Globalisation in the defence industry: An exploration of the paradigm for us and European defence firms and the implications for being global players

This paper explores some of the key issues associated with the restructuring of the defence industry. A comparison is made between the US and the European Defence Industrial Bases in terms of the drivers for change and the paradigms within which change has taken place. Having shown that some very important differences exist, the paper then explores the approaches that have been adopted for industry consolidation and references them to the academic literature on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and strategic alliances (SAs). Given that most of the key defence players recognise the need to be global players, the paper presents an argument that the European firms’ experience of operating with a wide range of forms of corporate alliance will serve them in good stead for operating on a global defence scale. US firms, in contrast, have focused largely on M&A activity.     

Strategic Defense and Attack for Series and Parallel Reliability Systems: Reply to Rejoinder

Kovenock and Roberson's (2012a, b) replication of Hausken’s (2008a) equations and parameter restrictions do not enhance our insight into the defense and attack of reliability systems. This reply intends to fill the remaining understanding gaps.     

A ‘transparent gold’ rush?

Abstract

The signing of a new treaty on the equitable sharing of the Nile waters – signed last May in Kampala by Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania – has the potential of derailing relations with Sudan and Egypt. According to the latter countries, this new agreement replaces the 1959 Nile agreement – that awarded them with 90 per cent control over the Nile water – giving other Nile Basin countries the possibility to implement water-related projects in agriculture and energy. This new development, according to Egypt and Sudan, places their water level security in jeopardy. Furthermore, the use of land grabs and water consumption for food security by wealthy foreign countries contributes to the sensitive situation the nine Nile Basin countries are now facing. Water is a red line when it comes to Egypt and Sudan and the future of the whole region depends on whether this line will be crossed.     

Police Corruption: Towards a Working Definition

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) publication Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law, all civilians (including child soldiers) lose their immunity from direct targeting ‘for so long as’ their actions amount to direct participation in hostilities. All civilians can, however, access the revolving door of protection and return to their civilian activities – complete with full immunity from direct targeting – provided the nature of their direct participation was spontaneous and disorganised. Once it can be ascertained that their participation in hostilities amounts to continuous combative functions, they relinquish their access to the revolving door of protection, and can be targeted at all times until they abandon their formal or functional membership of the belligerent group. This piece analyses how the revolving door phenomenon and the notion of continuous combative functions apply in instances where civilian child soldiers are directly participating in hostilities.     

频率搅拌混响室内小屏蔽体的场均匀性检验

为了研究频率搅拌混响室内小屏蔽体的屏蔽效能测试方法,需要检验小屏蔽体内的场均匀性．通过对混响室的场均匀性测试方法的研究,提出基于矢量网络分析仪的测试方法,通过计算工作区域任意两点的功率比检验场均匀性,并用该方法检验工作区域内小屏蔽体的场均匀性．实验结果表明：混响室采用扫频信号实现频率搅拌时,放置于工作区域的小屏蔽体内部同样有较好的场均匀性．     

Through the Looking Glass: The Soviet Military-Technical Revolution and the American Revolution in Military Affairs

The roots of the information technology Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) can be traced to the mid-1970s, when the West capitalized on scientific-technological developments to neutralize the threat posed by Soviet second echelons. However, the cultivation of the technological seeds of the American RMA preceded the maturation of the conceptual ones. Although it was the US that was laying the technological groundwork for the RMA, Soviet, rather than the American military theorists, were the first to argue that the new range of technological innovations constituted a fundamental discontinuity in the nature of war, which they dubbed the ‘Military-Technical Revolution’ (MTR). About a decade later, this fundamental Soviet approach to the transformations in military affairs was analyzed, adapted and adopted by the US, and designated the RMA. This article deals with the intellectual history of the Soviet MTR and the American RMA.     

An Imperfect Jewel: Military Theory and the Military Profession

This article explores a perennial theme in the literature of strategic studies: the relationship between military theory and the military profession. It begins with a conceptual analysis of this relationship. It then investigates what military theorists themselves have had to say about the utility of their craft. It concludes by assessing the actual influence of military theory on selected individuals and institutions. The individuals are George S. Patton, Jr., and Ulysses S. Grant. The institutions are the United States Army and the United States Air Force in the late twentieth century. The fundamental finding is suggested in the title: military theory can indeed be quite useful in the maturation of military commanders and in the development of martial institutions, but it is not always necessary and by no means perfect. It should thus be studied assiduously but used with caution.     

对高校干部“双肩挑”模式的理性分析

高校干部"双肩挑"是目前高校普遍存在的管理模式,在高校教学科研中发挥着重要作用,是学校管理干部队伍中一支重要力量,同时又存在着不可回避的矛盾和问题。本文对"双肩挑"模式发挥的作用和存在的问题进行分析,最后有针对性的提出了几点改革对策。     

新疆少数民族大学生学习心理状况调查研究

本研究以"中国大学生学习性投入调查问卷"(NSSE-China)为工具,对新疆8所高校的少数民族大学生的学习动力、学业成就期望、专业兴趣、学习快乐感、学习意义感进行了实证研究,总体揭示其在学习心理状况上的表现情况。结果显示:新疆少数民族大学生的学习动力并不乐观;学业成就期望有待提高;专业兴趣并不理想;学习快乐感和意义感有待进一步改善。本研究针对以上问题对进一步改善新疆少数民族大学生学习心理状况提出具体建议。     

中国古代诗学的意境论与宋词的翻译艺术

本文从中国古代诗学的意境论出发,分析意境论的内涵以及宋词的美学特征,并以李清照的《醉花阴》和豪放派的代表苏轼的《水调歌头》为例,对宋词的意境孵现、翻译原则和方法进行探讨、以求译者能最大限度得展现中国古涛词的优美意境。