistan. The main benefits comprise increased agricultural output, saved transport time and running costs, saved human casualties and the saved costs of supporting refugees and displaced persons. An investment of US$100 million between 1988 and 1998 is estimated to provide annual benefits of $50.3 million per annum between 1999 and 2008. This translates into net present values of between $935 and $1,744 million, depending on the rate of discount used. This contrasts with the negative NPVs estimated for several other countries. [source] The global diversion of pharmaceutical drugsADDICTION, Issue 3 2009India: the third largest illicit opium producer? ABSTRACT Aims This paper explores India's role in the world illicit opiate market, particularly its role as a producer. India, a major illicit opiate consumer, is also the sole licensed exporter of raw opium: this unique status may be enabling substantial diversion to the illicit market. Methods Participant observation and interviews were carried out at eight different sites. Information was also drawn from all standard secondary sources and the analysis of about 180 drug-related criminal proceedings reviewed by Indian High Courts and the Supreme Court from 1985 to 2001. Findings Diversion from licit opium production takes place on such a large scale that India may be the third largest illicit opium producer after Afghanistan and Burma. With the possible exceptions of 2005 and 2006, 200,300 tons of India's opium may be diverted yearly. After estimating India's opiate consumption on the basis of UN-reported prevalence estimates, we find that diversion from licit production might have satisfied a quarter to more than a third of India's illicit opiate demand to 2004. Conclusions India is not only among the world's largest consumer of illicit opiates but also one of the largest illicit opium producers. In contrast to all other illicit producers, India owes the latter distinction not to blatantly illicit cultivation but to diversion from licit cultivation. India's experience suggests the difficulty of preventing substantial leakage, even in a relatively well-governed nation. [source] Elite Consensus as a Determinant of Alliance Cohesion: Why Public Opinion Hardly Matters for NATO-led Operations in AfghanistanFOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 3 2010Sarah Kreps Despite the increasing popularity of fighting wars through multilateral coalitions, scholars have largely been silent on the question of how public opinion in member states affects alliance cohesion. This article assesses public opinion data for states contributing to operations in Afghanistan. It finds that despite the unpopularity of the war, leaders have largely bucked public opinion and neither reduced nor withdrawn troops from NATO-led operations in Afghanistan. Theoretical expectations about international cooperation and evidence from case studies point to elite consensus as the reason why leaders are not running for the exits in Afghanistan when their publics would prefer that they do. As the article shows, operating through a formal institution such as NATO creates systemic incentives for sustained international cooperation. The result is that elite consensus inoculates leaders from electoral punishment and gives states' commitments to Afghanistan a "stickiness" that defies negative public opinion. A formal alliance such as NATO may therefore create more policy constraints than an ad hoc coalition but also increase the costs of defection and confer a degree of staying power that is unexpected given the adverse public opinion environment. [source] A Game Theoretic Analysis of the Afghan SurgeFOREIGN POLICY ANALYSIS, Issue 3 2010Navin A. Bapat This paper critically examines the Obama Administration's decision to increase the level of US forces in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban insurgency. Given the complexities of the Afghan situation, and the numerous tradeoffs associated with any US response, I turn to the a game theoretic model to capture the essence of the Administration's decision. Using the model, I argue that while the "Afghan surge" temporarily increases the probability that the Taliban will accede to Hamid Karzai's government, the surge produces a problem of moral hazard. Specifically, because Karzai recognizes that negotiation will allow the Obama Administration to exit the conflict, he has no incentive to make peace with the Taliban. Despite this, the model demonstrates that the political price Obama will pay for disengagement may deter the Administration from exiting Afghanistan, thereby giving Karzai to continue fighting the war at the expense of the United States. I conclude by using these insights to draw several policy implications for the US operation in Afghanistan. [source] Community-based Security and Justice: Arbakai in AfghanistanIDS BULLETIN, Issue 2 2009Mohammad Osman Tariq This article discusses the successful bottom-up justice and security institutions in south-east Afghanistan that are delivering justice and security to the people in a complex atmosphere characterised by a weak and contested state, high levels of corruption, massive international and regional intervention, internal conflict based on ideology and ethnicity, and exclusion of one ethnic group and overrepresentation of others in the political arena. These local-level institutions are called Jirga and Arbakai. They have their own conceptual and contextual principles, which differentiate the Arbakai from private security companies, militias, or warlord-related armed groups. In effect, the Arbakai serves as an alternative system to the state security sector, delivering physical security to individual members of a tribe and community. [source] Understanding the Helmand campaign: British military operations in AfghanistanINTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2010ANTHONY KING British forces are now engaged in a major operation in southern Afghanistan, the outcome of which is likely to be strategically decisive,especially for the configuration and status of Britain's land forces. Although progress seems to have been made, there has been much criticism of the campaign. Through an analysis of the three-year Helmand mission (Operation Herrick), this article explores whether, for all the improvements in the campaign in terms of resources and numbers of troops, the basic structure of the campaign established in 2006 has endured. Instead of focusing on an ,ink-spot' from which to expand, British forces have tended to operate from dispersed forward operating bases from which they have insufficient combat power to dominate terrain and secure the population. They are consequently engaged in a seemingly endless round of high-intensity tactical battles which are normally successful in themselves but do not contribute to the overarching security of the province. The analysis explores the way in which this distinctive campaign lay-down,the preference for dispersal and high-intensity fighting,may be a reflection of British military culture and its military doctrine. By highlighting potential unacknowledged aspects of the British military profession, the article aims to contribute to debates about the development of the armed forces. [source] US bombing and Afghan civilian deaths: the official neglect of ,unworthy' bodiesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2002Marc W. Herold This article outlines the ways in which the US and allies' bombing campaign in Afghanistan has resulted in well over 3,000 civilian deaths due to bombing impacts, the indirect deaths of tens of thousands of internally displaced persons, and thousands of injured in an agricultural society where limbs are crucial. In addition, the landscape and environment have been polluted with cluster bombs and depleted uranium. The intense bombing campaign destroyed urban and village residences, bridges, mosques, electricity and water supplies, communication systems, cratered roads etc. In contrast to the victims of September 11th, the dead Afghan civilians remain largely uncounted, faceless, de facto unworthy bodies. Cet article expose comment la campagne de bombardement des Etats,Unis et des alliés en Afghanistan s'est traduite par plus de 3,000 morts civils sous les impacts de bombes, par le décès indirect de dizaines de milliers de personnes déplacées sur le territoire, et par des milliers de blessés dans une société agricole où l'usage d'un membre est crucial. De plus, paysage et environnement ont été pollués par des bombes à fragmentation et de l'uranium appauvri. Les bombardements intenses ont détruit les habitats urbains et villageois, les ponts, les mosquées, les réseaux d'alimentation en électricité et en eau, les systèmes de communication, les routes défoncées, etc. Par rapport aux victimes du 11 septembre, les civils afghans morts restent pour beaucoup non dénombrés, dans l'anonymat, de facto des corps indignes. [source] Nursing, midwifery and allied health education programmes in AfghanistanINTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 2 2005P. Herberg phd Background:, In 2001, Afghanistan was the centre of the world's attention. By 2002, following 23 years of internal conflict , including Soviet invasion, civil war and Taliban rule, plus 3 years of drought, the country was just beginning the process of re-establishing its internal structures and processes. In the health sector, this included the revival of the Ministry of Health (MOH). The MOH was assisted in its efforts by multiple partners, including the UN, donor and aid agencies, and a variety of non-governmental organizations. The author served as a consultant to the Aga Khan University School of Nursing, in partnership with the World Health Organization and the MOH, as it took on the work of strengthening nursing, midwifery and allied health education programmes for Afghanistan. Aim:, This paper will focus on the initial assessment of that sector. It will describe the situation as it existed in 2002, by examining the Kabul Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) and then turn briefly to the current state of affairs. Conclusions:, Despite the uncertainties of daily life in Afghanistan, the country has successfully initiated the reconstruction process. In the health sector, this can be seen in the work done at the Kabul IHS. Progress has been made in a number of areas, most notably in development and implementation of nursing and midwifery curricula. However, no one would deny that much more work is needed. [source] Global Order, US Hegemony and Military Integration: The Canadian-American Defense RelationshipINTERNATIONAL POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Bruno Charbonneau This article argues that the contemporary IR literature on global order and American hegemony has limitations. First, the critical discourse on hegemony fails to adequately examine the deeply embedded nature of regularized practices that are often a key component of the acceptance of certain state and social behaviours as natural. Second, much of the (neo)Gramscian literature has given primacy to the economic aspects of hegemonic order at the expense of examining global military/security relations. Lastly, much of the literature on global order and hegemony has failed to fully immerse itself within a detailed research program. This article presents an historical sociology of Canada-US defense relations so as to argue that the integrated nature of this relationship is key to understanding Canada's role in American hegemony, and how authoritative narratives and practices of "military integration" become instrumental and persuasive in establishing a "commonsensical" worldview. The effects of such integration are especially clear in times of perceived international crisis. Our historical analysis covers Canada's role during the Cuban missile crisis, Operation Apollo after 9/11, and the current war in Afghanistan. [source] U.S. Grand Strategy Following the George W. Bush PresidencyINTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 4 2009David C. Ellis Debates over U.S. grand strategy have devoted a disproportionate level of attention to the War on Terror itself rather than the evolving strategic environment. Challenges including an impending shift in the balance of power, structural deficits, and divided public opinion will significantly impact the policy options available to government leaders, but they have not been adequately addressed. This article analyzes the options available for U.S. grand strategy following the George W. Bush presidency by relating key U.S. national interests with domestic and international policy constraints on the horizon. The analysis concludes that the United States must adopt a defensive grand strategy to rebuild popular consensus, to prevent further strain on the military, and to consolidate its gains in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this strategy will require flexible coalitions, not formal international organizations, because of a significant divergence of security interests and capabilities with its European allies. [source] Linking Purpose and Tactics: America and the Reconsideration of the Laws of War During the 1990sINTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 2 2008Stephanie Carvin The critique of the laws of war (and international law in general) coming out of America as the war on terror began seemed to have emerged as a response to the horror of 9/11 and the belief that the United States was now engaged in a "new paradigm" of warfare. However, the Bush administration's argument needs to be situated in a wider historical context. The source of the arguments against applying the Geneva Conventions to the prisoners caught in Afghanistan emerged well before 9/11 and can be traced to the end of the Cold War. These doctrines emerged out of the work of the "new sovereigntists" and out of the frustrations guided by coalition warfare. This paper seeks to trace the origin of these arguments which challenge the traditional division between jus ad bellum (the law governing the resort to force) and jus in bello (the law governing tactics in warfare). [source] Feminist Perspectives on 9/11INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 4 2002J. Ann Tickner In this article I offer a feminist analysis of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. I demonstrate how gendered discourses are used in this and other conflict situations to reinforce mutual hostilities. I suggest that men's association with war,fighting and national security serves to reinforce their legitimacy in world politics while it acts to create barriers for women. Using the framework of a post,9/11 world, I offer some alternative models of masculinity and some cultural representations less dependent on the subordination of women. Often in times of conflict women are seen only as victims. I outline some ways in which the women of Afghanistan are fighting against gender oppression and I conclude with some thoughts on their future prospects. [source] Interdependent Preferences, Militarism, and Child GenderINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009R. Urbatsch Selection effects make it difficult to determine whether concern for other people genuinely affects individuals' policy preferences. Child gender provides a conveniently exogenous means of exploring the issue, especially in contexts such as military policy where girls and boys face different risks; in many countries male children are disproportionately likely to become soldiers and thus bear the costs of militarism. This creates divergent effects: those in households with girls generally prefer more hawkish foreign policies than do members of households with boys. Data from the 2004 American National Election Study confirm these intuitions, both in general statements of policy preference and in evaluating the net costs of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. [source] A Socio-Political and -Cultural Model of the War in Afghanistan1INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Armando Geller We present a simulation model of current conflict-torn Afghanistan in which a system-dynamics model is coupled with an agent-based model. Agent-based modeling techniques are applied to model individual cognition and behavior as well as group formation processes. System-dynamics modeling is used for representing macro conflict processes, such as duration of violence and combat success ratio. The cognitive and behavioral processes are couched in a socio-cultural context and feed into the system dynamics processes. This affords us exploring the relationship between local socio-culturally-driven cognition and behavior and (dynamic) macro properties of armed conflict. We demonstrate the importance of analyzing conflict-torn Afghanistan from an interplay of adapting "traditional" socio-cultural mechanisms, political culture and power structures, and politico-economic macro-processes. We find that variations in the conflict's superstructure can be explained through variations in socio-culturally dependent structures. The model indicates limitations with regard to classical prediction, but is promising with regard to explanatory-driven pattern forecasting. [source] Tilly Tally: War-Making and State-Making in the Contemporary Third World,INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2008Brian D. Taylor Does the war-making/state-making thesis, most associated with Charles Tilly, apply in the developing world If so, how? This essay reviews the bellicist literature and offers an explanation for variation in state capacity among the most war-prone states in the developing world. We investigate the influence of war on state strength in two countries, Afghanistan and Vietnam. We examine three hypothesized causal mechanisms about how war contributes to state formation: raising money, building armies, and making nations. We find that war in Vietnam contributed to state-building, while war in Afghanistan has been state-destroying. There appear to be two main factors that contributed to state-making in Vietnam that were absent in Afghanistan: the existence of a core ethnic group that had served as the basis for a relatively long-standing political community in the past, and the combination of war and revolution, which inspired state officials and facilitated the promulgation of a unifying national ideology. Of these two factors, comparative data suggest relative ethnic homogeneity is the most important. Absent these specific conditions, war is more likely to break than make states in the contemporary Third World. [source] Frontiers and Wars: the Opium Economy in AfghanistanJOURNAL OF AGRARIAN CHANGE, Issue 2 2005JONATHAN GOODHAND This paper describes the evolution of the opium economy in Afghanistan and examines the factors behind its resurgence since the fall of the Taliban regime. The historical roots of poppy cultivation are analysed with particular reference to the role of borderlands and processes of state formation and collapse. This is followed by an examination of the contemporary dynamics of the opium economy. It is argued that micro-level opium production lies at the intersection of three economies of production, namely the ,combat', ,shadow' and ,coping' economies. [source] Discovery of ten new specimens of large-billed reed warbler Acrocephalus orinus, and new insights into its distributional rangeJOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Lars Svensson We here report the finding of ten new specimens of the poorly known large-billed reed warbler Acrocephalus orinus. Preliminary identifications were made on the basis of bill, tarsus and claw measurements, and their specific identity was then confirmed by comparison of partial sequences of the cytochrome b gene with a large data set containing nearly all other species in the genus Acrocephalus, including the type specimen of A. orinus. Five of the new specimens were collected in summer in Afghanistan and Kazakhstan, indicating that the species probably breeds in Central Asia, and the data and moult of the others suggest that the species migrates along the Himalayas to winter in N India and SE Asia. The population structure suggests a stable or shrinking population. [source] Factors associated with antisocial behavior in combat veterans,AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, Issue 5 2010Stephanie Booth-Kewley Abstract The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with antisocial behavior in 1,543 Marines who deployed to combat zones in support of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2002,2007. Five factors were associated with antisocial behavior in multivariate analyses: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, deployment-related stressors, combat exposure, younger age, and being divorced. PTSD symptoms had a stronger association with antisocial behavior than any other variable. A unique and important finding of this study was the association between deployment-related stressors and a higher incidence of antisocial behavior. Because deployment-related stressors are potentially modifiable, the military may be able to address them in concrete ways such as by shortening deployments and improving communication with home. Aggr. Behav. 36:330,337, 2010. Published 2010 by Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Wanted, Dead or Alive: Media Frames, Frame Adoption, and Support for the War in AfghanistanJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2007Jill A. Edy This paper attempts to measure the impact of naturally occurring media frames on public support for a policy. Content analysis of network nightly news during late October of 2001 reveals that U.S. media framed the events of September 11 in terms of both war and crime. A concurrent survey of 328 Tennesseans reveals that rather than adopting either a war frame or a crime frame, audiences combined elements of these media frames in various ways and that their subsequent understanding of the events of September 11 had an impact on their support for the war in Afghanistan. The results reveal the complexity of the framing phenomenon in natural environments and suggest the need for better measures of how audiences perceive media frames as well as further investigation into framing as a means of coalition building. Résumé Recherché mort ou vif:Cadrage médiatique, adoption de cadres et soutien à la guerre en Afghanistan Cet article tente de mesurer l'effet des cadres médiatiques qui opèrent naturellement sur le soutien public à l'égard d'une politique. L'analyse de contenu des bulletins d'actualité du soir diffusés en réseau au cours de la fin du mois d'octobre 2001 révèle que les médias aux États-Unis ont cadré les événements du 11 septembre en des termes associés à la guerre et au crime. Un sondage mené simultanément auprès de 328 répondants du Tennessee révèle quant à lui que, plutôt que d'adopter un cadre de guerre ou de crime, les publics ont conjugué les composantes de ce cadrage médiatique de diverses manières et que leur compréhension subséquente des événements du 11 septembre a influencé leur soutien à la guerre en Afghanistan. Les résultats révèlent la complexité du phénomène du cadrage dans les environnements naturels. Ils suggèrent le besoin de mieux mesurer la perception par le public des cadres médiatiques et d'approfondir l'étude du cadrage comme moyen de construction de la coalition. Abstract Gesucht, tot oder lebendig:Medien-Frames, Frame-Aneignung und die Befürwortung des Afghanistan-Krieges Vorliegende Studie misst, welchen Einfluss natürlich auftretende Medien-Frames auf die öffentliche Unterstützung einer politischen Maßnahme (Krieg) haben. Eine Inhaltsanalyse der Abendnachrichten (Network-News) im Oktober 2001 zeigte, dass die Ereignisse des 11. September in US-amerikanische Medien sowohl als Krieg als auch Verbrechen geframt wurden. Eine zeitgleiche Umfrage von 328 Einwohnern des Staates Tennessee verdeutlichte, dass Zuschauer nicht den einen oder anderen Frame adaptierten, sondern Elemente des Kriegs- und des Verbrechens-Frames auf verschiedenste Art kombinierten. Die Art und Weise der Adaption beider Frames und das daraus resultierendes Verständnis der Ereignisse des 11. September zeigten wiederum einen Einfluss auf die Befürwortung des Kriegs in Afghanistan. Die Ergebnisse untermauern die postulierte Komplexität des Framing-Phänomens in natürlichen Umgebungen. Konsequenterweise müssen bessere Messinstrumente eingesetzt werden, die erfassen können, wie Zuschauer Medien-Frames wahrnehmen. Darüber hinaus sollten Forschungsbemühungen hinsichtlich der Rolle von Frames als Mittel zur Koalitionsbildung unternommen werden. Resumen Buscado, Muerto ó Vivo: Los Encuadres de los Medios Masivos, la Adopción de Encuadres, y el Apoyo a la Guerra en Afganistán Este artículo intenta medir el impacto de los encuadres de los medios masivos que ocurren naturalmente en el apoyo público a una política. Un análisis de contenido de redes de noticias nocturnas a finales del mes de Octubre del 2001 revela que los medios masivos de los Estados Unidos encuadraron los eventos del 11 de Septiembre en términos de guerra y crimen. Una encuesta simultánea de 328 individuos del estado de Tennessee reveló que en vez de adoptar la guerra ó el crimen como encuadres, las audiencias combinaron elementos de los encuadres de los medios masivos en varias maneras y que su entendimiento posterior de los eventos del 11 de Septiembre tuvo un impacto en el apoyo a la guerra en Afganistán. Los resultados muestran la complejidad del fenómeno del framing en contextos naturales y sugiere la necesidad de obtener mejores formas de medir cómo las audiencias perciben los encuadres de los medios masivos, así como también, la necesidad de realizar más investigaciones sobre el framing como una forma de construir coaliciones. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source] Weapons of Magic: Afghan Women Asserting Voice via the NetJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2003Beverly Bickel In the global struggle over discourse and knowledge after 9/11, the voices of otherwise silenced women in Afghanistan were significantly amplified on the Internet. RAWA.org demonstrates how a Web site contended with discourses of fundamentalism and war while envisioning democracy and constructing new leadership identities for women. [source] Human security,national perspectives and global agendas: insights from national human development reports,JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2007Richard Jolly Abstract Since its introduction in UNDP's Human Development Report 1994, ,human security' has been a topic of lively debate. The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically how human security has been treated in National Human Development Reports (NHDRs), produced in 13 countries since 1997 with different definitions and points of focus. We use an inductive approach to examine how these stand up to the criticisms levelled in the literature against broader concepts of human security. The NHDRs of Afghanistan, Latvia, Macedonia and Bangladesh are of particular interest, both because of their rich analysis and because of the originality of the methodology they use. The paper concludes that broader definitions of human security are operational for both analysis and policy making. Limits to define a core of high-priority concerns with human security can be set after exploring the concerns of people in specific situations rather than before. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An inquiry into eastern leadership orientation of working adults in AfghanistanJOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, Issue 1 2010Bahaudin G. Mujtaba This study analyzes the leadership tendencies of respondents from Afghanistan and compares them with their American counterparts. The responses of 219 Afghans are compared with 87 respondents from the United States, showing similarities of leadership orientation between the two cultures. Afghans have higher scores on the relationship orientation, and age seems to be a factor as well. Suggestions and implications are explored for local managers working with foreigners, multinational managers, political leaders, and United Nations officials working in Afghanistan toward reconstruction and peaceful development of the country. [source] Experiences of U.S. Military Nurses in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, 2003,2009JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 1 2010Elizabeth Scannell-Desch RN Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the lived experience of U.S. military nurses who served in Iraq or Afghanistan during the war years 2003 to 2009, and life after returning from war. Methods: Colaizzi's phenomenological method guided discovery. This method includes elements of both descriptive and interpretive phenomenology. The sample consisted of 37 military nurses who served in the Army, Navy, or Air Force in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Four data-generating questions guided the interview process. Most interviews were face-to-face and conducted in naturalistic settings chosen by the participants. Several interviews were conducted telephonically due to geographic constraints. Data analysis followed Colaizzi's method of analysis. Seven themes emerged from the data, including "deploying to war;""remembrance of war: most chaotic scene;""nurses in harm's way: more than I bargained for;""kinship and bonding: my military family;""my war stress: I'm a different person now;""professional growth: expanding my skills;" and "listen to me: advice to deploying nurses." Analysis continued until data saturation was achieved. Results: Results indicated that wartime deployment was a difficult challenge, lessons learned should be shared with nurses deploying in future years, homecoming was more difficult than most nurses anticipated, and reintegration after coming home takes time and effort. Conclusions: Nursing in war is a unique experience regardless of education, preparation and training. There are a myriad of variables that enter into the experience and effect outcomes, both personal and professional. Clinical Relevance: Wartime nursing is a reality in the current clinical practice arena. War takes its toll on everyone involved, including the caregivers. Nurses returning from war can provide valuable insights to those that follow. [source] The retail market for fresh cassava root tubers in the European Union (EU): the case of Copenhagen, Denmark , a chemical food safety issue?JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 2 2010Lotte Kolind-Hansen Abstract BACKGROUND: A number of retail shops in Copenhagen sell fresh cassava roots. Cassava roots contain the toxic cyanogenic glucoside linamarin. A survey was made of the shop characteristics, origin of the roots, buyers, shop owner's knowledge of toxicity levels, and actual toxicity levels. RESULTS: Shops selling fresh cassava were shown mostly to be owned by persons originating in the Middle East or Afghanistan, buyers were found to predominantly be of African origin, and sellers' knowledge concerning the potential toxicity was found to be very restricted. Seventy-six per cent of the roots purchased had a total cyanogenic potentials (CNp) above the 50 mg HCN equivalents kg,1 dry weight (d.w.) proposed as acceptable by an EU working group. Two of 25 roots purchased had CNp higher than 340 mg HCN eq. kg,1 d.w. CONCLUSION: The EU has previously made risk assessments concerning cassava and cyanogenic compounds. In the light of the conclusions drawn, the EU needs to make decisions about how to deal with the regulation and control of fresh cassava roots imported to the European food market. Also cassava root products and cassava leaves should be considered. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Continuous peripheral nerve block catheter tip adhesion in a rat modelACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 6 2006C. C. Buckenmaier III Background:, Continuous peripheral nerve block (CPNB) has been used effectively in combat casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan to provide surgical anesthesia and extended duration analgesia during evacuation and convalescence. Little information is available concerning catheter tip tissue reaction with prolonged use. Methods:, Forty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned (12 per group) to one of four catheter tip designs provided by Arrow International: group A, 20-gauge catheter with three side-holes and a bullet-shaped tip; group B, 19-gauge StimuCathÔ catheter with coiled omni-port end with hemispherical distal tip; group C, 19-gauge catheter with single end-hole in conducting tip; group D, 19-gauge catheter with closed conducting tip with four side-holes. Following laparotomy, a randomly assigned catheter tip was sutured to the parietal peritoneal wall with the tip extending between experimental injuries created on the abdominal wall and cecum. After 7 days in situ, the catheter tips were removed from the adhesion mass using a force gauge, and the grams of force needed for removal were recorded. Results:, The mean force ± standard deviation values were 1.09 ± 1.21 g for group A, 21.20 ± 30.15 g for group B, 0.88 ± 1.47 g for group C and 1.60 ± 2.50 g for group D. The variation of each catheter group mean force compared with that of group B was significant (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in adhesion force between groups A, C and D. Conclusions:, These results suggest that the manufactured design of a CPNB catheter tip can contribute to the adhesion of the tip in an intense inflammatory environment. This finding may have important clinical implications for CPNB catheters left in place for extended periods of time. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||