Sramana Majumdar

"Violence, Identity and Self-determination: Narratives of conflict from the Kashmir Valley" 4:15 PM, Monday 18 Nov Room 239, BYC Bryn Mawr College

Exposure Index

Tired of paper and pencil questionnaires about integration and intergroup contact? Try the new and improved EXPOSURE INDEX (click tab above on this page).

Ex-Lawyer in State Department Criticizes Drone Secrecy

Part of the problem with the secrecy is that most of the laws and court decisions regulating the use of drones are also classified. It’s hard for citizens to trust when it’s impossible to verify – or to even know what standards drone use is supposed to be tested against.

Falcon UAV Puts Deer Trail Colorado on the Map…..Literally….Sort of….

In the continuing saga of Deer Trail, Colorado, the proposal for bounty on drones will go to a special vote for all residents. Falcon UAV is trying to turn this into a PR coup by showing residents (and those watching the town) how useful drones are. It remains to be seen whether this effort is […]

Paul finds drone he likes

Even Rand Paul can appreciate a drone if it does something for him and isn’t invading his privacy. This example underscores how truly necessary it is for unmanned vehicles to not be restricted to military/police uses.

Some surveillance drones, but not all, grounded under N.C. law

With privacy concerns mounting as domestic drones become reality, North Carolina took pre-emptive steps to prevent public outcry. Depending on how drones are used, this could be seen as either anachronistic or prescient.

CIA Refuses to Acknowledge Drone Targeted Killings

The use of drone strikes is public known, extensively documented, and – bizarrely – still classified and officially secret.

FAA Certifies First 2 Types Of Drones For Civilian Use

While civilians have long had access to remote control aircraft and other hobby-level drones, these tended to be small and operated in unrestricted Class G airspace. This FAA certification opens the door for larger, longer range civilian UAVs capable of surveying and mapping inaccessible areas.

A Meta-Study of Drone Strike Casualties

This article investigates the high variance in attempts to count civilian casualties of drone strikes. While the government has at times claimed that there were no civilian casualties, the studies looked at here indicate 7% to 34% of deaths were noncombatants.

The Ethics of Saving Lives With Autonomous Cars Are Far Murkier Than You Think

A discussion of autonomous cars from the point of view of a philosopher.

Drones a safety and privacy headache

In this article from Australia, safety and privacy concerns figure largely. Private, commercial, and government operators are all noted, though the dangers of “the issue of children flying model drone aircraft” is probably far less than the more capable government and commercial types.

Germans Play for Time in the Debate on Drones

This article comments on the current anti-drone backlash in Germany. It suggests that public opinion fails to differentiate between armed and surveillance drones. The article further suggests that opinion of drones as a whole has suffered from the criticisms of recent U.S. drone policy.