Solomon Asch Center

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
Predictors of terrorist use of suicide attacks: group age and state power December 22, 2024 Samuel K. Goldenberg Independent Scholar, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
Do not disarm, integrate: simultaneous inclusive conditions for successful integration December 22, 2024 Rula Jabbour Abigail Cawley a Nebraska Deterrence Lab, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE, USAb Amnesty International USA Human Rights Development Department, Lincoln, NE, USA

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 flying weapons, but despite science fiction dreams, lasers have yet to demonstrate practicality for this kind of thing.

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 unable to turn fast enough or fly low enough to provide decent mapping data. This story neatly encapsulates both drones’ potential and regulatory uncertainty.

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.

Drone and Taliban Attacks Hit Civilians, Afghans Say

The drone strike killed four suspected militants – and a dozen civilian passengers in the truck. Whether intentional or not, such strikes imply a lack of concern for bystanders that explains the heavily negative perception of drones in the region.

U.S. documents detail al-Qaeda’s efforts to fight back against drones

Notable is that some of the proposed responses include al-Qaeda building their own drones. While most drones today are dependent on major power’s global communications reach and strong technological/industrial base, UAVs are remarkably simple for today’s technology and small, cheap versions can be obtained or built by anyone. Terrorist and insurgent groups of all kinds will start using drones, which makes the precedents the U.S. is setting on proper use especially important.

Remote-Controlled Model Helicopter Fatally Strikes Its Operator

Accidental deaths of this sort are a certainty as UAVs become more popular. Previous accidents such as the German drone near-collision with an passenger liner in Afghanistan are avoidable with improved integration and air traffic control methods – unfortunate accidents of this sort are far less avoidable.

Will Robots Replace Rent-a-Cops?

This particular application requires using all of robotics’ worst skills: sensor analysis and human interaction. While the idea is closer to reality than in Asimov’s day, it’s still a long way away.

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

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Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict

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