Reasons for sub-Saharan Africa's development deficit that the commission for Africa did not consider

Despite a substantial amount of aid (much larger in per capitaterms than provided to any other region), sub-Saharan Africancountries, with very few exceptions, have regressed since independence.The general history of Africa since achieving independence hasbeen one of development failure. Some protagonists point tosigns of change that argue for more aid. This article suggeststhat aid to Africa has not worked because human, social andinstitutional capital — not financial capital —poses the binding constraint. In that context, doubling aidto Africa from $23 billion in 2004 to $50 billion annually by2015 seems a questionable proposition. This commentary suggestsunconventional ways of dealing with the problems involved inimporting the essential ingredients that Africa needs. It concludeswith the observation that the aid community’s currentobsession with poverty reduction and the Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) may be harming rather than helping the cause ofdevelopment in Africa and argues that the focus on growth anddevelopment should be restored.     

Tempering Optimism about Nuclear Deterrence in South Asia

This article tempers the argument of deterrence optimists, who make the case that nuclear deterrence has maintained the peace between regional nuclear rivals. In particular, it challenges the assertion by Kenneth Waltz that “nuclear deterrence has passed all of the many tests it has faced” among regional rivals in South Asia. Examining two major regional military crises, this article notes that, first, nuclear deterrence was not the key factor ending these crises. Instead, nonnuclear factors involving American diplomacy, which provided the participants with timely exit strategies, ended the crises. Second, if these crisis-ending factors had not been present, there was a strong possibility of significant military escalation, and nuclear deterrence would not have averted such an escalation. The article concludes by noting that, in regions where deterrence optimism is not well supported, Washington may continue intervening in crises between nuclear rivals, and, anticipating such a U.S. approach, regional rivals could become involved in repeated military crises over the long term.     

Methods of Choice in Completed Suicides: Gender Differences and Review of Literature

Abstract:  Suicide is an important public health hazard worldwide. A 4-year retrospective study from January 2000 to December 2003 was conducted to identify the favored methods in realized suicides among males and females in the west coastal region of India. During the study period, a total of 539 cases of suicidal deaths were autopsied. Males were predominantly affected (male: female—1.9:1). The age of the victims ranged from 13 to 90 years in males (mean = 40.1 years, median = 37.0 years) and 15 to 85 years in females (mean = 36.6 years, median = 32.0 years). Most favored method of suicide amongst males and females was hanging (36.9%, n  = 199) followed by poisoning (34.7%, n  = 187). Male dominance was apparent for each method of suicide except for self-immolation. Males were relatively more likely to use hanging and poisoning while females were more likely to prefer drowning and self-immolation as methods of suicide. Relatively younger females (mean   = 33.0 years, median = 32.0 years) preferred hanging as a method of suicide when compared to males (mean = 42.4 years, median = 40.0 years). Among females, significantly younger females resorted to hanging when compared to older females who preferred drowning. On investigating the various theories proposed for choice of suicide methods in males and females in different regions we conclude that preference of method of suicide in men and women is complexly determined. In this region, availability, accessibility, popularity, and socioacceptability seem to be the major determinants in the choice of methods among males and females rather than violence associated and lethality of the method. Females were as likely to use lethal and violent methods as males in this region.     

Stature estimation from foot dimensions

Identification of an individual is the mainstay in forensic investigations. The dimensions of the foot have been used for the determination of sex, age, and stature of an individual. The present study examines the relationship between stature and foot dimensions among Gujjars, a North Indian endogamous group. Stature, foot length and foot breadth of 200 subjects comprising 100 males and 100 females were measured. Statistical analyses indicated that the bilateral variation was insignificant for all the measurements except foot breadth in males (p<0.01). Sex differences were found to be highly significant for all the measurements (p<0.01). Linear and multiple regression equations for stature estimation were calculated using the aforementioned variables and multiplication factors were computed. The correlation coefficients between stature and foot dimensions were found to be positive and statistically highly significant. The highest correlation coefficient between stature and foot length in males and foot breadth in females indicates that the foot length provides the highest reliability and accuracy in estimating stature of an unknown male and foot breadth in a female. Prediction of stature was found to be most accurate by multiple regression analysis.     

Index and ring finger ratio--a new sex determinant in south Indian population

Identification of human remains is an imperative element of any medicolegal investigation, and a challenging task for forensic experts and physical anthropologists worldwide. Three hundred adult hands (150 males and 150 females) belonging to south Indian population were studied to investigate sexual dimorphism of the index and ring finger ratio. The index and ring finger ratio is derived by dividing the index finger length by ring finger length. The index and ring finger ratio is found to be higher in females. Index and ring finger ratio < or =0.9700 identified 80% of males for both hands, and ratio >0.9700 identified 74% females for the right hand and 78% for the left hand accurately. This study may prove useful to determine the sex of an isolated hand when it is subjected for medicolegal examination.     

Painful Pleasure: The Politics and Aesthetics of Psychosocial Trauma in Impunity

Abstract

Continuous trauma syndrome (CTS) is the foundation for the characters in the film Impunity. The aesthetic choices in the narrative structure are an exploration of the discursive nature of violence and trauma in contemporary South African society. The theorising of continuous stress trauma provides the necessary challenge to the more conventional understanding of post-traumatic stress syndrome and informs the underlying analysis of the film. This analysis is offered in an interlocutory manner with psychology theorist Garth Stevens who provides a hermeneutic reading of Impunity that draws directly from his own research and others in the field of psychology. The paper is offered as an examination of an artistic research, film practice. The practice itself constitutes a theoretical expression which connects the aesthetic and structural choices of the film with the disciplinary observations made by Stevens. It suggests two theoretical approaches from different disciplines brought in conversation with each other to inform the reading of Impunity as artistic expression. The paper puts at its centre the discursive approach to the study of violence and trauma to suggest how the film’s structure and its aesthetics may be connected to research in the field of psychology.