Why has the West disbursed vertiginous sums of money to the Palestinians after Oslo? What have been donors’ motivations and above all the political consequences of the funds spent?
Based on original ...academic research and first hand evidence, this book examines the interface between diplomacy and international assistance during the Oslo years and the intifada. By exploring the politics of international aid to the Palestinians between the creation of the Palestinian Authority and the death of President Arafat (1994-2004), Anne Le More reveals the reasons why foreign aid was not more beneficial, uncovering a context where funds from the international community was poured into the occupied Palestinian territory as a substitute for its lack of real diplomatic engagement. This book also highlights the perverse effects such huge amounts of money has had on the Palestinian population and territory, on Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory, and not least on the conflict itself, particularly the prospect of its resolution along a two-state paradigm.
International Assistance to the Palestinians after Oslo gives a unique narrative chronology that makes this complex story easy to understand. These features make this book a classic read for both scholars and practitioners, with lessons to be learned beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
'In meticulous detail, she traces the international aid effort, and identifies why it has so dramatically failed to deliver the ‘tangible results’ it once promised. Her answer is clear: heavy Palestinian dependence on the Israeli economy, coupled with Israeli policies of territorial control—illegal settlement activity, roadblocks and other mobility restrictions, and construction of the separation barrier—have made it all but impossible for the West Bank and Gaza to flourish, even with large amounts of external assistance......this is an excellent volume. It certainly should be required reading for anyone studying the conflict—and most especially for diplomats, aid officials and others directly involved with the issues that Le More so ably explores'- Rex Brynen, McGill University, Canada; International Affairs
"...the strength of this book lies in the breadth of analysis, its well-articulated and evidenced arguments, and its focus on the role of the four main third-party actors: the United States, the EU, the UN and the World Bank..." -- Mandy Turner, University of Brandford; International Peacekeeping Journal
'International Assistance to the Palestinians After Oslo, the first in Routledge's Studies on the Arab-Israeli Conflict Series, provides an important critique of the belief that reconstruction, development, and humanitarian aid form essential counterparts to political processes aimed at resolving longstanding violent conflicts....Le More does a masterful job placing ostensibly technocratic donor mechanisms in political context.' - Ali Abunimab - Journal of Palestine Studies, Spring 2009
'This monograph tackling the thorny question of the politics of aid in Palestine is essential reading for anyone interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, more broadly, the politics of aid in a conflict environment....The message in Le More's book is as meticulous and clear as it is sobering.' - Nathalie Tocci, The International Spectator, Vol.44, No. 3, September 2009
Introduction 1. Aid Because of Politics: The Analytical, Legal and Institutional Frameworks 1.1 Analytical background: aid, politics, conflict and peacebuilding 1.2 International law, discourse, and perceptions 1.3 The aid coordination architecture: a political framework for assistance 2. Israeli Policies: The Territorial, Demographic, and Socio-Economic Fragmentation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory Territorial separation, cantonment, dispossession, and segregation 2.1 De-development and macroeconomic decline under Oslo and the intifada 2.2 The emergence of a humanitarian crisis 3. Palestinian Adjustment: The Rise and Fall of Arafat’s Regime 3.1 Authoritarianism and the personalization of power 3.2 Corruption 3.3 Security, human rights abuses, and the failure to rein in domestic opposition 4. Aid Instead of Politics: Multiple Actors, Fragmented Interests, Limited Influence 4.1 The bilateral protagonists: the US plays; the EU pays 4.2 American-European rivalry 4.3 The multilateral sponsors: the UN ‘processes’; the World Bank leads 5. Espousing Israeli Policies: Supporting the ‘Peace Process’ 5.1 Short-term fixes, political relief, and variation on a similar theme 5.2 Mitigating the socio-economic and humanitarian crises 5.3 Underwriting the process of Palestinian territorial fragmentation 6. Funding Palestinian Adjustment: Regime Creation and the Undermining of Palestinian State Building 6.1 Bailing out the PA: budget support, 1994-1998 & 2000-2005 6.2 Legitimizing the regime; de-democratizing Palestinian politics 6.3 Reforming the regime, 2002-2005 Conclusion
Anne Le More currently works for the United Nations in New York. She holds a PhD in International Relations from Oxford University. Her research interests include the Middle East, and the Arab and Muslim world more broadly. She has published a number of articles and is the co-editor of Aid, Diplomacy and Facts on the Ground: The Case of Palestine (Chatham House, London, 2005).
Freeform surfaces from single curved panels Pottmann, Helmut; Schiftner, Alexander; Bo, Pengbo ...
ACM transactions on graphics,
08/2008, Letnik:
27, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Motivated by applications in architecture and manufacturing, we discuss the problem of covering a freeform surface by single curved panels. This leads to the new concept of semi-discrete surface ...representation, which constitutes a link between smooth and discrete surfaces. The basic entity we are working with is the developable strip model. It is the semi-discrete equivalent of a quad mesh with planar faces, or a conjugate parametrization of a smooth surface. We present a B-spline based optimization framework for efficient computing with D-strip models. In particular we study conical and circular models, which semi-discretize the network of principal curvature lines, and which enjoy elegant geometric properties. Together with geodesic models and cylindrical models they offer a rich source of solutions for surface panelization problems.
Conventional lateral flow test strip (LFTS) sensors are insufficiently accurate and reliable due to their single-target detection with limited sample information in a single test. The increasing ...demand for the simultaneous determination of multiple analytes has recently been accelerating the rapid development of high-throughput and multiplexed LFTS sensing technologies. In this contribution, we systematically summarize the recent achievements on the design, development, and application of multiplexed LFTS sensors for improved rapid on-site diagnostics. The discussion focuses on emerging design strategies to increase multiplexing capacity for enhancing analytical efficiency and precision. As a proof-of-concept, several typical examples are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of such approaches are critically analyzed. Finally, we briefly discuss the current challenges and future perspectives.
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•Emerging design strategies to develop multiplex lateral flow test strip sensors were systematically summarized.•The underlying principles of each design strategy were highlighted.•Several seminal examples for each strategy implemented for multiplexing were discussed.•The potential challenges and further perspectives in this field were elaborated.
The production of strip sensors for the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk) started in 2021. Since then, a Quality Assurance (QA) program has been carried out continuously, by using specific test structures, ...in parallel to the Quality Control (QC) inspection of the sensors. The QA program consists of monitoring sensor-specific characteristics and the technological process variability, before and after the irradiation with gammas, neutrons, and protons. After two years, half of the full production volume has been reached and we present an analysis of the parameters measured as part of the QA process. The main devices used for QA purposes are miniature strip sensors, monitor diodes, and the ATLAS test chip, which contains several test structures. Such devices are tested by several sites across the collaboration depending on the type of samples (non-irradiated components or irradiated with protons, neutrons, or gammas). The parameters extracted from the tests are then uploaded to a database and analyzed by Python scripts. These parameters are mainly examined through histograms and time-evolution plots to obtain parameter distributions, production trends, and meaningful parameter-to-parameter correlations. The purpose of this analysis is to identify possible deviations in the fabrication or the sensor quality, changes in the behavior of the test equipment at different test sites, or possible variability in the irradiation processes. The conclusions extracted from the QA program have allowed test optimization, establishment of control limits for the parameters, and a better understanding of device properties and fabrication trends. In addition, any abnormal results prompt immediate feedback to a vendor.
In the state of the art of steel production, the temperature evolution of steel strips is typically controlled to regulate the phase contents indirectly and, with this, their material properties. ...This paper proposes a novel computationally efficient, real-time capable dynamic model that captures both the temperature evolution and the phase transformations in the steel strip. The steel strip is processed in a cooling section after a continuous annealing furnace. The phase transformations cover the austenite decomposition which is mainly controlled by specifically decreasing the temperature during the cooling process. For this, a phenomenological state-space model is derived, which is inspired by the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov and the Koistinen-Marburger model. Phase transformations generally change the specific latent heat of the material, which is captured in the proposed distributed-parameter model of the strip temperature by an energy balance. Lumped-parameter models are used for the temperature evolution of the wall, the rolls, and the radiant tubes. Heat transfer due to convection, radiation, and conduction couple the individual thermal submodels. A comparison of simulation results and measurements from both experimental material tests and the real plant operation demonstrate the accuracy and feasibility of the proposed model. The model is computationally inexpensive and serves as a solid basis for advanced real-time control and optimization.
•A mathematical model is proposed to describe the evolution of temperature and phases in a steel strip during cooling.•The austenite decomposition is captured by a phenomenological phase transformation model.•The model is computationally efficient and real-time capable.•The accuracy and the suitability of the proposed model is demonstrated by comparing simulation results with measurements.
The coiling of a steel strip in a Downcoiler is an integrated part of the hot-rolled steel production line. Failure to coiling results damage to finished rolled strip along with mill downtime due to ...cobble. Thus, coiling success in Downcoiler is a critical concern for production of hot rolled steel strip. A mathematical model has been developed to analyze coiling feasibility for new grade of high strength steel to be rolled for the first time in the mill and to thereby identify a safe operating window for the coiling-process parameters. This has significant benefit in reducing the risk of coiling failure during plant trial and thus product development cycle time. The model is based on the estimation of coiler tension for a new grade with reference to mill-based physical data of coiling compactness as defined by a wrapper angle from known grades, coiled in the mill. This is followed by computation and comparison of coiling torque vis-à-vis the capacity of the Downcoiler allows a decision to be taken about the coiling feasibility of the new grade. It is believed that it is for the first time that a coiling feasibility algorithm has been developed and discussed. The model has been widely used within Tata Steel to carry out plant trails for the development of new grade as well as rolling of new section in existing grades at its Hot Strip Mill in Indian plant at Kalinganagar.
The wide-width titanium strip cold rolling, as an efficient titanium material processing technology, has been widely concerned. During the cold rolling process, high-order flatness defects occur ...frequently, seriously restricting the improvement of titanium product quality. To analyze the mechanical deformation behavior of titanium strips during cold rolling, and explore the influence of entrance and exit profile index on the generation of high-order flatness defects. An integrated coupling rolling model of the roll system and the strip has been established based on the FEM method, and the accuracy of the model has been verified using on-site measured data. The research results show that when the taper or coning amount of the first intermediate roll increases, if the entrance profile index remains unchanged, the exit profile index will significantly decrease, and the high-order deflection deformation of the work roll axis will occur, ultimately leading to high-order flatness defects. When using the first intermediate taper roll to control the exit profile index, if the exit profile index remains unchanged, the entrance profile index increases by 10 μm, and the coning amount will increase by 8.3mm. Therefore, a plan based on the optimization of the entrance profile index has been proposed, which takes into account both the profile and the high-order flatness, to achieve a smaller coning amount to meet the exit profile index and decrease the risk of high-order flatness. The industrial test results show that after the implementation of the plan, the occurrence rate of high-order flatness decreased by an average of 34.42%.
Feeding strip into continuous casting mold is a technique that can reduce the central segregation and increase the equiaxed zone ratio of continuous casting slab. Over the past decades, some steel ...mills have gradually applied this technique, but it still lacks a comprehensive understanding of the control theory of process parameters. Many parameters joint the influence of the steel strip melting process and strip feeding ratio, deciding the inner quality of the slab eventually. Herein, the mechanism and heat transfer of feeding strip technology are analyzed. Parameter sensitivity studies and feeding strip experiments are summarized and some new conclusions are proposed. Finally, some suggestions for industrial production will give an outlook for future work.
For the first time, herein, the status of feeding strip technology (FST) in the continuous casting process is reviewed. Strip melting process, parameter sensitivity study, and FST experimental research are reviewed and discussed. Combined with thermal analysis, the complex relationship of feeding parameters is analyzed. Finally, some suggestions for industrial production give an outlook for future work.
•A dual electrochemical channel-based biosensor has been developed.•The dual channel Sensor can simultaneously measure the glucose and ketone with only one blood drop.•The dual channel sensor has the ...acceptable accuracy as compared to the clinical biochemical analyzer.•It paved the way for clinical point of care identification of diabetic ketoacidosis.
The traditional design of enzymatic test strip has single electrochemicalreaction, which can only measure one single biochemical parameter. We present one disposable electrochemical test strip with dual enzymatic reaction channel which is capable of simultaneously measuring glucose and blood ketone by one fingertip whole blood drop for clinical identification of diabetic ketosis (DK) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The blood glucose was measured in the 1st channel while blood ketone was measured in the 2th channel. The proposed test strip fulfils the rigid demand for diabetic patients with DK/DKA without double pricking the finger to determine the blood glucose and blood ketone, respectively. The results of clinical identification of diabetic ketoacidosis by the proposed test strip was verified by the clinical test with good consistency. The proposed test strip provides a cost effective and fast solution for clinical point of care identification of diabetic ketoacidosis.
Jad traces the transformation of the Palestinian women’s movement from the 1930s to the post-Oslo period and through the Second Intifada to examine the often-fraught relationship between women and ...nationalism in Palestine. Offering one of the first intensive studies of Islamist women’s activism, Jad also explores the impact of emerging feminist NGOs in depoliticizing the secular Palestinian women’s movement. Studying these two developments together illuminates the nature of women’s engagement in the Palestinian space, challenging myths of gender roles’ "immutability" under Islamand the supposed "modernizing" benefits of Western-style activism.
