The irony of just war?

By claiming that “just war is just war,” critics suggest that just war theory both distracts from and sanitizes the horror of modern warfare by dressing it up in the language of moral principles. However, the phrase can also be taken as a reminder of why we need just war theory in the first place. It is precisely because just war is just war, with all that this implies, that we must think so carefully and so judiciously about it. Of course, one could argue that the rump of just war scholarship over the past decade has been characterized by disinterest regarding the material realities of warfare. But is this still the case? This essay examines a series of benchmark books on the ethics of war published over the past year. All three exemplify an effort to grapple with the hard facts of modern violent conflict, and they all skillfully bring diverse traditions of just war thinking into conversation with one another

The development of a computer human interface using touch input for point of sale applications : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Product Development at Massey University

This project developed a touch screen interface for a new generation EFTPOS sales terminal at the fuel pump in a service station. Scenario plans and creative observation of consumers and analysis of their expressed needs, wants, and requirements were developed within the context of the client's specifications. This enabled the production of a physical and graphical user interface that provided initial appeal, ease of learning, high speed of user task performance, low user error rate, subjective user satisfaction, and user retention over time. Using multimedia computer software as a rapid prototyping tool enabled realistic feedback to be obtained early in the development stages and facilitated the modification of prototypes to minimise the barriers to potential consumer acceptance. The designer was able to effectively communicate the goals and details of the product to the team implementing the design using flow charts and diagrams to define the structure and content of the interface. The process used to develop the interface was compared with published product development techniques that incorporated consumer testing checkpoints throughout the discrete phases of product creation. It was determined that the generic processes were useful in practice, but only if the checkpoints were chosen appropriately and the tests customised for the developing product. Testing at fixed stages in the design process was found to be detrimental to the project. Putting excessive emphasis on the testing of the product curbed creativity by removing valid solutions before they could be investigated fully. The touch screen interface developed will be used to lead customers through fuel deliveries, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) transactions, and the purchase of other service station related products and services. The interface allows incorporation of advertising and customisation for use in other countries, meets the company's specifications, and has polled well in consumer tests when incorporated in a simulated mounting

Asset Bubbles and Their Consequences

In the past, the federal government has introduced moral hazard in the banking system through deposit insurance. Banks underpriced risk because of the federal guarantee that backed deposits. After banking crises in the 1980s and 1990s, deposit insurance was put on a sound basis and that source of moral hazard was mitigated. In its place, monetary policy has become a source of moral hazard. In acting to counter the economic effects of declining asset prices, the Federal Reserve has come to be viewed as underwriting risky investments. Policy pronouncements by senior Fed officials have reinforced that perception. These actions and pronouncements are mutually reinforcing and destructive to the operation of financial markets. The current financial crisis began in the subprime housing market and then spread throughout credit markets. The new Fed policy fueled the housing boom. Refusing to accept responsibility for the housing bubble, the Fed's recent actions will likely fuel a new asset bubble. The cumulative effects of recent monetary policy undermine the case for free markets

MiRTLE (Mixed-Reality Teaching and Learning Environment): from prototype to production and implementation

This position paper focuses on our efforts to implement and evaluate a Mixed Reality Teaching and Learning Environment (MiRTLE) in higher education institutions and other organisations, our current technical research to streamline and improve the utility of the system, and potential pedagogical developments for MiRTLE in the future

Banking reform

Bank failures ; Savings and loan associations ; Bank supervision ; Deposit insurance

Firm-level exchange exposure in the Eurozone

Using a sample of 1,154 European firms from 11 countries, we show that firm-level exchange exposure for Eurozone and non-Eurozone European firms has increased since the advent of the euro, but this rise was smaller for Eurozone than non-Eurozone firms. The increase in firmspecific risk is offset by a substantial reduction in market-level exchange exposure in most Eurozone countries, so the advent of the Eurozone appears to have been associated with a shift in exchange risk from systematic to firm-specific. We also find that Eurozone firms’ exchange exposure is greater than that of non-Eurozone European firms, and univariate testing confirms the significance of this difference. In a multivariate setting, however, after controlling for countryspecific and firm-specific characteristics that potentially influence the extent of exposure – economic openness, governance factors, firm size, industry and several financial ratios – this difference is no longer apparent.foreign exchange exposure, euro, Eurozone, economic openness

Money, deregulation and the business cycle

Money ; Business cycles ; Monetary theory