Defense spending and the macroeconomy

Given Kinsella's (1990, 1991) appeal for analysis to be pursued using sub‐annual level of data, we pursue such an endeavor in this paper. We examime the effect of defence spending on real output, the unemployment rate, price level, and interest rate covering a quarterly time frame 1960:1 to 1988:1 using an unrestricted vector autoregression framework. Our results parallel the findings of Kinsella in that there appears no causal relationship in either direction between defence spending and economic performance.     

The Deutch commission report: An overview

The threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is real and urgent. Combating this threat requires a new and comprehensive approach by the federal government. It requires sustained leadership at the top and an organizational structure that can set policies and objectives for combating proliferation; develop integrated, government‐wide plans to implement those policies and objectives, including plans for acquiring necessary technology; make appropriate decisions regarding how resources should be allocated to carry out those plans; and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of our policies, programs, and operations. There is no such comprehensive approach today.     

Dual‐ascent and primal heuristics for production‐assembly‐distribution system design

This article proposes two dual‐ascent algorithms and uses each in combination with a primal drop heuristic embedded within a branch and bound framework to solve the uncapacitated production assembly distribution system (i.e., supply chain) design problem, which is formulated as a mixed integer program. Computational results indicate that one approach, which combines primal drop and dual‐ascent heuristics, can solve instances within reasonable time and prescribes solutions with gaps between the primal and dual solution values that are less than 0.15%, an efficacy suiting it for actual large‐scale applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013     

Thailand and the Insurgency in the South

The insurgency in southern Thailand has proven to be intractable over the last few years. The insurgents, who comprise several different groups, have largely retained the initiative in a series of relatively unsophisticated operations. Although involving ethnic Malay Muslims – and marked by an increasingly strong Islamist ideology – the insurgency has been predominantly ethnic rather than religious. External jihadist involvement has been minimal at best. The recent coup in Thailand may improve the odds of reaching some form of accommodation with the southern insurgents; but it is likely that the south will remain a continuing security problem for Bangkok.     

Insurgency in amber: ethnic opposition groups in Myanmar

Multiple ethnic insurgencies have existed in Myanmar since independence. The military junta's response has been extremely brutal at the tactical level, but has shown some political astuteness at the strategic level, with a series of ceasefires with most of the ethnic groups. Despite these ceasefires – most of which have resulted in the continued existence of quasi-independent armed groups – other ethnic movements have continued their armed operations. The overall strategic picture is one of stalemate, with the ethnic movements continuing to exist, but with few realistic prospects of expanding their operations.     

The Insurgency Environment in Northeast India

The northeast states of India have faced a series of insurgencies almost since independence. Most insurgent groups have been based on the competing demands of various ethnic groups, with conflicts not only between the insurgents and the government, but also between groups. The combination of anti-government and intercommunal violence shows little sign of ending. Although the Indian government has made progress in dealing with the largest groups, the continued existence of several dozen insurgent movements represents a significant security threat to internal stability in India.     

“后方法时代”非英语专业词汇教学法实证研究

通过实证研究的方法,检验"后方法时代"不同组合的词汇教学法的适用范围。实验中对英语水平较好(实验组)和中等(对照组)两组学生分别采用语境教学与任务型教学组合和语境教学与背诵单词表组合进行教学。结果显示实验组受试在实验中词汇量提高显著;对照组受试领会式词汇量提高显著,而复用式词汇量提高较小。研究结果说明要探索出有效的教学法需要考虑学习者的学习目的和学习水平以及结合各种教学法的优点以确定适合不同学习者的教法。     

跨文化教育与文化适应

跨文化教育在多民族、多文化并存的环境中突显出一定的优势和吸引力,从文化适应的角度来说,其基本理念和目标能够令受教育者获得不同文化的体验,从而获得对异质文化的理解,达到增加不同文化之间容忍度的目的,而这一目的实现的关键除了跨文化教育的设计和实施之外,还在于学校教育能否转化为社会效应。