Transitional justice in Myanmar: fragments of quieted voices

This creative piece combines non-fiction, poetry and fiction to imagine the voices of a refugee, a market vendor, a soldier and a dissident addressing the question of transitional justice in Myanmar. Drawing primarily from my experiences working with Burmese lawyers and refugees on the Thailand–Myanmar border, the piece first provides an overview of transitional justice efforts in Myanmar, and then shifts to voices inspired by people whom I met along the way – in refugee camps, selling vegetables, recovering from prison. Transitional justice too often ignores these quieter voices. The voices that I attempt to capture, however, are frustratingly unhelpful, frequently evasive and largely ambivalent about justice. I expected passionate condemnation of past wrongs and outrage at government abuse. The quieter voices defied my expectations. The poetry and vignettes, therefore, reflect a more nuanced, lyrical perspective that partially surrenders to the passing of time and the powerlessness that people feel in the face of distant authority.     

Management in the Public and Private Sector

This paper, drawing on a six-country study, summarises the pressures to change on organisations and managers in both public and private sectors. The differences and similarities between the experiences of managers in the two sectors are drawn out and some conclusions about the lessons each can learn from the other are suggested.     

Prediction of fat and fat-free mass in male athletes using dual X-ray absorptiometry as the reference method

The ability of bioelectrical impedance analysis and anthropometry to predict fat mass and fat-free mass was compared in a sample of 82 male athletes from a wide variety of sports, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the reference method. The percent fat measured by DXA was 10.9+/-4.9% (mean +/- s), and fat mass was predicted with a standard error of the estimate of 1.7 kg for skinfolds and 2.8 kg for bioelectrical impedance analysis (P < 0.001). Fat-free mass was predicted with a standard error of the estimate of 1.7 kg for anthropometry and 2.6 kg for bioelectrical impedance analysis (P < 0.001). Regression of various individual skinfolds and summed skinfolds, to examine the effect of skinfold selection combinations by stepwise regression, produced an optimal fat mass prediction using the thigh and abdominal skinfold sites, and an optimal fat-free mass prediction using the thigh, abdominal and supra-ilium sites. These results suggest that anthropometry offers a better way of assessing body composition in athletes than bioelectrical impedance analysis. Applying the derived equations to a separate sample of 24 athletes predicted fat and fat-free mass with a total error of 2.3 kg (2.9%) and 2.2 kg (2.7%), respectively. Combining the samples introduced more heterogeneity into the sample (n = 106), and the optimal prediction of fat mass used six skinfolds in producing a similar standard error of the estimate (1.7 kg), although this explained a further 4% of the variation in DXA-derived fat. Fat-free mass was predicted best from four skinfolds, although the standard error of the estimate and coefficient of determination were unchanged.     

Crisis in Engineering Education

It is contended that engineering education in the United States is and has always been backward and of low quality compared to that in other countries, particularly Russia. Consequent low quality raises serious questions regarding ability to compete with the Communist world. Historical reasons for low quality are scrutinized as created by personality factors, financial matters, university policies, and federal policies. Significant differences between educators and practitioners in science and engineering are discussed. Specific practical proposals for action by federal and university agencies are given which can aid in reducing the serious shortage of welltrained engineers.     

Do sporting activities convey benefits to bone mass throughout the skeleton?

It is well known that sport and exercise play an important role in stimulating site-specific bone mineral density (BMD). However, what is less well understood is how these benefits dissipate throughout the body. Hence, the aim of the present study was to compare the BMD (recorded at nine sites throughout the skeleton) of 106 male athletes (from nine sports) with that of 15 male non-exercising age-matched controls. Given that BMD is known to increase with body mass and peak with age, multivariate and univariate analyses of covariance were performed to compare the BMD of the nine sports groups with controls (at all sites) using body mass and age as covariates. Our results confirmed a greater adjusted BMD in the arms of the upper-body athletes, the right arm of racket players and the legs of runners (compared with controls), supporting the site-specific nature (i.e. specific to the externally loaded site) of the bone remodelling response (all P <0.01). However, evidence that bone mass acquisition is not just site-specific comes from the results of the rugby players, strength athletes, triathletes and racket players. The rugby players' adjusted BMD was the greatest of all sports groups and greater than controls at all nine sites (all P <0.01), with differences ranging from 8% greater in the left arm to 21% in the lumbar spine. Similarly, the strength athletes' adjusted BMD was superior to that of controls at all sites (P <0.05) except the legs. The adjusted BMD of the triathletes was significantly greater than that of the controls in both the arms and the legs as well as the thoracic and lumbar spine. The racket players not only had significantly greater right arm BMD compared with the controls but also a greater BMD of the lumbar spine, the pelvis and legs. In contrast, the low-strain, low-impact activities of keep-fit, cycling and rowing failed to benefit BMD compared with the age-matched controls. These results suggest that sporting activities involving high impact, physical contact and/or rotational forces or strains are likely to convey significant benefits not only to the loaded sites, but also to other unloaded peripheral and axial sites throughout the skeleton.