Chicken Pax Atomica: the Impact of Nuclear Weapons on Conflict Between Interstate Dyads.

Nuclear weapons, long considered the bete noire of human existence are examined quantitatively and qualitatively in this dissertation to ascertain if the heinous effects they threaten ultimately serve to promote deterrence between pairs of states. The findings suggest that nuclear weapons do have a significant impact on conflict when present on both sides of a dyadic dispute. In such symmetrical nuclear pairs conflict levels are quantitatively shown to be reduced, suggesting that the conflict inhibiting qualities of these weapons long espoused by nuclear optimists are legitimate. Further evidence is presented in the form of a qualitative analysis of conflict between India and Pakistan over the region of Jammu and Kashmir. In this individual dyad the introduction of nuclear weapons again appears to have manifested lower levels of conflict between these heated adversaries. The implication of this research is that the steady spread of nuclear weapons may serve to dampen conflict throughout the international system

Cognitive Machine Individualism in a Symbiotic Cybersecurity Policy Framework for the Preservation of Internet of Things Integrity: A Quantitative Study

This quantitative study examined the complex nature of modern cyber threats to propose the establishment of cyber as an interdisciplinary field of public policy initiated through the creation of a symbiotic cybersecurity policy framework. For the public good (and maintaining ideological balance), there must be recognition that public policies are at a transition point where the digital public square is a tangible reality that is more than a collection of technological widgets. The academic contribution of this research project is the fusion of humanistic principles with Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that alters our perception of the machine from an instrument of human engineering into a thinking peer to elevate cyber from technical esoterism into an interdisciplinary field of public policy. The contribution to the US national cybersecurity policy body of knowledge is a unified policy framework (manifested in the symbiotic cybersecurity policy triad) that could transform cybersecurity policies from network-based to entity-based. A correlation archival data design was used with the frequency of malicious software attacks as the dependent variable and diversity of intrusion techniques as the independent variable for RQ1. For RQ2, the frequency of detection events was the dependent variable and diversity of intrusion techniques was the independent variable. Self-determination Theory is the theoretical framework as the cognitive machine can recognize, self-endorse, and maintain its own identity based on a sense of self-motivation that is progressively shaped by the machine’s ability to learn. The transformation of cyber policies from technical esoterism into an interdisciplinary field of public policy starts with the recognition that the cognitive machine is an independent consumer of, advisor into, and influenced by public policy theories, philosophical constructs, and societal initiatives

Survival in the e-conomy: 2nd Australian information warfare & security conference 2001

This is an international conference for academics and industry specialists in information warfare, security, and other related fields. The conference has drawn participants from national and international organisations

Reconsidering Sputnik: Forty Years Since the Soviet Satellite

This collection of essays explore several broad themes: the Soviet Union and Sputnik, space and the international Geophysical Year, the immediate ramifications of Sputnik in the United States, and the significance of Sputnik throughout the world

Keepin' It Real: The Black Male's (Dis) Ability to Achieve in Higher Education

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the absence of disadvantaged black males in higher education and reduce their increasing presence in prison, the historical and cultural factors that contribute to that absence, as well as research that explores those factors. Then, using theory and research on literacy and difference and interviews with some black male, it will offer some suggestions for pedagogical initiatives in institutions to alter the educators' perception of and service to black male students. By developing programs, workshops and reorganizing curriculum design specifically to encompass the creation of the inner-city black males, educators would hope to empower them in higher education. Many times throughout history, the black male voice has been admonished for being too sexual, too violent, or too real. Each time academia has acknowledged the presence of black males; it has studied and examined their voices and images. However, of recent, studies show that black men are the least population to graduate from these institutions with college degrees. Many researchers and educators have questioned examined the possible factors that lead to black males inability to attain a degree--the influence of street life, the social mistreatment of them in the classroom, their ideals of manhood. Whatever the cause, the alarm has sounded. Sustainability of black male students begins with presence, and development and acknowledgement of voice strengthens presence. It has been many years since the black male voices of the Harlem Renaissance and the emergence of internationally acclaimed black male artists such as Dubois, McKay, Hughes, Cullen, and Wright expressed their experiences in America. Just as Langston Hughes poems, good rap as good poetry, seeks to "explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America" (721). Rap is one of the new male voices and does more "than reveal the pain of poverty"; it tells the story of some experiences that black people, the black male, inner-city dwellers, and the impoverished have experienced in America. Many of the already mentioned authors are now not only accepted as part of the canon, but also heralded for their creative expressions in the throes of oppression. By analyzing what is being said and why it is being said educators are creating programs and courses to encourage disadvantaged black male students to critically think about their community, life circumstances, and their place in society, thus giving them a voice in society and academia while broadening their experiences

Waging Peace: The Narrative War for Côte d’Ivoire 2002 - 2017

The international interventions in Côte d'Ivoire were at the centre of a narrative war, both violently contested and declared an exemplar of peacekeeping best practice. The critical intervention literature has tended to focus on acknowledged failures and not asked as many questions of the interventions labelled as successes. Analysis of competing strategic narratives of intervention enables a deeper questioning of the narratives of the intervenors, as well as the narratives of the intervened. This thesis explores the ways in which political actors used strategic narratives to define events, create and contest historical records, and establish the competing hegemonic and counterhegemonic epistemes of the international interventions in Côte d'Ivoire from 2002 to 2017. Through analysing the hegemonic and counterhegemonic strategic narratives of intervention and the narrative strategies used to propagate them, I demonstrate the ways in which polemical strategic narratives became accepted as political fact in the Ivoirian interventions, and the ways in which these narratives shaped the beliefs, opinions, ideologies, policies, decisions, and outcomes of the interventions. I find that the narrative war for Côte d'Ivoire was waged asymmetrically, with hegemonic and counterhegemonic narrators grounding their narratives in incommensurate discourses. I foreground the dialectical contradictions inherent in these complex discourses and link these contradictions to the strategic challenges faced by narrators fighting the narrative war for Côte d'Ivoire. This thesis further develops the strategic narrative analysis theoretical framework by incorporating insights from narrative strategy analysis. I demonstrate the utility of strategic narrative analysis for better understanding the complexity and contestation which accompanies all international interventions and the broader general terrain of narrative warfare

Vulnerability assessment of modern ICT infrastructure from an information warfare perspective.

Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2011.The overall objective of the study is to provide a vulnerability assessment of the mobile communications infrastructure to information warfare attacks; this study has a South African focus. The mobile infrastructure was selected as the infrastructure and mobile devices incorporate the majority of modern ICT technologies, namely social networking, wireless connectivity and mobility, mass storage, as well as the telecommunications elements. The objectives of the study are to: Propose a new information warfare model, and from this deduce a vulnerability assessment framework from the specific information warfare perspective. These are the guiding frameworks and model for the study. Gather information regarding threats and vulnerabilities, with particular focus on potential use in information warfare and relevance to South Africa. Establish the criticality of the mobile infrastructure in South Africa. Use the gathered information in the vulnerability assessment, to assess the vulnerability of the mobile infrastructure and related devices and services. The model and framework are generated through desk-based research. The information is gathered from research protocols that are relevant to both research and risk and vulnerability assessment, these include: expert input through interviews and a research workshop, incident and trend analyses through news and vendor reports and academic publishing, computer simulation, questionnaire survey, and mathematical analyses. The information is then triangulated by using it in the vulnerability assessment. The primary and secondary data shows that attacks on confidentiality are the most prevalent for both computer-based networks and the mobile infrastructure. An increase in threats and incidents for both computer and mobile platforms is being seen. The information security trends in South Africa indicate that the existing security concerns are likely to worsen, in particular the high infection rates. The research indicates that the mobile infrastructure is critical in South Africa. The study validates the proposed framework, which indicates that South Africa is vulnerable to an information warfare attack in general. Key aspects of vulnerability in the mobile infrastructure are highlighted; the apparent high load of the mobile infrastructure in South Africa can be seen as a high risk vulnerability. Suggestions to mitigate vulnerabilities and threats are provided