The factors which influence the selection of physical targets by terrorist groups

The aim of terrorism is to influence a group of people or institutions - the psychological target or targets - by attacking the appropriate physical targets in order to prompt the desired response. Several factors influence the selection of physical targets by non-state terrorist groups. These include the ideology of the terrorist group concerned, the strategy adopted by the group and its capabilities, its need to take account of external opinion - including that of supporters, the measures adopted to protect likely targets, and the security environment within which the terrorist group operates. In addition, decision-making is affected by the dynamics within the group which are in turn affected by the psychological pressures of clandestinity and the frequent risk of death or capture which many terrorists run. The relationship between these factors varies from group to group, which is inevitable given the idiosyncratic nature of most terrorist groups, and the different circumstances in which they find themselves. However, it can generally be said that ideology sets out the moral framework within which terrorists operate - and which determines whether terrorists judge it to be legitimate to attack a range of target. After this, the determination of which targets it will actually be beneficial to attack depends upon the strategy which the group has adopted as a means of achieving its political objectives. The determination of their strategic objectives depends upon the effects which the terrorists hope their attacks will achieve. Thus, strategy further refines the range of targets initially delimited by the group's ideology. The other factors mentioned tend to act as constraints upon the group, partly - as with security measures - in restricting them from carrying out the types of attacks which they would desire but also in encouraging them to carry out attacks on certain targets in the hope of gaining benefits such as the approval of their supporters, or of gaining publicity for their cause. Underlying all of this is the human factor, whereby relations within the group, the impact of psychological pressure, and individual differences in moral judgements may influence the targets chosen by terrorists

Charles Drake-Long to Mr. James Meredith (Undated)

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mercorr_pro/1675/thumbnail.jp

The Colour of Time: Head Pots and Temporal Convergences

Colour symbolism permeated the world of indigenous North America. This symbolism was often tied to the cosmos where the earth was viewed as a quadrilateral disk and each of the four cardinal directions was linked with a colour array such as red, white, black, and blue. We suggest that the recurring use of certain colours and colour contrasts comprised a suite of long-term historical practices that were essential for reproducing certain views about the world and about being in the world. Further, the rendering of colour had a plasticity that allowed it to enter a discourse about daily life that was intertwined with notions of the long-term. As a case study, we focus on well-known ceramic head effigies in the central Mississippi Valley to argue that their veneers of contrasting red and white were imbued with a notion of time immemorial that converged with other conceptions of temporality, most importantly, a pressing concern with regional violence, personal safety, and spiritual integrity

A Bayesian approach for energy-based estimation of acoustic aberrations in high intensity focused ultrasound treatment

High intensity focused ultrasound is a non-invasive method for treatment of diseased tissue that uses a beam of ultrasound to generate heat within a small volume. A common challenge in application of this technique is that heterogeneity of the biological medium can defocus the ultrasound beam. Here we reduce the problem of refocusing the beam to the inverse problem of estimating the acoustic aberration due to the biological tissue from acoustic radiative force imaging data. We solve this inverse problem using a Bayesian framework with a hierarchical prior and solve the inverse problem using a Metropolis-within-Gibbs algorithm. The framework is tested using both synthetic and experimental datasets. We demonstrate that our approach has the ability to estimate the aberrations using small datasets, as little as 32 sonication tests, which can lead to significant speedup in the treatment process. Furthermore, our approach is compatible with a wide range of sonication tests and can be applied to other energy-based measurement techniques

Recent Legal Literature

Brown: The Austinian Theory of Law; Schuster: the Principles of German Civil La

Group-Based Participatory Arts Interventions Validate Personhood for those Living with Dementia

Participatory arts-based interventions for people living with dementia involve the collaborative creation and performance of poetry, story, song, dance, and visual arts. These programs are designed to support self-expression and productive collaboration among people living with dementia while stimulating positive social interactions and feelings of empowerment and validation. In this commentary, we explore the use and potential benefits of validation in the implementation of person-centered participatory arts interventions in the context of dementia care. We offer a novel framework for understanding validation as a common intervention method during these activities, organized into five themes: collaboration, connection, communication, creation, and confirmation. These validation opportunities are suggested to offer direct benefits for participants as well as indirect benefits when modeled in the presence of formal care providers and family members. Clinicians and other transdisciplinary care providers are encouraged to understand, use, and teach these and other validation-focused arts interventions with persons living with dementia