Perceiving Chameleons

2016 ◽  
pp. 66-69
Author(s):  
Martin Bayer
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Special Forces ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Statement ◽  
Camouflage Patterns ◽  
The Military

For centuries, military uniforms had been colourful to differentiate friend from foe on the battlefield, but also as a distinguishing feature towards civil society. With technological progress and the advent of both aviation and improved photography a century ago, camouflage became a necessity. Artists and zoologists played a huge role in developing camouflage patterns. Today, most nations have a distinct national camouflage, and often, specific services or special forces have their very own uniforms as a sign of distinction. Nevertheless, many patterns can be traced back to the 1930s and 1940s. While fooling an observer is at the heart of military camouflage, it remains to be ambivalent, with its roles ranging from a desired cloak of invisibility to an indicator of power and prowess. In the past decades, camouflage has become synonymous with the military, and simultaneously, a global icon on its own, a political statement and an aspect of fashion.

scholarly journals Using Theatre as a Research Tool: Troubleshooting and Benchmarking Pakistan's Devolution Plan

2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-73
Author(s):  
Shahrukh Rafi Khan ◽  
Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Research Tool ◽  
Military Government ◽  
The Past ◽  
Unique Method ◽  
Grassroots Level ◽  
The Military ◽  
Level 2

Background and Objective One of the most key initiatives of the military government that assumed power in Pakistan in October 1999 is devolving power to the grassroots level.2 The elections for the lower three tiers, (Union, Tehsil and District) have taken place as has the elections for the pivotal post of the District Nazim (governor). Notwithstanding expressed reservations about the suspension of democracy, many civil society groups and donors, who had been advocating devolution or decentralisation in the past, hoped for the success of this initiative as one possible way for making effective the delivery of public service to the grassroots level. While others have undertaken benchmarking exercises to evaluate this initiative, it was thought that using theatre as a tool would be a unique method for complementing these other initiatives.

scholarly journals Factor of force at the declining phase of the scientific and technical revolution

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 94-106
Author(s):  
A. A. Krivopalov
Keyword(s):  
Technological Progress ◽  
The United States ◽  
Technological Revolution ◽  
Military Equipment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Technological Level ◽  
Grand Strategies ◽  
Technological Opportunities ◽  
The Military ◽  
Technical Revolution

The article deals with the problem of slowdown of scientific and technological progress in the military sector resulting from rising costs of developing frontier technologies. Nowadays, the military power of a state is a reflection of its economic and technological opportunities. However, before the start of the scientific and technological revolution, no such correlation could be found, and so, in the past, great European powers were at a relatively similar military and technological level. The power of a state was not so strictly limited by scientific and technological or economic potential of a country. Due to the fact that, even after the start of the scientific and technological revolution, progress in the sphere of military equipment retained its cyclical nature, a question arises: could the world revert to a position of relative technological stagnation that has become a norm during centuries of human development? And if so, what would this mean in terms of big politics and grand strategies? Could this fact play in favour of the countries that challenge the global hegemony of the United States? Will they receive a chance to close their relative gap in the sphere of technology, how and within what timeframe? 

The Application of International Humanitarian Law by the Israel Defense Forces

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amichai Cohen ◽  
Eyal Ben-Ari
Keyword(s):  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Advocate General ◽  
The Past ◽  
Junior Officers ◽  
Military Commanders ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Israel Defense Forces ◽  
The Military

This chapter describes how increased juridification and demands to apply international humanitarian law (IHL) have influenced the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The authors analyze the IDF’s compliance with IHL and other legal frameworks through a multilevel and multidimensional model of military compliance describing the law and external institutions involved in applying it. The past decades have seen the relatively autonomous sphere of the military increasingly come under judicial overview. Judicial and international pressures have also increased the role of the operational legal advisors. The chapter ends by discussing the ceremonies intended to promote compliance with IHL involving soldiers and junior officers. It is based on interviews (with Israeli academic experts, members of nongovernmental organizations [NGOs], and military commanders), off-the-record conversations with members of the IDF’s Military Advocate General, and newspaper articles, reports of NGOs, and secondary material.

scholarly journals Cognition and the evolution of camouflage

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1825) ◽  
pp. 20152890 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Skelhorn ◽  
Candy Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Selective Pressure ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ecological Context ◽  
The Past ◽  
Camouflage Patterns ◽  
Predator Defence

Camouflage is one of the most widespread forms of anti-predator defence and prevents prey individuals from being detected or correctly recognized by would-be predators. Over the past decade, there has been a resurgence of interest in both the evolution of prey camouflage patterns, and in understanding animal cognition in a more ecological context. However, these fields rarely collide, and the role of cognition in the evolution of camouflage is poorly understood. Here, we review what we currently know about the role of both predator and prey cognition in the evolution of prey camouflage, outline why cognition may be an important selective pressure driving the evolution of camouflage and consider how studying the cognitive processes of animals may prove to be a useful tool to study the evolution of camouflage, and vice versa. In doing so, we highlight that we still have a lot to learn about the role of cognition in the evolution of camouflage and identify a number of avenues for future research.

1968. The “Prague Spring”: Fifty Years Later. Historical Essays

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
General Reader ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Prague Spring ◽  
The Military

This book is devoted to a symbolic event that defined the life and values of several generations. Half a century ago, Czech communists tried to give a new impetus to their country’s system of government by combining socialist values with a rational market economy and the mechanisms of a developed democracy. This effort failed, and the state was occupied by the military. This book is the result of joint efforts by Russian, Czech, and Romanian historians, archivists, and cultural and literary scholars, who—exploring new documents and materials—have reinterpreted these events and their lessons from a present-day perspective. Objectively, the “Prague Spring” is from a bygone era, but it is still a milestone, and many of the problems encountered during the Prague Spring are still relevant today. The authors hope that they have contributed to the historiography of the now-distant events of 1968 and that their contributions will help in analysing the experiences of the past in order to be prepared for the events of the future. This book is aimed at specialists in the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe, students of higher educational institutions, and the general reader interested in twentieth-century history.

An Incomplete Journey Away from the Past: The Life and Ideas of Antonius Ameuney (1821–1881)

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 318-338
Author(s):  
Anthony Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Personal Life ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
English Speaking

Abstract This article recovers a dissonant voice from the nineteenth-century nahḍa. Antonius Ameuney (1821–1881) was a fervent Protestant and staunch Anglophile. Unlike his Ottoman Syrian contemporaries, who argued for religious diversity and the formation of a civil society based on a shared Arab past, he believed that the only geopolitical Syria viable in the future was one grounded in Protestant virtues and English values. This article examines Ameuney’s complicated journey to become a Protestant Englishman and his inescapable characterization as a son of Syria. It charts his personal life and intellectual career and explores how he interpreted the religious, cultural, political, and linguistic landscape of his birthplace to British audiences. As an English-speaking Ottoman Syrian intellectual residing permanently in London, the case of Antonius Ameuney illustrates England to have been a constitutive site of the nahḍa and underscores the role played by the British public in shaping nahḍa discourses.

ASPECTS REGARDING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN IMPROVING DEFENSE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 323-330
Author(s):  
Gabriela-Florina NICOARĂ ◽  
Gergonia-Cristiana BOGĂȚEANU
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Digital Systems ◽  
Constructive Approach ◽  
The Past ◽  
A Priority ◽  
High Level

Abstract: Regarding the society evolution dominated by a high-level technology, we consider this article a constructive approach. The aim of the paper is to highlight a few activities/places/spots in which competences of humans/soldiers interfere with different elements of the artificial intelligence. We deem that the technological progress in the past few years has been impressive. Nowadays, thousands of activities that were mostly or exclusively executed by people can be done faster and often with greater precision using digital systems. In this instance and considering the achievement of functional compatibility between Romanian Army and forces from NATO as being a priority, the development of the technology based on artificial intelligence is vital within the defense resource management.

scholarly journals Integrative approach to the development of professional qualities among cadets of the Special Forces Faculty of the National Guard Troops

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-190
Author(s):  
Irina A. Fedoseeva ◽  
◽  
Lyudmila N. Berezhnova ◽  
Roman A. Guscha ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Training ◽  
Control Method ◽  
National Guard ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Special Forces ◽  
Semantic Organization ◽  
Student’S T ◽  
Military Institute ◽  
The Military

Introduction. The study is relevant due to the fact that in the context of the use of special forces of the Russian Guard to counter the increased threat to Russia's national security from terrorist organizations, the problem arose of finding means to form a "new look" of a special forces officer. The question is raised about an integrative approach in the development of professional qualities of future officers of the special forces of the National Guard troops. Materials and methods. The experimental study involved 160 cadets of the Special Forces Faculty of the Novosibirsk Military Institute of the National Guard of the Russian Federation named after I. K. Yakovlev. The following methods were used: according to moral qualities (motivation for success, Ehlers methodology, value-semantic organization of a personality, methodology for studying the volitional organization of a personality (scale of value-semantic organization of a personality), according to psychological qualities (volitional self-regulation, the methodology by Zverkov and Ehidman, neuropsychic stability, Rybnikov's methodology "Forecast 2", readiness to take risks, Schubert's method), according to physical qualities (mastering professionally applied operations; the control method and testing were used to assess the level of development). The statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test and Pearson's χ2 test. Results. By the fifth year of studying, as a result of implementing the program "Prospects for the optimal development of professional qualities among cadets of the Special Forces Faculty of the Military Institute of the National Guard Troops", most cadets show a significant increase in terms of the development of moral, mental, and physical qualities. In particular, statistically significant changes were revealed in: the level of neuropsychic stability (χ2 = 10.225; p < 0.01); the level of risk readiness (χ2 = 13.298; p < 0.01); the level of motivation for success (χ2 = 17.045; p < 0.001); development of the value-semantic organization of the personality (χ2 = 18.240; p < 0.001). Conclusion. The main direction of further research is to optimize the professional training of special forces officers, which will improve the level of professional training of a graduate of the Special Forces Faculty of the Military Institute of the National Guard Troops.

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