Controlled warfare: how directed-energy weapons will enable the US Military to fight effectively in an urban environment while minimizing collateral damage

US military operations are increasingly conducted within urban environments and with these operations come the risk of increasing the number of civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. The use of non-lethal weaponry, such as directed-energy weapons, is one method for minimizing collateral damage. This method enables US military forces to effectively fight within urban environments through force escalation capabilities. Using a series of historical examples and future scenarios for urban warfare, this article highlights deficiencies affecting military capabilities in military urban operations, addresses the consequences of collateral damage, assesses the effectiveness of directed-energy weapons in military urban operations and encourages further funding, research and integration of non-lethal weaponry, such as directed-energy weapons, within the US military.     

Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, by Daniel H. Joyner. Oxford University Press, 2011. 192 pages, $100.     

Comprehensive Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: An Emerging International Norm?

ABSTRACT

There have been calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons from the day they were invented. Over the last fifteen years, some indications can be found that such calls have been getting louder, among them Barack Obama's famous 2009 speech in Prague. In this article, we investigate if support for a comprehensive norm that would prohibit development, possession, and use of nuclear weapons is really growing. To assess the current status of that norm, we use the model of a “norm life cycle,” developed by Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink. We then analyze 6,545 diplomatic statements from the review process of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as well as from the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, covering the years 2000 to 2013. The evidence shows that a comprehensive prohibition can be considered an emerging international norm that finds growing support among states without nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon states alike. Only a core group of states invoke the norm consistently, however. This leads us to conclude that the “tipping point” of the life cycle, at which adherence to a new norm starts to spread rapidly, has yet to be reached.     

ZERO NUCLEAR WEAPONS

The current nuclear nonproliferation order is no longer sustainable. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has weakened considerably over the years, with nuclear have-nots displaying increased dissatisfaction with the status quo. Meanwhile, demands for civilian nuclear technology have led to increased proliferation risks in the form of dual-use technologies. Arms control as we currently understand it—piecemeal treaties and agreements—is no longer sufficient to address the growing threat of proliferation and the frailty of the NPT. This article calls for a bolder nonproliferation agenda pursuing multilateral nuclear disarmament. Disarmament is, in fact, technologically achievable; a lack of political will stands as the only remaining roadblock to a world free of nuclear weapons. A better understanding of the technological feasibility of disarmament, as well as recognition of the diminishing strategic value of nuclear weapons, will help to erode this political reluctance.     

MAKING THE AGENDA STICK Lessons Learned From the 2007 NPT PrepCom

After the conclusion of the 2008 Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Nonproliferation Review interviewed Ambassador Yukiya Amano of Japan, who presided over the 2007 session of the PrepCom in Vienna. He provided valuable insights into his preparations for the PrepCom and shared his thoughts on some of the most pressing issues that confronted his chairmanship and the PrepCom as a whole. The interview also provides useful perspectives on the future of the strengthened review process.     

THE NUCLEAR WEAPON STATES

The nuclear weapon states (NWS) have different perspectives on the desirability and feasibility of a world without nuclear weapons. A review of each of the current nuclear doctrines, postures, and disarmament policies of the five NWS shows that there is a clear divide between them, with some showing relatively determined leadership (the United States and the United Kingdom) and others expressing skepticism, if not complete disinterest (France, Russia, and China). Nevertheless, the prospects for progress on disarmament by the NWS at the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons remain reasonably good. Yet complete success will require much time as well as sustained and applied efforts from the NWS, first and foremost to improve their performance as international security guarantors.     

基于功能的网格服务匹配算法

网格环境下,服务功能匹配效果决定着网格服务质量,在分析了网格服务匹配方法中基于推理的匹配算法和相似度匹配方法中基于距离的匹配算法后,对这两种算法的精确度、复杂度和匹配效率进行了分析和比较.结合这两种算法,提出了服务功能匹配改进算法,该算法通过采用细化匹配粒度,引入深度因素等方法,增加了匹配精确度.通过实验模拟,查准率和查全率上表明该改进算法具有一定优越性.     

装甲车辆运动姿态实时仿真系统设计与实现

系统基于计算机仿真技术构建装甲车辆运动时的虚拟战场环境,利用自动控制技术和虚拟现实技术实现对装甲车辆运动姿态的实时仿真,采用同步建模和实时动态仿真技术实现机电系统与视景的同步仿真,从而保证了平台振动位置与由视景运动产生的位置变化一致.通过软、硬件互补的优化设计,提高了系统的抗干扰能力,实现了高仿真度、高质量的仿真通用平台的研制.该系统模型结构完整,参数选取精细,量化科学,三维图形实时性好,模拟程度逼真,工作可靠,维护方便,通用性强.     

现场处置突发事件警察应急能力建设研究——以蚌埠少女被刺事件为缘起

安徽蚌埠少女被刺事件引起社会广泛关注,从中折射出部分警察现场处置突发事件应急能力的不足.以该事件为缘起,在探讨突发事件和警察应急能力内涵的基础上,重点分析现场处置突发事件警察应急能力的构成要素和影响因素,并提出加强应急能力建设的相关对策.     

现代西方教学效能:研究范式与发展趋势

本文以对范式和教学效能这两个概念的内涵为切入点,从时间发展的维度出发,对现代西方教学效能的主要研究范式:过程-先前经验研究范式;过程-系统性研究范式;过程-结果研究范式;实验性研究范式;过程-过程研究范式;过程-过程-结果研究范式这六个方面进行了分析,最后对其未来的发展趋势进行了阐述。