Tunisia: democracy and Islam in post-Arab Spring politics

Since the ousting of the former regime and the first free and fair elections in 2011 in Tunisia, political Islamist parties have been in the majority. The ruling party did not have a mandate, which necessitated concessions. Nonetheless, religion, balanced with a history of institutional secularism enforced by a dictator, has impacted the creation of a democracy. Inequality and repression drove protestors to the streets to demand new governance. These problems, along with religion and societal norms, influence the meaning of democracy in Tunisia. This paper will explore the thin lines between religion, democracy and the everyday politics of Tunisia, most notably found in political history, citizens’ attitudes, and the implementation of a new Constitution. It will argue that Tunisia maintains democracy but not in the traditional Western understanding of institutional democracy. Instead, it combines elements of religion and polity

Modification of Biologically Active Plant Metabolites Via the Transition Metal Catalyzed Reactions

Developed by the author’s research laboratory methods of functionalization of some plant metabolites or their derivatives, viz., the eudesmane-type methylenelactones, diterpene and morphinane alkaloids, furanolabdanoids, and coumarins, using the transition metal catalyzed reactions, are reviewed. The activity of linear methylene lactone of the eudesmane type in the Heck reaction are analyzed. It is shown that the outcome of the Heck reaction is significantly influenced by the structure of methylidenelactone. The Pd-catalyzed arylation of isoalantolactone with arylhalogenides or 6-bromodeoxyvasicinone occurred with formation mainly of cross-coupling products with the (E)-configuration of the double bond. Synthesis of halogen derivatives of lappaconitine, tetrahydrothebaine and dihydrothebaine-hydroquinone and investigation of in the Heck or Sonogashira reactions gave the possibility for obtaining of new alkaloid derivatives with additional substituents in the aromatic rings. Homocoupling reaction or Sonogashira crosscoupling reaction of 5´-ethynyllappaconitine are used for synthesis of dimeric alkaloids of aconitane types. Pd-catalyzed amination of 2-(1,3-dibromoprop-2-ylidene)oreoselone and the transformations of oreoselone triflate, upon the action of palladium compounds allowed us to accomplish new modifications of linear furocoumarins. The method of enyne cycloisomerization of ω-alkynylfurans catalyzed with Au(III) was successfully obtained in the transformations of furanolabdanoids. The copper(I) salts catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azides to terminal alkynes belongs to the group of click-reactions was used in the synthesis of macrocyclic structures of labdane diterpenoids. The copper-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of 2-azidooreoselone with various alkynes yielded diverse 2-(1,2,3-triazolyl)furocoumarins. The advantages of transition metal catalyzed reactions to the transformations of plant metabolites and its derivatives shown the possibility of introduction of several bioisosteric groups, and other fragments providing additional interactions and selectivity of binding with receptors and enzymes

Low thrust orbit determination program

Logical flow and guidelines are provided for the construction of a low thrust orbit determination computer program. The program, tentatively called FRACAS (filter response analysis for continuously accelerating spacecraft), is capable of generating a reference low thrust trajectory, performing a linear covariance analysis of guidance and navigation processes, and analyzing trajectory nonlinearities in Monte Carlo fashion. The choice of trajectory, guidance and navigation models has been made after extensive literature surveys and investigation of previous software. A key part of program design relied upon experience gained in developing and using Martin Marietta Aerospace programs: TOPSEP (Targeting/Optimization for Solar Electric Propulsion), GODSEP (Guidance and Orbit Determination for SEP) and SIMSEP (Simulation of SEP)

Mission Analysis Program for Solar Electric Propulsion (MAPSEP). Volume 2: User's manual

A user's manual which describes input/output routines and recommended operating procedures relating to MAPSEP is presented. Samples runs are included

Mission Analysis Program for Solar Electric Propulsion (MAPSEP). Volume 1: Analytical manual

The mission analysis program for solar electric propulsion (MAPSEP) is comprised of the basic modes: TOPSEP (trajectory generation), GODSEP (linear error analysis), and SIMSEP (simulation). The program is designed to analyze any low thrust mission with respect to trajectory performance, guidance and navigation, and to provide system related requirements for the purpose of vehicle design. The MAPSEP organization is described along with all models and algorithms. Topics discussed include: trajectory and error covariance propagation methods, orbit determination processes, thrust modeling, and trajectory correction (guidance) schemes

Mission Analysis Program for Solar Electric Propulsion (MAPSEP). Volume 3: Program manual

The internal structure of MAPSEP is described. Topics discussed include: macrologic, variable definition, subroutines, and logical flow. Information is given to facilitate modifications to the models and algorithms of MAPSEP

Rapid visual presentation to support geospatial big data processing

Given the limited number of human GIS/image analysts at any organization, use of their time and organizational resources is important, especially in light of Big Data application scenarios when organizations may be overwhelmed with vast amounts of geospatial data. The current manuscript is devoted to the description of experimental research outlining the concept of Human-Computer Symbiosis where computers perform tasks, such as classification on a large image dataset, and, in sequence, humans perform analysis with Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to classify those images that machine learning had difficulty with. The addition of the BCI analysis is to utilize the brain\u27s ability to better answer questions like: Is the object in this image the object being sought? In order to determine feasibility of such a system, a supervised multi-layer convolutional neural network (CNN) was trained to detect the difference between ships\u27 and no ships\u27 from satellite imagery data. A prediction layer was then added to the trained model to output the probability that a given image was within each of those two classifications. If the probabilities were within one standard deviation of the mean of a gaussian distribution centered at 0.5, they would be stored in a separate dataset for Rapid Serial Visual Presentations (RSVP), implemented with PsyhoPy, to a human analyst using a low cost EMOTIV Insight EEG BCI headset. During the RSVP phase, hundreds of images per minute can be sequentially demonstrated. At such a pace, human analysts are not capable of making any conscious decisions about what is in each image; however, the subliminal aha-moment still can be detected by the headset. The discovery of these moments are parsed out by exposition of Event Related Potentials (ERPs), specifically the P300 ERPs. If a P300 ERP is generated for detection of a ship, then the relevant image would be moved to its rightful designation dataset; otherwise, if the image classification is still unclear, it is set aside for another RSVP iteration where the time afforded to the analyst for observation of each image is increased each time. If classification is still uncertain after a respectable amount of RSVP iterations, the images in question would be located within the grid matrix of its larger image scene. The adjacent images to those of interest on the grid would then be added to the presentation to give an analyst more contextual information via the expanded field of view. If classification is still uncertain, one final expansion of the field of view is afforded. Lastly, if somehow the classification of the image is indeterminable, the image is stored in an archive dataset

Paramilitaries, parochialism, and peace: The moral foundations and personality traits of SlovenskíBranci

Paramilitary organizations have increasingly become a cause for concern among policy makers and the media in recent years, in part because the former are often seen as a potential threat to peace (or at least to the status quo of the current political systems) in the countries in which they emerge. Organizations such as the Oathkeepers and 3 Percenters (also known as III%ers) in the United States have grown significantly in the last two decades, while paramilitary organizations playing a key role in both offensive and defensive actions in Crimea and the Donbas Region have become a focus of discussion in the Russian war on Ukraine. Although they have not always garnered as much attention, paramilitary organizations in Central and Eastern Europe have a long history. While most are relatively inactive, others play a wide variety of active roles, sometimes even running operations in parallel with a state’s official armed forces (e.g., the PMO serving the state in Poland, or the Night Wolves helping Russia capture Crimea). Despite the increase in the number and activity of these paramilitary organizations, little is known about the personal, social, moral, and psychological background of the individuals who join them. After reviewing the history and ideology of the largest paramilitary organization in the Slovak Republic, this article presents and discusses the results of a survey administered to the group. This survey used different measures of personality, morality, and identity, as well as information about respondents’ personal background, family history, socio-economic status, and political ideology. We find significant relationships between certain individual personality traits and the importance of certain moral foundations among members of these organizations in relation to their broader social community.publishedVersio