1,355,952 research outputs found
Paul A. Rahe: The Spartan Regime: Its Character, Origins, and Grand Strategy, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2016, xiv+212 pp., 4 Maps, 3 Photographs. ISBN: 9780300219012
No full textReseña de la obra de Paul A. RAHE: The Spartan Regime: Its Character, Origins, and Grand Strategy, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2016, xiv+212 pp., 4 Maps, 3 Photographs. ISBN: 9780300219012. A cargo de Shina Alimi
The dynamics of radicalization : a relational and comparative perspective
No full textWhy is it that some social movements engaged in contentious politics experience radicalization whereas others do not? The Dynamics of Radicalization offers an innovative reply by investigating how and when social movement organizations switch from a nonviolent mode of contention to a violent one. Moving beyond existing explanations that posit aggressive motivations, grievances or violence-prone ideologies, this book demonstrates how these factors gain and lose salience in the context of relational dynamics among various parties and actors involved in episodes of contention. Drawing on a comparative historical analysis of al-Qaeda, the Red Brigades, the Cypriot EOKA, the authors develop a relational, mechanism-based theory that advances our understanding of political violence in several important ways by identifying turning points in the radicalization process, similar mechanisms at work across each case, and the factors that drive or impede radicalization. The Dynamics of Radicalization offers a counterpoint to mainstream works on political violence, which often presume that political violence and terrorism is rooted in qualities intrinsic to or developed by groups considered to be radical.-- Preface
-- Acknowedgments
-- List of Figures and Tables
-- Acronyms
-- Chapter One: Introduction: Social movements, Contentious Politics, and Radicalization
-- Chapter Two: Theorizing and Comparing Radicalization: A Relational Framework
-- Chapter Three: The Italian Extra-Parliamentary Left Movement and Brigate Rosse (1969-1978)
-- Chapter Four: The Cypriot Enosis Movement and EOKA (1945-1959)
-- Chapter Five: The Salafi Transnational Jihad Movement and al-Qaeda (1984-2001)
-- Chapter Six: Processes of Radicalization: Dissimilarities in Similarities
-- Chapter Seven: Non-Radicalization and Radicalization in Reverse
-- Chapter Eight: The Relational Dynamics of Radicalization: Conclusion
-- Appendix: Sub-Mechanism Types and Definitions
-- Notes
-- References
-- Inde
Relational Dynamics and Processes of Radicalization: A comparative framework
No full textWe propose an explanatory framework for the comparative study of radicalization that focuses on its “how” and “when” questions. We build on the relational tradition in the study of social movements and contentious politics by expanding on a mechanism-process research strategy. Attentive to similarities as well as to dissimilarities, our comparative framework traces processes of radicalization by delineating four key arenas of interaction— between movement and political environment, among movement actors, between movement activists and state security forces, and between the movement and a countermovement. Then, we analyze how four similar corresponding general mechanisms—opportunity/threat spirals, competition for power, outbidding, and object shift—combine differently to drive the process. Last, we identify a set of submechanisms for each general mechanism. The explanatory utility of our framework is demonstrated through the analysis of three ethnonational episodes of radicalization: the enosis-EOKA movement in Cyprus (1950-1959), the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland (1969-1972), and the Fatah-Tanzim in Palestine (1995-2001)
The ArDM-a ton-scale liquid argon experiment for direct Dark Matter Detection
No full textThe ArDM is a ton-scale double phase detector for the direct search of the Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMPs) as Dark Matter candidates. The detector is based on a liquid Argon (LAr) target. The present goal is to assemble, fully characterize the detector on the surface and then operate it at an underground facility. The scintillation light and ionization charge produced by recoiling nuclei in WIMP-Ar collision can be measured independently. The discrimination of the WIMP induced nuclear recoils from the electron/gamma background is done using the pulse discrimination technique and the ratio between the produced light and charge. The experiment and the last results from the detector commissioning are presented. ©2010 American Institute of Physic
Redshift-space distortions in deep redshift surveys as a probe of the invisible universe
No full textMassive redshift surveys of galaxies beyond the local Universe (i.e. z > 0.3) provide an exhaustive probe of the observed acceleration of cosmic expansion. While they have the ability to measure the expansion history H(z) through Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations in the galaxy power spectrum, they can at the same time probe f(z) using the redshift-space distortions introduced in the observed clustering pattern by galaxy peculiar motions. Coupling these two measurements one can in principle distinguish whether cosmic acceleration is due to a new form of 'dark energy' in the cosmic budget, or rather requires a modification of General Relativity. These two radically alternative scenarios are degenerate when considering H (z) alone, as yielded, e.g., by the Hubble diagram of Type la supernovae. We review our recent measurements of redshift distortions at z similar to 1 based on the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey "Wide" data and discuss the revived interest on this technique in the context of dark energy. Current results are consistent with the simplest cosmological-constant scenario, but error bars are still too large to rule out alternative models. Forecasts based both on extensive simulations and Fisher-matrix computations, show that next-generation deep surveys optimizing the combination of large volumes and good galaxy sampling will be able to use redshift distortions as a key tool to understand the physical origin of cosmic acceleration. Among these, we introduce the newly started VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS) at the ESO VLT, which is building at < z > similar to 0.8 a sample comparable to current local redshift surveys (10(5) redshifts in a volume 5 x 10(7) h(-1) Mpc(3)). Finally, we provide an example of the exquisite accuracy that could be reached on measurements of redshift-space distortions (among many others), with a massive 20,000 deg(2) near-infrared spectroscopic survey from space, as foreseen by the EUCLID mission for the ESA 'Cosmic Vision' program
A Comparative Historical Analysis of the Processes of Radicalization of the Weather Underground and of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
No full textIn this article, through comparative historical research, the authors seek to account for the «how» and «when» of the shift to political violence of the Weather Under¬ground and of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The focus is not on deep-rooted «causes», but on analyzing the dynamic processes of radicalization in the two historical contexts separately according to relational factors (competition for power, opportunity/threat spirals and outbidding). At the end of the article the authors focus on the dissimilarities found between the two processes and accordingly embed their explanation within the more general historical debates on the subject. In the conclusion, the article briefly points out the promise the authors find in their approach as a possible comparative framework for the analysis of radicalization
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Towards a noncommutative version of Gravitation
No full textAlain Connes' noncommutative theory led to an interesting model including both Standard Model of particle physics and Euclidean Gravity. Nevertheless, an hyperbolic version of the gravitational part would be necessary to make physical predictions, but it is still under research. We shall present the difficulties to generalize the model from Riemannian to Lorentzian Geometry and discuss key ideas and current attempts
Accident impacts on express bus: Ekspres Nasional Berhad / Alimi Ibrahim
No full textThe idea to indite a thesis on accidents stemmed from a curiosity, not so much of the occurrences but as to why they happened. This curiosity raises further interrogative statements of what are the impacts, consequences and remedies to avoid them. With the objectives of unravelling these queries that the writer undertook an exploratory research utilising the basic modes of personal interview using a designed questionnaires and observations. The findings on hypotheses are appended in this thesis. The transportation industry with its varied players and actor is a highly complex one and supplements the overall growth of the nation's economic and social sectors. ENB's, is a long time player and presently takes pride in being the largest express bus operator in the country. The link of accidents in the industry has a direct relationship with the number of vehicles in existence. Goad transportation has more than 4 million vehicles registered and is increasing including express buses. The accident rate trend of this sector has never been one that country can be proud of
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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