2013 November « Solomon Asch Center

Linguistic models of abusive language November 5, 2024 Christian Leuprecht David B. Skillicorn David Kernot a Royal Military College of Canada, Queen’s University & Charles Sturt University, Edinburgh, Australiab Queen’s University, Edinburgh, Australiac Defence Science and Technology, Edinburgh, Australia
The paradox of violent leaders and organizational structures October 4, 2024 Michael Freeman Victor Asal Gina Ligon a Defense Analysis, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USAb Political Science, University at Albany - Downtown Campus, Albany, NY, USAc University of Nebraska Omaha - National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE), Omaha, NE, USA
Improving affected victims and community reintegration of former Boko Haram terrorist defectors in Nigeria: a community-informed participatory action research October 1, 2024 Tarela Juliet Ike D.E. Jidong E.E. Ayobi a School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UKb Division of Psychology and Mental Health, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Mancheter, Manchester, UKc Department of Research, Division of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UKd Tare Wyd Legal Chambers, Warri, Delta State, Nigeria
Perception of perpetrators’ acknowledgement of victimhood increases rather than decreases support for reconciliation with another victim group September 30, 2024 Bryan Bilven Hadi Sam Nariman Anna Kende a Doctoral School of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungaryb Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Dying to bankrupt: the effect of suicide terrorism on foreign direct investment September 30, 2024 Max Abrahms Asif Nawaz a Department of Political Science, Northeastern University, Boston MA, USAb Department of History & International Affairs, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

Army Scores a Super-Stealthy Drone That Looks Like a Bird

In the U.S. military’s ongoing battle against insurgents and terrorists, radar stealth is less important than invisibility – or, in this case, disguise. Designed to look like a circling bird from a distance, this small drone model is designed to provide short-range surveillance without alerting the subjects.

Drone crew caught attempting to deliver smokes to prison inmates

As the article suggests, it’s only a matter of time before drones are a standard tool in the arsenal of criminals and terrorists. Perhaps building off the occasional success of helicopter prison breakouts, some would be smugglers in Georgia attempted to supply a prison with tobacco.

This 6-Foot, 330-Pound Robot May One Day Save Your Life

This humanoid robot is designed to have the same mobility as a human. While it lacks hands capable of truly grasping objects, this design still shows promise for search and rescue missions, as the title implies. The robot’s builder, Boston Dynamics, has previously achieved fame for its surprisingly stable, adaptive and rather creepy BigDog robots, […]

Which drone future will Americans choose?

This commentary attempts to look at drones in the context of nuclear proliferation. While drones certainly are more focused than a nuclear bomb, they are also far cheaper to obtain. While the fears stated may be exaggerated, privacy and proliferation will continue to be major concerns. The Asch Center also agrees with the author that […]

Drones in Culture: Blondie

The Blondie Comic strip for 24 Nov. 2013 has a hapless employee under constant monitoring by a miniature Predator drone. While the Predator design is clearly artistic license, this strip taps into a common worry about surveillance, lack of privacy, and the damping of free speech.

Chinese Stealth Drone Makes First Flight

China has been working towards this project since at least 2006, when the ‘Dark Sword’ project became public knowledge. The ‘Sharp Sword’ drone mentioned in this article appears designed as a mid- to long-range unmanned stealth bomber. Unlike the U.S. Reapers and Predators, the Sharp Sword is clearly designed for symmetric conflict.

Hackers’ guide to grounding drones

While Deer Creek, Colorado may have wanted to take down drones with shotguns and hunting rifles, there are more subtle methods that would probably be difficult to punish. GPS jammers and directed energy weapons can interfere with the electronics and navigation of drones, bringing them down with no noise and little trouble. While presented as […]

The Drones of the Future Won’t Kill, They’ll Take Selfies

Constantly recording personal drones maybe be more privacy invading than innocuous to some. Nevertheless, they are probably more acceptable to the public than the military and government drones. The Paparazzi drone in particular is interesting as it abandons the common (and perhaps somewhat menacing) quadrotor for a highly stylized design looks like a cartoon helicopter.

Balfour Beatty considers improving staff safety with drones and gamification

This large construction company is showing interest in using drones, both for monitoring large, chaotic work sites, and also for directly adding to a structure. It is perhaps not a surprise that this initiative was announced in Japan, a place that has long been willing to integrate robotics into society.

Drones in Culture: Colbert Report (13 Nov. 2013)

With his trademark sarcasm, Colbert covers drones. The Amnesty International/Human Rights Watch report on possible war crimes is touched on, followed by an investigation into Deer Trail, Colorado – the town that considered a ‘drone hunting license.’ Given Colbert’s popularity, both of these issues may be approaching common knowledge.

Published by the University of Texas Press the book features 100 of Hyman's photographs and six critical essays that depict and discuss the emotional aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks -- a time when people from all walks of life created and encountered memorials to those who were murdered. Vernacular art appeared almost everywhere—on walls, trees, playgrounds, vehicles, houses, tombstones, and even on bodies. This outpouring of grief and other acts of remembrance impelled photographer Jonathan Hyman to document and preserve these largely impermanent, spontaneous expressions. This book, a unique archive of 9/11 public memory, is the result of his compiling a collection of 20,000 photographs, along with field notes and personal interviews. For more information about the book or to purchase it, visit the book's page at Amazon or Facebook.

Sramana Majumdar

Exposure Index

Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict

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