Noncoercive human intelligence gathering

Despite widespread recognition that coercive methods for intelligence gathering are unethical and counterproductive, there is an absence of empirical evidence for effective alternatives. We compared two non-coercive methods - the Modified Cognitive Interview (MCI) and Controlled Cognitive Engagement (CCE), adapted for intelligence gathering by adding a moral frame to encourage interviewees to consciously consider sharing intelligence. Participants from the general population experienced an unexpected live event where equipment was damaged, and an argument ensued. Prior to interview, participants were incentivised to withhold information about a target individual implicated in the event. CCE yielded more target information, more frequently than MCI (67% vs. 36%). Similarly, framing yielded target information more often (65% vs. 39%). The effects of interview and framing appear to be additive rather than interactive. Our results indicate combining non-coercive interview methods with moral framing can enhance intelligence gain

Finding a needle in a haystack: toward a psychologically informed method for aviation security screening

Current aviation security systems identify behavioral indicators of deception to assess risks to flights, but they lack a strong psychological basis or empirical validation. We present a new method that tests the veracity of passenger accounts. In an in vivo double-blind randomized-control trial conducted in international airports, security agents detected 66% of deceptive passengers using the veracity test method compared with less than 5% using behavioral indicator recognition. As well as revealing advantages of veracity testing over behavioral indicator identification, the study provides the highest levels to date of deception detection in a realistic setting where the known base rate of deceptive individuals is low

The Danger to the Chemical Weapons Convention from Incapacitating Chemicals

Ye

The Strengthened BTWC Protocol: Implications for the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry

Ye

Raising Awareness: A Hippocratic Oath for Life Sciences

Ye

Biomedical Community and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

YesNegotiations to find a legally binding way to strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) of 1972 [1]are in danger of failing. The crisis was precipitated during the current round of talks, now in its final week in Geneva, when the US, alone amongst the negotiating States, rejected the text of a protocol that has taken six and a half years to negotiate

The emerging protocol: An integrated reliable and effective regime

Ye

National Measures to Implement the Prohibitions in the BTWC

Ye

Periodic orbit theory for Rydberg atoms in external fields

Although hydrogen in external fields is a paradigm for the application of periodic orbits and the Gutzwiller trace formula to a real system, the trace formula has never been applied successfully to other Rydberg atoms. We show that spectral fluctuations of general Rydberg atoms are given with remarkable precision by the addition of diffractive terms. Previously unknown features in atomic spectra are exposed: there are new modulations that are neither periodic orbits nor combinations of periodic orbits; “core shadowing” generally decreases primitive periodic orbit amplitudes but can also lead to increases