Prioritizing Invasive Species Threats Under Uncertainty

Prioritizing exotic or invasive pest threats in terms of agricultural, environmental, or human health damages is an important resource allocation issue for programs charged with preventing or responding to the entry of such organisms. Under extreme uncertainty, program managers may decide to research the severity of threats, develop prevention or control actions, and estimate cost-effectiveness in order to provide better information and more options when making decisions to choose strategies for specific pests. We examine decision rules based on the minimax and relative cost criteria in order to express a cautious approach for decisions regarding severe, irreversible consequences, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these rules, examine the roles of simple rules and sophisticated analyses in decision making, and apply a simple rule to develop a list of priority plant pests.invasive species, decision criteria, uncertainty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Globalization and Maritime Security Conference Report

Portions of this work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, LLNL-AR-409177.LLNL-AR-409177DE-AC52-07NA2734

The Rise of iWar: Identity, Information, and the Individualization of Modern Warfare

During a decade of global counterterrorism operations and two extended counterinsurgency campaigns, the United States was confronted with a new kind of adversary. Without uniforms, flags, and formations, the task of identifying and targeting these combatants represented an unprecedented operational challenge for which Cold War era doctrinal methods were largely unsuited. This monograph examines the doctrinal, technical, and bureaucratic innovations that evolved in response to these new operational challenges. It discusses the transition from a conventionally focused, Cold War-era targeting process to one optimized for combating networks and conducting identity-based targeting. It analyzes the policy decisions and strategic choices that were the catalysts of this change and concludes with an in depth examination of emerging technologies that are likely to shape how this mode of warfare will be waged in the future.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1436/thumbnail.jp

Terrorism in Context: The Stories We Tell Ourselves

With no universally accepted definition of terrorism, the process by which the media labels an act as terrorism becomes inherently variable. In Western media, such variance is unilaterally skewed towards coverage of Islamic terror. This paper examined the similarities and differences in newsprint coverage of two unique terrorist attacks: The Boston Marathon bombing and the Charleston Church mass shooting. Data included 64 articles from The Wall Street Journal that were published in the seven days following each attack. Data were analyzed using grounded theory, which revealed three primary themes: construction of the attack, construction of the attacked, and construction of the attacker. Important differences within and across each theme were found in the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of each attack. This paper argues that these differences manifest, in part, due to the construction of Islamic terrorists and non-white victims as an “other” while white terrorists and white victims are constructed as “us” or more relatable and sympathetic. This paper concludes with a discussion on the power of media representations of terrorism, and the implications of policy towards such coverage

Nota Bene, September 26, 2006

https://scholarship.law.gwu.edu/nota_bene_2006/1008/thumbnail.jp

The Terror Risk to Current Water Infrastructure Systems

Unquestionably, water maintains a critical role within society. It is precisely this role that makes it an attractive target for potential adversaries. As it currently stands, water infrastructures are significantly vulnerable to attacks; their risk however, is questionable. As such, this work will analyze the security of water infrastructure systems. It will discuss the systems involved in the treatment of water and waste water, and how various processes can be vulnerable to four main threats: biological, chemical, cyber and physical threats. Additionally, this work will challenge the conventional view of terrorism through the perspective of Critical Terrorism Studies as a means to discuss how non-traditional threats such as privatization and neoliberalization may also be seen as threats. Moreover, this work will also explore how each of these threats may be realized, and it will furthermore utilize case studies and professional interviews to achieve this. Attacks upon water infrastructure systems are not new. In fact, such attacks have been reported as far back as 500 BCE. What is new, however, is the evolving threat landscape. Given the convenience of the Internet, a single individual can research almost any topic to his or her desire, including vulnerabilities within critical infrastructure systems. To add to this, one does not have to search deep into the web to find information on how to inflict serious damage. Certainly, the twenty-first century has its prospects, but it certainly has its perils as well. This work will attempt to address vulnerabilities, and furthermore, what is at stake if nothing remains to be done