Stagnation in Terrorism Research: A Critical Overview on Bangladesh

Stagnation in terrorism research is held responsible to both academicians and the government for exploring the continuity of terrorist activities in Bangladesh. The state of stagnation, in this regard, is mainly linked with the governmental strategy of funding research though government is not willing to share their information with academia; on the other hand, little empirical grounding in academia. In spite of having methodological skills there are lacks of data is the behind of sloth condition in this sector. A developing country like Bangladesh is a prominent example of this stagnation in terrorism research and has experienced several violent activities on the time being. Sometimes, ISIS has claimed their existence in several attacks in Bangladesh, but, still, the recruitment and training up process in violent radicalization that motivates different terrorist activities are still beyond control. This paper will explore the existence of stagnation in terrorism research and how it explores the continuity of terrorist activities in Bangladesh. Finally, in conclusion, this paper will give some recommendations to bridge the existing gap between the academicians and the government to terminate the stagnation in terrorism, particularly in the context of Bangladesh.

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTILAYER TEXTILE STRUCTURES FOR FILTERING APPLICATIONS – A NEW SURGICAL MASK APPROACH

Universal mask use has emerged as one of the main strategies for reducing community transmission of the SARS-COV-2 virus. Due to the scarcity of material to produce disposable surgical masks, the governmental strategy was oriented to the community masks, even though performance levels were still not the same. This study intended to develop a new generation of surgical masks with different warp knit structures, evaluating the potential of multilayer gradient performance. The assembling methodology was also considered by modifying flat-bed calendering process parameters and manipulating final structures into a new origami design concept, and the overall mask filtration performance was reviewed. The overlapping of monolayers increased the substrate resistance to air and water vapour permeability, also influencing the water molecule's adhesion. The introduction of the web allowed a better layer assembling during the flat-bad process. Moreover, the breathability and water vapour diffusion are compromised since the adhesive web with temperature tends to merge and occupy the empty spaces between the layers. Moving forward, calendared structures without a web proved to be the best approach, meeting the certification criteria for surgical masks level I and II.

Islamism in the Political Strategy of Pakistan (Late 20th — Early 21st Centuries)

В статье рассматриваются основные направления во внутренней и внешней политике Пакистана в конце XX — начале XXI века. Сформировавшаяся в это время правительственная стратегия была не только подготовлена предшествующими 2–3 десятилетиями развития, но и до сих пор является преобладающей либо в открытой, либо в слегка завуалированной форме. Характерно, что именно в этот период (12 октября 1999 г.) произошел военный переворот и новый военный диктатор генерал Первез Мушарраф объявил о задачах экономического оздоровления страны и создания «реальной», то есть мусульманской, демократии. Это означало, что при подавлении антиправительственных и экстремистских группировок новая власть делает резкий крен в сторону государственного исламизма и скрытой поддержке движения «Талибан» в Афганистане и «полосе независимых племён» (территория Пакистана вдоль афганской границы). Важной особенностью этого периода был не потерявший значения в дальнейшем союз исламистов и военной элиты, подготовленной в основном в Англии. Улемы поднимают в нужное время волну общественного недовольства и гражданского неповиновения, а армия устанавливает власть на длительное время и обеспечивает радикальным улемам высокие позиции в государственной иерархии. В статье использованы разнообразные по характеру источники по современной политической, социально-экономической и этноконфессиональной ситуации в Пакистане и Афганистане, включенные в сборник документов пакистанского исследователя Аалима. Интересные детали о военных лидерах Пакистана и реформаторской деятельности правительства к XX — началу XXI века приводятся в библиографических заметках американского эксперта С. Пауэра и пакистанского чиновника Ф. Шотойса. The article treats major trends of Pakistan’s domestic and foreign policy in the late 20th — early 21st centuries. The governmental strategy that was formed in the aforementioned period was prepared by the two or three preceding decades and still prevails in an overt or covert form. It should be noted that during the period there was a military coup (October 12, 1999) and the new military dictator Pervez Musharraf underlined the necessity to revive the economy of the country and to create Muslim democracy. It signified that by suppressing antigovernment extremists the new government favored Political Islamism, covertly supported the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and tribal sovereignty along the Durand Line. An important characteristic of the period was the coalition of the Islamists and the pro-English military elite. The ulama provoked social unrest and civil disobedience while the army usurped the power and enabled radical ulama to acquire high posts in the government. The article analyzes various documents collected by a Pakistani researcher Aalim and dealing with the contemporary political, social, economic, ethnic and confessional situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The article also analyzes bibliographic notes of an American expert S. Power and a Pakistani official Ph. Shotois about the military leaders of Pakistan and the reforms initiated by the Pakistan government in the 20th— early 21st centuries.

Implementation of Prefabricated Building Systems in Iraq

In recent decades, Iraq has witnessed several military operations. This has led to huge damages to the infrastructure of some main cities. The traditional construction methods seem not to be able to fulfill the rapid reconstruction works needed, while prefabricated building systems seem to be promising. This paper aims at evaluating the possibilities of using prefabrication systems for schools building as a pilot study for wider adoption. An extensive literature review was carried out to identify the features of construction prefabrication and its requirements. Then a thorough investigation of the possibilities of adopting this approach in Iraq and the major expected obstacles was carried out. A questionnaire survey has been conducted with (96) stakeholders who have experience in prefabricated building projects. The results showed that the highest rating of benefits went to time and productivity, while the highest rating of obstacles went to lack of government support. Therefore the top proposed action included the adoption of a clear governmental strategy for change. Finally, the respondents agreed that school building is the most suitable type of projects to start with.

Co-Management as a Successful Strategy for Marine Conservation

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a primary tool for conserving marine biodiversity. The literature presents a scattered picture regarding the extent to which co-management can be considered valuable. In this study we examine, what conditions are for co-management to make a contribution to conserving marine ecosystems (e.g., stopping coral bleaching and safeguarding fish populations). By combining data on MPA management practices with a novel source of global biodata collected by citizens (ReefCheck), we demonstrate that if co-management is part of a formal governmental strategy, coral reefs show up to 86% fewer bleached colonies and up to 12.2 times larger fish populations than co-managed MPAs lacking formalized governmental support.

Gender Budgeting Implementation in Italian Regional Governments: Institutional Behavior for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Gender budgeting has great potential to promote the United Nations 2030 Agenda concerning gender equality and women’s empowerment. This article shares some reflections on the need to implement and institutionalize gender budgeting at the regional level, both by embedding gender issues into the overall regional government budgetary process and by promoting gender equality disclosures. An empirical insight into the institutional behavior of Italian regional governments is provided. The study seeks to understand how the gender perspective is integrated into the governmental strategy that informs the entire budgetary cycle of Italian regional governments, by performing a thematic analysis of the key regional planning documents. The local promotion of gender budgeting implementation through institutional norms and the practice of gender performance reporting in Italian regional governments are also addressed. The results highlight that although there are differing degrees of commitment to gender equality and women’s advancement within the regions, the gender perspective is quite homogeneously integrated into the governmental strategy. Four gendered transversal thematic priorities are identified: the encouragement of women’s employment, the promotion of equal gender opportunities, the enhancement of social inclusion, and the combatting of gender-based violence. Furthermore, although nine regional laws establish gender performance reporting, additional reporting tools integrating non-financial information on gender issues are included solely in a small part of the regional government performance reporting systems. A greater organizational and cultural commitment to the institutionalization of the gender budgeting idea is needed in order to allow stakeholders to appreciate the government’s value outcomes in all their dimensions, including the gender-related social dimension.

"OPEN DATA MEANS BUSINESS": WHEN MONETARY POTENTIAL IN OPEN DATA USURPS ASPIRATIONS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPERANCY IN THE SMART CITY

As opposed to technocratic and top-to-bottom smart city discourses, open data has been deployed to transform these into “citizen-centric” ones. London is one of the prime examples of such positioning of open data in pursuit to create an alternative to corporate-driven smart city narratives. Prior to this, open data was already a governmental strategy in the UK in their pursuit of Transparency Agenda due to the assumptions that having access to governmental data would automatically yield transparency and accountability. However, shortly after, the economic value in open data displaced the social impact to periphery. As a result, the Open Data Institute (ODI) was established to unlock the economic value in open data. Located at the heart of London’s tech-scene, the ODI has attempted to contest what they referred to as “corporate-driven smart city”. Nevertheless, born out of a discourse in which lucrative potential usurped democratic aspirations, the ODI has subsequently been an environment that materialised, contributed and reiterated the prevailing smart city discourse. By way of a close observation of the ODI’s activities between late 2014 to mid-2017, as well as an analysis on the transformation of UK government's open data discourse, I argue that once advocated as tool for accountability and transparency, open data is mostly promoted for its monetary value.

Defining a mountain landscape characterized by grazing using actor perception, governmental strategy, and environmental monitoring data

In multi-functional mountainous landscapes worldwide, conservation of natural values is a major task. Here, pro-active policies can be a way forward. National Environmental Quality Objectives (EQO) to solve environmental problems for future generations, however, often wrestle with being too visionary and lacking specificity, which complicates their implementation. The EQO “A Magnificent Mountain Landscape” that has been adopted by the Swedish Parliament in 1999 to preserve the pristine mountain environment in Sweden, experiences all these flaws. To aid its implementation, we studied the conditions and processes needed to define, to evaluate, and to preserve its goals across the Swedish mountain chain, using one of its milestone targets (a landscape characterized by grazing) as a study system. Applying qualitative and quantitative methods, we analyzed three types of data: 1) referral responses to the governmental strategy document, 2) interviews with relevant actors, and 3) environmental monitoring data (reindeer position data). Nationally, our results suggest a need for geographical differentiation to match regional/local conditions. Regionally, difference in both perception and definition of the milestone target among the actors hinders the formulation, monitoring, and evaluation of a common goal. Next to a culture-nature divide, we found that a “within as a user” and “from the outside as an observer” perspective influenced suggested definitions. Moreover, we found a need for better defining whether the goal is maintaining current conditions or restoring previous ones. Our result supports the use of animal position data as a decision support tool to monitor and to aid evaluation of the target. Given the number of actors involved and conflicts of interests present, we suggest the application of a structured decision process to accomplish agreements on a common goal. Here, environmental monitoring data can aid a “landscape assessment step” as a natural part in the decision process to target landscape management actions resourcefully and effectively.