Achieving human-like forceful manipulation remains a major challenge in robotics because of the lack of critical environmental interaction cues such as collisions, balance, and resistance. We present a torque-angle-pressure (TAP) tactile sensor leveraging magnetic flux density gradients to achieve bidirectional, ultrasensitive (~0.1°, ~0.4 newton-millimeter), and high-linearity (R2=0.99) sensing over a wide range (±241.6 newton-millimeter) through a single readout channel. The accurate torque sensing ability provides both force and distance information, bringing the environment into the interaction loop. A TAP-equipped robot can perform vision-free stable object placement and complete a balance beam stacking challenge in just 2.4 seconds with a success rate of 81.5%-both measured metrics surpassing human performance. It also supports adaptive daikon slicing with real-time posture and motion adjustments-capabilities rarely achievable in existing robotic systems. This work advances tactile sensing, enables forceful manipulation in unstructured environments, and represents a key step toward effective human-robot collaboration.

In this essay, the author, a Palestinian academic, reflects on his detention and interrogation by US and Israeli forces during the Gaza genocide. Situating his experiences within the growing interconnectivity of border regimes—foremost among them being the US and Israel—he portrays an increasingly violent global order where information is shared, racialized bodies are arbitrarily denied entry and forcibly expelled, and international legal norms are routinely violated. He concludes that despite a multitude of oppressive policies targeting the mobility of Palestinians and their allies, transgressions do occur, signaling the precarity of these regimes of control.

This study explores the United States’ foreign political engagement with Iraq following the occupation, focusing on the dissolution of the Iraqi armed forces and the subsequent reconstruction of a new Iraqi military force tailored to align with the strategic interests of the United States. The restructuring process resulted in the systemic weakening of the newly established Iraqi military due to the constrained and selective support provided by the United States, which substantially contributed to the destabilization of Iraq’s internal security landscape. Furthermore, the research examines the broader U.S. strategic objectives in the region, particularly those centered on safeguarding the security architecture of Israel. After the fall of the former Iraqi regime, the United States of America sought to restructure the Iraqi armed forces and form them in a manner consistent with the requirements of the next phase, according to the American strategic perspective. These newly formed forces are entirely dependent on US military assistance, provided by US forces stationed in Iraq. Consequently, Iraqi forces are unable to wage war on terrorism without US support and assistance, including air cover for their operations to eliminate terrorism. The United States established military bases in Iraq to secure its influence and maintain control over the region (the Middle East). However, in 2014, the United States initiated the formulation of a new regional strategy following the emergence of terrorism. This shift prompted an update of the Iraqi military doctrine to align with regional and international interests, in addition to enhancing counterterrorism efforts. The study encompassed two primary sections: the first addressed Iraq’s role within the U.S. military strategy, and the second examined the expansion of the deployment of U.S. military bases.

To explore new luminescent materials, two novel luminescent salts, [HAD]⁺BSA⁻∙methanol (1) and [HAD]⁺TSA⁻∙methanol (2), incorporating the 4-amino-1,2,4-triazole functional moiety (AD = 4,4'-(4-amino-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3,5-diyl)dianiline), were successfully synthesized through reactions with benzenesulfonic acid and p-toluenesulfonic acid, respectively. Comprehensive characterization via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, UV-Vis, and PXRD revealed distinct photophysical properties governed by their supramolecular architectures. Solid-state emission studies demonstrated blue-shifted maxima at 443nm for salt 1 and 449nm for salt 2 compared to the free AD ligand (457nm), corresponding to shifts of 14nm and 8nm, respectively. This emission modulation directly correlates with π∙∙∙π stacking interactions, where shorter stacking distances in salt 1 (3.878Å) versus salt 2 (4.406Å) enhance intermolecular electronic coupling. Hirshfeld surface analysis confirmed stronger C∙∙∙H contacts in salt 1, consistent with its more pronounced stacking interactions and shorter emission wavelength. The lifetimes can be observed to 1.41, 0.96 and 0.90ns, while the quantum yields of compounds can be found to be 0.20, 0.26 and 0.38 for AD, 1 and 2, respectively. The study establishes definitive structure-property relationships, demonstrating that strategic manipulation of weak intermolecular forces provides an effective pathway for engineering luminescent properties in triazole-based materials through crystal engineering.

Soft robots harness compliant materials and bio-inspired architectures to achieve safe, adaptive, and versatile functions in dynamic environments, enabling applications in minimally invasive surgery, wearable assistive devices, and confined-space exploration. Gallium-based liquid metals with metallic conductivity and liquid deformability constitute a transformative material platform for creating soft robots with enhanced performance and diverse manipulation strategies. Among them, magnetic manipulation is particularly attractive because it enables remote, non-contact, and energy-efficient control with high spatial precision. In this review, we summarize existing strategies for the preparation, integration, and patterning of magnetic liquid metals. We then illustrate the mechanisms of magnetic manipulation, including magnet and Lorentz force manipulation, and discuss the potential of multi-field manipulation. Furthermore, we systematically categorize the practical applications of magnetically actuated liquid metals in soft robotics into four types: droplet, slurry, particle, and composite, based on their composition and morphology. Finally, we highlight the key challenges in this field and provide perspectives on future research directions. This review aims to establish a systematic framework for understanding and advancing magnetically manipulated liquid metals in soft robotics, offering fundamental insights to stimulate interdisciplinary research and accelerate technological breakthroughs in this emerging field.

ABSTRACT This paper reexamines Étienne de La Boétie's Discourse of Voluntary Servitude as a foundational yet underappreciated contribution to sociological thought. La Boétie identified two key explanations for the persistence of voluntary servitude: the force of custom and ideological manipulation, alongside a rational calculation of benefits within a hierarchical chain of complicity. Although these explanations appear to present an inherent tension—one emphasizing irrational submission and the other strategic collaboration—this paper argues that La Boétie sought to capture the dual nature of obedience: both voluntary and structural, with distinctive primacy accorded to the voluntary, interest‐based dimension. By analyzing and integrating these two dimensions, this study positions La Boétie as a pioneering figure offering a proto‐sociological analysis of domination, anticipating modern theories of power that incorporate its ideological and material foundations.

Paediatric distal forearm fractures are a common injury in children and adolescents, often requiring surgical intervention. Traditional techniques involve forceful manipulation and hyper-exaggerating the defect to overcome haematoma resistance, increasing the risk of complications including iatrogenic displacement, neurovascular injury, and growth plate damage. This technical note describes an alternative intra-operative reduction technique aimed at addressing these limitations. A minimally invasive approach with a small incision allows for precise identification and gentle evacuation of the haematoma. Under image intensifier guidance, fracture fragments are carefully reduced with the use of McDonald's elevator, utilising gentle levering and manipulation. Kirschner wires (K-wires) are then inserted percutaneously for stable fixation. This technique offers potential technical advantages, including reduced manipulation force and minimised soft tissue disruption. Whilst formal outcome assessment is beyond the scope of this report, this approach represents a reproducible alternative for the intra-operative management of paediatric distal forearm fractures.

Abstract While our understanding of the use of force is predominantly based on police accounts, this article explores accounts of those on the receiving end, specifically formerly incarcerated people, who are underrepresented in the use of force and procedural justice literature alike. Using in-depth interviews with nine such participants, we find they are often positive, offering the police ‘credit where credit is due’ and also, at times, excusing descriptions of excessive force. Yet, while offering the police empathy and respect, they describe not consistently receiving it back, citing concerns over excessive force, neutrality, handling of mental health crises, and untrustworthiness, which, for some, was more damaging and significant than the use of force itself. These findings partially evidence a ‘procedural justice effect’, but find important nuances around how procedural justice theory and police legitimacy operate in a marginalized, liminal population. Implications for policy and practice, including participant suggestions, are also discussed.

The dynamics of a droplet on an inclined plane containing a chemical step, implying a heterogeneity in the wettability, have been widely studied because of their relevance to many applications. However, the modeling of such dynamics remains inaccurate due to the lack of implementation of contact angle hysteresis. In this work, we implement a chemical potential wetting boundary condition that includes hysteresis in a well-balanced lattice Boltzmann simulation to address that specific shortcoming. We investigate the behavior of droplet dynamics including this hysteresis force, and subsequently, also probe the effects of chemical step strength, inclination angle, and droplet volume on the droplet dynamics. We observe that the dynamics at the leading and the trailing edges of the droplet are significantly impacted by hysteresis effects and the chemical step strength. In addition, we conclude that for varying inclination angles, the hysteresis contribution is comparable to other contributing forces in the precise manipulation of the droplet.

ABSTRACT Objective Recent opinion surveys show that a majority of Americans support providing military aid—but not US troops—to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. However, what motivates American public support for committing US forces to the island's defense? Methods Through a randomized online survey experiment with 3054 US adults, this study investigates the basic motivations driving this support—that is, (a) the extent to which the US incentives for assisting Taiwan are driven by self‐interest or altruism and (b) the degree to which US foreign policy objectives for defending Taiwan are abstract or concrete. Results The results indicate a modest but significant increase in support for intervention when respondents were presented with frames that emphasized self‐interest and concrete objectives (e.g., tangible economic and technological benefits), whereas appeals to altruism produced weaker effects. Conclusion These findings show the detectable and robust effects of self‐interest frames, particularly given rising public war‐weariness and shifting US foreign policy priorities.

The constant Russian nuclear blackmail poses a serious threat to the fragile global security architecture. The Russian Federation has demonstrated its disdain for international law by ignoring the established norms and revealed the limitations of its conventional military power – compensating for these weaknesses through reliance on nuclear intimidation. The foundation of this “nuclear bluff” strategy lies in a doctrinally undefined policy of nuclear blackmail, described as “escalation for de-escalation”. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, an important question has arisen regarding the security of the Baltic region, which has become one of Russia’s primary targets for nuclear blackmail due to the presence of its exclave, the Kaliningrad (Königsberg) region. This area, due to its geographic location and the forces stationed there, potentially poses a threat to most Central and Eastern European countries. Poland possesses the greatest military potential among NATO countries in the region. In addition, significant US forces are stationed on its territory, and it hosts a missile defence base. For these reasons, Poland plays a particularly important role in the defence and deterrence posture against Russia.

This paper explores the power and dominance of ideology in Waliullah’s Lalsalu and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, using an Althusserian framework to understand how ideology shapes and controls society. The study addresses the research gap by examining how ideology manipulates religious sentiments, serving as a tool for economic and social control. The hypothesis suggests that both Majeed in Lalsalu and the colonizers in Things Fall Apart use religious ideology as a means of domination. In Lalsalu, Majeed creates a false shrine to control the villagers, while in Things Fall Apart, the missionaries introduce a new religion to destabilize traditional Igbo society, establishing a divide-and-rule strategy. The research uses qualitative methods, relying on secondary sources such as books, journals, and articles to provide a comprehensive analysis of both texts. The findings indicate that ideology, when intertwined with religion, becomes a potent force for manipulation, ensuring the intruders’ self-interest remains protected. By examining how both Majeed and the missionaries take advantage of the spiritual vulnerabilities of the people, the paper highlights the systematic methods of control and domination that prevent resistance. The study reveals new insights into how ideology functions as an instrument of power, naturalizing oppression and economic inequality. The research concludes that the imposition of ideology, particularly when tied to religion, creates a foundation for exploitation and prevents resistance, reinforcing systems of power and domination.

Purpose Law enforcement is tasked with protecting and serving the public in their jurisdiction. A long-standing area of research has been to understand how communities perceive their law enforcement entities. Community perceptions are particularly important regarding police use of force against members of the community. This study examines differences in perceptions of police use of force amongst US citizens who were born in the United States and those who were born abroad. Design/methodology/approach We used a nationally representative public opinion poll – the 2020 Wave of the American National Election Study – to analyze predictors of community perceptions of police use of force. These covariates were compared using conditional marginal analyses. Findings The findings indicate that foreign-born individuals tend to perceive police use of force more critically than native-born citizens, with fewer differences observed across racial and ethnic groups. Key sociodemographic factors such as race, ethnicity, marital status and political affiliation significantly shape these perceptions. These results emphasize the unique experiences of immigrant populations in influencing police-community relations. This study contributes to the broader literature on public attitudes toward law enforcement. It also highlights the importance of culturally responsive policing strategies to build trust and promote collaboration with diverse communities. Originality/value We sought to build upon existing research on community perceptions of police by highlighting non-native born US citizens. Citizens not born in the United States may include both birthright citizens born to American parents in a foreign country as well as naturalized citizens. In each case, American citizens born outside the United States may hold perspectives of law enforcement closer to those of immigrants. Much like immigrant populations, not citizens upon entry into America, foreign-born US citizens must integrate into American culture and society. Indeed, naturalized citizens logically may hold similar experiences as immigrant populations prior to achieving citizenship. However, foreign-born US citizens differ from immigrant populations as they no longer have to worry about deportation. As such, we argue that foreign-born US citizens represent a community with unique perspectives compared to those of native-born US citizens. Specifically, we have situated foreign-born US citizens as potential boundary spanners between native-born citizens and immigrant populations. Their potential experiences with both the challenges of acculturation into American society as well as, potentially, the insecurity of the immigration system.

Legal Ambiguity, Linguistic Challenges, and Firearm Hesitation: Rethinking Police Use of Force in Vietnam

This study examined the challenges criminology students face in learning about police use of force and criminal justice reforms using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Grounded in Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1991) and Procedural Justice Theory (Tyler, 2006), the study explored how students interpret legal ambiguity, negotiate moral and ethical tensions, and make sense of accountability within the justice system. Eighteen Bachelor of Science in Criminology students from six campuses of Isabela State University were purposively selected based on their exposure to policing and justice-related coursework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit their lived experiences, and data were analyzed through Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis within an IPA framework. Four major themes emerged. First, unclear legal standards and confusing concepts showed how students struggled to grasp abstract doctrines such as reasonable force and proportionality without experiential grounding. Second, the emotional and cognitive toll of justice education highlighted the psychological strain of confronting moral contradictions, systemic inequality, and politically influenced reforms. Third, eroding trust and perceived absence of accountability revealed students’ skepticism toward institutional transparency and how legal ambiguity weakens confidence in reform efforts. Fourth, the disconnect between classroom learning and real-world practice underscored students’ difficulties reconciling theoretical instruction with inconsistent implementation in field contexts. These findings demonstrate the need for curriculum enhancements that promote applied understanding of legal concepts, integrate ethics and reflective learning, and strengthen simulation-based training. The study provides evidence-based insights for designing a context-responsive policy and instructional framework that better equips future criminology professionals to practice ethically and accountably.

The fluid efficiency of everyday hand actions such as reaching-to-grasp is underpinned by finely calibrated, anticipatory, in-flight control of the hand. Peripheral nerve dysfunction could affect this control. We used carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a compressive neuropathy of the median nerve, as a model of nerve dysfunction. Whether CTS affects in-flight aspects of reaching-to-grasp is unknown. We compared kinematics of movements in CTS and healthy controls, using motion capture. We varied object properties to determine whether anticipatory signatures of reaching-to-grasp are preserved in CTS. We also examined the effect of removing visual feedback at movement onset. This manipulation forces greater reliance on non-visual control signals, which should highlight impairments due to CTS, while indexing how much movements rely on vision. Participants also completed standardized clinical tests of sensorimotor function. Reaching-to-grasp in CTS showed normal anticipatory signatures, including reliable scaling of movement speed and hand opening with object distance and size, respectively. Removing visual feedback caused both patients and controls to increase hand opening by similar amounts, to compensate for increased probability of errors. Distinct from controls, however, patients with CTS also showed slower movement speeds and longer movement onset times without visual feedback. These CTS-specific responses suggest that CTS causes greater reliance on vision for reaching-to-grasp. They also demonstrate adaptive compensation for nerve dysfunction (consistent with normative, statistical-decision-theoretic accounts of movement control). The qualitative similarity of reaching-to-grasp in CTS and controls suggests that normal control processes are preserved in moderate peripheral nerve dysfunction, taking the effects of injury into account appropriately.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We provide the first experimental data on how carpal tunnel syndrome affects in-flight, anticipatory aspects of reaching-to-grasp movements. Our results show that movements in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome are more reliant on vision than those of healthy controls. Moreover, the differences appear to reflect compensatory changes designed to control the risk of making errors. Our findings suggest that reaching-to-grasp movements in peripheral nerve injury use normal control processes, and appropriately factor-in the effects of injury.

Abstract This article analyzes public policies aimed at valuing military police officers in the state of Amazonas, focusing on working conditions, physical and mental well-being, and the operational efficiency of these professionals. The discussion is situated within the field of public security policies, understood as a set of state guidelines and actions designed to address collective problems and formulated within specific historical, political, and economic contexts. First, it examines the trajectory of public policies in Brazil and their interface with public security, highlighting the central role of military police officers in maintaining order and protecting society, especially in a region marked by vast territory, difficult access areas, and porous borders, such as Amazonas. Then, it identifies factors that contribute to the devaluation of police officers, such as poor infrastructure, low wages, work overload, authoritarian legacies, social stigmatization, psychological illness, and political use of police forces. On the other hand, it discusses professional appreciation measures, including career plans, salary improvements, continuous training, technological modernization, psychosocial support, humanization of working hours, and institutional and social recognition. The research is bibliographic and documentary in nature, based on books, scientific articles, legislation, and institutional documents. It is based on the hypothesis that continuous training and professional appreciation contribute to increased operational efficiency, reduced crime rates, and improved quality of life for police officers, directly impacting the quality of public security in the state of Amazonas.

Humans have exceptional object manipulation skills. By combining feed-forward and feedback control, the sensori motor system is able to predictively scale grip and manipulation forces and quickly adapt to environmental changes. Using technologies such as virtual reality, researchers can investigate the underlying mechanisms in ways that are not possible in the physical world. Here, we present our custom-built virtual reality setup, including an open-source software framework, and show its validity in human motor control studies. We replicated two well-established experiments involving physical objects that investigated how humans adapt to different object mass and center of mass. Our results show that the general force and position control strategies employed in the virtual experiment closely mirrored those observed in the real world. Specifically, participants scaled grip forces with object mass and coordinated digit positions and forces according to the object's center of mass and shape. However, the trial-by-trial adaptation rate was slower, and the grip forces were slightly increased in the virtual setup, likely due to increased uncertainty arising from the 2D visual feedback and the lack of cutaneous feedback. Additionally, we tested the effect of visual feedback complexity by comparing a simple and detailed representation of the fingers, finding that participants exhibited similar manipulation strategies across both conditions. Our results validate this setup as a reliable platform for future studies in human motor control.

Policing in the United States functions as a structural determinant of health, with direct and collateral impacts that extend well beyond maintaining order and public safety. This review synthesizes recent evidence (from 2015 to 2025) on the relationship between policing and health. Using a rapid evidence assessment, we examine peer-reviewed and gray literature to capture physical, mental, and community-level outcomes, as well as pathways and mechanisms that link policing to health. Findings indicate that police use of force results in significant injury and deaths annually, disproportionately affecting communities of color. Beyond direct effects, policing contributes to chronic stress, trauma, and economic strain across community and occupational ecosystems. These collateral impacts compound existing structural inequities. Despite promising alternatives to police responses, evidence gaps and reliance on cross-sectional studies limit causal inference. Future research should strengthen data systems, focus on causal research, and integrate public health priorities into public safety strategies.

Northern Ireland faces a growing police use of force, increased imprisonment of individuals suffering from mental ill-health, the lowest minimum age of criminality in Europe, and high reports of abuse against marginalised communities. Despite a decades-long movement for carceral abolition in the United Kingdom and a robust Northern Irish civil society human rights apparatus, reliance on police and prison as means of social control remains robust in Northern Ireland, as both the immediate custody and remand populations in prison have climbed to the highest they have been in almost 9 years. Why have carceral systems, such as police and prisons, persisted in Northern Ireland? This article argues that the carceral ‘turn’ in international human rights and historic marginalisation of economic, social, and cultural rights were incorporated into the Good Friday Agreement with the effect of anchoring reliance on carceral responses to social harms. This has continued well into the twenty-first century, despite growing criticism of such responses at the local and international levels. In response, this article suggests strengthening the alternatives to criminal legal systems that are already being pursued by carceral abolitionist and anti-carceral human rights advocacy organisations in Northern Ireland.