Algeria's vineyards: an Islamic dilemma and a problem of decolonisation.
Abstract Algeria's viticultural industry represents an example of the way a colonial legacy can turn into a problem of dependency, the solution to which represents an issue of decolonisation and adjustment. An added dimension is the cultural inappropriateness of viticultural production in an increasingly Islamic country. By late colonial times Algeria's wine exports represented over half of its exports by value. To add economic independence to political independence threatened serious financial and employment losses, so any opportunity to avoid the reconversion of the now culturally inappropriate vineyards seemed attractive. Eventually, with the growth of hydrocarbon revenues, the reconversion and reconstitution of Algeria's vineyards proved possible during the 1970s. However, 20 years after independence, Algeria still had nearly half the 1962 area of vineyards, though with markedly lower yields and marketing at lower prices. The colonial legacy has now turned into an economic liability and has been tackl...
Paysans algériens, La Terre, la Vigne, et les Hommes
"L'histoire de l'Algerie court comme le vent. Ce qui etait vrai hier risque, demain, d'etre mort, et tel homme, telle equipe a souvent exprime un instant ou un geste plus qu'une doctrine, une classe ou une societe. Une etonnante permanence, pourtant, dans ce mouvement perpetuel : la paysannerie algerienne. Permanence, d'ailleurs, n'est pas sclerose. Et si ce peuple acharne sur son sol, dans ses vignes ou ses terres a ble, sur ses plateaux arides et ses montagnes, ne se transforme que lentement, si la tradition enserre toujours sa vie, barde sa foi et arme sa resistance, la violence coloniale puis la guerre d'emancipation l'ont secoue jusqu'au trefonds et ont ouvert des voies par ou s'insinue* le souffle du renouveau. Par le malheur de la guerre, par la grâce de l'independance et de ce qu'on appelle hâtivement peut-etre la " revolution ", le paysan algerien voit remises en question bien des donnees de son existence, les dimensions de son champ, son mode de culture, le benefice qu'il tire de sa terre, les fruits qu'elle fait jaillir. Tout est la, tout est a changer, tout peut-etre changera: Michel Launay, que la tourmente de ces dernieres annees a jete sur ce sol, parmi ce peuple qu'il a aime, dit ce qu'il a vu, ce qui pourrait etre, ce que ces hommes souhaitent, ce qu'il souhaite avec eux."
Modelling of Mooney viscosity relaxation in natural rubber
Abstract Better assessment of natural rubber (NR) quality and processability, through the identification of new attributes, is still a major challenge. With this scope, 12 model samples of natural polyisoprene and two of synthetic polyisoprene were characterized in terms of Mooney torque relaxation, using the standardized ISO289 method (ML(1+4)100, explained later in the Section 1 ). The main purpose of this study was to identify a model that gave a better fit for the experimental decay of Mooney torque over time (ML(t)=f(t)) than the usual power law model used before (Y=at−b, [G.M. Bristow, A.G. Sears, The use of novel parameters in the assessment of natural rubber processability, NR Technol. 18 (1987); H.G. Burhin, W. Spreutels, J.M. Campbell, MV2000 Mooney viscometer: Mooney relaxation measurements on raw polymers and compounded rubber stocks, Kautsch. Gummi Kunstst. 43 (1990) 431]). The results showed that a generalized Maxwell model, and the Wu–Abbott empirical model ( Y = 1 − a Ln ( t ) − ( b t / ( c + t ) ) ) [T. Wu, J.A. Abbott, Firmness and force relaxation characteristics of tomatoes stored intact or as slices, Postharvest Biol. Technol. 24 (2002) 59–68], recently used for describing stress relaxation of tomato flesh, allowed a better description of the relaxation curve for the samples studied than the power law or stretched exponential traditionally used. Moreover, the total relaxation time (τm) given by the generalized Maxwell model showed good correlation with the total gel content of the samples studied.