A Network Analysis of Social Balance in Conflict in the Maghreb

This work offers the U.S. military and national security structure a methodology to analyze tension within signed networks based on social balance theory, presents a process to partition a signed network to identify likely subsets within the network, and pinpoints unique actors and relationships based on the structure of the network. Relationships identified to cause increased tension within the network are discovered and analyzed. Identifying this tension provides analysts with insight into the complexities of the network and potential relationships to target to stabilize or destabilize a network. Two Social Network Analysis models have been developed analyzing the relationships of key actors associated with the 2012-2013 conflict in Northern Mali. Relations between the terrorist group Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), several Tuareg organizations, the Malian government and other key actors are assessed, both prior to and immediately following French and other international forces involvement beginning in January 2013. The potential effectiveness of the developed methodology is demonstrated, through the Mali example, in the identification of a specific relationship between two organizations as being under tension to change; subsequently one of the organizations split, reducing the tension and irreversibly changing the network

Sources of Inter-State Alignments: Internal Threats and Economic Dependence in the Former Soviet Union

This dissertation develops a framework for understanding the alignment patterns of states of the former Soviet Union (FSU) vis-à-vis Russia. The framework challenges traditional alignment theories, such as balance of power and balance of threat theories, and suggests that these theories provide less accurate predictions of alignment behavior in the FSU than the present framework because of a variety of situational and contextual factors. In particular, the present framework highlights the impact of two variables on alignment patterns, (1) the internal political threats to leaders, and (2) the economic dependence on Russia. These two variables produce a four-outcome model, presented as four testable hypotheses. When internal threats are high and economic dependence is high, FSU leaders are more likely to adopt a strong pro-Russian alignment. When internal threats are low and economic dependence is high, FSU leaders are more likely to adopt a moderate pro-Russian alignment. When internal threats are high and economic dependence is low, FSU leaders are more likely to adopt a moderate pro-Russian alignment. Finally, when internal threats and low and economic dependence is low, FSU leaders are more likely to adopt a pro-independence (sometimes anti-Russian) alignment. The present framework is then tested against the empirical behavior of Uzbekistan and Ukraine

A Comparative Analysis of the Lexington Police Department’s Disability Pension Plan

Injuries are taking Lexington police officers off of the streets and placing them on the disability pension rolls in rising numbers. Police officers in Lexington must have a total and permanent disability according to American Medical Association guidelines of impairment ratings to receive a disability pension. There is no minimum percentage of impairment an officer must have to receive a disability pension. This poses a problem because the Lexington police department gives at least 60 percent of their final pay to disabled officers regardless of the percentage of their impairment. Some Lexington police officers who are receiving disability pension payments later move on to different jobs where they are performing tasks similar to those they had been deemed too disabled to perform at the police department. The trend of more Lexington police officers receiving disability pensions means that taxpayers will be paying more in taxes to help fund the police and fire retirement fund. The purpose of the study is to answer three questions: are the eligibility criteria for the Lexington police department’s disability pension plan different than those of comparison cities; if there are differences in eligibility criteria, what impact do the differences have on the number of police officers who begin to receive disability pensions; if there are differences in eligibility criteria, what are the financial implications to the city of Lexington? Data was collected from police departments and pension funds in the cities of Lexington, Kentucky; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Toledo, Ohio regarding the number of police officers who were added to the service retirement and disability rolls each year from 1996 to 2005. Eligibility criteria for the Lexington police department’s disability pension plan are similar to the eligibility criteria for St. Paul’s disability pension plan. However, eligibility criteria for the Lexington police department’s disability pension plan are different from the eligibility criteria for Toledo’s disability pension plan. The three cities had different percentages of total pension recipients who were awarded disability pensions. The percentages were as follows: Lexington (46 %), St. Paul (39.3 %), and Toledo (20.1 %). If Lexington had the same eligibility criteria as Toledo, Ohio; Lexington would have spent approximately $1.58 million less on disability pensions from 1996 to 2005. Lexington should consider implementing a disability pension system similar to Toledo where officers are awarded a partial disability benefit if the physicians believe that the officer will be able to supplement their disability benefit with income from some kind of employment, and they should implement some aspects of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability pension system. VA has incorporated a system that gives disabled veterans a different monthly stipend depending on the degree of the disability. The veterans are rated in percentage increments of 10 depending on the severity of their disability. Lexington should also provide very specific details about what jobs an officer who is receiving a disability benefit cannot be employed in or their benefits will be terminated

The Cognitive Atlas: Employing Interaction Design Processes to Facilitate Collaborative Ontology Creation

The Cognitive Atlas is a collaborative knowledge-building project that aims to develop an ontology that characterizes the current conceptual framework among researchers in cognitive science and neuroscience. The project objectives from the beginning focused on usability, simplicity, and utility for end users. Support for Semantic Web technologies was also a priority in order to support interoperability with other neuroscience projects and knowledge bases. Current off-the-shelf semantic web or semantic wiki technologies, however, do not often lend themselves to simple user interaction designs for non-technical researchers and practitioners; the abstract nature and complexity of these systems acts as point of friction for user interaction, inhibiting usability and utility. Instead, we take an alternate interaction design approach driven by user centered design processes rather than a base set of semantic technologies. This paper reviews the initial two rounds of design and development of the Cognitive Atlas system, including interactive design decisions and their implementation as guided by current industry practices for the development of complex interactive systems

The Design, Construction, and Performance of a Net Zero Home in the Solar Decathlon 2011

The Solar Decathlon is a biennial Department of Energy (DOE) collegiate contest to “promote and speed to market” solar powered, residential homes (Grose, 2009). It is a student competition wherein twenty universities are selected to design, build, and showcase residential structures that would ultimately be relocated to a competition campus in West Potomac Park in Washington D.C. to be viewed by the general public and judged by representatives of the DOE. The challenge is “design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive” (DOE). The project structures are homes that are designed and built to conform to the parameters set forth by the DOE in an effort to showcase the use of solar power as a practical means of residential line voltage power supply. The projects are then judged according to how well they performed within those parameters. The challenges involved in the design and construction of a “net- zero” house, that is a house that produces at least as much electricity as it consumes, were formidable. Equally formidable were the technical/logistical issues inherent in designing and constructing a building that could be disassembled and transported. Finally, reconstructing a residential dwelling, complete in all respects, in the allotted time period of seven days created educational opportunities that mirror conditions the construction manager will face in his or her professional life. Multidiscipline work groups analyzed the architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, building controls, and photovoltaic performance requirements. These systems not only had to be integrated within each other, but they also had to work within a tight construction budget and build schedule. Those requirements are challenging enough on a normal construction project. Added to the complexity is that the INhome had to be built on the Purdue campus and then shipped to the competition site in Washington D.C. This paper highlights the process and strategies that Team Purdue utilized to design, build, operate, move, and successfully compete in the Solar Decathlon 2011 with a net zero home

Hypervelocity Impact of Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels

There is a limited amount of hypervelocity impact (HVI) data on pressurized composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV). In recent years, NASA has performed HVI tests to characterize impact conditions resulting in either leak or burst of the COPVs representative of spacecraft hardware. This paper reports on the results of 40 tests that have been conducted on several types of COPV configurations, pressurized by inert gas to near the vessels rated maximum expected operating pressure (MEOP). These tests were used to better understand COPV response under HVI conditions and develop ballistic limit equations (BLE) related to these tests

Chandra Spectroscopy Of The Hot Star β Crucis And The Discovery Of A Pre-Main-Sequence Companion

In order to test the O star wind-shock scenario for X-ray production in less luminous stars with weaker winds, we made a pointed 74-ks observation of the nearby early B giant, beta Crucis (beta Cru; B0.5 III), with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer. We find that the X-ray spectrum is quite soft, with a dominant thermal component near 3 million K, and that the emission lines are resolved but quite narrow, with half widths of 150 km s(-1). The forbidden-to-intercombination line ratios of Ne IX and Mg XI indicate that the hot plasma is distributed in the wind, rather than confined near the photosphere. It is difficult to understand the X-ray data in the context of the standard wind-shock paradigm for OB stars, primarily because of the narrow lines, but also because of the high X-ray production efficiency. A scenario in which the bulk of the outer wind is shock heated is broadly consistent with the data, but not very well motivated theoretically. It is possible that magnetic channelling could explain the X-ray properties, although no field has been detected on beta Cru. We detected periodic variability in the hard (h nu \u3e 1 keV) X-rays, modulated on the known optical period of 4.58 h, which is the period of the primary beta Cephei pulsation mode for this star. We also have detected, for the first time, an apparent companion to beta Cru at a projected separation of 4 arcsec. This companion was likely never seen in optical images because of the presumed very high contrast between it and beta Cru in the optical. However, the brightness contrast in the X-ray is only 3:1, which is consistent with the companion being an X-ray active low-mass pre-main-sequence star. The companion\u27s X-ray spectrum is relatively hard and variable, as would be expected from a post-T Tauri star. The age of the beta Cru system (between 8 and 10 Myr) is consistent with this interpretation which, if correct, would add beta Cru to the roster of Lindroos binaries - B stars with low-mass pre-main-sequence companions

Chandra Spectroscopy Of The Hot Star β Crucis And The Discovery Of A Pre-Main-Sequence Companion

In order to test the O star wind-shock scenario for X-ray production in less luminous stars with weaker winds, we made a pointed 74-ks observation of the nearby early B giant, beta Crucis (beta Cru; B0.5 III), with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer. We find that the X-ray spectrum is quite soft, with a dominant thermal component near 3 million K, and that the emission lines are resolved but quite narrow, with half widths of 150 km s(-1). The forbidden-to-intercombination line ratios of Ne IX and Mg XI indicate that the hot plasma is distributed in the wind, rather than confined near the photosphere. It is difficult to understand the X-ray data in the context of the standard wind-shock paradigm for OB stars, primarily because of the narrow lines, but also because of the high X-ray production efficiency. A scenario in which the bulk of the outer wind is shock heated is broadly consistent with the data, but not very well motivated theoretically. It is possible that magnetic channelling could explain the X-ray properties, although no field has been detected on beta Cru. We detected periodic variability in the hard (h nu \u3e 1 keV) X-rays, modulated on the known optical period of 4.58 h, which is the period of the primary beta Cephei pulsation mode for this star. We also have detected, for the first time, an apparent companion to beta Cru at a projected separation of 4 arcsec. This companion was likely never seen in optical images because of the presumed very high contrast between it and beta Cru in the optical. However, the brightness contrast in the X-ray is only 3:1, which is consistent with the companion being an X-ray active low-mass pre-main-sequence star. The companion\u27s X-ray spectrum is relatively hard and variable, as would be expected from a post-T Tauri star. The age of the beta Cru system (between 8 and 10 Myr) is consistent with this interpretation which, if correct, would add beta Cru to the roster of Lindroos binaries - B stars with low-mass pre-main-sequence companions