Instrumentalization of the Border Zone. Environment and Ideology in the Educational Films Made between 1955 and 1989 by the Hungarian Ministry of Interior’s Film Studio

Analysing the output of the Hungarian Ministry of Interior’s own film studio, which produced educational films between 1955 and 1989, this essay investigates the modes in which the border zone was represented during the decades of state socialism. Considering the vicinity of the border as an area, where ideological confrontations are battled out, the article argues that there is a significant difference between the films produced in the 1950-60s, and those from the mid-1960s onwards. The earlier pieces depict an emotionally charged border zone the defence of which is a social-political duty: father-type superiors teach rookie soldiers about this obligation in coming-of-age stories. However, from the mid-1960s onwards, the films seem to confine themselves to an instrumental mode of persuasion, which presents border protection as a merely technical question. The article briefly ties these shifts to the changing modes in official discourses during the decades of state socialist Hungary.

Is Theory Useful for Conflict Prediction? A Response to Beger, Morgan, and Ward

Beger, Morgan, and Ward (BM&W) call into question the results of our article on forecasting civil wars. They claim that our theoretically-informed model of conflict escalation under-performs more mechanical, inductive alternatives. This claim is false. BM&W’s critiques are misguided or inconsequential, and their conclusions hinge on a minor technical question regarding receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves: should the curves be smoothed, or should empirical curves be used? BM&W assert that empirical curves should be used and all of their conclusions depend on this subjective modeling choice. We extend our original analysis to show that our theoretically-informed model performs as well as or better than more atheoretical alternatives across a range of performance metrics and robustness specifications. As in our original article, we conclude by encouraging conflict forecasters to treat the value added of theory not as an assumption, but rather as a hypothesis to test.

Prospects for Global Migration Governance

While the prospects for a comprehensive system of global migration governance are remote, this chapter argues that this may be beside the point. Instead, efforts to build capacity, shared understanding of challenges, and efforts to persuade states of the benefits of cooperation can exist without formalized overarching structures. The chapter documents efforts that have been made, identifying the key role played by key organizations such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The chapter also demonstrates how the ‘global’ has become increasingly contested in the politics of some key destination states, which shows how prospects for global migration governance are not a merely technical question but raise important political questions. The chapter also shows the centrality of regions in mediating the relationship between the global and the national levels.

Learning from plant movements triggered by bulliform cells: the biomimetic cellular actuator

Within the framework of a biomimetic top-down approach, our study started with the technical question of the development of a hinge-free and compliant actuator inspired by plant movements. One meaningful biological concept generator was the opening and closing movements of the leaf halves of grasses. Functional morphological investigations were carried out on the selected model plant Sesleria nitida . The results formed the basis for further clarifying the functional movement principle with a particular focus on the role of turgor changes in bulliform cells on kinetic amplification. All findings gained from the investigations of the biological model were incorporated into a finite-element analysis, as a prerequisite for the development of a pneumatic cellular actuator. The first prototype consisted of a row of single cells positioned on a plate. The cells were designed in such a way that the entire structure bent when the pneumatic pressure applied to each individual cell was increased. The pneumatic cellular actuator thus has the potential for applications on an architectural scale. It has subsequently been integrated into the midrib of the facade shading system Flectofold in which the bending of its midrib controls the hoisting of its wings.

Transcriptions and Cognitive Perceptions of Zakāt in the French Literature (1660-2017): What Can We Learn?

The aim of this study is to explore the different transcriptions and cognitive perceptions of the notion of Zakāt in French literature from 1660 to 2017. The study lists twenty-three transcriptions and thirty-two cognitive perceptions. Most interpret it in their own way, according to their experiences, their feelings, and the time devoted to its knowledge, although scholarly literature is not lacking. This highlights the importance of the Orwell’s problem: How is it that human beings know so little when they have access to so much knowledge? Hence the need to differentiate, beyond the essentialization of others, between the existence of the object, its representation, and the way to arrive at its knowledge. Zakat is not merely a technical question, it embodies a vision of the life in society where money is not an end; it is a means for a higher purpose. Keywords: Zakāt , transcription, cognitive perception, French literature JEL Classification Code: B40, H20, P50, Z12

‘Machines don’t have instincts’: Articulating the computational in journalism

This article examines the articulation of computational journalism, focusing on how the meaning of the computational is discursively constructed and mobilized as a specific constellation of intelligibility within news organizations. Relying on the concept of articulation developed in cultural studies, the article asks what, exactly, is meant by the computational in the context of journalism? Drawing on interviews with key managerial staff, editors and developers at Scandinavian news organizations, three broad claims about the linkage between the computational and journalism emerged. These articulations include the notion that machines don’t have instincts, that democracy can never be personalized and finally that the computational is something to think with, rather than simulate. The argument is made that what can and cannot be calculated is not merely a technical question, it is also a deeply social, cultural, political and economic one. Thus, the computational emerges as an important organising framework and discursive order for thinking and talking about journalism in the digital age.