EFFECTS OF MILITARY SPENDING ON THE PROFITABILITY OF SPANISH DEFENCE CONTRACTORS

The traditional view of the defence industry obtaining large profits from contracts with the Ministry of Defence relies on several assumptions. Among these are the use of such arrangements as an instrument of industrial policy, the strong market power enjoyed by prime contractors, and the inefficiency encouraged by the sector. The findings show that defence contracts have a positive effect on profits, as well as the prizes for innovation and the market power enjoyed by some defence subsectors.     

A PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF THE SECURITY AND DEFENCE TECHNOLOGICAL AND INDUSTRIAL BASE IN SPAIN

This study analyses the performance of the productivity of the main industrial subsectors composing the security and defence technological and industrial base (SDTIB) in Spain from 1996 to 2009. Accordingly, we have used the non-parametric data envelopment analysis and bootstrapping techniques to compute Malmquist productivity indexes that allow us to split productivity growth into efficiency change and technical progress. The results obtained show productivity improvement in the SDTIB as a whole due mainly to advances in technology and to a lesser extent to the contribution of technical efficiency. The bootstrap approach yields further evidence, as for many cases, productivity growth or decline, is not statistically significant. This is the first time a study of this kind has been carried out on the production process of this sector in Spain.     

Export controls,market structure and international coordination

We look at the different ways of aggregating the exports of dual use products to give the security perception of exporter countries and their consistency with the relevant export control regimes. Also, we analyze different models of export controls highlighting the role of the perception of security, market structure and competition between exporting firms in determining the existence of multiple equilibria and therefore, the need for coordination between countries in setting export controls.     

Improved bounds for batch scheduling with nonidentical job sizes

Here, we revisit the bounded batch scheduling problem with nonidentical job sizes on single and parallel identical machines, with the objective of minimizing the makespan. For the single machine case, we present an algorithm which calls an online algorithm (chosen arbitrarily) for the one‐dimensional bin‐packing problem as a sub‐procedure, and prove that its worst‐case ratio is the same as the absolute performance ratio of . Hence, there exists an algorithm with worst‐case ratio , which is better than any known upper bound on this problem. For the parallel machines case, we prove that there does not exist any polynomial‐time algorithm with worst‐case ratio smaller than 2 unless P = NP, even if all jobs have unit processing time. Then we present an algorithm with worst‐case ratio arbitrarily close to 2. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 351–358, 2014     

‘Kadyrovtsy’: Russia’s Counterinsurgency Strategy and the Wars of Paramilitary Clans

This article analyses the steps taken by the Russian government, with the aid of a powerful local clan, the so-called Kadyrovtsy, to subdue the Chechen insurgency. It highlights the strategy used by Russia, under whose patronage former anti-Russian guerrilla fighters were transformed into paramilitary allies of the Russian government; later these former insurgents were incorporated into the regular Russian army and other state security forces. The article also identifies problems that are connected with the activities of the Kadyrovtsy in Chechnya and Russia, and the spillover into the diaspora; it also contextualises the issues faced by the contemporary Chechen ruling clan and the geopolitics of the Caucasus within the research framework of paramilitarism and counterinsurgency.     

Adaptive phasefield modelling of crack propagation in orthotropic functionally graded materials

In this work, we extend the recently proposed adaptive phase field method to model fracture in orthotropic functionally graded materials (FGMs). A recovery type error indicator combined with quadtree decomposition is employed for adaptive mesh refinement. The proposed approach is capable of capturing the fracture process with a localized mesh refinement that provides notable gains in computational efficiency. The implementation is validated against experimental data and other nu-merical experiments on orthotropic materials with different material orientations. The results reveal an increase in the stiffness and the maximum force with increasing material orientation angle. The study is then extended to the analysis of orthotropic FGMs. It is observed that, if the gradation in fracture properties is neglected, the material gradient plays a secondary role, with the fracture behaviour being dominated by the orthotropy of the material. However, when the toughness increases along the crack propagation path, a substantial gain in fracture resistance is observed.     

Dynamic evacuation routes for personnel on a naval ship

We propose a dynamic escape route system for emergency evacuation of a naval ship. The system employs signals that adapt to the causative contingency and the crew's physical distribution about the ship. A mixed‐integer nonlinear programming model, with underlying network structure, optimizes the evacuation process. The network's nodes represent compartments, closures (e.g., doors and hatches) and intersections, while arcs represent various types of passageways. The objective function integrates two potentially conflicting factors: average evacuation time and the watertight and airtight integrity of the ship after evacuation. A heuristic solves the model approximately using a sequence of mixed‐integer linear approximating problems. Using data for a Spanish frigate, with standard static routes specified by the ship's designers, computational tests show that the dynamic system can reduce average evacuation times, nearly 23%, and can improve a combined measure of ship integrity by up to 50%. In addition, plausible design changes to the frigate yield further, substantial improvements. Published 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 2008     

The Ethnic Russian as an Enemy of Islam: Frame Analysis of the Kavkaz Center News Agency (2001–2004)

Abstract

Typically, when analysing contemporary Russian–Chechen conflicts, the relegation of the nationalist struggle to a secondary role by the religious battle waged by the North Caucasus insurgency is pinpointed as one of the fundamental differences between the First and Second War in Chechnya. This article discusses how it was reflected in one of the most important media of the Chechen Islamist insurgency: the Kavkaz Center. To this end, 2859 English language news items posted on the website during 2001–04 were reviewed using media frame analysis.     

A Criterion for Settling Inconsistencies in Clausewitz’s On War

On War’s unfinished state has been a source of difficulties for interpretation for 180 years. By establishing a hierarchy of revision among the parts, we propose a criterion that can bring any part of On War in line with the most advanced stage of Clausewitz’s thinking. We exemplify the utility, illustrate the underpinnings and appreciate the potential of this criterion. We argue that the criterion offers the prospect of a shared, coherent, fully consistent and faithful rendering of Clausewitz’s theory of war.