On 10 September 2000, the British Special Forces conducted Operation Barras that aimed to free seven soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment held hostage by a guerrilla group during the civil war in Sierra Leone. The problem that the study aims to explain is if the tactical execution was significant in the success of the operation and, if so, what was successful. The purpose of this study is to explain what made Operation Barras successful by studying its tactical execution. To do this, the principles of speed and surprise from McRavens theory of relative superiority have been used to conduct a qualitative case study. The results of the survey show that the principles are used and that they contributed to the success of the tactical execution. It was primarily the principle of surprise that could explain why the execution was successful. The principle of speed was used in the initial stage but this declined because of a strong-willed opponent. Those principles provide two perspectives on studying the operation and its complexity. The study can fill part of the gap found in research on what it was that made operation Barras successful and contribute to further understanding within the area of special operations.

This thesis sets out to explore the processes of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of female ex-combatants in Sierra Leone within the context of post-conflict peace building. International and local stakeholders including the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilisation Reintegration (NCDDR) and World Bank were responsible for DDR. The DDR of female adult combatants and girl soldiers was essential as part of the broader strategies to prevent the reoccurrence of violence and creating conditions for sustainable peace and development. It was aimed at transforming female ex-combatants into a civilian status congruent with peace after eleven years of horrific civil war in Sierra Leone that involved rebel forces, principally the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), and the government‘s Civil Defence Forces (CDF). The DDR process has been criticized in that female ex-combatants were often invisible and their needs disregarded. This study investigates the role of women in post-conflict peace building efforts, specifically DDR in Sierra Leone. Its nub is to critically assess the design, implementation and impact of the DDR of female ex-combatants. It focuses particularly on how female combatants are affected by current gender, security and international relations discourses. It assesses the progress made by the relevant international and local institutions in implementing international policies and guidelines on the DDR of female ex-combatants, in Sierra Leone; draws wider conclusions about achievements made and suggests lessons that may be applicable widely.

The sasswood ordeal of poison presents a divinatory ritual which has been used in criminal cases by the traditional African of Sierra Leone and Liberia. For at least six hundred years, the peoples of these present countries have imposed this strictest of ordeals on their moral transgressors; and the practice has survived, despite the protestations of nineteenth-century missionaries and the encroachment of the western world. The investigation of the historical evidence of the sasswood ordeal among the West Atlantic tribes of Africa has three basic purposes. First, because of the paucity of interpretive data on the sasswood ordeal, the primary purpose of the thesis has been to more clearly delineate the meaning, characteristics, and functions of this poison ordeal as well as the swearing of oaths among the peoples of Sierra Leone and Liberia by amalgamating historical and more contemporaneous evidence. To this end, the distribution of the ordeal was considered; and descriptions were made of the various characteristics of the trait--complex--the poison’s action, the ritual and ceremonial aspects, the sasswood specialist, the accusations made in connection with the ordeal as well as indigenous myths of origin of the ordeal. Intracultural correlations were then presented to demonstrate the interdigitation of the elements in a culture in relation to the ordeal. Finally, some functions, other than the obvious guilt-determining aspect, were presented to demonstrate the various ways in which it had been used historically. A second purpose of this thesis was to demonstrate the intrinsically conservative: qualities of the ordeal as an aspect of religion and law. By assessing the impact of specific historical influences in the region of the West Atlantic tribes, such as Islam, colonialism, slavery, and urbanization, it was shown that no significant change had been witnessed through the six-hundred-year period of the historical record. In concluding this aspect, it was noted that certain "weaknesses" in the historical record—such as its being "piecemeal" and recorded only infrequently--caused problems in interpreting what appeared to be an intrinsically conservative nature of the sasswood ordeal. A third purpose, related to the second, was the application and assessment of "ethnohistoriographic" techniques, that is, those specific methods of historical scholarship utilized by the ethnographer in investigating past cultures. The limits of the use of the ethnohistoriographic techniques included observational bias (which was readily accountable, dealing as it did with hyperbole), the preoccupation with "sensational" data (which provided disparities, over-emphases in the historical record), as well as political motivations such that national prejudice frequently determined the "interpretation" placed on the ordeal. In addition, it was noted that because the sasswood ordeal may be classified as "esoterica," the record for this practice was generally spotty; and this fact affected interpretations on the actual change manifested in the trait complex. The main contribution made by this study has been to afford future readers with a composite and relatively complete source of information on one specific type of poison ordeal practiced among the West Atlantic tribes of Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Over recent decades, civil wars in Africa have taken millions of lives and caused widespread destruction of whole states and regions. The living standards of peoples residing in such states in Africa which have been devastated by war are often deplorable, with violence, disease and poverty characterising life there. Lawlessness is another feature of such wars, making these states optimal places for international terrorist groups to operate in, and from. For both the above reasons, the West should not turn a blind eye to this issue. These wars that have occurred in a number of African states, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, have often become regionalised with surrounding states increasingly becoming involved. This is particularly the case when economic gain can be sought through involvement in the civil war. The introduction of regional actors into domestic civil wars frequently serves to intensify and prolong the conflict, through an increase of arms and troops entering the fighting. The surrounding state actors largely claim to be involved for political reasons, namely to provide security to their own state. However, numerous credible reports have shown that vast plundering of natural resources has been carried out in war-time by surrounding states in the war-torn state. Consequently, this thesis examines the motives of surrounding state actors when deciding to participate in domestic civil wars of their neighbours. To do this, I compile case studies on both Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo since both states had been ravaged by violent and drawn-out civil wars involving regional actors. Furthermore, the regional actors in both cases (Liberia in Sierra Leone, and particularly Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe in the DRC) have been accused of participating in the wars for economic gain. The case studies showed that while political motivations largely drive the initial decision by regional actors to participate in civil wars in their region, it is subsequently economic gain that both allows and compels them to continue their involvement in the civil war. Henceforth, in the final chapter, I put investigate policy suggestions for the future including: prevention of resources being used to fuel warfare through controlling their access to legitimate channels; the use of aid to reduce the likelihood of those in poverty turning to war in pursuit of sustenance, including opportunities to target aid and use compliance with particular peace agreements as a prerequisite for attaining the funding; diversification of the economies of these weak states through development assistance to reduce risks produced by a high dependency on primary commodity exports for income and financial sanctions in the form of freezing of assets or asset blocking. These policy suggestions seek to address both the political and economic motivations of the surrounding state actors in participating in civil wars in Africa.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "December 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-78). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Several species of small, cavity-nesting owls occur in the Sierra Nevada, including in areas impacted by human activities. The owls typically use standing dead trees (snags) for nest sites. Although descriptive studies exist regarding habitats associations around nest and roost sites, few studies have examined habitat associations at larger spatial scales or relative to certain snag characteristics (e.g., density, decay class). To improve our understanding of the habitat associations of these owls, I compared habitat characteristics at 2 spatial scales around areas of owl detection and non-detection. I also examined distances between conspecifics and heterospecifics to determine if clustering of conspecifics or avoidance of predators occurred. I conducted owl broadcast surveys and snag sampling during the spring and summer of 2006 and 2007 in the Lake Tahoe Basin of central Sierra Nevada. I measured additional habitat variables (e.g., vegetation cover, distance to roadways) from pre-existing geographical information system layers. I used stepwise logistic regression to ascertain which variables were influential in predicting owl occurrence. The northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) was the only species detected in sufficient numbers for statistical analysis, with a detection probability of 0.25. I detected saw-whets in a wide range of conditions and it appeared that few factors influenced their distribution in the basin. Areas dominated by white fir, however, were correlated with the absence of saw-whets at both the macrohabitat and microhabitat scales. White fir-dominated areas tend to occur on the west side of the basin and it is possible white fir was acting as a proxy for other factors not measured in this study, such as microclimate conditions or prey availability. I was also more likely to find a saw-whet within 1000 m of another saw-whet than within 1000 m of a non-use point, indicating clustering of conspecifics in the basin. While it appears saw-whet needs are being met in the basin, restoration projects are ongoing to decrease both the number of snags and relative abundance of white fir. Continued monitoring of the species is essential to understand potential effects of restoration activities. Suggestions are provided for appropriate timing and effort of future surveys.

El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo evaluar, describir y modelizar, empleando análisis de datos en rejilla (lattice data), el patrón espacial existente en un conjunto de datos en un área y año determinados. Aplicado al estudio de morbilidad en el departamento de Santa Cruz para la gestión 2008. Así mismo se desarrolla la teoría de análisis de datos en rejilla (lattice data) para establecer la discriminación regional, determinación de áreas de influencia y representación geográfica del análisis de datos. Realizando un análisis exploratorio de datos de morbilidad, integración de información cartográfica a la base de datos y aplicación de la teoría de datos en rejilla para realizar el análisis, modelado y validación espacial de los datos considerados. Para el análisis del presente trabajo se cuenta con el índice de morbilidad general y el índice de morbilidad específico, calculados en base al número de casos notificados en el Departamento de Santa Cruz, obtenidos a través de datos publicados por el Sistema Nacional de Información en Salud (SNIS) para el año 2008. Las variables son analizadas tomando en cuenta las 15 provincias y 56 municipios del departamento. Las características demográficas de la población fueron proporcionadas por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE, Censo de población y vivienda 2001 y el Atlas de Salud 2005). Las características climatológicas fueron proporcionados por el Servicio Nacional de Hidrología y Meteorología (SENAMHI, 2008). Finalmente las referencias geográficas del departamento fueron obtenidas del Instituto Geográfico Militar (IGM).

Le nombre de 300 000 enfants utilisés comme combattants est un chiffre conservateur que les experts du milieu ont mis de l'avant pour assurer un plus grand consensus international sur l'urgence d'intervenir. Ce chiffre, qui demeure constant depuis le milieu des années 1990, cache en réalité un nombre cumulé encore plus inquiétant. Lors des conflits, les enfants tués, blessés, qui réussissent à s'enfuir ou qui atteignent leur majorité sont remplacés systématiquement par d'autres ce qui fait que le nombre réel est, en fin de compte, beaucoup plus élevé. L'objectif de cette recherche est d'identifier les faiblesses du système international qui permettent encore aujourd'hui que l'enfance soit massacrée. Elle questionne l'existence d'une réelle protection des enfants pendant les conflits pour éviter leur enrôlement par des groupes armés en examinant des instruments juridiques internationaux. À la lumière d'une étude de cas effectuée en Sierra Leone à l'été 2005, l'auteure expose les défaillances de la protection accordée aux enfants combattants en période de post-conflit, notamment issues de la des mécanismes de réconciliation ainsi que lors de la provision des volets des programmes de Désarmement, de Démobilisation et de Réinsertion (DDR) s'adressant spécifiquement aux enfants anciens combattants. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Enfants combattants, Enfants soldats, Droit international, Droits des enfants, Protection, Sécurité humaine, Conflits, DDR et Sierra Leone.

La Sierra de Cartagena-La Unión (SCU) se caracteriza por haber constituido una de las mayores acumulaciones de Pb-Zn de la Península Ibérica. En la actualidad esta zona minera se encuentra abandonada, con planes de restauración e hidrogeológicos generales inexistentes que caractericen una fuente potencial de contaminantes en un sector con escasos recursos hídricos como el SE español. En esta tesis se ha llevado a cabo la definición del modelo de funcionamiento hidrogeológico de la SCU, se ha caracterizado el agua, residuos mineros, eflorescencias salinas y sedimento. Para ello ha sido necesario realizar un profundo trabajo de campo, de gabinete y de laboratorio. El acuífero fracturado de la SCU es muy heterogéneo. Está constituido por material metamórfico y detrítico, (esquistos, cuarcitas, filitas, y material carbonatado), altamente fracturado por la actividad tectónica y minera. Su espesor varía entre 400-800 m. Los datos piezométricos e hidroquímicos muestran un acuífero compartimentado en bloques hidrogeológicos delimitados por fallas N-130. La dirección de flujo es prácticamente paralela a este sistema de fracturación; debido al flujo preferente a lo largo de fallas y de galerías mineras, (el emplazamiento de la mineralización explotada por minería subterránea se encuentra asociado a fallas N-130). La superficie piezométrica tiene forma de domo bajo la alineación que describen las cortas mineras, indicativo de la principal zona de recarga del acuífero. Esta tendencia piezométrica se observa en piezometrías realizadas con datos históricos, que permiten comprobar que no se han producidograndes variaciones en las cotas piezométricas al menos en los últimos treinta años, lo que también indica un equilibrio entre las entradas y salidas al acuífero. El agua del acuífero SCU muestra un amplio rango de variación de los parámetros físico-químicos debido a la gran heterogeneidad del medio. Las surgencias no ácidas y ácidas se generan por un flujo rápido del agua infiltrada en el acuífero, el agua puede interaccionar o no con la mineralización y restos mineros, en el caso de las surgencias ácidas el agua circula de forma preferencial a través de galerías mineras enriqueciéndose en sulfato, metales y adquiriendo un pH ácido. Las muestras de las cortas mineras responden a una mezcla de agua de escorrentía, lluvia y subterránea. Las muestras de pozos mineros presentan un mayor periodo de residencia. La facies aniónica predominante es sulfatada y su concentración varía entre 55-40300 mg/L, la conductividad eléctrica oscila entre 1000-21700 9S/cm, el pH entre 1.9-7.8 y el contenido máximo de metales alcanzado es: Zn 4090 mg/L, Fe 1260 mg/L y Mn 436 mg/L. El ion sulfato procede de la oxidación de la mineralización, de la disolución de eflorescencias salinas, y de la movilización en suspensión de ocres y material procedente de las acumulaciones de residuos. Los resultados obtenidos confirman que el sulfato es mejor indicador que el pH y la concentración de metales de las afecciones inducidas antrópicamente en zonas mineras de sulfuros metálicos. La variación espacial de la concentración de ion sulfato muestra una tendencia a disminuir en función de la distancia a la zona de cortas en todo el acuífero, sin embargo el cloruro disminuye en la vertiente N, y en la Sur presenta un comportamiento irregular al estar afectada por diversos vertidos. La tendencia observada de la concentración de sulfato es a disminuir a lo largo del tiempo. Este descenso se debe al efecto de dilución y a que la tasa de generación de sulfato queda limitada al situarse la mineralización en la zona saturada del acuífero.La concentración de metales registradas en suelo y sedimento evidencian el impacto de la minería sobre el medio. La movilidad de los contaminantes se debe actualmente a la erosión de las acumulaciones de residuos.

Several species of small, cavity-nesting owls occur in the Sierra Nevada, including in areas impacted by human activities. The owls typically use standing dead trees (snags) for nest sites. Although descriptive studies exist regarding habitats associations around nest and roost sites, few studies have examined habitat associations at larger spatial scales or relative to certain snag characteristics (e.g., density, decay class). To improve our understanding of the habitat associations of these owls, I compared habitat characteristics at 2 spatial scales around areas of owl detection and non-detection. I also examined distances between conspecifics and heterospecifics to determine if clustering of conspecifics or avoidance of predators occurred. I conducted owl broadcast surveys and snag sampling during the spring and summer of 2006 and 2007 in the Lake Tahoe Basin of central Sierra Nevada. I measured additional habitat variables (e.g., vegetation cover, distance to roadways) from pre-existing geographical information system layers. I used stepwise logistic regression to ascertain which variables were influential in predicting owl occurrence. The northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadicus) was the only species detected in sufficient numbers for statistical analysis, with a detection probability of 0.25. I detected saw-whets in a wide range of conditions and it appeared that few factors influenced their distribution in the basin. Areas dominated by white fir, however, were correlated with the absence of saw-whets at both the macrohabitat and microhabitat scales. White fir-dominated areas tend to occur on the west side of the basin and it is possible white fir was acting as a proxy for other factors not measured in this study, such as microclimate conditions or prey availability. I was also more likely to find a saw-whet within 1000 m of another saw-whet than within 1000 m of a non-use point, indicating clustering of conspecifics in the basin. While it appears saw-whet needs are being met in the basin, restoration projects are ongoing to decrease both the number of snags and relative abundance of white fir. Continued monitoring of the species is essential to understand potential effects of restoration activities. Suggestions are provided for appropriate timing and effort of future surveys.