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).
  • ‘Unite against the parasites’: how do white supremacists exploit antisemitism to mobilize non-white groups? April 14, 2025 Ariel Koch a Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy, Reichman University institution, Herzliya, Israelb International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israelc Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism (ISGAP), New York City, USADr. Ariel Koch is a lecturer at the Lauder School of Government and a Research Fellow at both the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University and the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). His research focuses on transnational extremist movements, hate groups, and violent digital subcultures, with particular emphasis on the convergence of diverse forms of violent extremism. Dr. Koch teaches undergraduate courses and regularly lectures to policymakers, security professionals, academic audiences, and educational institutions in Israel and internationally.
  • The base: an analysis of recruiting, vetting, and motivations of potential members March 28, 2025 Rebecca A. Wilson Katherine Kountz John P. Hendry Allison Betus Mor Yachin Dror Walter Michael Loadenthal Anthony F. Lemieux a Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAb Department of Communication, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAc Transcultural Conflict and Violence Initiative, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USAd School of Public and International Affairs, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
  • Stabilizing post-conflict states: evaluating the impact of resources December 31, 2024 Rula Jabbour Michelle Black Abigail Cawley a Department of Political Science, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincolnb Department of Political Science, Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NEc Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Development Department, Lincoln, NE
  • The science of zero-sum thinking: a scoping review of 10 years of empirical research December 30, 2024 Lucas Heiki Matsunaga Jacob Petersen Toshiaki Aoki Cristiane Faiad a Department of International Environment and Resources Policy, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japanb Center for International Education, Iwate University, Morioka, Japanc Department of Clinical Psychology and Culture, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
  • Psycholinguistic signals of terrorist attacks December 24, 2024 Natasha K. Mather Michael D. Young Shilpa Hanchinal a Department of History, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USAb Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USAc Leadership Analysis and Influence Operations Laboratory(LA/IO), Albany, NY, USA

Unmanned Vehicles in Fiction: “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

In the pilot episode of Marvel’s new TV show, the protagonists use a fleet of mini-quadrotors to inspect and map a crime scene. While the miniaturization and capabilities shown are beyond current technology, the idea of using unmanned vehicles to map crime or disaster scenes is not.

Nissan’s Autonomous Car Is Road Legal in Japan

Nissan can now test it’s mostly autonomous prototypes on roads in Japan. The system is not yet fully autonomous, but can handle much of the routine driving. The system as currently described sounds very similar to Tesla’s autopilot goal mentioned in an earlier post on this website.

UK detention of Reprieve activist consistent with NSA’s view of drone opponents as ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’

That this story appeared in the Guardian (UK) and alJazeera (Qatar) but not U.S. news organizations underscores the uniqueness of the U.S. majority support for drone strikes in a world that generally disapproves of them.

Tesla To Build A Self-Driving Car Within 3 Years, CEO Musk Says

Following similar announcements by Mercedes and Nissan, Tesla Motors has announced it, too, plans to build driverless cars. Or at least MOSTLY driverless. Tesla’s plan is being described as an autopilot – presumably primarily useful for cruising along highways. This is both more easily achievable and probably more socially acceptable than an instantaneous jump to […]

Who’s afraid of driverless cars?

Among other comments, this article describes how people might take advantage of a driverless car’s superior collision avoidance.

Military Lags in Push for Robotic Ground Vehicles

The article predicts that the army will wait until civilian unmanned vehicles have been proven before deploying any themselves, and further that this is a “radical turnaround” of the normal process. However, we at the Asch Center consider this civilian-applications-first development cycle to be standard for logistics technology, as seen with the automobile and airplane.

Air Force wants technology that will let drones sense and avoid other aircraft

Collision avoidance might seem an obvious area of interest for UAVs, but the Air Force has often seemed to be dragging its feet when it comes to increasing the deployment of drones.

German chancellor’s drone “attack” shows the threat of weaponized UAVs

A small UAV was dropped at the chancellor’s feet, an effective statement by a member of the opposition party. The potential for a more bloodthirsty application (assassinations and has raised many concerns, possibly to the detriment of the potential benefit of unmanned vehicles. The article suggests directed energy weapons as an active defense against such […]

Falcon UAV Supports Colorado Flooding Until Grounded by FEMA

Falcon UAV was getting some good PR by helping map the rapidly changing contours of the flooded areas of Colorado. However, when FEMA arrived, they grounded the drones. This story is entirely based on the company-written article linked from this post, but apparently the weather has often made manned flights impossible, and manned flights are […]

Preflight Turbulence for Commercial Drones

The article examines the “moral hazard” of drone surveillance: airplane surveillance is expensive, drones significantly decrease that cost-effectiveness barrier.