Did 3G Make Afghan Insurgents Fight More Effectively? A Disaggregated Study

No accessJournal of Human SecurityOther Journal Article01 January 2009Afghanistan and Pakistan: Reorientating Military and State Security Strategies to Regional Human Security Authors: John Janzekovic Authors: John Janzekovic Politics and International Relations, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland, 4558, Australia, email: [email protected], tel: +61 7 5459 4807 Google Scholar More articles by this author SectionsAboutPDF/EPUBExport CitationsAdd to FavouriteAdd to FavouriteCreate a New ListNameCancelCreate ToolsTrack CitationsCreate Clip ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedIn COPY LINK Abstract The Coalition is rapidly losing the war in Afghanistan, primarily for two reasons. Coalition action has failed to gain the support of Afghan citizens and Pakistan continues to provide safe havens, material, and moral support for the insurgents. Weak local governments in Afghanistan and the influence of regional powers are the key elements supporting the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today the increasing trend is towards asymmetric conflicts involving insurgency, guerrilla war, civil war, and other forms of unconventional warfare that last longer, involve large sections of the population or even the entire population. When supported by regional powers this new form of warfare cannot be successfully addressed using conventional military means alone. There must be a reorientation away from the myopia of military engagement and a state-centric strategy to human security and a people-centred approach in the region. Democracy promotion and support for local governments, citizens and communities are critical elements in addressing the insurgency in Afghanistan. Full Text DOI Previous article Next article RelatedDetails View PUBLICATION DETAILSDate of Publication:January 2009Journal:Journal of Human SecurityISSN:1835-3800Volume:5Issue:3Page Range:44-57First Page:44Last Page:57Source:Journal of Human Security, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2009: 44-57Date Last Modified:05 September 2018 12:24Date Last Revised:06 October 2012Geographic LocationUnited StatesAfghanistanPakistanSubjectTerrorismNational securityInternational relationsHumanitarian assistanceSocial historyTrials, litigation, etc.Insurgency METRICS Downloaded 1 times Copyright© Human Security Institute, 2009Download PDFLoading ...

Reviewed by: Modernity and Autobiography in Nineteenth-Century America: Literary Representations of Communication and Transportation Technologies by James E. Dobson Susan Shelangoskie (bio) Modernity and Autobiography in Nineteenth-Century America: Literary Representations of Communication and Transportation Technologies James E. Dobson Palgrave Macmillan, 2017, vii + 117 pp. ISBN 978-3319673219, $69.99 hardcover. James E. Dobson's Modernity and Autobiography in Nineteenth-Century America: Literary Representations of Communication and Transportation Technologies takes on an ambitious project, attempting to connect the rise of rapid travel and communication technologies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with changes in both the form and purpose of the American autobiography. Further, Dobson interrogates the role of detachment, an Enlightenment era ideal and emblem of the realist narrative perspective, as it is used in the self-reflections of autobiographical works by Henry James, Theodore Dreiser, and Henry Adams. Individual chapters on each of these writers make up the core of the text, following two chapters that establish a theoretical framework. The first chapter surveys the turn from the traditional linear progressive view of American history, reinforced by notions such as Leo Marx's "complex pastoralism," to the recognition of multiple perspectives that accompanied the rise of the modernist movement in the early twentieth century (5–6), setting the stage for Dobson's argument that American autobiographies registered ambivalence about the dominant narrative of progress. The second chapter takes up the question of detachment as a philosophical concept with both positive and negative valences that evolves to become a tool for narrative perspective in the realism movement. Philosophical detachment is then juxtaposed with the disruptions in nineteenth-century American life—the Civil War, economic upheaval, forced migration—that created literal detachment from past homes for many Americans. This discussion becomes the vehicle for introducing the examination of the homecoming travel narrative as a specific type of autobiography. Dobson's focus on personal, return-home narratives is a strength of his work. Dobson notes that homecoming narratives were popular in fin-de-siècle America, and he further contextualizes these plots with the economic realities of the time. Forced mobility due to economic need or other types of displacement, rapid urbanization, and the boom and bust of the Gilded Age meant that many lost their homes. His engagement with these narratives of a lost past, particularly in an American culture that did not seem to value the past, is a powerful contribution to life writing. Dobson's work highlights the varied responses to this loss by James and Dreiser. Both writers utilize a detached third person perspective in their autobiographical works, and both are frustrated in their quest to recover a sense of the past because of the loss of physical homes that they seek to revisit. In these failures, Dobson locates modern disruption, and he analyzes the use of detachment by each author as a way of coping with this failure. For James, detachment signifies "a removal from the relentless growth and systemization of modernization run amok" (52), while Dreiser's detachment allows him to identify moments of repetition [End Page 886] between past and present that Dobson aligns with "one's true home … a cosmic temporality of eternal repetition" (76). In these two chapters, Dobson presents the most forceful version of his argument about the use of autobiography as a means of grappling with modernization in an attempt to create a coherent identity between the present and past self. Another strength of Dobson's analysis is his discussion of the rise of modernity as a disruptive force, and, through this examination of disruption, Dobson most clearly explores travel and communication technologies. For example, as travel technologies enabled swift movement across the country, more people were able to make that return journey home. However, when travelers who journeyed towards an idealized past arrived and confronted the reality of the lost home, they felt a sense of disruption and even disorientation, and the personal temporality connecting the present to the past may have remained uncomfortably incomplete. Travel technologies as instruments of this increased mobility are therefore important to the analysis. However, Dobson does not address in much detail the specific representations of these technologies. For example, James...

States wishing to use force in the modern era frequently face strong incentives to exploit secrecy. Successful covert operations can reduce the likelihood of unwanted escalation with powerful rivals and help leaders conceal unpopular actions from domestic and foreign audiences alike. The many benefits of secrecy, however, can only be realized if covert operations remain covert. We argue that access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) is a critical factor that increases the chances that a covert mission will be exposed. As a result, leaders are much less likely to reach for the quiet option when a potential target has dense ICT networks. We illustrate our mechanism through US national security archival vignettes. We test our argument using a dataset of declassified US military and electoral interventions intended to subvert incumbent regimes throughout the Cold War. The core finding, that leaders are less likely to pursue covert action relative to alternative options when the chances of exposure are high, holds across five distinct measures of ICT networks as well as different model specifications and placebo tests. Our findings suggest that Cold War-style covert operations may well be a thing of the past in an age where communication and media technologies have proliferated to the far corners of the globe. We advance debates on communications technologies, covert action, and political violence.

Media Reporting, Mobility and Trauma

Afghanistan has been wrapped in insurgency since the Russian withdrawal in 1979, followed by civil war. The emergence of Taliban to power with their self-styled type of imposition of Islamic law compelled the great powers to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. September 2001 was a turning point in the history of Afghanistan as the NATO forces made their entry under the garb of security. The establishment of a democratic government in the country could not help in uprooting terrorism and insurgency from the country. Since the period of Russian Withdrawal, the country witnessed different eras of Taliban and the democratic governments coupled with the NATO mission. It is a fact that during the long stay of the presence of coalition forces in Afghanistan, insurgency could not be completely uprooted since new threats from different groups of insurgents have overpowered the country. Some of the provinces are hit hard by insurgency and terrorism. Efforts to hold peace talks were always dashed to the ground when the ISAF started its military operations against the terrorists.

KOMPUTASI, Juli 2006, Vol.3, No.6, Hal 1-11 In general, any geographic phenomena are visually depicted as ‘static’ spatial model. This thesis presents how some variable can be combined t o give more information to the spatial analysis model and how to implement the dynamic map and the dynamic spatial model.. Conceptually, there are six steps to implement the dynamic spatial model for Upper Ciliwung Watershed including data compilation and preparation, data analysis, spatial model development, interfacing, spatial database programing, simulation and verification. Microsoft Visual Basic V.6.0 and Map Object Version 2.1 were used to implement. T he application program developed is generally interactive with a few tools and dialog interface. User can flexibly set up different land use change scenarios for knowing the hydrology responses to support the decision maker. The outputs of the dynamic spatial analysis model are: peak runoff rate [m 3 /s]. runoff volume [m 3 ], and percentage of each contributing area. This dynamic spatial analysis model is able to determine of contributing area of runoff water by tracking the flow direction of its watershed characteristic from the study area. The result of this dynamic spatial analysis model will be useful to be use for controlling the impact of the land use changes od Upper Ciliwung Watershed. Key Word: Spatial analysis, dynamic model, land use change, scenario, peak run off rate, debit, watershed

What static, readily observable indicators might help us predict levels of killing in civil wars? Research using disaggregated event data and spatial models has reported strong relationships between various indicators of ethnic diversity and violent conflict during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). Bosnia is a rare case for empirical research on ethnic violence in civil wars: a census was conducted a few months before violence broke out in a country which recognized and recorded ethnic group membership, and extensively documented post-war fact-finding has recorded over 75,000 deaths and their location. Applying the resulting ethnic conflict models to other conflicts that lack such data will be difficult. This paper examines the relative fit of an alternative model based on distance to front lines and other factors that can be obtained through remote sensing, and which hence are more generalizable. Results from a spatial negative binomial count model estimated with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods show that front lines model performs similarly to the ethnic conflict model in terms of fit, and both are improvements over a base model which accounts for spatial diffusion of violence and local population size only.

Background:A wide range of epidemiological modeling approaches have been applied to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which presents an opportunity to assess common approaches applied to specific research questions. Spatial models interrogate how heterogeneities and host movement dynamics influence local and regional patterns of disease, issues that were of great interest for understanding and controlling SARS-CoV-2.Objective:Here we present a systematic review of spatial epidemiological modeling approaches of SARS-CoV-2. We describe common themes and highlight unique strategies, providing a foundation for researchers to devise spatial models most appropriate for future pathogens and epidemics. Our review also categorizes the research questions that were addressed with spatial models, highlights parameter estimation techniques, and describes the cyber infrastructure used for model development.Methods:We conducted a systematic review using Web of Science and a standardized set of keywords, followed by thorough examination of abstracts and full texts to determine which studies met our inclusion criteria. To guide our description and comparisons of models, we developed a Geography, Population, Movement (GPM) framework that conceptualizes the interactions between three distinct subcomponents of any spatial model. The geographic model represents the physical arena in which the model is implemented, the intra-population model describes the transmission and disease processes that occur within distinct spatial units of the geography, and the movement model describes the algorithms that dictate how hosts move among spatial units within the geography.Results:The search identified a total of 193 articles, of which 109 were included in our review. The most abundant intra-population modeling methods were agent-based (47.7%) and compartmental modeling (29.4%) approaches. Movement models ranged in complexity, with the most complex models implementing commuter movement among many points of interest in the geographic arena, which were sometimes parameterized by fine-scale mobility data. Geographic models ranged from describing microcosms, such as single classrooms, all the way up to multi-country models. Of the 63.3% of models studies that specified the programming language used, we detected ten different languages, with Matlab and Python being the most frequent, although only 30.6% of studies provided open-access code for their models. We also described eight specialized software systems that were used to construct agent-based or compartment models of COVID-19.Conclusions:Our review identified and characterized a variety of spatial modeling strategies and software that were usefully employed to address many relevant epidemiological questions for COVID-19. Future research is needed to quantitatively assess which modeling approaches are most appropriate in specific situations, to answer specific questions, or to apply to certain disease systems. Moreover, future cyberinfrastructure could help to modularize and standardize modeling approaches, which would increase transparency and reproducibility, and which would facilitate a detailed examination of which model attributes relate to model performance in a variety of contexts.

The article examines the impact of digitalization of enterprises on the competitiveness of Ukraine’s economy. The essence of the country’s competitiveness is theoretically substantiated and the main factors that form it are identified. The overall level of competitiveness of Ukraine’s economy in 2017– 2023 is studied and the negative impact of the war on the deterioration of our country’s economy is identified. The author analyzes the level of development of technology and communications, which affects the competitiveness of the economy and confirms the statement that digitalization and the introduction of technologies into the business processes of enterprises are the basis for their success in the market and the strength of the Ukrainian economy. The author analyzes digitalization in Ukraine, which is characteristic and widespread in all sectors of the economy where there is interaction with the consumer. An example of digitalization and the introduction of digital technologies in the Ukrainian market is given, using 3D printing as an example. The level of use of information and communication technologies at enterprises in 2020–2022 is analyzed. The sub-indices of Ukraine’s competitiveness are analyzed. Ukraine’s place in the ICT ranking is analyzed. It has been found that an important prerequisite for the development of digitalization is the level of ICT development, which in 2022–2023 shows negative trends. It is proved that the introduction of technology and communication directly affects the formation of the competitiveness of the country’s economy. The author analyzes the level of digitalization in Ukrainian companies and analyzes in detail the main indicators that show the degree of technology implementation in enterprises. The dynamics of Internet use at enterprises is analyzed. The use of the Internet by Ukrainian enterprises in 2020–2022 is substantiated. It is determined that the use of modern technologies at enterprises forms the competitive advantages of the country’s economy.

Introduction

A large literature suggests that the presence of refugees is associated with greater risk of conflict. We argue that the positive effects of hosting refugees on local conditions have been overlooked. Using global data from 1990 to 2018 on locations of refugee communities and civil conflict at the subnational level, we find no evidence that hosting refugees increases the likelihood of new conflict, prolongs existing conflict, or raises the number of violent events or casualties. Furthermore, we explore conditions where provinces are likely to experience substantively large decreases in conflict risk due to increased development. Analysis examining nighttime lights as a measure of development, coupled with expert interviews, support our claim. To address the possibility of selection bias, we use placebo tests and matching. Our research challenges assertions that refugees are security risks. Instead, we show that in many cases, hosting refugees can encourage local development and even conflict reduction.

This research aimed to identify the basic problems and gaps in the process of introducing information and communication systems and technologies in institutions of higher professional education and to outline the possibilities of their later use as the main component of e-education. Research methods: systematization, generalization, comparative analysis, systems analysis, logical approach, synthesis. Results. Based on the analysis of the results of the introduction of information and communication technologies during the organization of training in higher professional education establishments, the urgency of using information technology training technologies was proven; the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning and distance (distance) education platforms were considered; it was distinguished which technical means of information communication systems and technologies were most effective under the condition of a rational combination of the most recent and traditionally existing means of teaching.

ABSTRACTMarine species and associated fisheries demonstrate complex spatial dynamics driven by biological, ecosystem and socioeconomic factors and integrating these spatial dynamics into stock assessment models can improve fishery management advice. While preliminary good practices for developing spatial stock assessment models have been proposed, comprehensive demonstrations applying these practices remain limited. Drawing on these good practices, we provide an end‐to‐end demonstration of developing a spatial stock assessment using Alaska sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria). Our demonstration emphasises the utility of high‐resolution data analysis and conceptual models for informing key model structure decisions, the joint development of spatial and spatially‐aggregated models to enhance understanding of population dynamics, and the need for further guidance on integrating tagging data and diagnostic tools in spatial assessments. Spatial models highlighted regional differences in sablefish biomass, recruitment and age structure, but total population estimates generally aligned with outputs from spatially aggregated models. Moreover, the spatial model identified ontogenetic movement patterns for this highly mobile species. Overall, the spatially aggregated model for Alaska sablefish is likely adequate for management advice, but periodic spatial model updates could offer insights into spatial dynamics and regional depletion levels. Thus, we recommend concomitant use of both models: spatially aggregated models for informing population‐wide status, and spatial models for informing spatial fishery dynamics and local depletion. The sablefish application represents one of the first implementations of a spatial stock assessment using recently proposed good practices, serving as a valuable guide for future practitioners by underscoring critical decision points and analyses to address them when developing spatial stock assessments.

The features of formation of educational concepts in the conditions of global globalization challenges are considered in the article. The problems of using educational innovations as a determining factor of modernization and improving the quality of your education in the context of the concept of "information" are analyzed. The role of information and communication technologies in the formation of the "knowledge society" in Ukraine is disclosed. The purpose of the article is to study (features, ways, approaches) of the formation of effective education concepts in measuring of modern globalization challenges and the introduction of computer information and communication technologies (ICT) in the education system. The place, role and importance of information in modern society and its main semantic characteristics are revealed; the problems of science and education, which require changes on the basis of information and communication technologies and techno-methotocratic culture are identified . Methods - system, structural, structural and functional analysis, which allowed to analyze the problems of modern education, to identify the conditions for their development on the path to the formation of a "knowledge society" and the transformation of knowledge into intellectual property. The scientific novelty of the research is that the conditions for the formation of the "knowledge economy" and the opportunity to take a worthy place in the global economic system are revealed through the formation of a "creative" component in the information economy. The modern ideas about engineering and technical education and its role in modern society are revealed. The result is the development of the directions of reforming (modernizing) the education system in Ukraine and the use for these purposes of the concepts of the introduction of computer information and communication technologies. The conclusion is the development of concepts for the effective use of information technologies in the context of Ukraine's integration into the European space, which is regarded as one of the areas of modernization of education. Education contributes to the emergence of new educational opportunities, promising forms, methods and methods of teaching, their introduction into the process of training highly qualified specialists

This study focuses on conducting spatial analysis of COVID-19 at the district level in India. Leveraging data from www.covidindia.org for confirmed cases and deaths, and integrating population characteristics from the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-2021) and supplementary sources. The objective is to identify risk factors using spatial modelling techniques while addressing multicollinearity through principal component analysis (PCA). This study utilizes spatial analysis to identify COVID-19 hotspots and coldspots at the district level in India. It highlights highly affected districts such as Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, as well as low affected districts in central and north-eastern regions. The study utilized the spatial lag model (SLM), spatial error model (SEM), geographical weighted regression (GWR), and multiscale geographical weighted regression (MGWR) models to analyse the impact of demographic, socioeconomic, climatic, and comorbidity factors on COVID-19, accounting for spatial proximity. Among these models, MGWR exhibited superior performance. Key risk factors associated with the COVID-19 phenomenon identified, providing insights into the impact of household conditions, educational level of women, tobacco and alcohol consumption rates, number of health centres, and climatic factors. Moreover, the local coefficients estimated by MGWR model furnish detailed information regarding the strength and direction of the relationships between predictors and COVID-19 cases and deaths within each spatial unit. The findings emphasize the significance of addressing multicollinearity in spatial modelling. It is beneficial for accurate parameter estimation, proper interpretation of coefficients, improved spatial analysis, and providing reliable insights to support decision-making in spatial contexts.