Iodization: case report: Indonesia

Historically, most of Indonesia's interior has been severely iodine-deficient, resulting in high levels of endemic goiter and cretinism. In some interior hamlets during the 1980s, cretinism prevalence was found to be 15%, among the world's highest levels. Early in 1995, a national survey of iodized salt consumption found that half of 220,000 households were using adequately iodized salt, 28% inadequately iodized salt, and the rest noniodized salt. A program to teach primary school students about the existence of and rationale for using iodized salt was launched in West Java and six other provinces in 1995. The program was subsequently expanded in 1996 with the training of 100,000 more teachers nationwide. 95% of children in Indonesia attend primary school. Part of Indonesia's goal to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders by the year 2000, the program involves children testing samples of salt consumed at home for the presence of adequate iodine content. Students and parents are then expected to tell their neighbors about the need for iodized salt and share their school iodine test kit with them.     

Review Article: Elie Kedourie: Forgotten Iconoclast

ELIE KEDOURIE. Nationalism, 4th ed. Oxford and Cambridge, Mass.: Basil Blackwell, 1993. Pp. xviii, 154. $16.95 (US), paper; ELIE KEDOURIE. Democracy and Arab Political Culture. London: Frank Cass, 1994; dist. Portland: ISBS. Pp. xii, 105. $17.50 (US), paper; ELIE KEDOURIE. Politics in the Middle East. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. Pp. 366. $20.95 (CDN), paper; ELIE KEDOURIE. Hegel and Marx: Introductory Lectures, ed. Sylvia and Helen Kedourie. Oxford and Cambridge, Mass.: Basil Blackwell, 1995. Pp. xiii, 216. $49.95 (US); SYLVIA KEDOURIE, ed. Elie Kedourie CBE, FBA, 1926–1992: History, Philosophy, Politics. London: Frank Cass, 1998; dist. Portland: ISBS. Pp. 132. $35.00 (US). Reviewed by Efraim Karsh     

Managing Multidisciplinarity: Lessons from SUBR:IM

Abstract

The complex nature of societal problems has fuelled arguments that such issues can only be addressed by holistic responses which are informed by high-quality policy, practice and techno-scientific research. As a result, research councils are encouraging the development of interdisciplinary research consortia through which the strengths of various scientific and social scientific disciplines can be harnessed to produce coherent, well-informed and cross-disciplinary outputs. Yet the task of managing such projects is problematic. The paper draws on the authors' experiences of managing one such consortium, SUBR:IM (Sustainable Brownfield Regeneration: Integrated Management). We reflect upon the processes and politics of building a broadly-based consortium and argue that, while the benefits of such endeavours can be significant, research councils need to give greater recognition to the barriers that exist to achieving genuine collaboration, such as disciplinary incommensurabilities, centrally imposed constraints and internal resistance. The paper explores these barriers before identifying possible ways forward, including better processes of consortia building, more effective internal structures, focusing on a single case study and recruiting the right mix of academics.     

Tibet: 1951: PLA's Marching Into Tibet

AuthoredbyXiaoHao,thebookrecordshowthePLAtroopsmarchedintoTibetinthechronologicalway.ItshowsthetragiclivestheTibetanserfsandslavesledunderthecruelfeudalserfdom:andhowthePLAtroopsmadefriendswiththeTibetansandbuiltroadsforthemallalongtheway.PublishedbytheNationalitiesPublishingHouse,thelarge32-mobook,runningto230,000words,ispricedat17.80yuanpercopy.AJourneyIntoTibetFortyyearsago,LinTian,authorofthebook,wasreporterwhowenttoTibetasaPLAman.Thebookcontainsfourvolumesofdiarieshewroteduringt…