Countering the effects of IED systems in Afghanistan: an integral approach

The current approach to countering the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan has met with limited success. The relative lack of success may be in part because the current approach is not holistic and discounts the social systems that foster the IEDs. Insurgents are using IEDs as a tool to further their strategic aims, but the coalition and to a lesser extent the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) are attacking the IEDs as if they are an end in and of themselves. Combining network disruption with information change maximizes the opportunities for mitigating the IED threat. More specifically, to mitigate the IED threat requires disrupting the social and economic systems associated with IEDs, and at the same time providing alternative economic opportunities and improving rule of law and governance at the local level. In other words, counter-IED (C-IED) must be Counter-Insurgency (COIN) centric to be successful. This paper reviews the current state of C-IED efforts, identifies five main problems with the current approach, and suggests changes to reduce or mitigate the IED threat in Afghanistan.     

建构主义视角下强化大学生信仰教育的对策探析

建构主义学习理论在强化大学生信仰教育方面有着重要的指导作用。夺文简要分析了夫掌生信仰教育存在的问题,探讨了建构主义学习理论对于强化大学生信仰教育的重要意义,并以建构主义卷习理论隽指导,从“以学生为中心”、“情景创设”、“协作学习”、“利用各种资源”四个方面提出了强化对策,以期提高大学生信仰教育水平,实现大学思想政治教育的功能。     

Strategic defense and attack for series and parallel reliability systems: reply 1 to comment 1

Kovenock and Roberson's [2011] comment provides initial work which has the potential, when suitably extended, to advance the research frontier. Kovenock and Roberson's paper consists of three sections. The first section is an interesting introduction. The second section, titled ‘Model and Main Result,’ provides no contribution beyond Hausken [2008a]. It consists of Equations (1)–(10) which are equivalent to equations developed by Hausken, and Equation (11) which is equivalent to the utility requirements u???0 and U???0 provided after Equation (17) in Hausken. The third section provides interesting ideas about mixed-strategy equilibria that can be extended in future research.     

A theory of war economies

This article presents a proposed theory of how war economies are formed and maintained, as well as an integrated policy framework to guide the dismantling of war economies emanating from the proposed theory. Additionally, six potential areas for future research pertaining to the dismantling of war economies are also presented.     

基于Bayes理论的固有可用度定时截尾试验方案

为解决小子样条件下进行产品固有可用度试验验证的问题,基于Bayes理论,提出了一种固有可用度定时截尾试验方案．该试验方案在假设故障间隔时间和修复时间均服从指数分布的前提下,将现场试验分为同时进行的可靠性和维修性定时截尾试验2个部分,要求在利用验前试验信息的基础上,使本次试验获得的验后分布还可以作为下一次现场试验的验前分布,提高了试验数据的利用率,具有较好的经济效益．     

Nuclear weapons,existential threats,and the stability–instability paradox

Recent scholarship has largely ignored systematic differences in the existential threats that nuclear-weapon possessors pose to other states. This study theorizes that the capacity to pose existential threats shapes nuclear-armed states’ willingness to use military force against one another. We explore three hypotheses regarding how nuclear-based existential threats can deter conflict or encourage it, including under the conditions proposed by the stability–instability paradox. We rely on a statistical analysis of nuclear-armed dyads from 1950 to 2001 and employ the Nuclear Annihilation Threat (NAT) Index to capture variation in the existential threats nuclear-armed states pose to one another. We find that being able to pose an existential threat to another state emboldens potential initiators to use military force but does not deter attacks. The emboldening effects are particularly strong under the hypothesized conditions of the stability–instability paradox. Our study provides unique contributions to ongoing debates over the political effects of nuclear weapons.     

基于北斗、短波的高精度时钟系统研究与设计

介绍了北斗、短波授时技术;对高稳恒温晶振及其频率特性进行分析的基础上,设计了一种基于北斗卫星、短波无线电授时的高精度时钟系统;该系统通过利用北斗接收处理模块、短波授时接收模块得到的秒脉冲信号、时间信息,经过延迟修正处理、脉冲滤波、脉冲补偿、脉冲统计得到标准的秒脉冲信号,实现对恒温晶振频率的校准,获得一个短期及长期频率稳定度都比较优良的时间频率标准,同时利用校频后恒温晶振分频出的1pps信号对时间芯片进行校准,对外输出高精度时间信息;对恒温晶振校频系统的基本工作原理及部分模块电路图进行了说明,试验结果表明,在时间不长于1h内,频率准确度优于1×10-10;该系统实用方便的方法达到了将晶体振荡器校准到较高指标的目的。     

Market entry strategy in the presence of market spillovers and efficiency differentiation

Firms form various alliances or use brand extensions to enter new markets in order to improve their operational efficiency and create a positive spillover. However, they do not always know the implications of these strategies for market entry and multimarket competition because the sale of products in one market can have negative spillover effects on product sales in other markets. We present an analytical framework to examine whether and how (i.e., by choosing alliance entry or independent entry) competing firms should enter a market in a situation where market spillovers occur when a firm enters a spillover-producing market to sell products that may increase or decrease the consumers' willingness to pay for products in the primary market. Our analysis shows that the operational efficiency (or quality differentiation ability) of firms in a spillover-producing market varies, and hence, the impact of market spillovers differs for firms. We identify the key factors, such as bargaining power, brand value difference in the primary market, and the extent of efficiencies and spillovers, that determine the firms benefitting from the different entry strategies. Specifically, we show that firms would be more willing to choose an alliance strategy to enter a spillover-producing market if the negative spillover is small and alliance efficiency is high. In contrast, if an alliance entry is not favored, the firms' relative operational efficiency is crucial for them to decide whether to enter the market independently under moderate spillover conditions. Finally, we show the implications of market entry strategies for managers.     

Modified couple stress and thickness-stretching included formulation of a sandwich micro shell subjected to electro-magnetic load resting on elastic foundation

This paper studies electromagnetoelastic static investigation of a sandwich doubly curved microshell subjected to multi-field loading based on a new thickness stretching included refined higher order shear/normal deformable model. Modified-couple-stress-theory (MCST) is used for accounting small-scale-dependency. The numerical results are derived using an analytical method. The effect of small scale parameter in micro scale, initial electric and magnetic potentials and foundation parameters is studied on the electromagnetoelastic bending results. It is confirmed an enhancing in stiffness of small scale shell with an increase in micro length scale parameter.