Abduction and Dialogical Proof in Argumentation and Logic Programming

We develop a model of abduction in abstract argumentation, where changes to an argumentation framework act as hypotheses to explain the support of an observation. We present dialogical proof theories for the main decision problems (i.e., finding hypothe- ses that explain skeptical/credulous support) and we show that our model can be instantiated on the basis of abductive logic programs.Comment: Appears in the Proceedings of the 15th International Workshop on Non-Monotonic Reasoning (NMR 2014

India: Domestic Issues, Strategic Dynamics, and U.S. Relations

[Excerpt] President Barack Obama’s Administration has sought to build upon the deepened U.S. engagement with India begun by President Bill Clinton in 2000 and expanded upon during much of the past decade under President G.W. Bush. This “U.S.-India 3.0” diplomacy was most recently on display in July 2011, when the second U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue session saw a large delegation of senior U.S. officials visit New Delhi to discuss a broad range of global and bilateral issues. Many analysts view the U.S.-India relationship as being among the world’s most important in coming decades and see potentially large benefits to be accrued through engagement on many convergent interests. Bilateral initiatives are underway in all areas, although independent analysts in both countries worry that the partnership has lost momentum in recent years. Outstanding areas of bilateral friction include obstacles to bilateral trade and investment, including in the high-technology sector; outsourcing; the status of conflict in Afghanistan; climate change; and stalled efforts to initiate civil nuclear cooperation. India is the world’s most populous democracy and remains firmly committed to representative government and rule of law. Its left-leaning Congress Party-led ruling national coalition has been in power for more than seven years under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an Oxford-trained economist. New Delhi’s engagement with regional and other states is extensive and reflects its rising geopolitical status. The national economy has been growing rapidly—India’s is projected to be the world’s third-largest economy in the foreseeable future—yet poor infrastructure, booming energy demand, and restrictive trade and investment practices are seen to hamper full economic potential. Despite the growth of a large urban middle-class, India’s remains a largely rural and agriculture-based society, and is home to some 500-600 million people living in poverty. This report will be updated periodically

Military-Themed Video Games and the Cultivation of Related Beliefs and Attitudes in Young Adult Males

Military themed games have been broadly critiqued as ideological vehicles that support western military institutions and militaristic attitudes. At the heart of these critiques is a concern for the potential influence these games may have on their audience, yet little empirical evidence exists to either support or refute that concern. Using cultivation theory as a general framework, this study investigates whether associations between playing military themed video games and military-related thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes can be found in an online, national survey of 410 young adult men. Consistent with cultivation theory’s predictions, significant associations between the use of military themed video games and second-order cultivation effects were found, including militaristic attitudes, Islamophobia, and the perceived likelihood of a terrorist attack. Moreover, military themed games were a stronger predictor of such effects than general measures of gameplay, which predicted a participant’s propensity to enlist in the military. However, this study failed to find evidence of first-order effects, nor did it find that trait transportability or the perceived realism of military games were meaningful moderators of second-order effects, as predicted by cognitive models of cultivation theory. These results highlight the potential problematic relationship between military games and their players, but cast some concerns as to the fitness of cultivation theory as the ideal framework to fully explore this relationship

The laws of terrorism: Representations of terrorism in German literature and film

Representations of the reasons and actions of terrorists have appeared in German literature tracing back to the age of Sturm und Drang of the 18th century, most notably in Heinrich von Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas and Friedrich Schiller's Die Räuber, and more recently since the radical actions of the Red Army Faction during the late 1960s and early 1970s, such as in Uli Edel's film, The Baader Meinhof Complex. By referring to Walter Benjamin's system of natural law and positive law, which provides definitions of differing codes of ethics with relation to state laws and personal ethics, one should be able to understand that Michael Kohlhaas, Karl Moor, and the members of the RAF are indeed represented as terrorists. However, their actions and motives are not without an internal ethics, which conflicts with that of their respective state-sanctioned authorities. This thesis reveals the similarities and differences in motives, methods, and use of violence in Schiller, Kleist, and representations of the RAF and explores how the turn to terrorism can arise from a logical realization that ideologies of state law do not align with the personal sense of justice and law of the individual

2003-2007 Report on Hate Crimes and Discrimination Against Arab Americans

Analyzes rates, patterns, and sources of anti-Arab-American hate crimes and discrimination, including detainee abuse, delays in naturalization, and threats; civil liberties concerns; bias in schools; and defamation in the media. Includes case summaries

Comm-entary, Spring 2018 - Full Issue

In this issue: Art Therapy and Virtues Between the Young and Old by Ellen Gibbs Representation in Media – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly by Hiwalani Kapanui EDM: Spirituality in Sound by Abigail Lehner Local Reactions, Revolutionary Implications: The Stamp Act Rebellion in Portsmouth, New Hampshire as a Precursor to American Independenceby Charlotte Harris “Playing” to God: An Analysis of Video Games through the Lens of Religion by Jason Paul Protest Policing and the Privatization of Surveillance by Jenna Ward The Importance of Overall Structure in Conducting a Medical Encounterby Lindsey Hall A Tropic Understanding of Street Art as a Persuader for Social and Political Advocacy by Lindsay Kosel Conversation Analysis: An Interaction between Amy Schumer and Ellen DeGeneres by Jennifer Royka Understanding the “Other” Perspective by Sriyaa Shah The Ethics of Documentary Photography in a Digital Age by Laura Olivier Recognition on the Olympic Stage: The Tension between Olympism and Universalism by Alana McKay Yes, White People Can Be Terrorists, Too by Dillon Mulhern Queer It Up: Queering Food Justice by Zoë Parsons Shaping Adolescence: The benefit of Young Adult novels, specifically This One Summer by Tali Cherim You Have to See It to Believe It: Mental Illness vs. Physical Illness in Nate Powell’s Swallow Me Whole by Tali Cheri