State Activity Throughout History

Abstract Covert action has long been a controversial tool of international relations. However, there is remarkably little public understanding about whether it works and, more fundamentally, about what constitutes success in this shadowy arena of state activity. This article distills competing criteria of success and examines how covert actions become perceived as successes. We develop a conceptual model of covert action success as a social construct and illustrate it through the case of ‘the golden age of CIA operations’. The socially constructed nature of success has important implications not just for evaluating covert actions but also for using, and defending against, them.

Download Full-text

State Minimum Wage Laws as a Response to Federal Inaction

State and Local Government Review ◽

10.1177/0160323x211000824 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0160323X2110008

Author(s):

Shanna Rose

Keyword(s):

Minimum Wage ◽

Federal Policy ◽

Minimum Wages ◽

Annual Rate ◽

Policy Agenda ◽

State Activity ◽

Dollar Amount ◽

Ballot Measure ◽

State Legislative

This article analyzes state legislative and ballot measure activity related to the minimum wage between 2003 and 2020. The analysis distinguishes proposals to raise the minimum wage from those to index it to the annual rate of inflation, and examines the proposed dollar amount, the process used (legislation vs. ballot measure), and the measure’s success or failure. The analysis suggests that state activity tends to increase when the minimum wage rises on the federal policy agenda, and that partisanship and ideology also play a central role in efforts to raise and index state minimum wages.

Download Full-text

On the Calculation of Transition State Activity Coefficient and Solvent Effects on Chemical Reactions

Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications ◽

10.1135/cccc19981969 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 63 (12) ◽

pp. 1969-1976 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alvaro Domínguez ◽

Rafael Jimenez ◽

Pilar López-Cornejo ◽

Pilar Pérez ◽

Francisco Sánchez

Keyword(s):

Activity Coefficient ◽

Transition State ◽

Chemical Reactions ◽

Solvent Effects ◽

Transition State Theory ◽

Reaction Medium ◽

State Theory ◽

Precursor Complex ◽

State Activity ◽

Classical Transition

Solvent effects, when the classical transition state theory (TST) holds, can be interpreted following the Brønsted equation. However, when calculating the activity coefficient of the transition state, γ# it is important to take into account that this coefficient is different from that of the precursor complex, γPC. The activity coefficient of the latter is, in fact, that calculated in classical treatments of salt and solvent effects. In this paper it is shown how the quotients γ#/γPC change when the reaction medium changes. Therefore, the conclusions taken on the basis of classical treatments may be erroneous.

Download Full-text

New code for the protection of civilian population and property during armed conflict

International Review of the Red Cross ◽

10.1017/s0020860400067358 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 20 (219) ◽

pp. 287-315 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ionel Gloşcă

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Armed Conflicts ◽

International Treaties ◽

Civilian Population ◽

State Activity ◽

The Holocaust ◽

Definition Of ◽

Do So

One of the principles underlying international law applicable in armed conflicts is that no act of war is permitted against the civilian population, consisting, by definition, of persons who take no part in the hostilities.Until the holocaust of 1939–45, international law gave practically no real protection to the civilian population in the event of war, and was not even intended to do so since up to that time war was considered to be a State activity from which civilians remained aloof. There were, nonetheless, general principles and rules in various international treaties which, in one way or another, related also to the civilian population.

Download Full-text

Neuronal variability of Resting State activity in Eating Disorders: increase and decoupling in Ventral Attention Network and relation with clinical symptoms

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.08.005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 55 ◽

pp. 10-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Angela V. Spalatro ◽

Federico Amianto ◽

Zirui Huang ◽

Federico D’Agata ◽

Mauro Bergui ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Resting State ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽

Blood Oxygen Level ◽

Attention Network ◽

State Activity ◽

New Perspective

AbstractBackground:Despite the great number of resting state functional connectivity studies on Eating Disorders (ED), no biomarkers could be detected yet. Therefore, we here focus on a different measure of resting state activity that is neuronal variability. The objective of this study was to investigate neuronal variability in the resting state of women with ED and to correlate possible differences with clinical and psychopathological indices.Methods:58 women respectively 25 with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), 16 with Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and 17 matched healthy controls (CN) were enrolled for the study. All participants were tested with a battery of psychometric tests and underwent a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) resting state scanning. We investigated topographical patterns of variability measured by the Standard Deviation (SD) of the Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) signal (as a measure of neuronal variability) in the resting-state and their relationship to clinical and psychopathological indices.Results:Neuronal variability was increased in both anorectic and bulimic subjects specifically in the Ventral Attention Network (VAN) compared to healthy controls. No significant differences were found in the other networks. Significant correlations were found between neuronal variability of VAN and various clinical and psychopathological indices.Conclusions:We here show increased neuronal variability of VAN in ED patients. As the VAN is relevant for switching between endogenous and exogenous stimuli, our results showing increased neuronal variability suggest unstable balance between body attention and attention to external world. These results offer new perspective on the neurobiological basis of ED. Clinical and therapeutic implication will be discussed.

Download Full-text